ALBUMSREVIEWS 6.5
Robert Babicz The Owl and the Butterfly Systematic Recordings Polish producer goes back to nature
Poland-born, Cologne-based Robert Babicz has been refining his dangerously effective, no-frills strain of techno since the ‘90s, with outings on Kompakt, Treibstoff and Bedrock to show for it. This, however, is inspired by communing with nature in Cologne’s Königsforest, and is largely an exercise in plumbing the basest components of new age: water sounds, birdsong, flute... all employed as proxies for feeling, man. Other artists have blended the pastoral and the synthetic — think Pantha du Prince romping in the Alps or Robag Wruhme’s Spreewald-inspired ‘Thora Vukk’ — but here the concept doesn’t quite work. The pulsating acid of ‘A Girl From Jupiter’ is layered with canned panpipes, the oceanic, roiling ‘Red Lips (Rob Neo Dub)’ thoroughly depressurised by a segue into one of the many ‘dream sequences’. Yup, ‘dream sequence’. That, my friends, says it. Louise Brailey
Dinky
Dimension D Visionquest
Music for airports
One of the cabal of Chilean expats with a knack for florid, hypnotic minimalism, Dinky has been threatening a lane change since 2009’s ‘Anemik’ album, which writhed with latent pop impulses. ‘Dimension D’ sees her channeling her natural flair for spacious, baroque production in the service of songs, which, like Ellen Allien’s ‘Dust’ which pulled a similar trick, feels a little wasteful. Dinky’s voice is strong, sure, and while the wistful ‘Witches’ has echoes of imperial age Goldfrapp or the sensual, swung ‘Blind’ might have Emika changing her security settings on her laptop, the whole thing flirts with self-indulgence. The moments of innovation, such as the folk ballad ‘Measures’ with its hey-nonny vocals wed to a chasm of negative space, hand drum and distant synth sirens are interesting but really, it’s difficult to see who exactly this might appeal to — monstrous comedowns only last so long. Louise Brailey
7.0
Quell Them Crowd Kids Ibadan Quell-to-do
Greek producer Nikolaos Raptis has been steadily building a sturdy reputation for his house productions on the likes of Kevin Griffiths’ Tsuba imprint, Ralph Lawson’s veteran 2020 Vision and for the last couple of years Jerome Sydenham’s Ibadan. ‘Them Crowd Kids’ brings together a phalanx of relentlessly classy, heavily US-influenced garage, with the likes of Laurent Garnier, Maya Jane Coles and Satoshi Tomiie all proclaiming their unwavering support. The title track encapsulates the vibe — stabbing garage organs, a soaring Def Mix-style piano break, a bumpy loop and 909 drums all skilfully meshed together. Then there’s the slamming ‘The Regular’, which shows his ample techno chops. You might find this termed ‘classic house’. In fact, it’s just house music plain and simple, imbued with all the soul that made so many of us fall in love with it in the first place. Ben Arnold
8.0 7.0
Hyetal Modern Worship True Panther Sounds A bit less nostalgic, still praise-worthy
Hyetal’s first album had an infectious shoe-gaze quality that made us all feel like we were teenagers running down a beach holding hands with our first loves. The Bristolian imparts the same sense of rose- tinged nostalgia to his sophomore album, but with subtle differences that hint at a slow evolution for and within the young producer. Vocal tracks like ‘Northwest Passage’ and ‘The City Is Ours’ pitch dreamy warblings against purple-flecked drum machines in a way that feels less wonky and more New Order-meets-M83. Overall, the sound of ‘Modern Worship’ literally feels like a step forward; the synth washes and drum machines that hid behind soft focus on ‘Broadcast’ are crisp, at the forefront, and steadfastly urgent. However, this album is smooth: so smooth, in fact, that we hope Hyetal continues on his path and takes his next effort on a few more unpredictable twists and turns imbued with a tad more grit. Zara Wladawsky
8.5
Gold Panda Half Of Where You Live NOTOWN/Ghostly International My Panda shall fly!
Gold Panda’s been to a lot of cities since he started releasing music in 2009, but his travels have never been more apparent than in his latest album, which is being released on his own NOTOWN label in the UK and Ghostly International worldwide. ‘Half Of Where You Live’ is easily the least song-oriented collection of tracks that the Essex-born, Berlin-based producer has done. Instead, the LP feels like a journal full of snapshots from different cities and communities around the globe, from local (‘An English House’) to South America (‘Brazil’) and the Far East (‘Enoshima’). What ties these tracks together is their focus on urbanization and how society reacts to these dense environments through melodic, sonic, and percussive changes. ‘Half Of Where You Live’ is a humongous step forward for Gold Panda; an incredibly mature and immersive album that takes us on a journey with each listen. Zara Wladawsky
Karocel Plaited Freude am Tanzen Live and direct
Not to be confused with Phil Kieran’s new live project Le Carousel, Karocel is another electronic band house/techno heads should take note of. A three-way partnership made up of the dulcet tones of Marbert Rocel, the techno prowess of Mathias Kaden and the drum machinery of Michael Nagler, ‘Plaited’ lays elements of jazz-soul-pop — instrumentation, brass and smoky, sweet vocals — over a digital 4/4 framework. ‘Undo’, with its treated guitar rhythm hook, crystalline synths and nostalgic lyrics, would fit as well on a sunset terrace as a cigar-plumed jazz bar. Later, ‘Whiteout’ scatters tropical xylophones into a meandering late-night caper that breaks into a rasping drum-kit workout, before ‘It’s Me’ closes the album with heavy piano chords, cosmic synths and rolling snare percussion. If your idea of a live show involves more than a solitary bloke hunched over a laptop (probably checking Facebook), this is one Karocel you should hop onto. Adam Saville
8.0
KÖLSCH 1977 Kompakt Movin’ melodies
Many artists signed to chic techno imprint Kompakt draw inspiration from the giddy, guilty-pleasure melodies of Europop and trance. Few, however, do so with the all-out glee of Rune Reilly ‘Kölsch’ Kølsch, who specialises in taking prime-time, fist- pumping riffs and imbuing them with juuust enough Cologne-techno cool to make them palatable for hipsters who secretly love big-room bangerz but would never admit as much in polite company. ‘1977’ collects together the high points of Kölsch’s output, along with three brand-new tracks. It’s all heady, deliciously delirious stuff, peaking with the pilled-whacked 3am stompathon ‘OMA’, guaranteed to have you involuntarily gurning like an idiot. It’s fair to say that, at certain points, Kölsch crosses a line — ‘All That Matters’ could be a Swedish House Mafia production — but given the choice between loopy cheese and the fussy joylessness of so much post-dubstep techno, we’ll take the cheese, thanks. Joe Madden
8.0
Different Marks Untitled Pets Recordings Posthumous pop
Martin Dawson, the rightfully applauded deep house producer who tragically died suddenly last year, barely put a foot wrong. 2011’s ‘Sunday Smoking’ was sublime, the posthumous release of his work alongside Giles Smith under their Two Armadillos guise earlier this year was also spot-on, and now we have this. Different Marks, a collaborative project with Catz ‘N Dogz, reveals a side unseen during Dawson’s lifetime. Opener ‘Shiny Pennies’ featuring Cari Golden is basically ‘Buffalo Stance’ with a disco-boogie twist. Ben Westbeech features on ‘Can’t Figure Me Out’ to lay down saccharine vocals over some cloudy r&b, while ‘Into The Night’ is ethereal garage with plenty of groove. Sugary sweet but dense, with texture throughout, ‘Untitled’ is an impossibly accessible listen. A heartfelt reminder, Dawson was an exceptional producer with plenty more to give. Adam Saville
djmag.com 077
8.0
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