Audio Love 26.08.16
Ehtyl & Flori/Our Mutual Friend – Lacewing/Burnside (Mutual Friend Recordings)
Mutual Friend Recordings is the label that has grown out of the series of parties happening in South East London with the focus squarely on the deeper end of the techno and house continuum. This is their third release so far with the first two coming from the Our Mutual Friend boys and also the mighty STL. This time around they've enlisted Ethyl and Flori who provide the A side and OMF on the flip, while both sets of artists get to have a stab at remixing the other.
The result is a lovely EP that meanders between colours and feelings. At time emotive, at times odd and mysterious, at times focused on pumping the floor. I'm often sceptical of remixes as there's often a feeling of tokenhood about them but, weirdly, on this release I feel that it's both of the remixes that are the stand out tracks for me. The OMF mix of “Lacewing” and the E&F mix of “Burnside” both seem to bring out the most grit and the most emotion from the original material. Both of the originals are also lovely I should add. All in all a splendid release and I have the feeling that this is a label that's only just starting to get warmed up.
Buy HERE
Keith Worthy feat G Marcell – The Rise of the Dijital Teknobots (Aesthetic Audio)
Mr Worthy is an out and out don in my book. The Detroit veteran has been putting out forward thinking, high quality music for going on 10 years now, most of which has been released on his own Aesthetic Audio imprint. He's just dropped a repress of his excellent 2011 release The Rise of the Digital Teknobots that features vocals from G Marcell. I totally missed this first time around so I'm very happy that it's getting another moment in the sun.
We kick off with the title track that is a symphony of arpeggios and strings that could only come from D town. Lush and creamy. Following on from this we have 3 versions of “Groove With Me Baby”. The original is an emotive yet energetic pumper, with an instrumental over on the flip. Rounding off the EP is a quite diverse version of “Groove With Me” dubbed the “Worthy Aesthetic Treatment” which, for me, is the most interesting of the three cuts. It's a brooding, chugging monster that doesn't have much of the original left as far as I can tell. This is a quality release and no mistake.
Buy HERE
King Sporty and the Root Rockers – Get On Down (Medlar Mix pts 1 & 2)
Over the past few months there's been a steady trickle of rereleases, remixes and reedits from the TK Disco back catalogue and whoever is responsible deserves a medal. Their discography is huge and, while there are a fair few duffers in there, they are also responsible for some of the hottest disco jams from back in the day. Recently they've let the Peckham based maestro Medlar loose on one of my all time favourites, “Get on Down” by King Sporty and the Root Rockers, and the results are off the chain. Two subtle and respectful edits that bring a nice serving of dub to the original and bringing out its natural chug. Great record, dropping very soon.
Preorder HERE
Randomer – Stupid Things I Do (Clone Basement Series)
Randomer is a hugely talented artist who my intelligent and well informed readers probably don't need me to tell them about. He's put out some seriously high quality releases to date and some of them grace my shelves already. This, for me, is one of those frustrating 12”s where you only are really into one side but still buy it anyway just on the strength of two of the tracks. The two versions of "Stupid Things I do" are not really my bag although many people will absolutely love them. But the two percussion workouts over on the flip, on the other hand, are absolute stone cold killers. Number one is a brooding affair with just the right amount of menace. Number two is a fast paced, clattering cacophony of joy that's going to send people mental and no mistake. Have a listen and see for yourselves.
Buy HERE
