EP Review: The Picture - Tiga

It has been some time since we last heard something fresh from Tiga so it is a double pleasure to see Crosstown Rebels celebrating their 100th release with this new track from our favourite camp Canadian techno enthusiast.

The Picture - Tiga

It being on Crosstown Rebels 'The Picture' is unsurprisingly Tiga at his most dance floor focused. A tight barrel of drums, glitchy rhythms and skittering bleeps and beats create a dark atmosphere. It is capped off with Tiga's vocal - drenched in reverb he brings his own personality to a Prince vocal. The track reflects Tiga's love of techno and, well, Prince, though I can't help but miss his more flamboyant side... The vocal here may have started with Prince but little else did.

Accompanying 'The Picture' is Subb-an's remix of one of Tiga's best records, 'Pleasure From The Bass'. Here it is given a similar feel to the A-side - a tense analogue bass line chorus and near-ultrasonic white-noise glitches provide the main foundations and that original killer bass hardly gets a look in. It's a contemporary take on a track that never really aged anyway, but it is a joy to hear it again even if it is the inferior version.

The Picture is a decent release for Crosstown Rebels' centenary, but if only we could have had Tiga at his best - we are a long way from the mechanical fury of 'Burning Down' and it feels like the music world needs a little more of that Tiga these days.

Album Review: Late Night Tales - Metronomy

Metronomy's third album, seaside inspired The English Riviera, never quite outshone their second album as far as I'm concerned. The slightly grimy autumnal melancholy of Nights Out felt far more British than the riviera to which the last album harks... That album upon which so many critics slathered patriotic love.

Which is not to say it isn't a good album, just a symptom of press arriving at a party already in full swing. The English Riviera won Joseph Mount and his increasingly band-shaped band a lot of applause. It is little surprise then that the glistening coastal feeling runs through much of their new compilation for Late Night Tales. The Late Night Tales albums tend to exhibit a little incorrigible wildness - an unwillingness to behave that is all too absent here. If they are created for nights of acid and too much cannabis then Metronomy appear to prefer to drink fine wine and enjoy the white powder.

Late Night Tales - Metronomy

In other words this is the smoothest Late Night Tales in a while (Music For Pleasure aside, of course), and it comes as something of a relief on that front. Recent entries to the series have been very strong but each album can feel a little dense.

But here Mount opens with Outkast's 'Prototype' - a track that still feels as instantly fresh and clean as the day it came out. It is a shame André 3000 is on semi-permanent sabbatical because just one of his productions feels so staggering on its own. The transition into Tweet's 'Drunk' is perfect - thick and unbelievably slow, like the power got cut from the record player but it somehow just about kept playing. Throw in Sa-Ra Creative Partners' jazz trumpet and clattering percussion on 'Cosmic Ball' and you have quite the album opening.

There are similar clutches of greatness elsewhere too. Alessi Brothers' 'Seabird' is dizzying gold plated-folk, a slightly psychedelic take on Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac. It shouldn't be able to smoothly transition into Autechre's glitch-ridden 'Fold4,Wrap5' and yet somehow it does.

The album closes with a maudlin duo of folk records - Herman Düne's damaged 'Winners Lose' and Cat Power's terrifying 'Werewolf'. It's an end you wouldn't dare stay past even if you could - if your late night party guest is playing heart-stopping blues music then it may be time to make an exit. As a close to Metronomy's mix album though it is pretty much spot on.

Late Night Tales by Metronomy is released on Monday, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

EP Review / Stream: Glass Cities - Mitch Murder

Glass Cities - Mitch Murder

DhARMA's third release comes hot on the heals of my review of their debut one, Kelly Paven's excellent Alone In The Storm, and they seem to be a little determined to establish some form.

Mitch Murder's Glass Cities is an EP is eighties-inspired instrumental soft-rock and MOR electronics. Listening to this in the same week as Tony Scott's tragic suicide feels more than a little poignant. This whole EP sounds like it could be the soundtrack to Top Gun.

There are plenty of eighties synths then, but it also has the kind of heightened and headstrong emotion you would expect of an eighties Tony Scott movie. Several of the songs are cut through with samples of dialogues from films but it is the music that is largely left to do the talking.

Unusual as it is to hear 80s rock without vocals - the soundtrack is almost as reminiscent of a video game soundtrack as a movie one - but the melodies hold their own. The squealing guitar on 'Best Of The Best' dominates the first half of the track and the synths knock the remaining minutes out of the park. On 'Heading South' the vocal samples and motorbikes create more feeling than a vocal ever could - and anything more would be overkill.

In addition to the five original tracks there are also two remixes - one by Sylvester and the other Nite Sprite - and refreshly both embrace to atmosphere of the originals, sounding like products of the eighties themselves.

Glass Cities is released on 1 September through DhARMA. Stream it below via Soundcloud or pre-order it on Bandcamp:

Stream: Valedictorian - Dan Friel

What's that noise?

Only your bleeding heart bursting out of your chest, up your throat, out through your nose, blood-soaked wings-a-flapping, taking your soul and good times and regrets and tears and chest thumping bravado with it... This new release from Dan Friel of Parts & Labor is ridiculously epic.

Like a night on poppers and Red Bull, this quickens my pulse and deadens my remorse - it's a bit like drinking through vomit.

This is taken from Valedictorian/Exoskeleton, which is released on 15 october through Thrill Jockey on 12". Look out for remixes by Peaking Lights (yes, I'm excited too) and Moss of Aura.

EP Review: Believe In Reflecting - Roaming

Believe In Reflecting is the debut release from Roaming, the new collaboration between Christopher Rau and Moomin. Whilst both Rau and Moomin have already released one track together under their own names on Oliver Deutschmann's Futureworld compilation this marks their first proper outing.

There are two original tracks that make up this EP. Opener 'Our Dream Of' is a deep,  breathy track with whispered utterances, snatches of brass and a building electronic bass. It's simple but done well - tight, intimate and well baked.

Believe In Reflecting - Roaming

Closing track 'Believe In Reflecting' is less restrained - still warm but with a shimmering, breezy sound coming from the combination of rubber-band baselines and soft keys. Intriguingly it is punctuated with off-time samples of 'Christmas Time Is Here'' from Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The jazzy, soft brushed drum sounds and angelic vocals of Guaraldi's festive masterpiece are so fundamentally ingrained in my annual Christmas experience that hearing them within an upbeat, summer worshipping dance track admittedly throws me for a bit of a loop. Other than that the track is a uplifting and progressively pleasing however and perhaps, if your Christmas isn't as dependent on the proper placement of Charlie's Christmas blues tale as mine, you may not even notice the discord.

Sandwiched between the two original tracks is a remix of 'Believe In Reflecting' by Smallpeople, the owners of label behind the release - Smallville. It loses the Christmas samples, and therefore my conflicted emotions, and yet also loses a little of the charm. It retains the gentle, jazzy keys and builds warmth through a series of ambient chords but it doesn't boast quite the same lazy sun drenched vibe.

Believe In Reflecting is released through Smallville via 12" and MP3 on Monday, stream it below on Soundcloud:

Album Review: Dimitri From Paris Back In The House - Dimitri From Paris

Dimitri From Paris seems to have been around for an absolute age, long flaunting the kind of flamboyant disco that has recently come back in to vogue. The likes of Future Disco have attempted to lay claim to this style of music over the past half a decade and so it is easy to forget that much of France has been playing disco influenced house since the mid-90s.

This double CD set is actually two separate mixes. The first is entitled A Night at The Horse & Groom and was recorded live in London whilst the second, A Night at Dim's Mansion was recorded in the studio.

Stylistically the mixes are actually remarkably similar and if anything the latter of the two feels a bit more intense, capturing the sweaty ambience of the nightclub despite being laid down in the studio.

Back In The House - Dimitri From Paris

The track list across the complete album is fairly exhaustive, taking in a total of 38 tracks. And with a focus as broad as Dimitri's it inevitably feels a little scattershot at times, a mixture of new classics rubbing shoulders with the genuine article in a way that at times feels a little like tokenism.

The first set eases things in gently with Soul Clap's soulful 'Take It Slow' opening the mix, shortly followed by the always excellent 'Love Saves The Day' by Kaine and Kathy Diamond - here given a polish by the equally brilliant Mario Basanov.

And there is an undeniable danger here that Dimitri lets the contemporary talent outshine the classics - Morgan Geist may not exactly be a young upstart but his first two Storm Queen singles both feature here and despite their recency they are as strong as anything else featured. Maceo Plex also features twice in the first mix, his chunky, thick bass lines on 'Can't Leave You' almost certainly creating a massive reaction from the crowd. It's difficult not to simply wish you had a mix from either of these modern masters.

Yet Dimitri's sets are both undeniably good, particularly where they embrace the past in equal measure with the future. The second disc takes in Marshall Jefferson, KC Flightt, Holy Ghost!, Sébastien Tellier and even Dan Hartman's 'Relight My Fire'.

Sure, it may all be a little obvious but that is kind of the point. If you want a finger-on-the-pulse mix then you would be unlikely to consider a Defected release anyway. If you want a set of familiar tracks that has been put together with an audible degree of care and attention
to grease the wheels of the remaining summer weeks then you could do much worse.

Dimitri From Paris Back In The House is released through Defected on Monday, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3.

EP Review: (Who Knows) Where Love Goes - Last Magpie

(Who Knows) Where Love Goes - Last Magpie

A lose and open-air funk number that rises its head here on Magpie's '(Who Knows) Where Love Goes'.

Heavy sun beats down on the title track's ambient house but it's the warm garage rhythms that capture the soul and ensure this track lodges itself in your brain. The lofty title track has just enough time to soak in, a tight bassline tapping out the all important melodies and a blissfully intimate bass. Things quickly accelerate following this gentle start however...

'Pilau Rice' quickly slips past, tightly grab the listener and pulling them forward into a sweaty, intimate play on words. As innocent as the lead in may have been this is no time for mere pleasantries, a bumping bass creating a crescendo bodies will struggle to ignore.

For every intense up-beat 'Pilau Rice' hits following track, 'Don't Know Why', embraces a corresponding drop. The pacing may be a little disconcerting when consumed in one sitting but it is difficult not to feel and subsequently embrace the amorous hot embrace played out on the closing two tracks of this release.

'Don't Know Why' is drenched is sweaty reverb and old school house atmosphere - particularly evident on the closing refrain. 'Club Whore' on the other hand is slower to build but bass the close and heavy bass is uncompromising in its approach.

If you have a feel for deep, heavy takes on soulful house and dubstep it is hard to resist this forthcoming release from Last Magpie - it's warm, familiar and sexy.  It is released through Hypercolour on 20 August, check it out on Soundcloud below:

Download: You'll Never Surf Again - Raymond Byron & The White Freighter

It's baking hot outside and I've just been enjoying this Raymond Byron and The White Freighter cover of Dan Reeder's 'You'll Never Surf Again'. It's a laid back but smokey folk record, the atmosphere thick with resignation. It's not too dissimilar from the original (check that out on Spotify here if you are a member) but it has just a little more sparkle in the treble and the sixties-inspired production.

This is taken from the album Little Death Shaker, out next month on Asthmatic Kitty, and the press release describes the sound pretty well:

Stripped of all noise influences and focusing on straight-up songs, Little Death Shaker is a record evocative of late nights and dusty parking lots, long drives and boozy hookups. This is the work of a dude who’s spent his youth and young manhood on tour and it comes through in both the music and the lyrics.

Check out 'You'll Never Surf Again' above in the Soundcloud player and if you like it be sure to grab the free download.

SIngle Review: Come On (Ralph Lawson's 2020 Remix) - DJ Dove

A nice little re-release courtesy of MN2S this one... DJ Dove's 'Come On' originally came out on MN2S back in 2000 and it was backed with a mix by Ralph Lawson. Somewhere along the way the masters were lost meaning that come the Internet revolution there was no way to release this mix digitally...

Come On - DJ Dove

Until now of course. Whilst moving house one of the label founders uncovered an unmarked DAT that ended up containing that missing master. The result is a bit of a treat.

I'd not ever originally heard the mix, nor have  I heard the original, so I went into things a little blind. Still - what you get is a refined piece of summer deep house. 'Come On' neither sounds aged nor of a particular time. There is a shimmering quality to the gentle bass and sultry female vocal that combine with jazzy keys to give this a sunset feel. Lawson also applies a chunky kick drum and a metallic hit every other bar and this gives things a slight techno edge. 

Overall it good to hear this kind of quality mix preserved for the digital age and it is worth seeking out. Listen to it on Soundcloud below:

Come On is released through MN2S on 14 September.

EP Review: Gone Ghost - Hand Plant

Following it's launch last month Disco Bloodbath recording released Gone Ghost, its sophomore single, last week on vinyl (the digital release drops on 21 August).

Hand Plant is a collaboration between one half of Disco Bloodbath (Ben Pistor) and one half of Maxxi Soundsystem (Sam Watts) and they aim to capture the spirit of:

Old and new synths, samples, berlin, aircraft, what happens in the early hours, ecstasy pads that make you rush...

A hand plant. In a pot. Of course.

And to be honest this release pretty much nails it. It's a frigging wonderful rapture of electronic soul and technology - Pistor and Watts are dragging us on a dawn chase and it's an otherworldly experience. Spectral melodies and large synth work sews an analogue rush of endorphins and a injection of squelching acid on the title track.

Shorter but way more vicious, 'Arpy' has a utterly unforgiving rapid fire bass line that initially reminds me (yet again) of Adonis' 'No Way Back' but cosmic synthesisers end up carving the record in two. The subsequent crescendo of layered staccato keys and ping-pong (or should that be wiff waif?) rhythms are sure to leave you breathless.

Also featured is a storming acid remix of 'Gone Ghost' by Jamie Blanco - think early acid house complete with eighties synth-pop drums and a fair amount of echo. It calls to mind the classic 'Happy House' mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Paul Rutherford's 'Get Real' but here the drums feel tougher and here Blanco has combined it with the strongest melodic elements of the original to make something genuinely beautiful that transcends genre.

Check out the full version of 'Gone Ghost' in the YouTube player above but also listen to the all too short preview of Jamie Blanco's mix in the player below. It's way too good to pass up. Consider this one of my favourite things so far this year.

Gone Ghost is released through Disco Bloodbath Recordings - the vinyl release is out now and the digital release is due on 21 August.