DJ Qu’s debut album, Gymnastics, feels like a kind of manifesto, presenting his fully-formed vision of the darkest reaches of dance music across three slabs of wax or one CD.
review
Blondes, Lover/Hater
May 24, 2011 – 12:01 AM
Lover/Hater, Blondes’ first 12″ for RVNG Intl., is their most overt flirtation with DJs which presents a more percussive, upfront approach.
Kode9 & The Spaceape, Black Sun
May 20, 2011 – 12:01 AM
Black Sun, Kode9’s second LP with The Spaceape, feels like a well-timed counterpoint to Martin Clark’s fears about dissociation: it has a distinctively rough, striking sound, and is definitely not “sorbet.”
Art Department, The Drawing Board
May 19, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Art Department expand on their retro-informed sound with The Drawing Board, an album that appeals to wider audiences even as it reveals the limits of their approach.
Lando Kal, Further/Time Out
May 19, 2011 – 12:01 AM
One half of Lazer Sword follows his Numbers-released split EP with the compelling Further/Time Out single for Hotflush Recordings.
Roman Flügel, Desperate Housemen EP
May 18, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Desperate Housemen EP sits somewhere in-between Roman Flügel’s recent releases, pulling in the melodic grandeur of “Brian Le Bon” and sticking it in the subtle and refined template of his Dial EP.
DJ Yoav B., Wisdom Traxx EP
May 18, 2011 – 12:01 AM
DJ Yoav B.’s Wisdom Traxx EP embodies a rough and heavily psychedelic kind of house, its grooves frequently obscured by an overarching sense of madcap experimentalism.
Andy Stott, Passed Me By
May 17, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Andy Stott’s Passed Me By might be dance music shaved down to within an inch of its life, but it’s an inch far too tantalizing to be left for dead.
Midland, Bring Joy EP
May 17, 2011 – 12:01 AM
Harry Agius’ second release finally arrives half a year later for obscure London house label More Music, and, well, it sounds like more Midland.
Shifted, Avian 1
May 13, 2011 – 12:01 AM
While Shifted’s Mote Evolver release was reminiscent of new school artists like Samuli Kemppi and the Syndrome Z joint called to mind Detroit techno given a contemporary twist, this debut on Shifted’s own label teems with other possibilities.
Fudge Fingas, Now About How
May 12, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Fudge Fingas’ Now About How is an engaging curiosity that rewards close listening and a worthy entry in my imaginary canon of British whimsy.
Aleks Zen, High Life/Pimp Shoes
May 12, 2011 – 12:01 AM
The latest to convincingly invoke 1986 is London producer Aleks Zen, who debuts with a single on Geiom’s always intriguing and eclectic Berkane Sol imprint.
Sleeparchive, Ronan Point
May 11, 2011 – 10:01 AM
After three years of silence, Sleeparchive’s Ronan EP for Tresor marks his return to the dance floor world.
Pittsburgh Track Authority, The First Four EP
May 11, 2011 – 12:01 AM
Pittsburgh Track Authority’s The First Four EP is bolstered by a loose and limber sense of group interplay that makes them one of the most exciting prospects Uzuri has yet offered.
Rick Wilhite, Analog Aquarium
May 10, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Analog Aquarium is as you’d expect it to be: an album made entirely on analogue equipment that sounds all at once a timeless classic and futuristic.
Invisible Conga People, In A Hole/Can’t Feel My Knees
May 10, 2011 – 12:01 AM
DFA commissioned Invisible Conga People for a four-track EP which shows them picking up more or less where they left off three years ago.
Lone, Echolocations EP
May 6, 2011 – 12:01 AM
Echolocations, Lone’s follow-up EP to Emerald Fantasy Tracks, offers subtle variations rather than overarching statements about “progression.”
Leyland Kirby, Intrigue & Stuff Vol. 1
May 5, 2011 – 10:01 AM
Intrigue & Stuff Vol. 1 is at once a shocking change in sound and also right in line for an artist that not only continually reinvents himself but also the notion of music.