CD Album Recommendations March 2012

Review: Hotflush kingpin Scuba has been rather busy touring in recent years but 2012 was the time for a long awaited LP from the man. There are plenty of tracks here, ranging from more experimental, bass-filtered dub beats to straight up techno stompers and we dont' want to spoil it all for you if you havent' heard it yet, but there are a few highlights..."Underbelly" is a favourite here at HQ, bridging grinding electro basslies with techno sensibilities; "July" is another BIG shout, sounding something like Juan Atkins if he were brought up in south London; and "Cognitive Dissonance" takes jungle-style beats to a new level, pushing them further and further away form the safety of harsh mutant basses or reggae vocals. Indulge and enjoy!

Review: Having previously explored the worlds of dub techno, minimal, ambient and experimental electronica (sometimes at the same time), Monolake's Robert Hencke casts his net even wider on this eighth studio full-length. Many of his usual sonic standards are present - spooky chords, dubwise atmospherics, creepy sound effects that sound like they were recorded in an echo chamber - alongside a new-found love for the rhythmic possibilities of dubstep and future garage. It's something of a masterstroke. While the resultant audio soup is every bit as intoxicating and out-there as his previous work, there's a strangely joyous looseness and flexibility to the beats that makes Ghosts a particularly pleasurable listen.

Review: Like many of Detroit's deep house and beatdown producers, Delano Smith has been an integral part of the city's musical landscape for nigh on 30 years - something amply demonstrated in the fascinating booklet accompanying this CD edition of his long-promised debut album. Musically, An Odyssey is typical of Smith's previous output, mixing smooth, hypnotic groovers and jazz-flecked deep housers with just the right amount of basement soul and melodic complexity. Given that the tracks - all previously unreleased - were recorded in the last two years, it's no surprise to find that the tracks sit together beautifully. Making a high quality deep house album is notoriously tricky, but Smith has achieved that feat - and with a style and grace that marks out house music's true masters.

Review: Those who follow the release schedule of the RVNG label will rightfully point out that the lion's share of tracks on Blondes self titled debut album are by no means new, having surfaced on a series of conceptual twelves over the course of 2011. However, the themes of duality that permeated those releases were loose at best, and there's a luxurious feeling to letting all eight tracks seep into your senses on a continual loop. The Blondes style can be seen as one dimensional in some respects, however it's obvious that Sam and Zach have matured their sound markedly from the tracks that made up their Merok released debut. You can't really compare the linear nature of tracks on Touched all encompassing devastation of tracks such as "Lover" and few people do hypnotic electronic music of this nature better. There is of course the small matter of the accompanying remixes, which are near perfectly chosen to tease out many different moods from the source material and include some truly excellent efforts from the likes of Stott, Bicep and Rene Hell.

Review: For all its inherent warmth and space, dub techno can be a cold and, at times, almost inhuman in feel. That's certainly not an allegation you can level at Fluxion, a producer whose dub techno offerings tend towards the quietly sunny and surprisingly upbeat. While this second full-length for Echochord has moments of icy minimalism - see the stark "Burst Mode (Edit)" and beatless closer "Motion 2" - its shot through with orange-hued warmth. His hypnotic compositions are peppered with woozy melodies, toasty sounds, twinkling pianos and even, on occasion, the odd vocal (see the fine cover of "No Man Is An Island" featuring a previously unreleased vocal from sadly-departed reggae legend Dennis Brown).

Review: Having previously plied their trade on Dissident, Death From Abroad and Tiny Sticks, it was probably only a matter of time before production duo Cage & Aviary popped up on Prins Thomas' impressive Internasjonal imprint. With a sound that regularly flits between skuzzy, lo-fi synth-rock, druggy electronica and intoxicating dancefloor oddness, the London-based duo are a good fit for the Norwegian's left-of-centre label. Migration, their debut album, will delight those who've followed their career to date. As well as new versions of familiar favourites - "Giorgio Carpenter", "Television Train" etc - it unveils a flock of new cuts in a dizzying variety of styles (off-beat disco, dubbed-out punk funk, skewed Balearica, vintage synth-wave, even a dash of saucer-eyed acid).

Review: Leo Elstob is a man of many talents. Not content to be an in-demand graphic designer, re-edit maestro, nu-Balearic stalwart and remixer to the stars, he's now taken to producing new music at a furious rate. This is something like his 25th album in two months (OK, we jest, but you get the idea). It sees him return to his house roots with a robust and at times punishing collection of floor-friendly percussion workouts, retro-futurist deep house doodles and, most thrillingly, some genuinely brain-melting acid tweakery (see the Phuture on crack madness of "Komputa Gamez", "Take It Off" and "The Room"). There are some genuinely great moments, with the African drums and hip-house vocals of "Warehouse Style" providing a fitting climax.

Review: Since first turning junglism on its head with his thrilling 2002 debut album True Colours - perhaps the first true "disco D&B" set - Lincoln "High Contrast" Barrett has become one of drum and bass's most revered artists. With a steadfast commitment to the musical possibilities of the genre and a positive mindset, his albums are rarely less than impressive. The Agony & The Ecstacy, his fourth full-length and first for five years, is no different. Grandiose in design and scale, it mixes kaleidoscopic, upbeat anthems ("Emotional Vampires", "Father, Can't You See I'm Burning") with big name collaborations (Tiesto and Underworld variously lend a hand) and comfy, dowbeat grooves ("The Only Way There", "Not Waving, But Drowning") - all sprinkled with Barrett's gorgeous, rainbow-tinted production.

Review: Singer Sandy Barber was just 22 when she recorded her one and only album, The Best Is Yet To Come, in 1977. At the time, it was largely ignored by most people within New York's dance music community, despite being packed with impeccable dewy-eyed soul moments and grandiose disco jams. Since then, it's become something of a must-have for disco collectors. Here the original album gets the BBE reissue treatment, allowing a new generation of disco heads to revel in its heartfelt simplicity. This deluxe, expanded edition includes a slew of unreleased and lesser-known Barber tracks recorded in the same period, plus alternative takes and remixes from John Morales and Al Kent.

Review: It's been nearly four years since Hans-Peter Lindstrom's last solo set, the decidedly grandiose Where You Go, I Go To. When Six Cups Of Rebel opens with a similarly soundscape composition, the spiraling "No Release", you expect more of the same. Yet it's something of a red (pickled) herring. In fact, Six Cups Of Rebel could be considered something of a return to his dancefloor roots - though it bears little resemblance to his clean, snappy early work. It's urgent, hurried, psychedelic - even a little fun (recent single "Deja vu" and the bonkers "Magik" being good examples). In that regard, it sounds a bit like an LSD-influenced take on fellow Norwegian disconauts Mungolian Jet Set - a strange and intoxicating brew that delights and confuses in equal measure.

Review: John B Williams may have tamed some of his more extreme eccentricities over the years - the wild hair and make-up of old are long gone, for example - but his music still takes drum & bass in a myriad of unusual directions. Light Speed, his fourth studio album, is no different. Alongside piano house and D&B mash-ups, alien-bating space-jungle and grandiose, Hopsital-ish builders, you'll also find rare forays into 4/4 territory ("Vertigo"), bouncy, electrohouse-influenced vocal anthems ("Journey") and murky, low-end bangers ("Dancing In The Dark"). It's entertaining stuff, all right, even if you may have to buy a guidebook to keep up!

Review: The hype around Toronto house outfit Azari & III has been steadily building since the release of "Reckless (With Your Love)" and "Hungry For The Power" in 2009. On this debut full-length, it's easy to see why. Blending infectious vocals and retro-futurist riffage with snappy jack tracks, incessant analogue rhythms and bold pianos, they offer a deliciously contemporary take on the classic house and techno sounds of Chicago, New York and Detroit. At times parallels can be drawn with acts like Inner City and Ten City, at others with innovators such as Virgo Four, Larry Heard and DJ Pierre. Yet Azari & III are no imitators - for all the classic house reference points, they have a fresh, floor-friendly sound all of their own.

Review: It's amazing how the passage of time clouds memories and judgment. Biokinetics was originally released on Basic Channel sub-label Chain Reaction back in 1996 and was the first long player on that imprint. Chain Reaction, like its mother label, is viewed as the originator for dub techno, yet as Thomas Koner and Andy Mellwig's debut as Porter Ricks long-player reminds us, its expression and impact were much wider than that. It explains why the decision by ambient / experimental label Type to reissue this album is an unsurprising one and its reappearance serves as a reminder why sixteen years later, Biokinetics still resonates. Simply stunning.

Review: Although not a name with which most listeners will be familiar, the Lijadu Sisters were one of Nigeria's top musical exports in the 1970s. Inspired just as much by American soul as native styles such as afrobeat, highlife and juju, the identical twins delivered four knockout albums of joyful musical fusion throughout the 1970s. This first retrospective from Soul Jazz Records showcases the best material from those albums, mixing up low-slung, chant-heavy percussion workouts (the brilliant "Osupa") and horn-heavy afro-jams ("Sunshine"), with Pointer Sisters-ish groovers ("Life Is Gone Down Low") and frantic dancefloor business ("Come & Dance").

Review: The inhabitants of Swansea have a lot to shout about these days. Not only is their football team riding high in the Premier League, but the city also boasts the originators of a sound dubbed "deep rave" - a suitably warm, muted fusion of old skool rave influences, deep house, UK funky, tropical and murky Berlin techno. Here, said pioneers - hometown heroes Benjamin Damage and Doc Daneeka - deliver their debut album for the mighty 50 Weapons imprint. They Live! is a suitably deep and lovable collection of bass music given their distinctive twist, with extra warmth provided by vocalist Abigail Wyles. Deeper, headphone-friendly moments ("Halo", "Juggernaut", "Battleships") are offset by a string of robust, peaktime bombs, not least a fine version of scene anthem "Creeper" and the eye-popping "Deaf Siren".

Review: Parisian producer Blundetto has a growing reputation thanks to a string of fine singles that join the dots between cosy downtempo beatscapes, fresh neo-soul and crackly dub reggae. Yet for all his successes, he's yet to really break through. This third full-length - his first for two years - could change all that. Produced and performed with a laidback confidence, the 11 tracks variously touch on clavinet-heavy reggae (see the excellent cover of Alan Toussaint's soul staple "Hercules"), Afro-soul, hip-hop, R&B (the string-laden slow jam "It's All About"), and even breezy Latino sounds (the Meters-go-Cuban vibes of "I'll Be Home Later").

Review: Given the hypnotic, near-ambient loopiness at the heart of his work as The Field, it's perhaps no surprise to see Alex Wilmer returning to the world of beatless electronica. And Never Ending Nights is his first album under the Loops Of Your Heart moniker, and it's really rather good. At times, it does sound like a Beatless take on The Field (see opener "Little You, You Should Develop"), at others like a darker, glitchier version of Pete Namlook's epic ambient journeys. Yet it's so much more than that, variously touching on LaBradford-ish leftfield murkiness ("Broken Bow"), Autobahn-era Kraftwerk ("Neukolin") and Walls style dreaminess ("New").