QUICKIES 8.0 Mouse On Mars
WOW Monkeytown Not Deadmau5 on Mars
It’s only been nine months since Jan St Werner and Andi Toma dropped their last EP, ‘Parastrophics’, on Modeselek- tor’s Monkeytown, and now they’re back with a 13-track, 33-minute long mini-album on the same label. ‘WOW’ is nothing if not a bit demented. ‘ACD’ is all about the 303 action, ‘BSD’ is like the bastard child of krautrock and ‘90s rave, ‘WOC’ starts with a proper dub- step sway, and West Coast-sounding bass can be heard throughout. The distorted vocals of Vietnamese per- former and sculptor, Dao Ahn Khanh, and appearances from Argentinian punk band, Las Kellies and Eric D. Clarke pull the sonic mayhem together very nicely. To make it even more intriguing, the duo employed their very own app, wretchup, to help with the effects. Immerse yourself in this for half an hour and you won’t be sure what’s hit you. Emmajo Read
Daniel Maloso
In And Out Cómeme Give proto dance a chance?
‘In And Out’, the debut album from Mexican techno purveyor Daniel Maloso, could not be a better fit for Cómeme. Distinctly South American rhythms, bouncing chords and a relent- less party drive are prevalent through- out. There’s also a strong ‘80s Italo current running through, nowhere more obvious than on opening track ‘Shera’, with all its analogue drama, and ominous but playful vocal refrain. ‘Punk Reggae Disco’ also borrows from that era, but moves with enough of its own slinkiness and character not to feel tired. Other tracks don’t fare quite so well, and there are arguably quite a few predictable bits of production on here. ‘Right Kind’, for example, doesn’t have any particularly special flair, perky as it is. Mostly, though, Maloso pulls it off, and there’s enough of his own flavour to offset the retro. Tamara el Essawi
6.5
Jack Beats
Careless Sony Music 6.0
Starting from scratch
Former DMC champi- ons Beni G and Plus One won’t be picking up any more turntab- list trophies with their Jack Beats project’s bass wobbles and elec- tro riffs. But they will probably pick up a new generation of fans for whom hip-hop is more about Example and Diplo — who appear on ‘War’ — than Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Paul Clarke
Fairmont
Automaton My Favorite Robot
8.0 Krauthouse
Previously placing LPs on Border Community and Traum Schallplat- ten, Canadian Jake Fairley’s oddball take on techno has never been straight-edged. For his third, however, he’s teamed up with steely label My Favorite Robot to — as the title suggests — sing like a cyborg and get all elec- troclash on our asses. Imagine Gary Numan on a deep house tip. Lisa Loveday
Layo & Bushwacka! Rising and Falling
Olmetto 7.0
On the rise
L&B return with their first album in six years. As you’d expect, it’s straight-up house biz aplenty, but expertly put together. ‘The Way Home’ adds in a nice skulky disco element, and there’s a spacey vibe to much of the album, making an appealing package from the scene veter- ans. Tristan Parker
Flora Gomma 7.0
Moullinex Magic mixer 7.0 Lindstrøm
Smalhans Smalltown Supersound Master chef?
The second album this year from Lind- strøm, although — whilst he’s named every track on his fifth solo LP after a dish from his native Norway — ‘Smal- hans’ isn’t just reheated leftovers from January’s ‘Six Cups Of Rebel’. Here, Lindstrøm has gone right back to the cosmic disco sound of his early re- leases like ‘I Feel Space’ on his Feedelity label, served up as bite-size morsels that are easier to digest than ‘Six Cups Of Rebel’’s psychedelic freak-outs, and don’t go on for about six months like 2008’s magnum opus ‘Where You Go I Go Too’. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before from Lindstrøm, and when the pert electro basslines kick in under the burbling synths before building up to big swooping breakdowns, you know exactly what you’re going to get on every single track. But as with great comfort food, that’s a big part of the attraction. Paul Clarke
DJ Yoda
Chop Suey Get Involved A delicious dish
A hip-hop DJ at heart, with serious scratching skills and an ingenious, inquisitive ear for cut ‘n’ paste sampling magic, DJ Yoda’s sense of humour and light-hearted approach has always made him a popular, accessible DJ for those not always enamoured with hardcore rap’s screwface stance. What this album of original productions proves is he’s also a gifted, considered producer with his finger on the pulse of dance music. Much like contemporaries The Nextmen did with their recent album, with ‘Chop Suey’ he’s stepped into the electronic arena, peppering rap cuts with other genre experiments. ‘Charlie Sheen’ with Nice & Smooth’s Greg Nice on the mic is a wicked, horn- powered deebee beast, while the old skool ‘ardcore of ‘Pizza’ with Sway is an absolute monster, with Technotronic stabs and breakbeats galore. But this is no box-ticking exercise, and the bit- tersweet Boy George-featuring ‘Happy’ is the biggest surprise of all. Ramona Robinson
7.5
It takes balls to make an album like this. Big glittery ones, and it’s the Portuguese producer’s unashamed love for his influences that makes listening to ‘Flora’’s combina- tion of Donna Summer disco, dance-around- your-handbag house, and even a cover of ‘Maniac’ from ‘80s chick flick Flashdance a genuine — if slightly guilty — pleasure, rather than an ar- restable offence. Paul
Environment Circus Recordings 5.0
Clarke Yousef A Product of Your
Why so serious?
Production has never been Yousef’s strongest point, his craftsmanship as a DJ winning most plaudits, but his second LP sets out to change that. Does it deliver? Well, there are a few emo- tive surprises in store for the discerning listener, and if you like your tech house chunky, main room and serious, you bet it does deliver. Lisa Loveday
Being part of ex- perimental rock troupe Vessels, it’s a pleasant surprise that this, Lee J. Malcolm’s second solo album, is quite such a well-crafted bundle of steadily bubbling IDM. ‘Wonder How’ has an agreeable crunch of percussion and glassy sheen, ‘Yellow Bears In My Garden’ bristles with poise. All in all, a job nicely done. Tamara el Essawi
REPEATTHE LPS WE CAN’T LEAVE ALONE... Daphni
Lee J. Malcolm
Terrestrial EPM Music 6.5
Extra-terrestrial?
Jialong Jialong Records 9.0
Dan Snaith aka Caribou swaps proggy electro-rock for subby techno on his first as Daphni.
www.djmag.ca
Flying Lotus
Until The Quiet Comes Warp 10
Steven Ellison’s fourth LP is a murky, mind- altering masterpiece — a must!
The xx 10
Nobody does it better. The saturnine foil to the band’s hugely acclaimed debut.
115
Coexist XL
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