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Review: Various Artists Eglo Records Vol. 1
Label: Eglo

Alexander Nut's and Sam Shepard's Eglo label is an enterprise that truly deserves to showcase itself on a compilation like Eglo Records Vol. 1—a collection which encourages listeners to feel the breadth and cohesion of the label's aesthetic and discover the common thread which connects each affiliated artist. Across two discs, the musicians working with Eglo's unique blend of organically ripe funk and machine-built dayglo shine, and common pool of influences—boogie, house, jazz, soul, and J Dilla-school hip-hop—are explored and organized in a way which gives a well-rounded impression of one of the most reliable labels to emerge in the last few years. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/09/2013

Review: Vedomir Marcel Dettmann Remixes
Label: Dekmantel

There was a time when the suggestion of Marcel Dettmann remixing Mikhaylo Vityk (better known as Vakula, or Vedomir) sounded about as a odd as, say, Surgeon remixing Theo Parrish, but here we are. As much as the ultra-prolific Ukrainian producer has made his name on disjointed, soul-sampling house, he has lately been making moderate strides into the straightforward techno arena. There's hardly a better label to marry him with the Berghain mainstay than Amsterdam's Dekmantel, which has an established reputation for diverse offerings. The two tracks on the outpost's latest 12" appeared in their original forms on Vedomir's self-titled album from last year, and are subjected to Dettmann's reliably deft touch this time around. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/09/2013

Review: Graze Graze EP

Pick
Label: New Kanada

Over the past few years, both Adam Marshall and XI have certainly shown themselves to be talented producers in their own right, but the pair's first EP together as Graze—a project which was profiled in our Bubblin' Up series earlier this week—quite effortlessly contends that the producers may actually have the most potential when working together. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/08/2013

Review: Dean Blunt The Redeemer
Label: Hippos In Tanks

The duo formerly known as Hype Williams has long been dominated by a theatrical streak. Focusing on their respective solo work, Inga Copeland's efforts have been fairly straightforward, while theatricality remains Dean Blunt's focus. The Redeemer, his latest LP, builds on last year's The Narcissist II, at least in terms of its emphasis on relationships (particularly abusive ones), its elliptical sense of narrative, and the psychedelic balladry of the music itself. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/08/2013

Review: Various Artists Tectonic Plates Volume 4
Label: Tectonic

With a label as central to the last decade of dubstep as Tectonic, there's a temptation to frame its releases in terms of the genre's chronology and merely view each new offering as something that's looking ahead, glancing behind, or creating a parallel present. It's the latter possibility which makes the fourth volume of the Tectonic Plates series such an exciting proposition. While the Bristol record hub has always delivered the goods, it does so with less hype and crossover potential at stake than many of its more fashionable counterparts. The imprint's relatively low profile could perhaps be traced back to label boss Pinch and his ear for dense, overcast, techno-inflected sounds that hold true to dubstep's darker, moodier roots. That said, there's something a little more complicated at work on the label's new compilation, Tectonic Plates Volume 4, which breaks up the imprint's inherent darkness with a few rays of sunshine—namely, by putting an extra focus on artists who have loosely redirected what it means to be a part of its esteemed roster. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/07/2013

Review: Clouds Man Out of Dubs EP
Label: Fifth Wall

Fledgling Brooklyn imprint Fifth Wall's third release sees the record hub branching out beyond the work of label bosses Divvorce and Hound Scales for the first time, adding Scottish production duo Clouds to its roster with the Man Out of Dubs EP. It seems a logical fit: Clouds is one of the so-called "New Jack Techno" artists affiliated with Tiga's Turbo label, and deals with a dark and oddly playful type of club music that has a lot in common with both of the Fifth Wall owners' output. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/07/2013

Review: Kyle Hall The Boat Party
Label: Wild Oats

First emerging as an unfeasibly brilliant teenager born in Detroit and raised on its techno, Kyle Hall became revered for his seemingly innate grasp of the moods and fluctuations of his hometown's music. Since 2010, however, the DJ/producer's release schedule has almost come to a halt—aside from a recent 5" that dropped on Record Store Day 2013, The Boat Party is Hall's first solo release in two years. That said, his recent low-key production presence testifies to an intense devotion to the sound he loves; when he's not DJing, working as Funkinevil with London's Funkineven, or collaborating with fellow Motor City native Kero, Hall spends time running his Wild Oats label at breakneck speed. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/06/2013

Review: Name in Lights "Naughty"
Label: Free Association

By all accounts, the past two years have been a relatively good time for vinyl collectors. Both brick-and-mortar and online retailers are flush with the fruits of a number of new labels which specialize in short-run, white-label 12"s. One of the latest entrants to this arena is Free Association, a shadowy Brooklyn-based imprint putting its first foot forward with "Naughty," a track from Swedish disco-house trio Name in Lights. Between the original version and remixes from Axel Boman and Cameo Culture, the record offers DJs something functional, but nothing too far out of the ordinary. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/06/2013

Review: Mathew Jonson "Automaton" b/w "In the Stars"
Label: Crosstown Rebels

Although he might not receive the accolades of, say, Ricardo Villalobos, Berlin-based Canadian Mathew Jonson has honed a labyrinthine corner of techno all his own. There are few producers whom one could imagine delivering tracks upwards of 30 minutes, but Jonson is absolutely one of them; while initially based on linear rhythms, his snakelike arrangements seem to constantly flex and twist into new shapes. Neither track on "Automaton" b/w "In the Stars" is anywhere near that long, but both bear these hallmarks, sounding like they could go on indefinitely. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/03/2013
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