The latest offering from San Francisco's ICEE HOT label finds the young imprint officially welcoming another artist to its gradually expanding roster. That said, Contakt isn't exactly a stranger. The Michigan-reared, New York-based producer is one of the founders and resident DJs at Brooklyn's TURRBOTAX® party, which has long been a sort of sister party to ICEE HOT. Contakt has previously released music for respected outposts like Local Action, Grizzly, and Dutty Artz, but "Nobody Else" and "Tessera 04" find him taking an important step forward as an artist, delivering tunes that are richer and more really realized than anything from his past. Particularly on "Nobody Else," Contakt's flair for big-room melody remains intact, but he takes notes from classic KMS, filling out the song's cresting synths with a full-bodied bassline, a hooky vocal sample and a sturdy rhythmic underpinning. "Tessera 04" goes deeper, channeling Maurizio while delving headlong into a dense cloud of synths and maintaining a steady sense of forward momentum. On the flipside, ICEE HOT resident Ghosts on Tape continues his recent hot streak, infusing "Nobody Else" with punchy drumwork and a potent rave sensibility. Detroit legend Robert Hood then rounds out the release, transforming "Tessera 04" into a pulsing and purring slice of heady analog techno. More

Following drops for Sneaker Social Club, Domino and Alex Nut’s Ho_Tep label, Throwing Snow makes his debut on Local Action with an ice cold three-track EP. Opening track ‘Pyre’ is the straightest thing here, with vocals from Augustus Ghost (Throwing Snow’s collaborator in Snow Ghosts) riding bitter hi-hats and an heavyweight bassline, while ‘Equuleus’ (also featuring vocals from Augustus) takes things into lo-fi pop territory, with a swelling synth climax kept together by tight drum rolls. ‘Too Polite’ is the title track for a reason though - it’s torn-out jungle driven by a jagged Reese bassline and rolling toms. Each track on this EP is totally different in terms of style and tempo, but it’s all brought together by a bitter, icy feel. As Local Action’s last release of 2011, the first run of vinyl copies will come packaged with a CD-R label compilation, featuring 100% unreleased material from T. Williams, Contakt, Laurel Halo, Throwing Snow, Damu, Jacques Greene and more.

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Local Action’s seventh vinyl release is the official follow-up to T. Williams and Terri Walker’s 2010 anthem ‘Heartbeat’, and comprises three of T. Williams’ heaviest instrumental tracks to date. ‘Break Broke’ is the sound of Williams getting darker, with synths that glow like an overcooked power grid and one of the most ruff-neck drops you’ll hear anywhere this year. ‘Go In’ is for the DJs, a palette cleanser that's tailor-made to mix long and deep, but it’s ‘Analog Tour’ that’s arguably this record’s stand-out – opening with a two-and-a-half minute intro of acid ambience, electro claps and super-heavy 808 kicks, and climaxing as a full-on 303 hydra.
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?Such an intense, variegated, and singularly saccharin sound can only come from the mind of someone who's in love with life and music. It's what puppy love sounds like for our generation.? Following the Paul Woolford remix of T. Williams and Terri Walker?s ?Heartbeat? comes Local Action 006, the first 12" release by an amazing new artist from Manchester, UK, called Damu. After this, he?s got material penciled in for Blackdown?s Keysound label and more. The title track, a stand-out from Girl Unit?s XLR8R podcast last year, is one of the best tunes we've put out yet, full of colour with just the right amount of lushness to it. While a lot of UK dance music right now seems to use colourful synths in an unimaginative way, Damu?s drip, glow and fizz at every turn in the same way that Ill Blu or Funkystepz do. Listening to ?Mermaid??s like diving head-first into a lagoon. After that you've got three more killers: the iron assault of ?Beat of Zen? and the few-more-intense ?Sequinny?, plus a ?Beat of Zen? remix by Chicago juke titans DJ Rashad and DJ Earl. Early support comes from LV, Girl Unit, Sinden, Brodinski, Starkey and more. More