EP Review: Minos EP - Remote

The Minos EP came out this week on the Meant label and comes from French duo Remote, who are Eric Guillanton and Seb Fouble. This release quickly won my attention with its deep techno influenced sound that crunches together tight drum beats, dirty digital bass lines and a ravey atmosphere.

Remote have been active for more than a decade and have had releases on Kill the DJ, Zone and Foundation alongside Meant and it's clear their music would sit in the heartland of those labels. This is lovingly crafted analogue dance music.

Where "Minos" has the incessant sweatbox atmosphere described above, a distinctive Weatherall vibe, the remix from My Favorite Robot regular Fairmont is slower and more dense. It's an unsettling twisted and cinematic trip through ambient landscapes.

"Easy" is similarly analogue but less Weatherall, more Rework. It's a cyclical beast with hard edges and lots and lots of reverb, less upfront than the EP's title track but all the cooler for it. Headman provides the remix of this second track, turning it into a swirling acid  track with Headman's trademark rock-song type feel. There are arpeggiated synths and melodies that slide beneath themselves, a taught bass guitar riff tying it all together.

All in all a smart, focused and tightly executed release.

Minos is out now on Meant. Available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].  Listen to "Minos" through Soundcloud below:

Remote - Minos ep on Meant

EP Review: Werewolf EP - Rework

​Five years have passed since Rework's last release but this new EP for Parisian label Meant sees them pick up more or less where they left off. They are probably best remembered for their releases through Playhouse that straddled the divide between electro-cool and techno exemplified on 2007's 'Love Love Love Yeah'.

Rework's return is slinky and effortlessly cool. Like a high class sordid Euro techno road trip on spring break, this is an EP with its sights set of the dark arts of seduction - warm, analogue bass and clipped drum patterns create an intensely close experience.

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Werewolf - Rework​

The EP's title track starts with a slow build that takes more than half the track's duration to reach a climatic acid crescendo and it is from here that the track proper begins. A mélange of Electroclash style unaffected vocals and a bassline with a swagger 'Werewolf' oozes cool. An impressive feat after five years off. Magda turns in a remix that may not quite have the same punch but creates a sharp edge with a throbbing bassline strumming away in the background and plenty of reverb. 

'Touch Yourself' retains the chic European vibe but whilst the looping vocals echo around your head it is the electro inspired bassline that proves irresistible, providing the foundation to a series of shuffling layers of beat foreplay. The Remain remix feels like a much loser, dub-influenced take - crisp hand clap and fuzzy chords provide a sharp contrast to that bassline. It's a druggy trip and the headstrong intensity marks it out as a highlight on this release.

The digital release also comes backed with bonus track 'That I Like'. In comparison to the two main tracks that make up the release it is a less glamorous and ultimately less exciting offering, a mishmash of vocal cuts and looped beats. That slight unnecessary misstep to one side The Werewolf is hard to resist.

The Werewolf EP is released on 10th September on 12" and MP3, both through Meant. You can pre-order the digital release on Amazon here [affiliate link].