Records of the Week - November 7th

RECORDS OF THE WEEK - NOVEMBER 7th

Back after a week’s hiatus, and unsurprisingly a whole load of great records are released in the mean time. First off we have the mysterious 2 x 12” release from Sons of the Dragon, a 300 only white vinyl doublepack from Detroit. No other info, and although I heard two of these tracks played by Jeff Mills in August, it’s difficult to tell who they’re from, although Mike Banks might be invovled. It’s not perhaps as good as the hype suggests, but two of the tracks, in particular a 10 minute epic atmospheric journey on the second disc is worth purchasing alone. It’s muscular Detroit Techno, and is my choice for record of the week.

After a lean few weeks, there are finally some choice electro and techno records out. The new Lory D record on Wireblock has an excellent 8 minute acid workout on it, and the flipside tracks are well worth investigating as well. I’ve always had time for Redshape’s take on techno, and his new one on Styrax leaves is very good, as is the new EchoEcho record which has a good Datassette remix on it. For those into melodic material, the new Donnacha Costello single on Minimise is a tip.

On the electro front, whilst a little bit traditional sounding, the new Hell and Rother single on Datapunk is good if you like vocoders and strong beats. Like A Tim is back on Like, which is good news for those who like his unique take on things, and the new Polygamy Boys single on Creme Eclipse is a strong release as well. Nukubus’s latest on Vonk is also worth hearing.

Lots of good House out right now, not least the Theo and KDJ remixes on Norma Jean Bell’s “Do You Wanna Party” on Funky Chocolate. There’s another great Motor City Drum Ensemble release out, this time on Four Roses, and if it wasn’t for the Sons of the Dragon record, I think the remixes of the Prince clone Peven Everett’s “Feelin’ Who You Are” would be my choice this week. The mysterious Amplified Orchestra has a nice new thing out on his own AO edits label, and French producer Blackjoy’s latest on Dialect is very good. Eddie Fowlkes’ City Boy label has an interesting record out by Io that pricked my ears, and Phil Asher, who also records under the moniker Phlash has a good record out on Archive.

Detroit mimimalist Seth Troxler has been releasing some interesting records recently, not least his latest on Wagon Repair, a label that I feel is one of the better in that particular scene. You should always check any Move D record as the guy is on fire right now, and his latest on Running Back is no different. Tom Trago’s “Passion” on Rush Hour is very good, as is the vocal-rich “Soul Revival” by Craig Alexander on Millions of Moments. There’s Japanese artist Gonno’s first release on Beyond that piqued my interest, not least because it has a v.good Donnacha Costello remix on it.

On the Disco front I always make a beeline for any Joakim remix, and whilst his work for the amusingly titled Grand Popo Football Club isn’t one of his best, it’s still worth hearing. Loud-E has a peculiar edit of the old BBC Tomorrow’s World theme tune out on Objects of Desire, and there are some re-edits of tracks by The Cure and New Order by Jamal Moss on his own Medusa Edits label. Not sure what to make of those to be honest. The latest Golf Channel record however is excellent and I suspect you’ll be hearing that out a lot as it’s a Harvey favourite already apparently.  Flexx produce another Hi-NRG stormer with The Beat Broker, and last not least another big tip is Italian artist Low Low, whose latest hits all those lo-fi Italo and Chicago spots. It’s very good and you should buy it immediately.

Toby Frith

Comments

[Bleep43]

I'm informed that the Sons of the Dragon release is actually by Lee Purkis of In-Sync fame.

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lee+Purkis

[LowLow]

"and last not least another big tip is Italian artist Low Low, whose latest hits all those lo-fi Italo and Chicago spots. It’s very good and you should buy it immediately."

Thank you for your support, glad you like it !
LL