Third Space
Scissor Kick LP

Man.... this record.... Man do I rate this record.... Its like you wake up after a night out at Paloma yeah.... And your memory is a bit foggy.... But you know you've danced the night away.... Like proper groovin.... And the lads might have seen, might have danced with you.... But that's not important... The important part was the energy.... The beautiful, beautiful energy.... You roll over.... You check your phone.... No notifications, no worries.. You walk downstairs and your mate Éanna is cooking up some bacon.... Upon further inspection he is making eggs too.... "Oi boyo spare a strip of bacon?"..... Éanna doesn't mind.... You've just scored yourself some bacon..... Great start to the day... You glance outside.... The sun is shining... Your little neighbour Johno is kicking a ball about..... Pure bliss.... This record is pure bliss.

Longtime friends and frequent collaborators Luke Entelis (Viul) and Thomas Meluch (Benoît Pioulard) combine their enchanting textures reflecting on a time spent in lockdown, for A Strangely Isolated Place. "Konec" is Czech for "end," and a nod to the uncertainty of Luke and Thomas’ home city of New York amidst the pandemic. Birthed from Luke’s short synth sketches, the two friends further collaborated in isolation to create a series of strangely beautiful interludes - a sense of vitality breaking through the immediate surrounding dread.Whilst many of the tracks expand far beyond what a short interlude may dictate, Konec builds on this concept through some of the most thought-provoking loops the pair have created over their many combined years producing. With an immediate arresting aesthetic, grounded in saturation, decay, and distortion, tracks such as ‘Returning Clear Voice’ or ‘Flaxen’ reflect some of the duo’s more textured work - a hazy mist of life unknown in a city’s uncharted times. Konec’s storyful and engrossing moments come with a confident posture, such as the unforgettable bellowing of ‘Catalune’ or ‘Construction Worker Smoke Cycle’ or the swirling, haunting, ‘Canon’. The variation in minutia, samples and instrumentation throughout the album cannot be understated amongst its hazy aesthetic and ominous poignancy. It’s one thing to notice the details, but another to unstick the melodies from the closing credits of a dystopian city’s downfall, from the forefront of your mind. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri and featuring original artwork by Liz Harris, Konec is available on limited gatefold transparent 2LP + digital.

Sparsely condensed.
Intrinsically detailed.Moody, yet goofy.Nordic Noir.DJ Lifegoals is a Helsinki-based beat-maker and mood-shaper.

62*2: Ice crystals decorate the well-worn machines. There's a positive buzz in the air, as construction on the purple plane is progressing smoothly. I'm still getting used to my new form, but I feel like I can be of help.

Making their return with further innovative output this Spring is Bucharest based outfit, VARME, a label curated and cared for by, Paul Popa. Crafting the seventh release on the label is the incredibly talented beat maker, Maximo. The Uruguayan’s “XKP” EP meanders through low end leaning electro, and intelligently arranged spaced out techno, rough and ready for the club.Title track “XKP” moves in mechanical motions, chugging by as trippy beeps and bleeps make themselves known. Futuristic elements breathing life into the chunky drums. The A2 “Trip To the Moon” teeters on the fine line of techno, and trance, sitting comfortably between the two, blasting you with dusty nostalgia from records of the past but maintaining the modern twist Maximo consistently captures.On the flipside delving deeper into the mind of Maximo is “1945” is a sleek and crisp trip, a punchy kick and ice cold hi-hats drive the groove. The vocal sample used fits perfectly, transcending the listener as it continues to flash in and out. Closing 007 is “Sinrazón” a curious journey through shimmering pads and synths, teasing you down a path of mystery with the dark bassline that simmers throughout.Solid impressions from a label that continue to propel their distinguished energy, showing no signs of slowing down, continuing to become somewhat of a diggers paradise with their catalogue. VARME are not afraid to push music they believe in, never taking the restraints of genre on their shoulders. Whilst not making music Maximo is helping steer the ship at Deeper, a collective who share their musical vision in their native country of Uruguay.

Emerging from the shadows with 2021s ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ album, electro duo Sons of Slough see their debut 12” back in print via Perko’s FELT label. A quiet highlight of turn of the millennium-era British dance music that takes cues from the New York and Detroit schools of thought, ‘Live EP’ is rough, heavy and proves just as effective on the dancefloor two decades later. The Sons played shows with Richie Hawtin, Two Lone Swordsmen, Dave Clarke, The Chemical Brothers and more, often performing (as the title might suggest) in a live context. Indeed, the A1 cut ‘Snares and Temptations’ was a regular fixture, reportedly taking the roof off the place at the first Dedbeat Weekender as well as some of the worlds ‘less congenial establishments’. It's a sharp, low-end laden assault on the senses making great use of a distorted vocal sample and Drexciyan-like drum programming. The other three cuts are equally as powerful, vocoders and 'squelchy messes of clicks and whirrs' aplenty. The second instalment of FELT, 'Live EP' hints at the stylistic breadth yet to come via Perko's newly christened aural lovechild.