Reviews:167

Aladdin
Girls in Uniform
Versatile

How could you not love this. Yes it’s about ‘Girls in Uniform’ but please put that preconception down and enjoy what is a playfully amusing lyric, although pitched over spikey, punk attitude that sees racing beats fight against punchy guitar and bass to produce a gloriously edgy, yet exhilarating experience. By the way Aladdin are the sum total of Nicolas Ker (singer, chaotic poet) and label boos Gilbert Cohen. The excellent Gilb’R then delivers a smoky Dub version that at once commands your stereo with its array of death defying weirdness that plunge the depths of cool. Followed by Trevor Jackson’s downbeat exploration into further dub excursions into intensity which also proves to be deliciously dangerous and rather f**king fantastic.

Marc Romboy
Counting Comets
Bedrock Records

Returning with this exceptional remix care of Watergate resident Rüede Hagelstein, ‘Counting Comets’ is now injecting with a new lease of life for 2016. A tastefully crafted production that is driven by addictive syncopation accompanied by somewhat sassy percussion and contrasted by ethereal synthesizers which ultimately climax into a thing of darker beauty. And I’m glad it’s almost ten minutes long. Equally stunning is Marc Romboy’s own captivating beat-less Part 2 version which is cut through with a shining ambience that doesn’t require words, while also playing out across ten perfectly timed minutes.

Release: March 9

The Orb
Alpine
KOMPAKT

Suggesting something of a theme this week (in parts) is this latest from seemingly ever present The Orb. Masters of their own landscape ‘Alpine’ doesn’t disappoint either via its lush textures spilt into three sections. ‘Morning’ favours a sleepy evolution of sounds that combine the surreal and wonderful, while ‘Evening’ not surprisingly adds the pulse of four/ four beats to its looped equation of rhythms. ‘Dawn’ then returns to an evocative, haunting bliss via a reworking of the previous ‘Morning’.

http://www.kompakt.fm/releases/alpine

 Alex Under
Olas De Quila Quina
KOMPAKT

Three new tracks go to make up this debut release on KOMPAKT from Alex Under. Beginning with the title track, ‘Olas De Quila Quina’ which delivers waves of pulsating bass notes together with tripped-out vocal effects and swirling reverberations that become all the more impressive once the beat drops, causing all sorts of high-level impact. In a word, spectacular. Next, ‘El Reflejo Del Lacar’ hits the Techno button, leaving the cool melodies plus funk-infused bassline of the excellent ‘Lolog’ to complete.

Release: March 11

http://www.kompakt.fm/releases/olas_de_quilaquina

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