Bristol based 'Arkist' has always been a versatile producer and as a result has an impressive rage of releases under his belt, with revered imprints such as Hotflush and Hypercolour. Recently he has been experimenting further in the studio and is ready to present his first 12inch in few years, under a brand new alias - Astrocat.
In this debut, self-titled EP it is instantly apparent that vocoder-infused funk and disco of the highest order can be expected from this new Astrocat guise. The EP is full of vintage talk box vocals, warm spacey chords and infectious basslines that bring classic records from the likes of Zapp and The Rah Band into mind.
With 5 tracks this EP has a lot to offer. Wether it be the raw, funked up james of the opener 'Small Talk' and title track 'Astrocat' or the more chilled, woozy grooves of 'Nightflare'. With features from Mr Woodnote and a dub remix from Appleblim this EP's roots sit firmly in the South West. Local legend DJ Die even lent his vocoder to the studio for some of the recordings.
Bristol based ‘Ment’ steps up again for Honey Glazed Records with two cuts of melodic house that are packed with life and soul. A side - ‘A Kind Of Us’ sets off its warm grooves with shimmering synths and a looping melodic vocal sample. The track builds, wiggles and morphs until an infectious trumpet hook breaks out. Ments’ ability to carve out warm and heart-felt melodies is clear on both of his tracks on this record. The B Side - ‘My Days’ – sees him use a wider array of instruments to provide a more jazz influenced track. Amongst the dipping and diving bass and masterful tinkering on the keys, he still retains the dance floor in mind. The result is a very intelligent piece of music that will still get the floor moving.
On the other side of this 12inch comes three quite contrasting remixes of ‘A Kind Of Us’. The emerging talent ‘Ross From Friends’ brings his trademark lo-fi melodic touch. He creates his own unique hook, with synths from the original only used as a backdrop. Troy Gunner – fresh from an exciting release on Monki’s Zoo Music, wastes no time putting his stamp on the original. The track opens with a beefy, hypnotic bass loop. Troy’s trademark driving and menacing drums soon come swirling in. He then manages to twist the originals summery, warm synths into a dark and eerie break down before ramping up the hypnotic drums and bass again. Ramu returns to Honey Glazed with a funky 303 jam over cut up synths from the original.
The result is a versatile EP that caters for lots of different moods and styles, all packaged inside a sleeve designed by talented Bristol artist and frequent Honey Glazed collaborator - Rosie Carmichael.