XK025 sees a fresh label debut in the form of Cloudsteppers - a collaboration between Toronto based artists Ciel and Dan Only. Born out of an impromptu jam session at Dan Only's NDG 208 Studio in late 2019, the pair quickly hit it off. Ciel brought her trusty Korg ESX-1 sampler, and alongside Dan Only's arsenal of vintage synths and samplers, they quickly wrote the first two cuts of what would eventually turn into the first Cloudsteppers EP. After getting great feedback from playing them on tour and sharing with friends, the pair wrote the last two cuts when lockdown restrictions loosened during the summer of 2020.
Both artists are instinctively melodically-inclined producers, so for this release they tried to focus more of their attention on the drums and fx, while limiting the amount of melodic parts in each track. Working within those parameters resulted in what is now their debut EP.
Title track, “The Limit”, is a huge undulating cut of 160bpm energy - it shimmies effortlessly between skittish jungle, breakbeat and techno rhythms, centred around a tripped out sample of Manchester’s finest physicist, Brian Cox. “Slinky Bork” brings a distinctly UK Tech House flavour reminiscent of Housey Doingz, Get Fucked and others of the Wiggle/Euka House era - underpinned by a solid 4x4, subtle rhythms and spacey atmospherics abound.
On the flip, “Diva Loops”goes in hard with a pounding kick, warbling bass and some massive clattering drums before breaking out into a playful melodic refrain. Closing things out, “Trigger Happy” is another functional 4x4 club cut full of skippy tech styles and punchy rhythms. A dreamy melody floats along into a tension building crescendo, complete with massive reese-ish bassline. Big!
From the jagged electro tinged 'Seattle City Light', through the drifting hazy levels of 'Blacked' and 'Pisces' to the kicked back paradise of 'Untitled Monday', Rudolf serves up a masterclass in blissed out backyard house. Undulating Juno soundscapes and warbling 303s merge seamlessly with roughed up rhythms punched through the MPC.
This one's for the heads on the dusty trail, the midnight drive, and the pacific swells. Those in the back seat with the window down and the feet up...
Hot off the back of his debut LP for Delroy Edwards' LA Club Resource as alter-ego Innyster, Seixlack serves up an EP of trademark, super raw, machine funk. Spanning the full gambit of dredged up acid, synth stacked daydreams and straight up 4x4, the breadth of this EP showcases a real talent.
'Taxes' opens the A side with some real Black Flag acid shit, it’s the crushed up remains scraped off the back of an overused MC505, super gnarled. Amolado is all cosmic melody, disco swag and a healthy nod to Fly-Lo with that kicked back groove - so good! Wintergreen recovers hi-hats and cymbals out of the mucked up remains of your dustbin before dropping into an infectious live synth jam, whilst closing things off, Sofazone is an emotive, lush, electro tinged cut with chattering robotic synths and mesmerising pads... This one takes you away.
Produced on an array of hardware in Slim Steve’s bedroom in Rome, this is a refreshingly honest EP and takes X-Kalay into somewhat nostalgic territory. 90’s ballads meet sampled Italo percussion, skittish pitched up vocals pierce dangerous basslines and lung busting breakdowns give way to searching lasers in smoke filled rooms. English born Italian Steve Langrish accomplishes all this with a level of effortlessness that belies his astonishingly young years.
