Clone impresses with this split release. Orgue Electronique’s ‘On A String’ is pure Chicago hedonism, the tight, doubling up claps setting the scene for a vicious 303 bass, while Legowelt’s subtle percussive twists and moody chords import the spirit of Nu Groove to Rotterdam.
It’s become fashionable to slag off Minus, but it’s hard not to be seduced by Pierce’s latest mushy, non-linear release. This doublepack ambles along unhurriedly, but Pierce is busy throughout, catching the listener off guard with visceral percussion, lurching bass licks and frazzled acid freakouts.
Detroit house producer Dixon returns with a release that takes inspiration from his techno contemporaries’ fixation with outer space sounds and, on the droning ‘Links’ a booming bass that makes Saunderson’s Resse project seem tame.
Tensnake’s original is a slamming, filtered house track, but it’s not a patch on Cosmic Sandwich’s remix, which plunges the bass to fathomic depths, laying down heavy acid lines and infectious bleeps.
‘Corvo Molto’ features tough bass licks and deep house chords, while ‘The Action Painter’ is a surrealist take on techno, a detuned bass trying and just about succeeding in holding together quirky melodies and organic, pastoral sounds.
Rod Modell’s comeback series surprises again. After the second EP’s steppa shanties, volume three returns to what he excels at, multi-layered, chords and all-encompassing, cavernous dubby rhythms that hit you the moment the needle drops
The blues contribution to this release is questionable, but ‘Three’ has an untamed wildness that is achieved through panning acid sequences, dubby grooves and outer space Detroit sounds.
Like the rest of the breaks world, the intrepid Irish pair have embraced electro-house with some gusto. ‘Tweaked Out’ is the opposite of subtle – the abrasive riff rippling through numerous drops and builds. It’s more 4/4 than breaks too, as is the darker, old-school referencing ‘Ghettoblaster’. Party music.
Electro’s race to the bottom continues, with this poorly constructed and intensely irritating effort from Tiga and Zombie Nation. Lacking both the former’s studied panache and the latter smarts, it’s so bad it makes the Justice remix sound good.
The minimal mouthpiece’s first effort will do nicely indeed. What starts as upbeat tool track suddenly morphs into a muscular monster, thanks to a buzzing bassline and reverbed 303 licks that whiplash through the middle section and well-timed drops. Exercise One drop the drama but add more weight with a percussive remix.
The Pendle boys unexpectedly plunge into deliciously dark techno territory on ‘Habitual Stress’: perfect rattling percussion, whiplash hats, murky bass and an all-pervading gloomy hiss make for an unsettling listen. Find relief within the hazy chords on the surprisingly deep ‘Brick Tutor’.
It’s epic, certainly, but hotpress ain’t sure that all the elements in ‘Two Of Us’ add up: the galloping, gritty riff and ‘Love Is Stronger Than Pride’-esque stomp are solid enough foundations to for the scraping, building FX and sparse, surging synths. But the house of cards collapses with the arrival of a ringing music box melody. So close…
Dan Snaith pushes his psychedelic pop boat out further than ever with ‘Melody Day’, which explodes out of the speakers like day-glo Brian Wilson on a sugar-rush.
One of the UK’s greatest producers delves deeper into the world of dub techno: ‘Unknown Exception’s’ introspective layers and gentle bass lurch along, but they drop away suddenly at the midway point and then the track kicks back in as a metallic, minimal groove. Smart and effortlessly sublime.
