The Unearthed Sounds crew members have compiled their weekly picks containing collectively, in no particular order, our favourite tracks/releases of the week.
Here are the selections individually from the crew:
Next up for Time Is Now's white label series is Prozak - a Dublin-based producer who has garnered a growing following over the past year. Prozak, aka Zac Curtis, follows up an EP of remixes for Kiwi Rekords with Make Me Feel. The EP is 100% club gear dabbling in classic rave sounds and jungle before masterfully returning to his garage roots.
The title track "Make Me Feel" is equal parts euphoric rave vocalisations and growling bassy ruffage, with stuttering stop-and-start breaks thrown in for good measure that tear through the track - an instant classic that knocks you breathless.
"Missing You" builds from a gentle ebb into wobbling bass-heavy garage, Curtis chopping and changing the vocal samples into unrecognisable snatches with expert production. He then dishes up a glitching speed garage tool with "Negative", still seasoned with a ravey edge that makes the record as a whole feel festival ready.
On the B-side, "Sunshine" is sweet buoyant UKG constructed from neatly cut up vocals that clamour against each other and a skipping irresistible rhythm.
Equally upbeat, "Falling" stands out as the most playful track, with mass appeal and large drops that shakes off some of the dark bassiness of the A-side.
The record closes with "Leave You", contrasting frenetic junglist breaks with blissed out vocals.
It's a dynamic offering from the up-and-comer that shows signs of great things to come.
Cheeky Sneakers celebrates its grand opening in style as Denham Audio bring in a few friends for a masterclass in breakbeat-rooted club music.
Opening track Single Minded, featuring the prolific Coco Bryce is a playful take on classic house tropes with a dark, ravey twist while the raw, stripped-out roller So Good, produced with fellow Club Glow affiliate Mani Festo nods back to the original jungle sound.
On the flip, another Club Glow affiliate enters the fray as LMajor assists on the cascading warehouse firecracker Down On Me while rising Japanese producer Kazuho joins to help close proceedings on the hyperactive Love Addiction.
Jim Coles once again turns the tide towards a new horizon and travels further into the echo chamber. Leading on from the much-lauded ‘Secret Location’ mini-album with Seekersinternational, one-offs such as ‘Open Palms dub’ (Dub Stuy) and other teasings, ‘Acid Dub Studies’ is the fully-fledged result of the merging of the calligraphic expression of the 303 Acid bassline with the stern sway of Dub Reggae and the hazier edges of Dub Techno and Ambient music.
For those who have been paying close attention, this project will come as a welcome return to the vulnerability and playfulness of early Om Unit records such as his sub-radar single from 2010 ‘Lightgrids/Lavender’ (All City Records) or the unearthed chugging ambience of ‘Friend of Day’ (Idle Hands) and indeed in some sense draws from similar wellsprings as moments on 2013’s Bass classic ‘Threads’.
Whilst sbeing perhaps an ‘interim project’ this is still a vital and important expression of exploration and playfulness. A study in the true sense and borne out of a subtle but pervasive frustration with the rigidity found in musical words he has up to now been cohabiting, Acid Dub Studies comes from the pressing need to break with perceived expectation and to explore an honest and natural space away from the genre labels and tags that had been often lazily applied to his sizeable catalogue of music.
With no desire to reinvent the wheel, rather to paint pictures in an honest framework, the LP was crafted using a medley of classic analogue mixing techniques inspired as much by the adventurous dubbing of Adrian Sherwood as by the inward- delving haze of Scott Monteith’s Deadbeat project. Created during a period of lonely introspective walks through his home town of Bristol, the cover art is a photograph of some of the iron kerbstones that are found almost exclusively in the characterful and hardy city which were installed in the late 1800’s to protect pavements from cart wheels. Something about the permanence of those iron slabs and cobblestones inspired a sense of comfort and determination.
Acid Dub Studies is due for release as yet another self-released label-free project leading on from recent EP titles ‘Violet’ and ‘Submerged’ both of which hinted at some of the shapes found in this full length album.
Once again Jim has shown a rare convincing adaptability that few electronic artists can embody. Another step on the journey of personal and creative curiosity that fans are sure to appreciate.
Multi-faceted artist Calibre today shares his sixteenth studio album "Feeling Normal". The album is out now to pre-order on Vinyl, CD and on digital platforms via his own independent imprint Signature Recordings.
The record is his first bonafide 140bpm record and a staggering body of work that shows the genius levels of one of electronic music's most respected auteurs. Across the 13 tracks, he transcends through space and time, creating music that will take the listener on a weighty sonic journey. The album announcement is accompanied by two dub versions "Bad" and "Badder" deconstructed from the track "Badman" with DRS from Mark Ernestus available via his Hardwax store January 29th and Bandcamp February 12th. "Getting to work with Mark Ernestus is a real honour, I collected Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound and his other work for many years and still do. It's hard to avoid the influence of this guy in electronic music across genres and so it is a real pleasure to have him do his thing with the Badman tune which I think sounds closely related."
All of the tracks on the record have been road-tested in Calibre's DJ sets over the last 2/3 years with many of them being sought-out by his hardcore fans. It was only a matter of time then that he put them out for all to consume. With a nod to the dancefloor, the clear idea for the album came about following the release of his most personal album to date "Planet Hearth". "It still works in the headspace but ultimately it's been written for the sweaty club experience we miss now, also after an album like Planet Hearth it felt very liberating to do," he remarks. When writing albums, he often just puts it down to the general chaos of life, not citing any one influence but generally just waits to see what comes. With one of the tracks on the album written 7 years ago on the island of Valentia, It became a project that he spent the intervening years collecting tracks for, not really knowing when he was going to put it together as an album. "The whole album is special to me, everything on there has import and meaning beyond for me, I have spent much time on all these and hope they are special for other people too."
Belfast-born, Berlin-based Calibre - AKA Dominick Martin - shows no sign of slowing down. As a producer, DJ, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter, he is one of the most unique and inspiring living artists. With a career spanning two decades, his ability to remain underground whilst being one of the most-respected is testament to who this enigmatic artist is. To this day, he has never been remixed and has a seriously impressive amount of unreleased music under wraps. With everything on hold and gigs on the backburner, this record is exactly what the world needs right now.
a1. Calibre - Barren
a2. Calibre - Change With Me
b1. Calibre & Cimone - Time To Breathe
c1. Calibre - Has To Happen
c2. Calibre - Feeling Normal
d1. Calibre & DRS - Badman
e1. Calibre - Good Times
f1. Calibre & DRS - Say Enough
g1. Calibre - Miami
g2. Calibre - Predicatable
h1. Calibre - Man Got Sandwich
h2. Calibre - Wrong
J Hus - Big Conspiracy [2 x LP, 1 Black & 1 White]
Regular price
£25.00
Sale price
£19.99 (£23.99 Inc VAT)
Available: 26th February 2021
a1. Big Conspiracy a2. Helicopter a3. Fight for Your Right b1. Triumph b2. Play Play b3. Cucumber b4. Repeat c1. Fortune Teller c2. Reckless c3. No Denying c4. Must Be d1. One and Only d2. Love, Peace and Prosperity d3. Deeper Than Rap
Various Artists - DJ Kicks: Special Request [2 x LP]
Special Request continues his impeccable run of form with a typically fervent entry into the DJ-Kicks mix series. His adventurous 25 track mix takes in personal favourites, new school classics and of course a selection of his own brand new and exclusive edits, dubs and reworks next to some overlooked gems.
Leeds based Paul Woolford dares to go where few others do. He can do face-melting underground bangers, peak time piano anthems, ambient cinematics or chart climbing crossover hits. What unites his work as Special Request across labels like Houndstooth and R&S, though, is precision engineering, but never at the expense of real, raw emotion and visceral impact. He is an artist who very much pours his heart into everything he does, and has been on such a prolific run in recent years that it has been impossible to keep abreast of all his many projects. Even in this mix, he hints at yet more new sides and sounds.
As always with Special Request, this is an emotional, full spirited ride through the musical mind of one of the most accomplished artists of the day.
*Audio To Follow*
A1. Alicia Myers - Right Here Right Now (John Morales M+M Remix) A2. Harvey Sutherland - Priestess B1. LS1 Housing Authority - Ultraviolet ** B2. Virgo - R U Hot Enough? B3. Speedy J - De-Orbit C1. Symbols & Instruments - Mood (Tropical Dream Revisited) C2. Psyance - Gates Of Heaven C3. µ-Ziq - Twangle Frent (Special Request Rework) D1. FC Kahuna - Hayling (Special Request Mix) ** D2. Special Request - Elysian Fields ** ** = exclusive
Love Potion EP is the first release from Slump Recordings. Coming in from label founder Baby Rollén. Spanning through energetic acid-house to balearic breaks and 2-step rhythms. Bringing a fusion of nostalgic club sounds with a forward lean.
