In a year of near-continuous crisis, works of support and solidarity have proved crucial. One such release is Nisf Madeena, a compilation from renowned mastering engineer Heba Kadry, created in partnership with Arabic music and culture magazine Ma3azef. A fundraiser for music communities affected by the explosion in Beirut this summer, it is a thrilling […]
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With her debut EP Mirror River, Amazondotcom has captured imaginations with a production style that imitates the natural world: organic meshes of the familiar and unfamiliar create rich systems of sound, where change is more or less continuous. Ideas in the mix compete for dominance like plants in a rainforest, entangling each other and forcing […]
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Fans will know that a highlight of Lorenzo Senni’s live show is his joyous, high-energy dancing. The Italian producer, best known for his emotive, drum-free reflections on classic trance sounds, puts his skills down to summers spent dancing at bars for money around the tender age of 15. “It’s not what you think,” he laughs […]
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At his home in Chicago’s South Side, Kavain Space, aka RP Boo, recalls an interview he gave at Unsound 2015. The question was asked, what is the best story ever told about footwork? What moments in the genre’s history will still get mentioned in ten years time? For Space however, it’s not what has been […]
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Back in the early ‘90s, near UK rave’s supposed high-water mark, there was a party in Wolverhampton called Quest. Like lots of nights, it printed and posted zines to deliver the word to faithful punters. Theirs featured a ‘Raver of the Month’ letter page. In a typical edition, one Nik Ratcliff of Torquay writes in […]
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For those who don’t know, a brief history lesson: Golden Teacher are a product of the wild variety found in Glasgow’s underground, featuring members from projects which, between 2009 and 2012, were regular fixtures on the DIY-minded line-ups found in both clubs and living rooms. Percussionists Laurie and Ollie Pitt were two thirds of Ultimate […]
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“Life hits me hard again” breathes a voice on Malibu’s “Held”, the second track from PAN’s mono no aware. Perhaps it’s sheer coincidence that the label’s ambient compilation arrives at a time of seemingly endless defeat, but with so many hearts hurting in the wake of global upheaval, it’s tempting to conclude that Bill Kouligas […]
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Recent years have seen plenty of avant-leaning, club-coloured sounds from Japan, with notable examples including Wata Igarashi’s immersive techno, Kyoka’s beat-driven vocal collages, and Keita Sano’s rough-n-ready dancefloor weapons. As such, the sudden return of Shinichi Atobe in 2014 was a timely and welcome one, although whether it was coincidence or otherwise is impossible to […]
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Elysia Crampton’s Demon City diverges from the bittersweet warmth of previous releases, instead offering up a collection of tense and often unsettling collaborations. Tracks like “Fire Gut”, released under her previous moniker E+E, were overwhelming in their emotional depth – immersive like a salt bath. Meanwhile, 2015’s American Drift was characterised by melancholic synths weaved […]
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