The second album from Finland trio K-X-P is, appropriately, twice as tough as the first. It’s a much more driven affair, much more rhythmic – and with two drummers sometimes pressed into action your neighbours will be left in no doubt when you’re listening to it! Clearly the trio have been listening to and enjoying a lot of Krautrock, but there is some no holds barred rock and dance here too, harnessed in a primal way that recalls the best of bands such as Holy Fuck and Midnight Juggernauts. The...

Pantha Du Price has already shown an aptitude for using bells in his music, and on his debut LP ‘Black Noise’ he used field recordings of Alpine bells to blend in seamlessly with his own hypnotic techno. Here he goes a step further, enlisting a number of ‘campanologists’ (bell players to you and me!) to play live, exploring the potential of closed melodic loops and longer overtones that the bell sounds all make. The results are mesmeric, and on opening track ‘Wave’ he builds up the tension throu...

It’s not often that DMC endorse albums that don’t fit an electronic or rhythmic blueprint, but Lord Huron’s debut album is one of those times. Lord Huron is the moniker for Ben Schneider, of Michigan, and the cover picture of a horse on a prairie under the light of a crescent moon offers a clue to what the overall sound might be. As it turns out, this is indeed blissful open air music that proves perfect for raising the January spirits, with songs that owe a little to the influence of Simon &...

This is the third album for Toro Y Moi, aka Chaz Bundick, who lives in Berkeley, California. There’s something of the Bay Area warmth about this record, too, fusing as it does R&B sensibilities with some more disco influenced stuff. Bundick does most of the production and vocals himself, and on ‘Rose Quartz’ he gets a warm hearted, dreamy charm, while ‘Say That’ runs with big room R&B to good effect. Bundick’s falsetto often creates a wistful mood, but there is enough depth of feeling to...

Neatly divided into CDs of ‘DC Originals’ and ‘DC Mixes’, Defected’s tribute to one of Chicago’s favourite house music sons brims with quality – and has the stamp of the master himself, for it was Carter who put the collection together. Tending to focus on the older stuff, it shows off that characteristic Carter bounce, the feet barely able to stay on the floor as his springy beats work their magic. Things could hardly start on a better vibe than Sound Patrol’s ‘Tripping Among The Stars’, where ...

‘Casino Classics’ is the Saint Etienne remix album, and looking at the names of the electronic talent assembled to do the reworking, it’s pretty much a ‘who’s who’ of British dance music in the mid 1990s. Especially impressive are the two takes on ‘Like A Motorway’ from the Chemical Brothers, who use all their hip hop sensibilities, and David Holmes, who drenches his in acid for a huge 13 minute mix. Underworld deliver a great take on ‘Cool Kids Of Death’, while it’s nice to hear the Motiv8 chee...

The Saint Etienne deluxe reissues have been incredibly useful for fans, and have served the dual purpose of providing a reminder on the high quality threshold of the band. It therefore makes sense to include Sarah Cracknell’s solo album, which on listening back contains some really tuneful songs and extremely classy production. Naturally it retains a lot of what has made the band successful, but there are some nice string drenched numbers, some breezy Euro pop (‘Ready Or Not’ and ‘Aussie Soap Gi...

It’s easy to see why Kramnik’s debut album is getting support from producers and DJs such as Stephan Bodzin, Luciano and Sasha. It is indeed dark stuff, but is incredibly well produced and structured, each track flowing in to the next with the precision and fluency of a DJ set. There is a choice moment when the full kick drum arrives in ‘Harmuk’, while ‘Viclone’ makes clever use of a single violin, exploring many more textures and sounds than you might expect. Although this is definitely music t...

You could never accuse Kissy Sell Out of under commitment, and if you buy San City High All Stars you’ll get that, plenty of energy and some good time house that comes with a serrated edge. Running through many of Kissy’s high energy pile drivers is a bit of an acid theme, with the bass lines given a sharp cutting edge to them, while up top there are plenty of riffs and melodies that the DJ keeps together really well. Perhaps the best cut of all is Kissy’s own ‘Side Winder’, featuring Tom Piper,...

Renaissance have been making compilations for close on 20 years now, so it’s quite difficult for them to come up with a new approach. That said, if it isn’t broke then there’s no point in trying to fix it – and Nick Warren steps up with another solid addition to the ‘Masters’ series that uses tried and tested formulae. That said, a whole mix of down tempo stuff is a nice mood, especially when it’s of a Balearic variety that drifts in and out of focus. It helps to know that the faster kick drum i...

You can’t fault John Digweed for ambition where his Bedrock releases are concerned, but ‘Live In London’ is by some way his most daring project yet, a 4 CD document of the set he gave in Vauxhall’s ‘Fire’ club on 6th October 2012. With that in mind it’s best to review the whole set as one evolving album – and Digweed does the typical thing for him by starting spacey and gradually toughening up. That’s not to say he’s too predictable, though – far from it, as the cut out to acappella in Maher Dan...

The second of Cocoon’s ‘Dots & Pearls’ gets into its stride pretty quickly with a couple of dark and brooding productions, Subb-an feat. Jacob Phono’s ‘In The Night’ hitting hard with its punchy bass sound. Once a ground mood is established, Mark Reeve’s ‘Carry Me’ is a cracking, smoking piece of tough house, Ambivalent’s ‘Iwato’ flexes its considerable bass line, and Harvey McKay’s ‘First Strike From Mars’, probably the best track here, has a great bit of offbeat action going on. Wrapping u...

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Berlin’s Watergate has deviated from the norm in its compilations by asking for a host of new tracks from artists that have either performed there or fallen under the club’s influence. The rewards are many and varied, from the vocoded moodiness of Henrik Schwarz’s and flicked piano of Soul Clap & Baby Prince’s ‘The Neverending Quest for Inspiration’ through to the quick fire DJ Sneak track ‘Battle’s Over’, in a two CD set that captures the mood of the club...

Cajmere and Chicago are inextricably linked, and have had some wonderful musical moments together – many of which are documented in this winning release from Strut. A key feature of the Cajmere style is its bounce, the music acting as though on springs. This means tracks like his ‘Percolator’, and Dajae’s ‘U Got Me Up’ hit the spot pretty much straight away, the latter with one of house music’s very finest hooks. Cajmere is of course the pseudonym for Curtis Alan Jones, also known as Green Velve...

Making their debut on The Brothers label are a mighty fine set of long time purveyors of UK house, Soulfunktion and Diana Waite, who reveal an up-beat, classic house music vibed floor stomper aptly titled 'House Music Feelin'. A warm piano hook, laced sexy brass stabs underpinned by a bouncing bass line are the perfect musical compliment to Diana's feel-good vocal. The package comes with 2 additional mixes:- 'Dub Mix' that toys with vocal hooks over a Latin tinged grooved and a 'Jam and Deep Dub...

Soulnaturals, the UK Soul/RnB band project from British Soul Standard label boss and writer/producer Tony Cannam, make a welcome return with a brand new slab of hip-shakin' dance floor soul, 'Rise Brother Rise'. Tony is renowned for his classic inspired songs beautifully executed by an outstanding selection of special guest singers and artists and 'Rise Brother Rise' is no exception! UK Soul flower, Lotus D, makes her debut appearance with a song rising from the muddy waters and life's spiritual...

Switzerland's UDM Show Records sent their Autumn smash, 'Black Boy', from Peven Everett back to the lab for some dynamite remix treatment, returning with some serious soulful heat! Turning on their charm at the remix controls are Italian duo Souldynamic, who deliver a tasty soulful bounce with hooky synth lines and sweeping strings; and Zurich's Washerman (aka Gianni Siravo) offers a deeper melancholic vibe, complimenting Peven's honest vocal. Norway's Dalminjo creates an earthy groove with a st...

Following the success of Chris Burns' debut EP, Ultra Nate’s 410 Paradox Underground label is releasing the first of two remix volumes. The first package features remixes from talented friends and frequent collaborators; 95 North, Mike Simonetti (Italians Do It Better), Micah Vellian of Volta Bureau, Vjuan Allure and Hubert Street. This eclectic package offers quality reinterpretations of Burns' original works providing some much needed heat for the dance floors this party season! 4 out of 5 R...

Superstar phenomenon PRINCE, returns to Jamie Lewis’ Purple Music label with ‘Rock And Roll Love Affair.‘Rock And Roll Love Affair’ is a slice of classic Prince Pop, armed with magical lyrics, his treasured signature vocal quirks, underpinned by rock guitar licks and synth stabs. Also on the release package are 2 monstrous Club remixes from Purple’s Jamie Lewis, who respectfully toys with Prince’s vocals over a dynamic soundtrack of driving beats, sexy synth washes, dramatic breakdowns and a mas...

DJ Qness ft. Xoli M - 'Don't Go' (Quentin Harris Remixes)SMI ft. Shea Soul - 'Just Fine' (Jihad Muhammad & David Harness Mixes)Makin’ Moves 'Makin' Moves Sampler Vol 1' features 2 wonderful soulful outings, the first is fantastic new song plucked from rhythmic shores of South Africa. 'Don't Go' is a beautiful and deep afrocentric song from Jo-burg star DJ Qness featuring the soothing tones of Xoli M. Two class mixes come from NYC's Quentin Harris who delivers his signature soulful heat, pin...