01: MATTHEW HERBERT
‘MILAN’
(from ONE ONE, ACCIDENTAL LP)
The introspective delicacy of Matthew Herbert’s One One – an album entirely sung and performed by a producer historically more comfortable recording and manipulating the sound of the world around him – at times masks a lack of compositional substance. Not so on the gorgeous ‘Milan’, which comes over like prime Robert Wyatt or a less ham-fisted, less self-consciously geeky Hot Chip; plaintive keyboards, starlit chimes and toybox percussion framing a vocal lead at once heartbreaking and reassuring.
02: GIRL UNIT
‘I.R.L.’
(NIGHT SLUGS DIGITAL)
“More so than the rest of the Night Slugs records to date, ‘I.R.L’ really reflects where the label’s vision of club music is at right now with its big Godzilla chords, scatter-shot drum work and nods to Chicago on the 808s.” – full review
03: JJ
‘YOU KNOW’
(from JJ n°3, SECRETLY CANADIAN LP)
“Nostalgia is, obviously, all over this record – as well as the previously mentioned examples, there’s the Swedish football commentary in ‘Into the Light’, the coral whistles of ‘Light’, the excited, first love opening of ‘You Know’ (“I don’t know why / I think I’m falling for you / I just found out / I don’t know what to do”) – but rarely do artists pull it off as naturally, and with as much composure in their end of the night (or end of the summer) sadness as jj.” – jj n°3 review
04: SKUDGE
‘CONVOLUTION’
(SKUDGE RECORDS)
Swedish producers Skudge are hardly reinventing the wheel here, but they certainly give it a spin in the right direction, repurposing shuddering dub-chords, ghosted diva vocals and rugged, 2 Bad Mice-esque snare sounds in the service of lean, chicaning techno perfection.
05: JAH WARRIOR
‘DUB FROM THE HEART’
(DUG OUT 7″)
Dubstep from the days before dubstep, ‘Dub From The Heart’ first came out in 1996 and would doubtless have wallowed in obscurity were it not for this timely 7″ pressing from Dug Out, the reggae reissue imprint run by Rhythm & Sound’s Mark Ernestus and Honest Jon’s Mark Ainley. Its bulbous, jungle-influenced subs and woody, spaced-out percussion anticipate the future-rootical productions of recent RSD, but even without its clairvoyant quality ‘Dub From The Heart’ would still rule.
06: HOT CHIP
‘IF I FEEL BETTER’
(EMI SINGLE)
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“The chorus is at times oppressively busy by Hot Chip standards: it’s a swell of emotion which comes gushing out all at once, after the passivity of the verses. But the message of the chorus is far from panicked, the sentiment being that the moment, the present, is perfect, and irreplaceable; what pop should be.” – full review
07: RAMADANMAN
‘DON’T CHANGE FOR ME’
(from RAMADANMAN EP, HESSLE AUDIO 2×12″)
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“At times, [Ramadanman] gives virtuoso renderings of established styles as on ‘I Beg You’’s perfectly placed skips and rolls of hyper-modern 2-step or the spacious Jungle of ‘Don’t Change For Me’, a sound like sunrise streaming into a room in the height of summer.” – full EP review
08: PURSUIT GROOVES
‘PRESSURE’
(from FOX TROT MANNERISMS, TECTONIC LP)
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Vanese Smith switches from tough talk to sweet coos on this gently swinging track, which has been kicking around for over a year but now sees release on her superb Fox Trot Mannerisms, the American’s first album on Bristol’s Tectonic label. – full review
09: SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER
‘JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE UNKNOWN SPHERE’
(ROYAL OAK 12″)
“‘Journey To The Centre…’ sounds like music for cruising around the cloud city in The Empire Strikes Back: propulsive yet airy, with swathes of cosmic synths underpinned by a chassis of interlocking squelches and 808 beats. SDC’s great skill is his ability to cram his tracks with detail while still leaving acres of space. That and picking the perfect moment to drop a panther-on-the-prowl bassline that should rock any discerning dancefloor. The Kyle Hall remix is pretty smart as well.” – full EP review
10: ONI AYHUN
‘OAR-004 B’
(OAR 12″)
“This track takes its sweet time to develop, its decaying chimes sounding like Ayhun has co-opted one of Aphex’s lucid dreams from Selected Ambient Works II. It’s the track most similar to his bizarre live set, essentially a collection of repeated, tweaked sound effects. Humongous mosquitoes buzz by, aged, mechanical joints squeal in forced movement, until a steady beat and sub-aquabassline finally begin to emerge almost five minutes in. If you like your techno downright confounding but still danceable, this is for you.” – full review
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