ELECTROREVIEWS
Lo-Fidelity Allstars
Come Alive Corsair Records
9.0
12 years ago the Lo-Fis released the ‘Ghostmutt’ EP where tracks like ‘Voodoo House’ basically invented what we now call ‘electro’ and which James Murphy seemingly used as a template for a whole career. Subsequently the direction was dumped for a funkier electro vibe on the second album. Here they revisit and update the blueprint with a brand new non-album single that smashes everything else on this page. And yet they still don’t live in solid gold houses...
Brodinski feat Louisahhh
Nobody Rules The Streets Bromance 9.0
It’s tough times for record labels, but Bromance boss Brodinski says he wants to “build something solid, something that people won’t give up on after two weeks” and his releases so far more than vindicate his vision. Here he teams up again with Louisahhh from NYCPARTYINFO, who featured on the label’s magnificent first release ‘Let The Beat Control Your Body’ last November, and once more the result is essential. Bromance is setting the bar for everyone else right now.
Casino
Floorshaker Corsair Records
9.0 In the past decade pretty much every musical genre has been touched by the hand of electro, from American chart pop to 1920s swinging jazz. The aptly named Casino bring the original All- Nighter Northern Soul soundtrack bang into the 21st century with a flourish of production genius. If New York labels DFA and Daptone collaborated, this would be the dream result, and then in a year or two, Rihanna and everyone else’s new album would sound like it.
Disco Of Doom
Glimmer EP Bad Life 7.0
AutoKratz’s label Bad Life has been putting out consistently interesting releases to date and this is no exception. ‘Dark’ is such a glib, overused word to describe a tune that isn’t just some lightweight concoction of poppy hooks, but it fits the bill for both ‘Glimmer’ and ‘Brown Acid’, the
078
two accomplished, clever slices of modern house music on offer here. Nothing you haven’t heard before maybe, but defintiely made with a fresh twist.
Fare Soldi
Pestalozzi Riotmaker 7.0
‘Fare Soldi’ means “making money” in Italian, and Santana Pasta and Luka Carnifull certainly deserve to be helped on their way, with this delightfully funky disco house jam. Mind you, they probably earnt a few euros with remixes of ‘Babylon’ and ‘Barbra Streisand’ that you’ve most likely heard, but if you’re into the tunes His Majesty Andre makes then this is worth your while checking out. At under three minutes, it’s impossible for it to outstay its welcome.
Gunneries
Tears Of Pleasure BNR Trax
8.0 All those who ring the “there’s just too much music around” bell have to be countered by the indisputable plus that there’s a lot of worthwhile stuff getting a digital release which might otherwise have gone unheard. Of course, the ‘filter’ through which you get to hear it is the nux of the matter, and labels like BNR Trax serve the purpose perfectly. Here Gunneries, resident of LUX club in Portugal, produces three excellent acidytechnoelectro tunes.
Orbital
Wonky (Remixes) ACP Recordings
8.0 A great EP of remixes of the title track from Orbital’s recent album
return. The rappy talents of Lady Leshurr which make the original so claustrophobically paranoid are brought to the fore in a brilliantly bass-booming version from Plump DJs, which is possibly the most effective blend of their own ‘old’ and ‘new’ styles to date. Japanese Popstars provide a minimal-ish take which all but dispenses with the vocal and focuses on a retro housey kick and treated pianos.
Spektrum
Robocops & Flipflops Stop/Start Recordings 6.0
The lack of socially aware music or anything that acknowledges the mad events going on in the world means something touted as “inspired by the Occupy Protests” grabs my attention, especially with a title as good as this. Sadly, it’s more like an early ‘90s hippyism rather than some modern mash-up of the LRAD and WeAreChange, although paradoxically Filthy Dukes’ remix only serves to make you wonder what Adrian Sherwood might have done in his On-U Sound prime.
Whitey
Saturday Night Ate Our Lives Bad Life 7.0
For someone thought of as an ‘outsider’, Whitey has infiltrated the mainstream to quite a degree since his debut nearly 10 years ago — The Sopranos, Entourage and CSI have all featured his tunes. But struggles with labels and leaks have led to a patchy release CV in recent years, so it’s good to find him on Bad Life. It’s a laidback poppy version of the Whitey you may already know, but none the worse for it.
www.djmag.com
DAVID MCCARTHY
electrodjmag@davidmccarthy.com
Filterwolf Brooklyn Via
Montmartre Filligran 5.0
Housey piano precedes some brassy brass in a loungey Gonzales affair that spreads itself a little thin on a palette that’s more water- colour than dayglo.
Frankie Ferrell
Putty Death Proof Recordings 6.0
I imagine this is what might happen if Flat Eric’s sock puppet operator forgot to stub out his cigarette before kicking the little fella into action, with a little more wonk.
QUICKIES Jan Driver
Peaker BNR 4.0
Following last year’s debut album, this is a low-key let down if truth be told. It’s too insistent for a come- down sunrise glower and nowhere near perky enough to be a ‘peaker’.
Mighty Mouse Disco Battle
Weapons Volume 2 Cheap Thrills
6.0 The four pleasantly groovy tracks present on this aptly named EP give some decent ammunition for the warm-up or wind down set sections of any DJ’s MP3 stick.
PARA ONE MARBLE MUSIC
01. GIRL UNIT ‘Club Rez’ Night Slugs “Already one of our party anthems! I love everything Girl Unit does, but this
one is special, so intense...”
02. TODD EDWARDS ‘Shall Go’ Body High “The boss is back in the game... our friend Todd managed to come strong with
a modern twist, updating his style in the best way possible. Spare, classy, and powerful.”
03. HIGH POWERED BOYS ‘The Bim Bam Song’ Marble “My hyperactive studio neighbours keep bouncing heavy beats all day
through their closed door, but I forgive them as soon as I hear the tracks! Proud of my Marble brothers.”
04. KOYOTE ‘Blowing My Mind’ Mixpak “What a bassline... With very spare elements, Koyote manages to bring so
much feeling to the track!”
05. AERO MANYELO ‘Can You Handle’ Sound Pellegrino “This one is for the peak-time this summer. Raise your arms! This South
African sensation is gonna blow a lot of dancefloors.”
06. RL GRIME ‘Grapes Alla Vodka’Wedidit “Another anthem... so harsh and delightful at the same time. Love to play
tracks with a hip-hop tempo like that. Also cop the remix from Salva!”
07. LAZER SWORD ‘Pleasure Zone’ Monkeytown “I love the whole album. Exactly what I want to hear at the moment, good
mix of dark weirdness and sexy beats.”
08. I:CUBE ‘Le Rocher Aux Singes’ Versatile “This is the hype of the moment, and it’s well deserved! Fantastic album. This
one’s my favourite.”
09. LONE ‘Lying In The Reeds’ R&S “I’ve been a Lone fan for a while, and his new material fails to disappoint.
Going deep!”
10. PARA ONE FEAT TEKI LATEX ‘Lean On Me’ Marble “Now that I did a video for this one, every time I hear it, it reminds me of
spending a week under the cherry blossoms in Tokyo!”
MONEYSHOT!
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