Magazine Sixty reviews

Dino Lenny – You Little Punk – Fine Human Records

One of the most intoxicating and excellent records this year, which given the mountain of monotony you have to wade through to get there its prize proves all the more rewarding in the end. If you love the type of dark bass tones which smoulder, drums which punch through the crisp air, plus dangerous synths that sizzle then you are half way there. The cool precision of the completing voice then ignites the remaining space via a defining complexity containing the words punk and drunk, which of course are some of my very favourite possibilities. Music is there to get excited about after all. The perfect choice for the remix is realised by Damon Jee who adds a fierce, coarse electrifying intensity to it all delivering the robust alternative. More please.

Release: December 4

https://www.facebook.com/finehumanrecords

Listen / buy https://www.beatport.com/release/you-little-punk/3192277

Slow Clinic – Over and Over Until We Forget Where We Were – Courier Sound

By pressing play you are greeted with a feeling of reminiscence as the sound of guitar has been treated to exhilarating, reflective proportions by James Edward Armstrong across twelve eventful sequences. Free from the constraints of words other worlds are free to be imagined in their wake. Although, observations such as melancholy and introspective do float across the horizon in captivating waves of intriguing sounds, compelling activation of memory and expectation. At times you are drawn in by the heavy undercurrent present in certain numbers like Groan, while left to join the contrast of more celebratory tones on Flickering Before Departure. All of which proves to be a fascinating, revealing exploration of timely fractures and disparate emotion likewise signified by Matt Atkins impressionistic cover art.

Release: December 7

buy https://couriersound.bandcamp.com/album/over-and-over-until-we-forget-where-we-were

https://www.facebook.com/slowclinic

Steffen Sonnenschein – Flooded – Holy Grail Music

A genuinely impressive piece of music that engages you in ways that others simply don’t while feeding your head with emotional opportunity and the resilience of movement. Not afraid of musicality either care off soulfully tuned chords and notes, discarding many of the restricting constraints of history, this is the sound of music seeking out something possible. Created without maximum fuss Flooded Alley feels like it is journeying across a sea of motion reaching out towards a conclusion over ten eloquent plus minutes, completing via an unmistakable yet quiet crescendo of supporting pads. That wealth of rich feeling is then expanded on Hot Spring with the space of stereo explored in captivating ways. Leaving the punchier electronics of Lang Cu Lan to confirm, amidst the captivating melodic chimes and insistent eighties syncopation, that this is something special.

Release: November 25

buy holygrailmusic.fanlink.to/HGM010

https://www.facebook.com/Steffensonnenscheinmusic

Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu – Eskimo Recordings

Reference points make for easy reading. They also degrade the power of imagination. Having said that it is all too tempting to employ the words Post-Punk in relation to Aili x Transistorcake. Possibly because of the cutting twang of real bass guitar or Aili’s icy cool vocal delivery defiantly set in amongst the Dub effects and uncomplicated pound of drums. But whatever it is the pure pleasure of this ultimately seductive number ticks all of those boxes while feeling distinctly, proudly 21st century. Clocking in at a perfectly formed 3.37 minutes this is all you need to defy the drab, grey of outside as the positive surge of voice and instrumental melody captures the emotional reward.

Release: November 27

buy https://eskimorecordings.bandcamp.com/album/aili-x-transistorcake-dansu

https://linktr.ee/transistorcake

https://www.instagram.com/aili_inc

Eskimo Recordings · Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu [Eskimo Recordings]

Vernon Bara – Solar Dust – Tenampa Recordings

Raw District aka the artist originally known as Vernon Bara delivers two equally fiery cuts for this outing on the very fine Tenampa. Opening with the explosive temptation of Material World which sequences an array of dazzling, shimmering arpeggios into a positive frenzy of expectation it becomes easy to be excited by this captivating production of ideas and ideals. Supported by the throb of deep bass plus pounding drums all of which are hardwired via robust intent this suggests just as much as it excites. The more introspective and smouldering Solar Dust follows with a wave of pulsating synth lines, amid tough tribal punctuation and even a touch of free jazz, signalling a return to a more uncomplicated, minimal source of notation.

Release: November 20

https://www.facebook.com/VernonBara.VernonBara

https://tenampa.mx

Electronic Groove · Premiere: Vernon Bara – Solar Dust – Tenampa Recordings

Hansgod – Sacred – Manual Deep

The three things striking you most about this great production from Hansgod are its fiery percussion (all praise the handclap), throbbing robust bass followed by the devilish, filtered intensity underpinning it. All of which forms a series of play it louder moments in breathless sequence. The icing is the ethereal voice drifting into view over the sumptuous rhythm section just before mid-point, accompanied by a wealth of warm instrumentation igniting emotion and electrical connection. Just the one mix but that is clearly all that’s required at this juncture.

Release: November 23

Listen / buy https://www.beatport.com/release/sacred/3167717

https://www.facebook.com/Hanselectrik/

www.manual-music.com

Tamil Rogeon – Momus (Radio Edit) – Soul Bank Music

Talking about all that Jazz. Which right in this moment is the perfect idea. Because the music as such is always present, always saying something. Listening to Tamil Rogeon’s Momus feels refreshing given the cold heat of November sunshine outside. It also dives straight into your soul, pulling apart the luxury of emotion and meaning. I love the sassy combination of intense, percussive rhythm which underpin the hazy synth lines, and the piano fused with a gentle pulse of vocal. So much so in fact that this is the third time I’ve listened in a row…

Lifted from the forthcoming album, Son Of Nyx.

buy https://www.traxsource.com/title/1443767/momus

pre-order the album: https://soulbank.k7store.com/release/207479-tamil-rogeon-son-of-nyx

Music Is My Sanctuary · Exclusive Premiere: Tamil Rogeon “Momus (Radio Edit)” (Forthcoming on Soul Bank Music)

The Fantastics – Pyramid – BBE Music

The difference between hearing this and the endless regurgitation of technical-house blandly constructed for the dancefloor is quite simply that your mind explodes. Perhaps, Pyramid lulls you into a false sense of security surrounding you as it does with the roll of warm emotional turmoil, exuding a rush of autumnal melody amide those delicate piano strikes and cool blasts of horn feeling like life itself just got better. This sense of music does hark back to history but also provides a self-assured reissuance of the present. The deliciously punchy Oblique follows leaving the hot, bluesy swing of Liquor and Poker to end this revitalising release of sound.

Buy / listen https://orcd.co/pyramid

https://thefantasticsuk.wixsite.com/home

Lady Blackbird – Collage – Foundation Music

If you were wondering where the heart of Soul Music is (that lineage emanating from Gospel, likewise Rhythm and Blues) then perhaps the question is answered here. I’ve always loved the power of song and without exception Lady Blackbird’s heartfelt words are delivered most exquisitely, albeit scarred by an edge of pain. This is the third single to be taken from her debut album, the self-defining Black Acid Soul and for me it’s the free floating musicality of the original version that sears its commitment onto the soul. Allowing the yearning melodies space to really get under your skin, the punctuation provided by the cool breeze of stand-up bass alongside heavenly piano and emotive brush of strings all combine to create something truly special. Remixes come from Bruise aka Christian Campbell (Sona Vabos) and Darren House (Xpress-2, Ballistic Brothers) who add the punch of House beats and fiery keys into a rousing dancefloor arrangement. Plus from the elegant, downtempo grooves of Greg Foat whose remix compliments perfectly via warm, jazzy inflections celebrating the message.

Release: November 13

buy https://ffm.to/collage.ois

https://www.facebook.com/iamladyblackbird

Steve Bug – Never Ending Winding Roads – Poker Flat Recordings

Dance Music is as much a celebration of rhythm as it is about a host of other definitions from independence of thought and expression to striving for electronic innovation and the fulfilment of history. The unwelcome yet potentially freeing aspect of not having dancefloors to define what you do always was going to ask questions in terms of artistic possibility, while not being tied to arrangements most suited to that particular pleasure. Steve Bug’s latest album criss-crosses styles, discarding the restriction of genre boundaries, resulting in a set of music which dances, teases and plays with sound. From the twisted techno of the opening Ludic Loops to the proceeding electro flair of A Conscious Machine to the warmer, deeper pulse of The Clock Is Ticking the album is very much about exploration – hence the choice of title at a guess. Subsequently, Hijacked Minds has the feel of early eighties electronica while The Awakening pulses with soulful introspection. The chime of melody inspires the final number Upon Mountains containing its message of hope for the future, a prayer free from restriction.