NICOLA CRUZ 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Ecuadorian maestro Nicolas Cruz is back on Rhythm Seciton to follow up his last EP Subtropique which proved a big hit. "I'm always trying to re-interpret this Afro-Caribbean feeling, and trying to figure out how I could humanize this through the machines," he says of his approach and it certain is the case here. He mixes up some worlds rhythms with twitchy techno drums and electronic synths to make for something totally new on all of the tracks. The heavy, skipping kicks of 'Residual Heat' is a real favourite while 'Self Oscillation' is a catering percussive jam to pack the floor. Another great outing.

Review: Bradley Zero's ever hard to pin down but always excellent Rhythm Section International comes through with some deep house excellence here. Far from standard sounds, though, these tunes are infused with all manner of mystic referees. 'Individuality Riddim' is tinny and percussive, empty yet compelling. 'Subtropique' pairs aquatic sound design with shimmering rhythms that seem to owe a debt to djembe rhythms while 'What Now' is astral house with cosmic vibes to spare. There are also two darker, more percussive tunes to close out this fantastically expressive and adventurous EP.

Review: Nicola Cruz's 'Hybridism' is the subject of this heavy hitting remix EP on Multi Culti, and it kicks off with Hivern Discs boss John Talbot. His take on 'Naeku' is tribal and steamy as it meanders through a jungle with mystic chords and pads. 'Third Eye Dub' (Azu Tiwaline remix) is as rhythmically inventive as you would expect of the artist and in the hands of Aunt Flo, 'Aima' is a fresh afro rhythm with watery effects. The in house team then serve up a so-called 'micro dub' of Naeku for more darkened dance floors in the middle of the night.

Review: When it comes to hybrid blends of intoxicating world music sounds and contemporary dancefloor rhythms, few producers are quite as accomplished as Nicola Cruz. He's at it again on "Hybridism", the Equador-based Frenchman's first EP for Multi-Culti for almost three years. Opener "Aima" sets the tone, with Cruz wrapping lilting synth lines, weirdo electronics and chanted vocals around a bubbling electronic groove, while "Naeku" makes the most of echo-laden drums, what sounds like an African children's choir and faintly foreboding acid lines. "Drom Tradisie" is an exercise in trippy sounds and layered percussion, "Third Eye Dub" is a darker and moodier slab of techno-exotica and "Kawe's Dream" is a blissful blast of clarinet-sporting musical positivity.

Review: Multi Culti's Cult Edits series returns to bring you some saucy, sizzling surrealism from the outer reaches of the groove. Nicola Cruz is up first with the humid beatdown and transcendental acid undertones of "Cartomante". Asa Moto keeps things clammy but driving with the African pulse of "Safari Glove" while Balam takes things in a more wigged-out synthwave direction on "Carnaval Acido". Tyu's "Negra" turns the heat up higher with a massive low end throb and plenty of chuggy pressure for ultimate dancefloor escapism. Akimbo completes the package with the feverish carnival atmosphere of "Batucada", which of course piles on Latin drums and plenty more besides.

Review: Calypso are back with another clutch of exciting mavericks orbiting the weirder end of the contemporary club spectrum. There are minimal wave influences to be tacitly detected on Nicola Cruz's "Tu Recuerdo" as well as kind of stripped back acid freakiness, while in FE's "Tarde O Temprano" there's even more gritty, industrial tinged bite in the billowing surges of machine rhythms. Quixosis takes some wonderfully lilting traditional percussion and gives it a freaky treatment which makes for the kind of slow jam Weatherall would have wielded with aplomb. NTFL finishes this ear-snagging compilation off with the plaintive, Dembow-tinted "Vacio".

Review: Matanza member Rodrigo Gallardo has long been interested in the "folkloric traditions" of South America .....El Origen is his attempt to incorporate these traditional sounds, rhythms and instrumental tropes into a contemporary electronic music setting. His original productions - all fluttering flutes, gentle acoustic guitars, warm electronics and evocative vocals - are showcased on the A side, with pal and fellow Chilean Nicola Cruz providing his own interpretations on the B-side. Naturally, his revisions tend towards the more cosmic and dancefloor-friendly, but also retain enough elements from Gallardo's original tracks to not be too revolutionary. Crucially, all Cruz's versions are superb.

Review: TraTraTrax is a Colombian label run by Nyksan, DJ Lomalinda and Verraco. It presents its first edition in a new vinyl series here: Los Totes. On the A side, rising Miami-based talent Nick Leon is all over it with the euphoric bass-heavy dance of 'Xtasis' (feat Venezuela's DJ Babatr) which gets a remix by UK post dubstep stalwart Pearson Sound up next. Over on the flip, Nicola Cruz delves deep into the exotic on the hypnotising and drum focused psychedelia of 'Se Pone Caliente' and finally some deeply meditative techno by Sao Paulo's Badsista on their remix of Luca Duran's 'Metal Parce' (feat Parco Palaz).