EP Review: Sky High - Alex Barck

Next week sees Alex Barck follow up with the third of his vinyl only EPs (Re-Set & Don't Hold Back) that are leading up to his solo album Reunion and it's another highly competent disco house release. This EP works with the theme dictated by the title, Sky High, and in a style that has been typical of Barck's solo material for this Reunion project it's all blue skies and sunshine and ocean horizons.

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Sky High - Alex Barck

The release opens with 'We Get High', an disco track that packs in some soft electronic rhythms, bouncy reverb-laden drums, subtle keys and some lovely strings. The soulful vocals tell a tale of contentment and an emotional high - the beat dropping as the vocalist claims "It's enough... To be with you...". I'm not sure what Barck was taking whilst on the Le Reunion Indian Ocean island from which the forthcoming album takes its name but he really seems to have come back rather loved up.

The second original track, 'Skydancing', is a little more playful and upbeat but similarly obsessed with the sky and feeling high. It's excitable and energetic in comparison to the relaxed satisfaction of 'We Get High'. A rude shuffling bass and calypso rhythms give the track a holiday vibe that is hard to resist but doesn't quite pack the emotionally charged punch of much of the rest of Barck's work that we have heard this year.

Finally the EP is rounded out with a remix of 'We Get High' by Kalabrese, who applies his trademark free-form disco funk style. It's thick with atmosphere like it's been left out on the windowsill and started to melt. Heavy and dazed from the sun it has lost much of the peaceful feel of the original to become a dubby tightrope walk - gentle looped keys and a strummed bass line providing considerable tension.

Yet more here to be excited about now that Alex Barck's Reunion album nears...

Sky High is out on 10 June through Reunion, available to order through Amazon.co.uk on vinyl now [affiliate link]. 

EP Review: From The Moment EP - Miguel Puente

Mexican producer Miguel Puente's new EP From The Moment drops on Miguel Campbell and Matt Hughes' Outcross Records this week and it's a slinky release featuring some stark electronic disco that builds nicely on last year's What You Do.

The EP opens with 'Only You', a funky electronic groove with layered vocal samples. It's a fairly muted start compared to what follows, particularly 'Keep On', which represents some serious low-end trouble, a lairy bass line and garage-y female vocals playing up a grimey basement feel and complementing the synth work.

The EP's title track is a little tighter than anything that precedes it, a straight four-four drum pattern providing the backing for some more soulful female vocals whilst Puente mixes in a series of effects, giving the track a rave-y sci-fi sound. Final track 'Be No Good' is Puente at his most rounded - deep bass and looped dubby vocals samples creating a darker, more emotional track. It shines thanks to its clattering drum patterns and the use of a strong vocal hook.

​From The Moment is released tomorrow through Outcross Records - preview via Soundcloud below:

Miguel Campbell & Matt Hughes, Outcross Records, returns with Miguel Puente's 'From The Moment' this June, comprising four original cuts from the Mexican producer. Miguel Puente, over the past few years, has been steadily building a highly praised reputation for his dropped tempo workouts, many of which have found their way onto reputable imprints such as No.19 Music, OFF, Diynamic and Hot Waves, a striking indication of the sheer quality and current appeal in his work.

EP Review: Tension / Margine Call - Fantastic Man

I'm still in a loved-up disco buzz and this new release from Australian Mic Newman, here as Fantastic Man, is pushing my buttons. Off of the back of all of the Daft Punk excitement everything feels a little bit woozy so it's a bit fresh to hear something this tight and focused.

'Tension' is a clipped tech 'n' disco number, full of 80s gloss and moments of heart beats skipping. There's a viciousness in the unforgiving scratches that rub up against the yearning sample work and melodic keys, creating a track the is insistently passionate.

'Margine Call' makes a classic misstep in being utterly predictable: it's a fucking DJ tool / sound test record. One of those "classic" in-jokes that pretends the track will help you 'tune you equipment'. Well fuck that: we've all just wasted our time and Fantastic Man has wasted 50% of a slab of vinyl.

Drop the annoying vocal though and 'Margine Call' would be an off-kilter funk record made with layered samples and some massive rolling, fuzzy drum work. It's a decent track but the dressing kind of ruins it.

Tension / Margine Call is out on Monday through Fine Choice Records, check out ​the Soundcloud previews below:

Listen to A. Tension [FCR002] Snippet ( 10" Vinyl Only) by Fantastic Man | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.

Listen to B. Margin Call [FCR002] Snippet (10" Vinyl Only) by Fantastic Man | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.

EP Review: EP2 - Closer

Closer's catchily named EP2 follows on from (you guessed it) EP1 with a set of deep and atmospheric tech-house tracks. I'd not come across Closer prior to this release so haven't actually heard EP1 but this appears to be a pretty assured release for those that like their dance music swimming in melancholy, ambience and attitude.

Opening track What Have You Done To Us is relatively minimal - a soft, tubular-sounding bass line lending the track an early progressive-house feel while a dream-like male vocals come through that repeat the track's title. It's a moody, taught track but relatively tame in comparison to what comes...

The other original track, Change, is a significantly bigger track - the bass line drops shortly into the track and gives it a more upfront house sound. Crisp percussion and a snappy synth melody build whilst a soulful vocal protests at a lack of ability, or perhaps desire, to change. It feels like a protest dance record - one of those that plays up the difference and alienation of the dawn chasing nightclub crowd - but it's a pretty effective one. Change is catchy but understated, gritty and dark.

A dub of each track is included and gives the instrumentation a little more breathing space, but some additional mixes would have been welcome.

​EP2 is out now on CLSR on 20 May.

EP Review: Looking For Frost - My Favorite Robot

My Favorite Robot have managed to build up both a significant following for their musical output and a significant record label since starting in 2009. Back in the early days they shared office space with Jonny White and so it feels fitting that this new EP is coming it on White's No. 19 label, to be followed with an album on the label later in the year.

Looking For Frost is a slice of moody electro, full of spectral melodies and ambient pads. The track is glassy and withdrawn in its entrance, building to a stark electronic melody and a haunting vocal refrain, "sometimes I get the feeling something ain't right". Slow to build but with some heavy bass that kicks in halfway through, once the track gets going this bass propels it forward, creating a futuristic, alienated and robotic feeling atmosphere.

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​Looking For Frost - My Favorite Robot

Mixes come from the DFA's Juan Maclean and Mexico's Louie Fresco. Juan Maclean's been specialising in introducing humanity to robotic music for years and he does just that here - the looped vocal framed in glitchy sounds while Maclean tweaks a bass line that gives the track a more grounded feel. Trebly handclaps lend the track a hint of vintage whilst that distorted bass gives a heavy, funky feel that builds on the original effectively.

Louie Fresco has provided two mixes, a straight-up remix and a digital exclusive dub. The remix is short on vocals, has a slow build with a series of 80s effects, additional live percussion and some acid that gives the track a more intense edge. The dub removes even more of the vocal and puts the groove front and centre. Both are good but the Juan Maclean mix remains my pick.

Looking For Frost is out on No. 19 Music on 20 May.