Gosu Germany 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: After some great releases previously by locals such as Martyne, Bodin and adopted homeboy Rob Amboule, Frankfurt's Gosu are back with this terrific two tracker by two out-of-towners. On the A side we have Dom Ahoutam that is one half of Invisible Menders (with Jane Fitz) who serves up the interstellar bleep techno fantasy of "Snake Dance", while on the flip Irishman Darren Allen (Underlying Form) is in top form as always and going deep into the afterhours with the old school minimal funk of "The Odd Man".

Review: While there's some debate about the "Michigan-based" status of "long time producer" Thomas Rooge - it's almost certainly an alias of Frankfurt-based Gosu co-owner Phil Evans - you'll find plenty of audible references to the music of Detroit in his productions. Check, for example, "Shret", the opening track from this fourth Rooge EP on Gosu. While the bold analogue bassline and sparse, clanging analogue bassline sound more British in origin, the beats, chords and sonic textures come straight from the Motor City playbook. You'll find more deep space chords, sci-fi electronics and snappy machine drums inside the snappy tech-house roll of excellent flipside "RJam".

Review: Frankfurt-based Phil Evans first appeared on our radar back in 2015 via a series of collaborations and solo EPs on the Pager Records label he co-founded. Last year he donned a new alias, Thomas Rooge, delivering a fine pair of EPs on GOSU. Here his rise through the ranks continues via another rock-solid four-tracker that tiptoes the fine line between house and techno. We're particularly enjoying opener "FTR", bouncy affair full of Terrence Parker style stretched-out organ chords, crispy percussion and a repeated vocal refrain ("I'm from the future!"), though there's plenty more to enjoy elsewhere. Check, for example, the thrusting, bass-heavy late night pump of "PHouz" and the deliciously dreamy, intergalactic brilliance of Motor City techno-influenced deep house numbers "I Ce" and "Lucyd".