Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Burning Heretics EP - Oliver Ho (Blueprint)




Title: Burning Heretics EP
Artist: Oliver Ho
Label: Blueprint
Cat Number: BP045
Genre: Techno

A1: Burning Heretics
A2: Worship
B1: Control
B2: Genuflect


Techno has become as much about mixing antique, organic influences with the modern as it has with being obsessed with the future. The funny thing is that no matter where it tends to get off, the resonance is the same. This latest release from Oliver Ho straddles all points in time and space. The title track blends industrial weirdness, a digeridoo, deadpan metallic and gaseous infinity. ‘Worship’ could soundtrack any bit of ‘Game of Thrones’ when the lights are off, with ‘Genuflect’ a sinister dwarf jiog on the side. Next to this lot, ‘Control’ sounds pretty conventional, which it is, but its dense technoid loop doesn’t take any prisoners either.

Ron Morelli

Benedikt Frey

Regis

Move D

Crimes Of The Future

Gerd Janson

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Space, Fire, Truth EP - Giorgio Luceri (Uzuri)



Title: Space, Fire, Truth EP
Artist: Giorgio Luceri
Label: Uzuri
Cat Number: UZURI 023
Genre: Deep House

A1 Along came Ra
A2 Doorway to another dimension of Being
B1 Universal Language
B2 World is the Space Ways


It’s a game of two halves this one; the A side being jazzed-up, percussive-led and sprawling but structured eloquence. It strays into the abstract ever so slightly, but has cohesion and backbone, which allows it to link up perfectly with the more obvious house overtones of the flip. These two tracks channel mid-nineties Prescription Underground, as well as giving free rein to a gamut of deep spiritual nuance. And even though there would appear to be more going on in the busier first pair, the second half continues where it left off, the complete release being a deep ride across various shades of stellar tenor.

Monday, March 21, 2016

The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol. 1 - Gary Gritness (Hypercolour)


Title: The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol 1
Artist: Gary Gritness
Label: Hypercolour
Cat Number: HYPE051
Genre: Electro Funk

A1: Working Girls
A2: Stayin’ Strong Hand
B1: Preachin’ Some Tight Game
B2: Fly Shit

Gary Gritness, a name which, if I’m honest, brought to mind a similarly -monickered glam rock nonce adds more range to Hypercolour’s already very varied roster and also takes it in a direction much less travelled. There’s a whiff of g-funk and that slowed-down 1980’s throwback weirdness, popularized by, on the one hand artists like Wolf & Lamb and their various attachments, and on the other Games, the briefly surreal, slowed-down melancholic arm of Daniel Lopatin and Joel Ford. This stuff sort of falls in between the two and emits nothing but solar vibes, a piece of cake for this session instrumentalist.


Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Mantha EP -DJ Phlowgod (Echovolt Records)


Title: Mantha EP
Artist: DJ Phlowgod
Label: Echovolt
Cat Number: EvR018
Genre: House

A1: Downtown
A2: Black Roses
A3: Cursed Fate
B1 MAS
B2: Anthem
B3: Three

DJ Phlowgod turns in a very well-rounded EP for Ilias Pitsios’ Echovolt. Six tracks which, although purporting to have “that modern touch”, according to Rush Hour, come cloaked in enough analogue grime and lo-fi grit to give MGUN a run for his money.

The general tone here is one of stripped-back, deep house melancholia; ‘Cursed Fate’ rocks the boat a little with its confrontational abrasiveness, and ‘Downtown’ is more strident than what remains, but generally it’s a tale of crisp beats shrouded in the fog of friction. I like everything here, but favour the more atmospheric. So ‘Anthem’ is my fave, followed by ‘MAS’, and the gnarly bass-led ‘Black Roses’.