D.B.
FXWL 18A

Boiling club music down to a brutal, incisive essence, Anthoney Hart AKA Basic Rhythm returns to Sneaker Social Club with a trio of sharply honed Drum & Bass cuts for the dance.With releases on labels as varied as Type, Warp sub-label Arcola, Planet Mu and Future Retro, Basic Rhythm has always presented a clear-sighted vision of what works in the context of hardcore-rooted sounds without ever sounding derivative of what has come before.Following 2019’s New Style and 2020’s I Don’t Know What I Would Do, Basic Rhythm returns to Sneaker Social with the icy impact of ‘Still’. The lead track runs across the A side in a nuanced sound field of atmospheric impressions, architectural punctuation and an understated but deadly effective beat. With a minimalist approach these subtle touches carry all the more weight.On the flip, ‘Le Samouraï’ has a similarly spartan palette, albeit with a much knottier rhythmic framework and a more pronounced bed of dread-filled string pads ensuring the vibe remains as moody as possible in a time-honoured UK style. The extraneous silence around the 2/3 marker is the definition of an anti-drop.Referencing a totemic study of magic and religion, ‘Still (Golden Bough)’ approaches the A side from a subtly altered angle, switching up the textural matter and thus shifting the atmosphere towards something more ritualistic and unnerving. As with the rest of the EP, In something so stark your ears relish every individual element, and yet each subsequent listen brings another dimension of the track to the fore. In the rigour of his sound, Hart once again demonstrates how his rhythms are anything but basic.

Chateau Chepere's fourth outing is another blissed-out bit of sunrise material that carefully accompanies dancers from a darkened dance floor out into the light. Zurich's underground mainstay Eli Verveine kicks off with the zoned-out tones and dusty deep house drums of 'Morning Dub' before Andu Simion & Dragos Roban aka Two Metromaniac Guys then comfort with the dubby, lo-fi deep house of 'Execution Error' with its hazy melodies and leggy bass. Australian underground talent Tim Jackiw then brings things back into sharper focus with the crisp dub tech of his classy closer 'Empty Theater'.

Atelier Baros, the 6th release from DisDat, is a 3 track EP by the Romanian master of texture, harmony and rhythm, Petre Inspirescu. The three tracks appearing on DisDat 006 / Ooze 000 each respectively offer singular experiences in atmospheric house, ambient and techno storytelling. “Foc,” “Si” and “Para” are tunes for the dance floor packed with layers of composition taking us back through time to our prehistoric heritage. The sounds of “Foc” and “Si” found on side A, in tune with the sophistication we’ve come to expect from the Dis Dat label, deliver an evocative soundscape where the relationship of humankind to the mastering of the elements––fire, earth, wind and water––can be felt.“Foc” (A1) a pulsating ethnoindustrial house track which spares no time in spreading its storied web, carries strong undertones of universal harmonics alongside the immediacy of bright splashing beats and upfront melodies. With “Foc” Inspirescu awakens the mythological figure of Hephaestus, the divine smith and patron of craftsmen, bequeathing the tradition of taming of such powerful elements such as fire and iron to humankind. Conjured here are the ancient ties binding human development with the essential elements that have become inseparable from our very lives, fire and iron, water and wind, all the while implicating the listener as the present day deity carrying the fruits of age-old discoveries and historicity.The storytelling power of A1 is followed with “Si” (A2) a playful and uplifting meditative groove on the power of the sublime, the awe inspired by the experience of the grandeur found in the universal soul of all things. The full bodied sound of “Si” aided by complex organic percussion work, flightlike harmonies and metallic grooves reinforce our industrial heritage while grabbing the listener for a journey through layers of dreamlike states and spatial reflection.The pulsating techno sound of side B brings together the elements found on “Foc” and “Si” into “Para” an unmistakably tight and danceable track; “Para” has also bloomed into the inauguration of the Ooze label, which will serve as DisDat and ReSolute’s outlet for the techno colored side of the musical spectrum. “Foc si para,” as the saying goes––it doesn’t take long to feel the flight of that raging fire connecting our age to how it all began.

Maja Pa presents the third and final installment in the Casting Shadows series with five tracks showcasing her unique style.The EP opens with "A Perfect Day" by Art Teachers, an excellent example of their distinct synth punk sound, providing the perfect introduction to the Veveo-verse. Next up is Vastechoses associate Brique Corps, who delivers the jagged body music of "Has Yo For All4,". On the B-side, Czech duo Kontrajas contribute "Lunt," a circuit-breaker from their self-released Laguna EP. Label regular Rory McPike returns to his post-punk persona 2200 for the goth-infused Outlaw. The record concludes with Geoid Color Circle’s mournful "Adieu Trois Mort En Juin”, taken from their Six Sad World tape.

As a full moon hovers over an empire of cratered landscapes lightyears away, galaxy explorer HVL signals descend to Earth with electronic cuts orbiting around turbulent electro and translunar techno. Four more stories from the great void.

The idea for Suemori's new alias arose in conversation with Osàre! Editions label boss, Elena Colombi. An inheritance from his grandfather, the name sets the tone of the album that synthesises traditional Japanese instruments into an electronic format. Dub and drone’s eerie resonance collides with staccato electro and fizzling acid on ‘Yakkosan.’ Driven by a meditative beat, flutes and choral voices glide through 'Senpai Kouhai' while ‘Hankumoi’ shudders with lucid synth. The cultural iconography of Japan emerges from this dark, textual landscape, haunted both by the ghosts of the past and spectral sound of the future.