Nuit - Photonz (Dark Entries)

Title: Nuit

Artist: Photonz

Label: Dark Entries

Cat Number: DE257

Genre: House

01: Xentra

02: Shifting Symbols

03: Ode To Nuit

04: Celestial Palace

05: Shakti

06: Nobody

07: Avalon

08: Lusting

09: Doomsday Dub

10: Brighter Tomorrows

11: Genesis

Photonz, aka Marco Rodrigues has built up a solid body of work since he started releasing in 2006, so it’s surprising that this is his first album. His brand of dark, mystical leaning house music is quite distinctive, managing the difficult trick of being uncompromising and flexible at the same time and this collection highlights this versatility. The album makes a strong start in the shape of the first three tracks, with both ‘Xentra’ and ‘Shifting Symbols’ trading blows in the surreal and offbeat frictional facets of funk and ‘Ode to Nuit’ evoking raw Detroit with more than a circumstantial whiff of Suburban Knight. Tracks like ‘Avalon’ and ‘Lusting’ are like coiled springs, and ‘Brighter Tomorrows’ combines deep house and a tranced out ambience to point a way forward, although it’s not clear exactly to where, it’s optimism all the more tempered by the dissonant, frenzied ‘Genesis’ which follows.