Illusory house and techno from New York native Image Man, following up a release on crucial newcomer label Sunal/Perabob with another four-track 12” of windy, paradoxical tracks built from samples and drum machine.
“Glance” shifts further into a weirded out but druggily decadent realm where he’s found looping the reflections of disco, soul and ancient pop samples into his own spaced and primitive euphorias, starting out with the slowmo downbeat of “More” before the more apprehensive rhythms of “Else” end up filtering out into a pool of a reverberant samples that echoes out the second half.
From the Image Man himself: “We trust in the sound we take for granted—the music wouldn't lead us astray, would it? Emotions can lead us astray, the wanting to feel, the wishing of forever lasting, the pleading for change, the expectation of ecstasy. Just a quick glance in the mirror.”
Four new loose and beautiful metropolitan house grooves from prolific NYC producer J Albert aka Jio Albert whose Mantra (as always) is to keep it simple, and of course, keep it “Strictly J”!
In addition to the grime beats he’s been releasing on Soundcloud under the DJ Osom alias, Jio has also explored other genres with a recent Black Opal release and a 12” on his own Exotic Dance Records imprint. “Strictly J” ,though is his scruffy take classic house on zones more into the Hot Music-Soho vibes. Characterized by busy percussion, off-kilter downtown beats, stops and starts, scattered breaks, and weirdly breezy melodies, these tracks are roomy def down for the summer.
Interestingly enough, I was subletting Jio’s room last Summer in Ridgewood, Queens and was sitting next to him as he made some of these tracks while I worked my tech support job. He was listening to a lot of Buddy Rich, Bill Evans, and Jeremy Steig at the time."
Lighthearted and aqua-marine house grooves from Canadian producer Jayda G with a fun 12” comprised of two originals and two reworkings of the track “Girl Music” from Montreal duo Cafe Lanai.
Created during the spring/summertime of 2016, Sixth Spirit is infused with a sense of warmth and carefreeness based on current experiences, looped back into nostalgias of her first field season as a young scientist in Ontario.
The Canadian forests breathe through these songs. The movement and groove emulate the sense of curiosity and learning that she experienced during that earlier time. “That field season was an adventure I’ll never forget.”
Comforting warm blanket of an IDM 12” from NYC producer Luis aka Brian Pineyro, with four new tunes about distance and separation that take shape as street-lit electro drifters and ruminative breaks.
Inspired by displaced persons and missing people to different degrees and building on his work as DJ Xanax, DJ Python and DJ Wey, Luis drifts deeper into the emotional side of headphone electronica hinterlands with moods evenly split between warmth and isolation, submerged alongside deep bass and unfading melodies.
Heady, head in the burbs techno culminations from Newcastle, Australia and producer Jordon Alexander who dips back into an insanely prolific production spell earlier this year (and follows up an EP on Collect Call) with four new tracks.
Mall Grab’s ethereality is shadowy, mixed with familiar night drive sensations and drugged out Strictly Rhythm vibes; mildly celestial “hella stoned” introspections that pay homage to old Three 6 Mafia mixtapes as much as more recent astral experiences in house and techno.
Starting off with the faded menace of vocal track “Awake”, which builds in steps into heavy, lo-fi 4/4 120 techno, the EP moves into hazy, sweaty and pumping zones on “Elegy” and then to the b-side with the sunnier/just-woke-up feelings of “Never”, before blurring into the melodic drift of slow burner “Drive”, nostalgia-coated, hybridized and heavy all the way.
Impulsive and intuitive hardware house & techno from Vancouver duo minimalviolence aka Ashlee Luk & Lida P. The five tracks on 'Night Gym' soundtrack urban landscapes; textured synths, heavy kicks, and dense polyrhythms come together to form the duo's own brand of outsider house.
Citing influence from both minimal synth and Chicago house, Night Gym arrives hot off the heels of the duo's self titled ep on Dublin based First Second Label which closely examined the intersections that lay between punk and techno.
Recorded in February/March 2016 in the duo's home studio, the instinctual nature of live work flow plays an important role in the duo's creative process. Utilizing hardware (SH-101, TR-606/505/707, Waldorf Blofeld, Juno-60, DX-21, MPC1000) in addition to sourced samples with final compositions compiled and manipulated in Ableton, Night Gym is an example of the duo's diverse interests and collaborative nature.
The duo recruited visual support from Chicago based graphic designer Kevin McCaughey of NONPOROUS for the distinct imagery of Night Gym. As well he designed the poster that comes in the 12" and screen printed a limited run of long sleeve t-shirts available through Boot Boys Biz.
Middleburough lads Aaron Turner and Tom Brown make their return to 1080p as Perfume Advert, following up what I must say was one of the breakthrough early cassette releases of the label (“Tulpa”, from back in 2013) with a vivid and kinetic wash of tech-house and and deeply-layered house—extremely heavy night-drive vibes and more abstracted mesmeric feelings lit with pulsating textures and their distinctly murky cosmics.
Grab-bag 12” EP of electro, IDM, breaks and house from Montreal via Ottawa producer Riohv (aka Braden Thompson), which follows up the similarly map-jumping 1080-released “Moondance” cassette from back in 2014.
Finding more confidence and proficiency in his own abilities as a producer, Thompson was able to have a lot more fun and subsequently revise and update his sound to reflect his own tastes in records. The EP was made in one burst in Montreal over the winter and spring.
On “Green Room, it comes down to creating what he wants to hear—atmosphere through dreamy or moody pads, layered percussive elements, to pay tribute to the euphoria of early rave music.
Soft bangers and beatless movements from Brooklyn based producer UMFANG, following up last years 1080p released cassette “Ok” with the five track “Riffs” 12”.
This vinyl debut finds her tripping on ambient and rediscovering the Microkorg that she tried to sell but started experimenting with again. These five vivid tracks are a logical progression from the previous polyrhythmic techno—footwork thoughts, avoiding 4/4 and textured with imagery, simple melodies and landscape invoking sensations.
UMFANG is Emma Olson, prolific DJ, co-founder of Discwoman and programmes Technofeminism, a monthly residency at Bossa Nova Civic Club focusing on emerging local talent and an affection for vinyl.
