SPECTRASOUL 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Brighton badboys Spectrasoul have been surprisingly quiet this year, with an EP of remixes of tracks from 2017 album "How We Live" marking their only previous release. This four-tracker, then, boasts their first new music of 2018. It's mostly pretty tasty, all told, with opener "Untitled Horn" slowly building via waves of horror-influenced electronics and disorientated female vocal samples before shuffling towards the dancefloor in a John Carpenter-goes-D&B style. "Faithful" is a deep and soulful roller rich in evocative male vocals, lilting piano and punchy drum hits, while LSB hook-up "Silence" is atmospheric liquid D&B blessed with melancholic orchestration and a punchy, snare-heavy rhythm. The EP concludes with the similarly minded "Like This", which retains serious dancefloor weight despite the cinematic feel of its grandiose production.

Review: As the sun still sets on their evergreen third album How We Live Spectrasoul deliver a series of killer remixes and versions to celebrate. First up is this golden twist from Calibre. Immaculately redressed to highlight the delicate emotion and beauty of the original, it's yet another heart-stopping work of art from the singular Signature bossman. Spectrasoul themselves take care of "Say What" themselves by twisting up the swaggering halftimer into a beautiful rolling moonlit 170 jam while "Remember Me" closes the wax with its spacious plucks and barbed vocal. You won't forget this in a hurry.

Review: What a trip it's been for Spectrasoul; going solo with their label Ish Chat in spring 2016, they've assaulted us continuously over the course of 18 months. Taking us deep, dark, soulful, savage with abandon; never before has their melting pot been so fizzy or foundational. Naturally this third album is no exception as we glide and slide between the styles; the "Glimpse"-style space soul of "Move On", the Fracture-like hardcore references on "Push & Pull", the trembling chimes, sweeping strings and delicate vocals of "Wrong To Love You"(with LSB), the classic techstep movement of "Pinger" are just a handful of on-point constructions from a duo who are living the creative dream right now. Essential.

Review: SpectraSoul really aren't messing around with Ish Chat. Now hitting their third release, they've put out an album-sized trove of floor fire over the last year. No compromises, each cut has been exceptional and ticked a completely different box, this is the sound of two men on their absolute A-game... "Second Chance" is a persistent roller with pristine drums, an evocative faraway vocal refrain and lush grainy textures, "Fade Away" is just absolute darkness with a gruff, ruff BC-style grit to the bassline, "On & On" is a dreamboat roller with so much emotion you'll melt any crowd you play this to. Finally "Beat Keeps" taps into a halftime mentality with a whole gamut of gully twists along the way. Powerful stuff.

Review: The Brighton boys return with another power-punch collection on their own label Ish Chat. Once again it covers the full spectrum and scope of their skills: Tracks such as "Stock Sound" and "Tough Linen" really do hit hard with their full-flavour basslines and spiked out dynamics while "Waiting For..." reflects their soulful, musical side and "AKA Yoob" takes us to the left of their creations with daring, bouncy experimentalism that sounds like no one else. Spectrasoul are smashing it this year.

Review: 2016 is a big year for Spectrasoul duo Jack Stevens and David Kennett; the pair have become long term associates of Shogun Audio with two albums and countless 12"s in their discography for Friction's label. However, this year they have elected to branch out and launch their own label, Ish Chat, with this debut release showcasing Spectrasoul at their finest! There are plenty of strands to modern drum and bass, and the four tracks on this 12", Only You, really demonstrates Spectrasoul's mastery of them. The title track adopts a pensive, and dare we say almost poppy, take on the autonomic sound thanks to some deliciously manipulated vocals and a clear understanding of space. "SM1" is a full on junglist blast, whilst "From The Jaws" brings the jazzy stepper vibes and "4URGH" lands straight in screwface territory.