Various Artists
EOS Compilation 01

On his fourth EP, Tim Crombie aka A Psychic Yes invites us to follow him off the beaten track – or dancefloor. With their mix of leftfield grooves, intuitive instrumentation and dreamlike field recordings, these cuts apply club principles to the soundscape of a distant yet familiar world. A bus radio clamours in a terminus in South India. Industrious algorithms go about their daily routines. The sun breaks through a dense canopy, illuminating the damp undergrowth and the psychedelic critters that call it home. Close your eyes and let your mind and feet lead you.

In a world characterised by the mundane, novelty is an increasingly hard-pressed experience to find. But somehow, French DJ/producer Karaba seems to know exactly how to balance the precipitous contest between technicality and innovation.For the 16th release on Haŵs, Karaba writes a love letter to 90s tech house and the underground Parisian scene from his home town in Lille. Sewing together intricate synths, trippy breaks and rumbling tech house loops into an abstract tapestry, the final result is a collection of dancefloor curveballs that somehow, with all the idiosyncrasies, make total sense.'Belly Pad’ is a sharp opener, with a never-ending spiral of kaleidoscopic grooves and instinctively plaited synths. ‘Transform’ has all the charm of a delightfully subterranean level in an old-school video game, positioning rebellious acid lines into a playful, malevolent swing. On the B-side, ‘Digital Mystery’ slips into woozy breakbeat and dark psychedelia that bubbles up through a deliciously addictive bassline and melodies that coil back into itself. To close, ‘Club Simulator’ marks itself as a thoughtful statement on the paradox of creative flow; it’s self-aware but allows itself to get lost in a sky-high trip of lofty synths and rhythms, before touching back down safely to the ground.The ride might at times feel like the driver’s lost control – but in reality they know exactly what they’re doing to push the edge of the thrill just at the right moments.

Remix megapack for Ryan James Ford's acclaimed Exshaw album. On duty: DJ Stingray313, Alden Tyrell, Sansibar, Dave Monolith and the Zenker Brothers. Versatile 5 tracker with each remixer doing their signature interpretation of Ryan's tracks. Design by Jonacthan.

UCC Harlo and NY Graffiti team up for the second release on Peace Anthem Records. Alternating between bleary-eyed impressions and tightly articulated expression the artists forge a path laden with plangent sound, muted color, and circular forms. Ketamine-paced grooves, baroque miniatures, hazy-humid sonics, and dub inflections populate this domain. Each delivers one original and a remix of the other’s track.

For the 3rd release of Cartulis Music sub-label ALT Records they invited French old school head Chris Carrier. Spanning over 20 years of music making Chris has produced and collaborated in the release of very special music. On this one is no different under his newest moniker FSK24. The EP is filled with moods and swings of all sorts. From electro/breakbeat into more Detroit oriented sounds.

Scissor Kick delivers careful introspection, experimentation, and rich conceptual development. The beatless interludes and expansive sound worlds that stuck out their heads on earlier releases are embraced in full here. It’s claustrophobic, but space is found in the right areas; tension and release to the nth degree, never becoming a trope. Percussion remains, but slowed to a crawl.