Early Experiments sees Jackmaster release a collection of music recorded during lockdown, a particularly abundant period spent getting to grips with his home studio. After years of honing his craft solely as a DJ, lockdown saw him dive headfirst into exploring music production and sound design. As you would hope, the results draw from as many strains of influence as his wide-ranging club mixes do. The A Side opens with ‘Face Your Fate’ which sees Jack call in Keith Tucker from Aux 88 and Blak Tony to further cement the Glasgow > Detroit bond with a classic short & sweet vocal delivery. Next up is the polished loopy techno of ‘Vizor’, reminiscent of close friend Artwork’s Grain project meeting Chain Reaction, the EP moves through Dutch electro-funk, Detroit influenced pads and chords and even the sounds of UK Garage. ‘SBS’ pairs a clever monologue sample with hard-hitting percussion and a floor friendly breakdown, inspired by his his formative years dancing and watching in awe when the likes of Lory D, Claude Young and Jeff Mills would pass through Glasgow. The tempo rises to 140 on the menacing ‘A Tribute’, with sharp synth programming recalling the foundational Mixed up in the Hague CD’s.

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Following EPs unearthed from by Dukwa and Marco Bailey & Redhead, TDSR land back in their native Scotland with the debut release from young Edinburgh producer LWS.

One half of the party duo Agora, he has been quietly honing his production skills wherever he can, seemingly even during university lectures. This is most evident in the title track ‘Metrixulus’, made entirely from a ten-minute iPhone recording from one of his economics lecture, flipping it fully on its head. Distorted synth howls are layered atop tight, clinical percussion shaking in unison with a broken melody. The overall effect reveals a method to the madness though, nodding to deeper dancefloor moments through the emotive synth work, yet also showing a keen ear for the blistering digital drums of UK Funky and post-dubstep offshoots.

The four tracks here show a young producer with a distinct sound, yet each remain markedly different to another. ‘Buy These’ on the A2 changes up the pace with a sharp, bouncy rhythm workout bringing in toms reminiscent of old Dance Mania jams, alongside some quality ambient pads.

Side B delivers a driving EBM style lead blended with elements of dub techno, cavernous reverb filling the stereo field (C-Gard). Big extended breakdown in the midsection too! Arguably the most full-on cut is left till last, utilising the same knack for tight drums to underpin a truly wonky electro melody with what sounds like a detuned panpipe scale amongst various other FX.

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Two little-known tracks of clean and clinical yet emotive, UK sounding Electro (even though they're from Belgium). A staple of Andy Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood's sets in the very early 00s and now lovingly re-mastered by Keith himself.


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The second release on TDSR comes from the Prince of Florence - Dukwa. "Tears Like Stones" is his most varied body of work yet, and hints at the versatility of what's to come from this new Glaswegian label.

Marco Dukwa lives a life of many parallels. Growing up in a small town on the outskirts of Florence, he is the third of eight children in a working class family - by day working 13 hours shifts since adolescence to help provide for his siblings, all the while dreaming of music. By night he locks himself in his room, channelling his emotions through the only hardware he could afford – the MPC1000. Through his sampler he reflects various influences from dance music past and present, crafting tracks of rave euphoria, dusty Detroit house, gliding arpeggios and golden era electro.

At weekends, he is the darling of his local football team Antella FC for which he is the top goal scorer and subject of much adoration (even if it’s only from the average attendance of 50 people).

“Tears Like Stones” translates both the introspective recording process and the intent for versatile DJ use, percussion tools and peak time energy represented across each side. The EP demonstrates Dukwa’s path from 2008 to today – the culmination of more than a decade immersed in sound.

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Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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