Category: Electronic

Alfa EP – Alfa Cornae

I’m so in awe of the press release of this white label that I’m just going to post it in full – I mean, it includes Roberto Baggio! (The music is great too btw)

“Mysterious white label release ‘ALFA EP’ coming from new kid on the block ‘Alfa Cornae’

This EP is all Italian, recommended listening: cruising through the Tuscany countryside, riding shotgun in a vintage Alfa. If the above is not at hand, then any local nightclub with a decent sound system will do.
Ok so you climb into your Alfa, a thing of beauty, you rev the engine, it sounds like your ex… in a good way…. This is a serious roadster, we’re not talking Ford Mondao, we’re talking all Italian smooth V8 engine, luxury leather upholstery, the real deal!
You’re on your way to the best party in town, driving down the freeway toward Milan, 120 mph, roof down, a virgin Negroni in the passenger seat, casually smoking on a fat Toscano cigar; you’re on the way to the biggest discotheque this side of the river Po.
Now you’re in a hot tub. You don’t know who’s it is but it has bubbles. You turn to your right; next to you is Roberto Baggio. You take a big drag on your cigar and smile at him, he responds with a cheeky wink. Next thing you know you’re dressed as a goalkeeper and everyone’s dancing. Negronis all round, even for the reserves. Everyone is dishing out high fives; there’s been one too many cigars smoked. Gerd Janson is dressed as a lama and the crowd is loving it.”

 

 

Pool Party Music – Mall Grab

Winter’s over. Let’s celebrate with some Pool Party Music.

This two-track release from last year propelled Aussie producer Mall Grab into the house A-list and inspired a load of articles in music mags with the headline “The Unstoppable rise of Mall Grab”. For sure, there’s a load of potential here. Where the title track is jump-up and frenetic, my pick is Catching Feelings which is more is deep and cool. Check it out.

He is touring hard right now. Keep your eyes open and you can literally catch him just about anywhere in 2019.

Without U – Ricky Razu

Today’s track is another weekend-dancefloor-Shazam special. They laid it down at the inaugral Acuña night at Off The Cuff in Herne Hill, and it was class.

It’s nothing complicated; just some straightforward, sun-soaked, piano-laden house by Belgian producer Ricky Razu on Houseum Records. I like it so much I bought the T-shirt (no joke – check out that sweet sweet album artwork).

Bonus track: recognise the sample? Clever you. It’s only Kidnap’s (formerly Kidnap Kid) 2013 release Survive!

Bonus track: Is that the end of the story? No! The sample first appeared in 2008. A little bit of garage-infused house. Tasty.

My Desire (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Remix) – Interpol

So today I have something really special for you. Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve (Erol Alkan and Richard Norris) give US rock band Interpol the remix treatment. And boy they flip it into something fucking tasty.

The angst of the original vocals remains. But where there were minor sliding guitars, they overlay the most brutal of synths. One of my favourite synth loops of all time. Hit it.

Bonus track: hey, in case you are interested. Interpol aren’t even very good. And Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve are pretty hit-and-miss, so don’t bother looking around too much. Apart from this one. Cool and spooky in equal measure.

Strange Roads at Night – Ben Sun

I have to admit I’m a little late to the party on Ben Sun. The UK producer (not to be confused with England prop Ben Moon) has been around for about 10 years, but just popped onto my radar with this beaut of an album.

The highlights are the Salty Tears (sultry piano chords and a floor-filling bassline) and the closing acid-meet-jazz track, Maman’s Lover. Elsewhere, it’s originally sampled and occasionally verging on the Balearic. Very good. Very good indeed.

No Valentine’s Day special here.

Edmondson

You know who makes nice music? Edmondson. Late last year he released a new EP on his own label Lissoms. Adapt2 is the highlight: its characteristically crisp, and has an undeniably deep flow to it.

Maybe even better is the We Have Love EP. Both tracks are just dripping in cool – so on point – and there’s even a cheeky Dauwd remix added in there for the bargain.

And doing a bit of back-catalogue digging, I came across one my favourite releases of a few years ago and it still sounds fresh. Props.

Anjou – Youandewan

Youandewan (Ewan Smith to his mum & dad) creates beautiful, intimate, introspective, wandering gems of tracks. They make me think of watching the world and its lights go by through a rain-soaked window on the top deck of a bus. Anjou was his first hit, and even though it was released almost a decade ago, it sounds as fresh as if it was yesterday. And if anything 1988 is an even purer treasure of a track.

If you are liking what you hear then check out his debut full-length album from 2016. You can hear how his style has changed over the 8 year gap between the records, a time that also coincided with a move to Berlin. Two stand-out tracks here: 10405 (Alice) and the closing track, 4D Anxiety.