LINKWOOD 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Firecracker's reputation has been based on pairing some classy deep house and disco productions with the kind of mouth watering art work that sends "hand to wallet" brainwaves coursing through your body. They kind of took it to an amusing extreme with the upfront edition of this Fudge Fingas heavy 10", which was clearly released to test the limits of feverish collectors. All manner of screen printed sleeves and inner sleeves and "authentic Ettore Sottsass 1982 printed fabric bag" clearly did the trick as all 46 copies now sit proudly in collections across the land. This being Firecracker, you could hardly call the full release of Untytled a "bog standard" edition with some rather pretty printed art sealed in a polythene bag. Music wise, two Fudge Fingas originals sandwich Linkwood getting the Fudge Fingas treatment with the effervescent, dusty business of the title track the clear winner for us!

Review: Linkwood clearly enjoyed the process of recording his 2021 album Mono, which was created in a week in the Athens of the North Studio in Edinburgh, as he's repeated the exercise on Stereo. It's an impressive sequel all told, with the long-serving producer delivering an even deeper, warmer and more evocative excursion informed by his love of analogue deep house, classic sci-fi techno, the 80s compositions of Jan Hammer, intergalactic electro, drum machine-driven synth-funk and star-gazing ambient music. It sounds like it was primarily made with vintage synthesisers and drum machines, which when combined with his impeccable sound design and judicious use of outboard effects results in an enveloping, immersive and highly atmospheric sound that rewards repeat listens. In other words, it's another fine album to get lost in.

Review: Linkwood can do no wrong if you ask us. Whatever music he puts out - be it his collabs with jazz great Greg Foat, his melodic deep house abstracts or this new electro tinged collection, it is gold. He recorded this one with some Moog and Oberheim gear in the Athens of the North studio and casts his net far and wide - there is crisp bit lo-fi, starry eyed electro like 'Shortwave' next to more 80s tinged pop-like nuggets "Rain & Shine' and cosmic explorations such as 'Date-Line'. It is the sound of a producer who can create at will, unbound by rules, but defined by excellence.

Review: Second time around for Linkwood's delicious debut album, "System", which re-appears on vinyl a decade after it first hit record stores. The set has aged really well, with the Edinburgh producer's forays into Kraftwerkian electro ("Robot Parade", "Pumpernickel"), vocal nu-boogie (the Reggie Watts-voiced "Tears") and kaleidoscopic electrofunk ("Falling") sounding particularly on-trend. Of course, there's plenty more to set the pulse racing elsewhere across the EP, from the bustling, Chicago deep house jack of "Electricity", to the rhythmic ambient bliss of loved-up closing cut "Nectarine". It is, then, an album that's not only stood the test of time, but also boasts some genuinely stunning, club-ready moments.

Review: Next up with his take on the electro sound is Firecracker Recordings co-head Linkwood, who looks to Motor City greats like Drexciya and Japanese Telecom on the aquatic future-funk of "Fresh Gildans" which is quite majestic in all its soulful and bass driven feel. On the flip are two deeper and more introspective cuts, with the immersive "Solar Panel" going for a hypnotic ambient house vibe, or the sublime deep techno journey "Another Late Night" taking its cues respectfully from Detroit like on the previous side. Another great EP by this stalwart of the Scottish scene, which the label best describe themselves as designed for the dancefloor, the sofa and all points in between.

Review: It's been three years since Linkwood wowed critics with the brilliant Expressions album on Firecracker Recordings. Here he returns with his first new material since, on a fresh label he founded to release "no frills 12-inches for DJs". Both tracks showcased here duly fit that remit. A-side "Mindmeld" is a fine chunk of unfussy deep house warmth, where metallic percussion and ebbing and flowing chords ride a rolling groove. "Nae Drama", on the other hand, is a fiendishly percussive affair - a stripped-back Afro-house workout that layers up drums and hand percussion, wild electronics and feverish tropical textures to ensure maximum dancefloor impact.

Review: For the first in a series of reinterpretations of material from Linkwood's superb Expressions album, Firecracker Recordings has turned to deep house veterans Ghosts of the Sky (AKA Chicagodeep and Taelue), and fast-rising machine abusers Nummer. The latter trot off on an aquatic techno tip, turning the becalmed and melancholic "Love Lost" into a techno-tempo stroll through vintage Carl Craig chords, sweaty machine percussion, and yearning melodies. There's a warmer and heavier, if surprisingly stripped back, feel to Ghosts of the Sky's version of "Object", with spluttering electronics and sumptuous chords stretching out over a rich synth bassline and hissing, cymbal-heavy groove.

Review: When commissioning remixes, the best labels think outside the box. That's exactly what Firecracker's Lindsay Todd did when seeking out producers to rework tracks from Linkwood's excellent Expressions album. On this second 12" in an ongoing series, that faith has paid dividends. Whereas the original version of "Ignorance Is Bliss" was a warm, woozy, sun-kissed deep house affair, Healing Force Project has reinvented it as a stargazing chunk of 21st century space jazz, complete with twinkling chords, low-slung double bass and reverb-laden drum solos. The Musephased interpretation of "Love Lost" by Area sticks closer to the ultra-deep, melancholic vibe of Linkwood's original, but adds a frisson of excitement via bubbling, Detroit-influenced electronics and hypnotic rhythms.

Review: To say this second album from Linkwood has been a long time coming is to present yourself as a candidate for Understatement of the Year. A follow up to Nick Moore's fine 2009 debut System has been regularly alluded to by Firecracker boss Lindsay Todd within the context of the label's other releases. It wasn't until an unreleased Linkwood track appeared in Prosumer's fine fabric mix last year that the notion of a new Linkwood album began to take on a semblance of reality. We still can't quite believe it's happened, despite the rather dashing copies of Expression sitting pretty in the Juno warehouse. The triple vinyl set holds a weighty 12 cuts from Linkwood and is a real sumptuous listen, taking in new age ambient vignettes, bass heavy beat down, deep house workouts and plenty more.

Review: To say this second album from Linkwood has been a long time coming is to present yourself as a candidate for Understatement of the Year. A follow up to Nick Moore's fine 2009 debut System has been regularly alluded to by Firecracker boss Lindsay Todd within the context of the label's other releases. It wasn't until an unreleased Linkwood track appeared in Prosumer's fine fabric mix last year that the notion of a new Linkwood album began to take on a semblance of reality. We still can't quite believe it's happened, despite the rather dashing copies of Expression sitting pretty in the Juno warehouse. There's a 12 cuts from Linkwood to work through on Expressions and it's a real sumptuous listen, taking in new age ambient vignettes, bass heavy beat down, deep house workouts and plenty more.

Review: Having been quiet since slipping out that rather fine Prime Numbers EP of archive house, Linkwood surfaces on the Firecracker affiliated Shevchenko imprint with some house music that can be best described as effortlessly gliding. A preface to the producer's second album which is set to drop in the early months of 2012, all three tracks here are superb - not least the title track "Secret Value" which sounds naggingly familiar to these ears. Massively vibey, the track begins with an upwards poise and veers in that trajectory throughout augmented by delightfully plump string flourishes that appear in cloud like formation atop the intricate syncopation. "Between Me & You" is essentially the same track twisted inside out, with the vibes deep set beneath the glowering sheen of saturated atmospherics. Those seeking something straighter will find much to admire in "Ignorance Is Bliss" which begins in more prominent fashion, thanks mostly to that burning bass line; though as the track progresses it's flushed with a delightfully smudged warm sensation. Big tip!

Review: A welcome return for both Prime Numbers and Linkwood - with the latter presenting three variations on the house theme in the first of two EPs due out this year on Trus'me's excellent label. "Dirty Love" calls shotgun, bossing the A Side with the sort of rough around the edges house flex that demands movement of your feet. Filled with alien noises that flutter around the searing burn, it's the multiplicity of rhythmic shifts that elevate this track into the realms of special. From the euphoric heights of the A Side, the flip transposes you to the murky depths of house music potential with two untitled jams channelling Larry Heard. "Untitled 2" in particular unfurls into something quite bewitching!

Review: Repress of the already legendary 1st Firecracker EP, 'Miles Away' by Linkwood Family. Nearly 3 years since its first exclusive
appearance in London's Vinyl Junkies, this elusive record (only 500 were pressed) has picked up a huge cult following including
Derrick May, Moodymann, Theo Parrish, DJ Spinna, Danny Krivit, Osunlade, Mike Clark, and many more. The record holds 3 killer
Detroit influenced soul grooves, once again, these tracks come lovingly packaged (using only lithographic printing processes) with
this official re-issue being pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl. Tip!

Review: Jazzman Greg Foat is a born collaborator. In fact, in the last three years alone he's recorded and released four albums alongside regular studio partner Warren Hampshire. Here he adds another musical accomplice to his bow via a first joint full-length with Firecracker Recordings regular Linkwood (real name Nick Moore). It's a remarkable album, not least because it cleverly combines Moore's intergalactic electronics, deep house-influenced grooves, Balearic dub basslines and wide-eyed ambient motifs with Foat's jazz, jazz-funk and library music inspirations. It's undoubtedly more akin to Moore's output than Foat's, but that's no bad thing. Crucially, it's a superb album and one we'd heartily recommend.

Review: 'Rip' is the debut release by the new label Prime Numbers, run by Manchester's Trus'me. It contains all exclusive new tracks
by the Linkwood Family (Firecracker Recordings), Napihedz (aka Detroit's Pirahnahead & Reggie Dokes) and Reggie Stokes.

Review: Given their shared musical heritage - both are members of the extended Firecracker Recordings crew - it's perhaps something of a surprise to find that Face The Facts marks the first serious collaboration between Linkwood and Gav 'Fudge Fingaz' Sutherland AKA Other Lands. It's less surprising that the album is really, really good. Touching on warming synth-boogie, head-nodding downtempo jams, mutant beatdown, Balearic beats, sunset-ready soundscapes and warming analogue deep house, the 13-track set is notable for the pair's extensive use of dusty old drum machines, tactile instrumentation (think smooth Rhodes solos, languid guitar solos and blissed-out synths) and Sutherland's hazy, sometimes seductive singing voice.