BROTHER NEBULA 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Brother Nebula is the alias of veteran Calfornian producer Lance Desardi, who some may remember presented a great EP on Nick Hoppner's Touch From A Distance back in 2019. He returns to London's Legwork label with a selection of high-def sonic workouts on Brother Says Relax. On side A, there's the elevating acid house of the title track taking its cues from the timeless Trax Records era, followed by some handy beat and acapella versions. Over on the flip, the woozy and saucer-eyed 'The Burden Of Proof' is followed by the druggy, chugging tunnel vision of 'SIS' (feat Solar - Bro Nebs In dub).

Review: More high grade material from Brother Nebula, a mysterious artist whose previous releases on Legwork brilliantly joined the dots between spacey electro and raw, rave-fired material. This EP feels a little more thoughtful and considered, with glassy-eyed ambient opener "Double Helix" being followed by a deliciously warm and melodious chunk of soundscape electro bliss. This evocative, melody-driven feel extends into B-side opener "Sky Walking", where bubbly acid lines, punchy vocoder vocals and cascading synthesizer melodies cluster around a bustling, breakbeat-driven electro groove. As if to prove he still likes it rough and raw, closing cut "Going Clear" is a bustling, sub-heavy workout that recalls the bleep-era electro tracks of overlooked British producers Ubik and Sinewave.

Review: The Legwork crew is keeping tight-lipped about the identity of the "mystery artist" behind the Brother Nebula project, and the accompanying info sheet simply describes the record as being a collision of "rave" and "space-time". It's a fairly apt description, with bass-heavy opener "Parting Infinity" brilliantly joining the dots between late '80s UK grooves and the shimmering, intergalactic electronics of electro. Meanwhile on the B-side, the unknown Brother wraps dreamy pads and wonky electronic motifs around a thrusting early tech-house groove on "It Hurts To Ask", before doffing a cap to the retro-futurist dreaminess of Ex-Terrestrial on title track "A Brief History of Lasers".

Review: Despite boasting a DJ career that stretches back to the San Francisco rave moment of the early '90s, Solar Langevin has very little previous production pedigree. In fact, this 12" marks his debut single with the mysterious Brother Nebula, following occasional contributions to multi-artist EPs. "S.I.S" is the kind of pulsating, strobe-friendly cut that we can imagine goes down a storm in San Francisco's more muscular clubs. While its chords and occasional melodies tend towards the dreamy, it's the bubbling, mind-altering acid lines and bustling electro-techno groove that catch the ear. Brother Nebula takes a different approach on his looser and mellower, breakbeat-driven remix, while Saville Jetset re-imagines "S.I.S" as a deep electro shuffler lazily drifting through deep space.