EP Review: You/Me EP - iO Sounds

The You/Me EP is the latest release from iO Sounds, the current working name of London based producer Rob Burn (previously simply as iO). It's the second release from label Diamond & Raw and there is a clear focus on quality, slightly left field dance music that's welcome round my way. Burns has only released a couple of releases prior to this, through the MadTech and Infinite Machine labels, but there is plenty here to like.

Burn's production work has an ambient Ballearic feel to it but it applies a surprisingly experimental finish. The title track is a dubby house track full of deep soulful cut-up vocals, low-end bass and glitchy percussion work. The vocals are applied like instruments to create a surprisingly atmospheric and emotional sounding track that mirrors the current movement of artists such and Andy Stott towards dub influenced dance music.

Three mixes of You/Me are included alongside the original. Mak & Pasteman go more upfront, applying a big synth riff and drum machine claps to the track to create something a little more directly dance floor facing and ravey. Forget Me Not creates a harsh tribal sound from hollow-sounding but hard percussion and the dreamy application of the vocal cuts to create a big, emotive drop. Finally a digital only mix from Ado, a druggy and mind-bending journey that slows the track down and uses pitch-bends to create an disturbed yet epic take.

The release comes with a second original track in the form of Dirty Little Secret and it is equally bass heavy but rather than being glitchy Burn has used a speedy, garage influenced drum track that combined with the bass gives the track a heavy, rolling feel. Cut-up vocals are applied once again together with string samples. It doesn't feel quite as fresh as the title track but is a hot track blended with a little soul that will likely find favour with those looking for a faster tempo. The mix of Dirty Little Secret comes from Lakosa, who creates a slower, house mix of the original but it lacks the verve of everything else here.

​You/Me EP is out on 27 May through Diamond & Raw, available for pre-order on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Check out the EP via Soundcloud below:

EP Review: Seneca - The Range

Buy this track now http://donkypitch.bandcamp.com/album/the-range-seneca 'PS 3' is lifted from The Range's 'Seneca' EP, which features two other original tracks and remixes from Supreme Cuts, Obey City & Howse.

On Seneca The Range follows up his Disk EP from last year on Donky Pitch with another EP of incredibly dense and percussive dance music.

The Range came to my attention a few months back when he released his fantastic Promises Edit into the wild. It's a stunning rework of Ciara's Promise that feels deep, sweet and thick like treacle, creating a big electronic sound around the vocal with smatterings of drum & bass rhythms as the track builds. Unfortunately it doesn't feature here, due to it's unofficial status, but it's worth checking out.

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​Seneca - The Range

What we do get are three new original tracks and three remixes. PS 3 opens the EP, creating a spectacularly kinetic track of Asian-sounding melodies and flick-knife-quick rhythms. It's an impressively uplifting track, full of Eastern promise and clattering excitement - steel drums stuttering vocal edits and frenetic energy. It's pretty thrilling.

Greg Maddux Change Up is next, and whilst it retains the same complex, multi-layered rhythms it is downbeat in mood. Stirring, blue electronic melodies slowly play out in the background against brittle, cold keys whilst The Range's trademark pitched vocal samples sit high in the mix.

The final original track is Life Like This and it's probably more similar to that Ciara edit than the other tracks on this EP. Slower, though definitely not slow - it has just a little less energy than the other tracks here. Rapid drums and an Amen break still give the track energy, but it's also feels delicate and contemplative in tone - an observation of the non-stop chaos of life, perhaps.

Two remixes of PS 3 feature. Obey City create a slower track that plays up the Eastern elements of the original, adding strings, whilst Supreme Cuts deliver a deeper mix, full of sub-bass and a more minimal sound. Howse provides the remaining mix, this time of Life Like This, and it too is deeper, creating a thick, atmospheric track that still has complex rhythms but combines them with hazy melodies.

​Seneca is out now through Donky Pitch, you can purchase the EP on Bandcamp. Check out that Ciara remix below:

EP Review: A Brighter Light - A/Jus/Ted

A Brighter Light is the debut release from duo A/Jus/Ted, otherwise known as Justin Strauss and Teddy Stuart. Strauss and Stuart met last year and they have a range of engineering, production and remix experience across artists as diverse as Lenny Kravitz and LCD Soundsystem. I first heard this track on Future Disco Vol. 6, on which it was a highlight, but it is now out on its own.

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​A Brighter Light - A/Jus/Ted

As A/Jus/Ted they are making synth-led, disco influenced house music. The original track has a crisp edge - the synths provide a progressive feel while a proto-house bass line provides a human counter-point, elegantly grounding the track. Jeremy Glenn's vocals scatter the song with a further layer of sunshine, creating a soulful but forward looking record.

Lars Vegas, fresh off of his own release The Game, provides the first remix and takes it into deeper territory. It reflects his affection for deeper classic house, the vocals still the track's centre but a cool drop leads into thick bass and a layer of reverb. It's a more functional mix, and its simplicity serves the track well.

Along with an instrumental on the digital release the final mix comes from A/Jus/Ted themselves, who strip the track right back and lock into an acid groove. They continue to make use of the vocal but it's a much deeper track than either of the other versions and it runs with the progressive cues of the original to create a tech-house piece more suited for sun-up than sun-down.

​A Brighter Light is out now on Under the Shade.

EP Review: Finders Keepers Remixes - David Shaw and The Beat

David Shaw caught my attention towards the end of last year when his debut album So It Goes established his talent for genre-surfing and culture-riffing. So It Goes opened with the laissez faire but rather convincing Finders Keepers, as one of the highlights on the album it isn't much of a surprise to see it get the remix treatment.

This release comes with two mixes - one from La Royal and Yesco and the other from Richard Fearless. Surprisingly the original doesn't feature - a bit of a missed opportunity for Shaw to bring people into his album given that it's still quite distinct from either of the versions here.

La Royal applies a sinister dance floor disco rub to the track, creating a dark throbbing techno vision of lasers and distorted bass. The vocal is placed disorientatingly high in the mix, with Shaw seemingly coming from somewhere beyond the rest of the music, almost like we are all just tiny dancers in his mind.

Richard Fearless' mix is both typically analogue and typically fucked up. It's a claustrophobic, growled threat of a record, full of abrasive synths and electronic gurgles and clicks. Fearless' production style suits Shaw's camp, knowing vocal treatment, creating a cool, aloof record.

If you didn't pick up So It Goes this serves as a pretty good reminder as to why you should check it out.

​Finders Keepers Remixes is released on Monday through Her Majesty's Ship, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

EP Review: Warm Spell - Sinkane

DFA's new one-man boy wonder Sinkane seems poised for great things. Having created some funky, laid back disco-soul joints for lazy days, he's one barbecue summer away from cult-hero status and this EP certainly isn't going to harm his chances.

The track Warm Spell is the Caribbean in aural form - a strutting bass line and complex tribal rhythms give it plenty of juice but it's the steel guitars and sunny piano refrain that make this quite so difficult to listen to without dreaming of warmer climes.

Along with the original and an instrumental this package contains two remixes. Greece's Larry Gus transforms the track into a loose cosmic afro-beat freak out that channels Fela Kuti. Jazzy brass stabs squeal and shout, giving the track a chaotic, improvised feel over an extended length that builds to an heavy close.

Duppy Gun - LA musicians Sun Araw (Cameron Stallones) and M. Geddes Gengras - create a warm dub. It's a contrast that uses the original track's drumming to create an intense loop against the sunny muted guitar work.

Both mixes centre around the original's rhythms and heat yet they both manage to create something totally distinct and the only possible criticism would be that it is a shame the original and the Duppy Gun version are so short.

​Warm Spell is out now through DFA, available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Stream on Spotify: