The Barcelona trio behind the excellent Isla Fantasia from a few years ago are back to enliven another summer season with an anthemic, Ibiza-esque dance floor filler. Reminiscent of an early 90s Euro-house stomper, the production does what it says on the tin: solid four to the floor action, enchanting female vocals(courtesy of Brigitte Emaga), and a refrain that will have 'the brightest light' still lodged in your brain way into autumn. The flip side, Mistura Magica, is a percussively-driven instrumental that feels like dancing through a tropical rainforest. With just the right amount of rise and fall to keep the rhythmic tension tight with anticipation, it's a journey of Brazilian beats peppered with exotica electronica. Sandwiched between a heavy pounding drums is the sweetest flute (courtesy of Irene Reig), taking the limelight like a bird in flight. A synesthetic track that has you listening in full colour! More

Oliver Dollar debuts on Rekids with disco-fuelled three tracker, ‘Strings for Life’ EP. Initially appearing on Rekids as a remixer in 2012, Berlin-based Oliver Dollar returns to Radio Slave’s imprint with the Spring-time funk of his ‘Strings for Life’ EP this April. The rich, stirring strings of the title track open ‘Strings for Life’ with real soul. Warm, euphoric and built atop a rocksteady discoid groove, it’s a track that’s familiar, new and classic all at the same time. ‘School Daze’ follows with rhythmic shakers, funk-infused chopped guitar and bass licks while nifty vocal samples and cosseting chords provide the hooks. Closing out is ‘Sophisticated Funk’ which sees Dollar double down on the disco with an epic, emotive beatdown. More

Los Angeles based producer Minion debuts on EVAR Records with the four-track EP 'Nite Lyfe.' Released on Aura T-09 and Trickfinger's revered record label, 'Nite Lyfe' merges hardcore, techno and gabber with soft textures and gossamer sheens, evoking an intense, wavey trip. This one is suited to a churning, post-3 AM dancefloor, or in Minion's own words, "warm summer nights in Los Angeles warehouses." Opener 'sAD B0i MASSiVe' blends distorted, gabber-flecked drums with crunchy snares, while a hazy, Daft Punk-esque synthline conjures a dreamy vibe. This signature Minion move conveys his knack for serving up harsh yet romantic atmospheres, pairing two opposite moods that melt into one another like acetone and water. On 'Magnetar', we're caught up in the Thunderdome circa 1990, but just for a moment. While rubbery kick drums and whooshing hoover sounds shape the track, Minion combines these old-skool elements with a more modern quirk, producing a twinkling melody that arouses emotion and euphoria. The penultimate track 'Grey Goo' is the toughest of the foursome. Built with off-kilter, grainy kickdrums and cinematic pads that slink between rusty beats, it bridges hardcore motifs with delicate shades of grey, Minion-style. Final track 'Saturday Night in a Parallel Universe' displays Minion's versatility as a producer. Delving into a potent palette of electro, breakbeat, techno and 2-step, he welds rapid-fire claps, fizzing hi-hats and a heartfelt melody, weaving through bleeps and a chunky bassline—a signal to end a long trip, somewhere in a parallel universe. Although Minion produced the tracks four years ago, 'Nite Lyfe' stands the test of time and doesn't follow any one trend or genre. Instead, it's an alchemy of sonic patterns and contrasting colours, nodding to Minion's punk, hardcore and experimental influences that cultivated oddball electronic music in the 80s. The afterglow of these sounds culminates in an EP that ripples with intriguing hooks, corrosive qualities and strangely blissful melodies. It reflects the expansive ethos of EVAR down to the final bar. More

With the elements in Hip-Hop divided, Pawz One & Preed One return to their grafitti roots with the new collaboration album "Murals & Mayhem". Pawz approaches each song as verbal graff piece that covers Preed One's soulful and gritty background production. The duo bring the color out of topics such as tainted love, friendships, the culture of Hip-Hop and surviving the mayhem of the Los Angeles streets. Adding more to the mural are guests like Guilty Simpson, Copywrite and Ruste Juxx. Blended together each song creates a larger piece that covers the mind walls from top to bottom. More

Gianpiero Pacetti aka J.P. Energy's music developed in the city of Brescia: land of afro-cosmic, euro-dance hits and metallurgic industries.
Amidst this backdrop, J.P. Energy built his unique vision on djing and music production while also running his own record shop, Mandragora Dischi.
"Forbidden Planet", "Strano E.P." and "I Have A Pessimistic Outlook of Life E.P." are just a few of his releases that are extremely sought-after these days.
It was hard to track him down, but eventually we made it.
These three cuts were produced with Macro Dj in 1999, using only his vintage synthesizers in the studio in the back of his record shop. They were never released until now. More

Sound Metaphors and Transmigration take another dig at the CATT Records catalogue with another EP comprised of two cuts that have been part of the secret weapon arsenals of many seasoned DJs and collectors. A side investigates what might come across as a British response to the Belgian New Beat contingent that had been brewing for a while at the time, serious bass lines and synthetic Gregorian chants echoed over solid four on the floor action. B side unfolds the rhythm in half beat with a breaky electro/freestyle indulgence with Led Zeppelin samples unexpectedly sprinkled about. Highly effective on the dancefloor. Remastered at Manmade Mastering in Berlin.

More

New Parisian label, Disques Messager, presents its first release and not the least. As its name suggests, the label has a simple leitmotiv: to place itself among the best messengers for rarities and sought-after gems of the international rare groove. A mission which begins rather well, with the official reissue of these two stirring titles by Brazilian singer and composer Cristina Camargo.

Native of Rio De Janeiro, Cristina Camargo had quite a short career, releasing only 2 albums in 1980 and 1981, but still enough to collaborate with some of the best composers, musicians and producers at that time. Her first self-titled album was therefore produced by Robson Jorge & Lincoln Oliveti and recorded with some of the finest musicians.

“Moral Tem Hora” comes from this same LP and is a perfect example of the unique alchemy that emerged when the Disco and Boogie invaded the Brazilian music scene. A quite hard to find Boogie killer, composed by famous brothers, Marcos and Paulo Sérgio Valle.

On B side comes “Minas Do Rei Salomão”, a more chilled-out title extracted from Cristina’s 2nd album, Santa Maravilha. With its funky slapped bass, airy keyboards and the sweet vocals of Cristina, the song seems made to sip a nice cocktail at Ipanema.

A - Moral Tem Hora
B - Minas Do Rei Salomão More