Jets – Jets

Label: Leisure System

One of the most hotly anticipated collaborations of the year finally arrives as Jimmy Edgar (responsible for the funky sleaze odyssey Majenta) and Travis Stewart (aka Machinedrum producer of last year’s magnificent Room(s)), finally take their 12-year friendship to the next level on a collaborative release. The idea of two of dance music’s most distinctive voices teaming up may at first sound a little conceptually jarring, but the Jets project is assuredly greater than the sum of its parts, as the pair fuse their sounds into a breathless, colourful and contrasting four-track EP.

 

Lock Lock Key (clip)

It kicks off with the powerful mission statement In Her City; where colourful synth stabs bounce on a bed of clicking percussion, before the tune takes off with a breezy, iridescent synthline and expertly manipulated vocals. Recalling Edgar’s flirting with IDM and pretty much all of Machinedrum’s output, these tunes never sit still; there’s a restless energy that means each track is constantly shifting and mutating, individual elements and colours jostling for attention without it ever feeling cluttered. Second track Sin Love With You hits a little harder; Stewart’s established technique of call-and-response between big synths and clipped vocals reigns free for the first half before a funky synthline that is all Edgar emerges later in the track. It’s the distinctiveness of the producers’ voices that make this such an exciting collaboration; you can hear each artist’s sound but the audible conversation between styles creates a fluid whole.

 

Meu (clip)

The precision that both producers have brought to the table in previous releases is present here but is never stifling, as these four cuts deftly tread the line between complex and spontaneous, giving out copious ear candy while always keeping a tight grip on those core grooves. Final cut Lock Lock Key is the most restless of the bunch, going through at least four distinct phases before finally settling into a warm, effortlessly classy and chilled final stretch. While these three tracks feel like the quality output of two distinct producers, its on the pacing standout Meu where we get a glimpse of a more exciting cohesion. Here the duo turn down the brightness for a kinetic workout that trades jukey rhythms with tight vocal-work and the late emergence of a showstopping synthline. The Jets EP is bright, explosive and consistently thrilling, and it should leave listeners hoping that this is only the beginning of this intensely fruitful collaboration

8.5/10

Guest Mix: Vocal House Mix

Today we have a guest mix courtesy of a White Noise resident, moth, who brings us a fine selection of vocal house tunes, including some of our very favourites from the last month or so. Listen up!

Tracklist: 

Floating Points – Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub)

Bondax – Baby I Got That

T. Williams – Think Of You

John Talabot – Destiny feat. Pional

Daphni – Yes I Know

Maxxi Soundsystem feat. Name One – Regrets We Have No Use For

DJ T. – City Life feat. Cari Golden (Maceo Plex Remix)

Krystal Klear – More Attention feat. Jenna G

Citizen – Room Service

Italojohnson – B1 Untitled

Bicep – Vision Of Love

Presk – Nobody Makes Me

JohNick – C’Mon Give It Up

Lorca – Love Like This

SBTRKT – Pharaohs

Jam City – Strawberries

Last Magpie – (Who Knows) Where Love Goes

Trevor Deep Jr – Keep On!

Theo Parrish – Solitary Flight

Presk - Nobody Makes Me Do

Label: 2020 Midnight Visions

The third release on 2020 Visions offshoot Midnight Visions comes courtesy of Dutch producer Presk, who has something a little different to offer us. Previously his productions contrasted with the UK’s jumpy scene by way of their restraint and dignity, but here Presk is chopping and skipping like the rest of them; and if this EP is enough to go on, this style fits him to a tee. Scorching A-side Nobody Makes Me Do will be the first to grab attention, an off-kilter garage rhythm underlying a bouncing bass and a fantastic earworm vocal. This would surely be enough for a top tune, but with Presk nothing is left to settle. With the late introduction of an unexpected second vocal (just as catchy, and a glorious companion to the first) and a bassline that looks set to burst free from the track before the second drop, this is an explosive track that marks Presk as a real force to be reckoned with.

 

EP Clips

On the AA-side we stay hyper but get a little darker with the frantic and ominous Akola. Clipped drum samples and hammering synths mean the track never settles, lurching powerfully in its place amid another perfect pair of vocal samples and a collage of punchy atmospherics. Both lead tunes put a thoroughly modern, aggressive twist on classic house and electro, and they work a charm. Epic B-side Cerano City is another beast entirely, channelling moody Detroit pads to create a dark, hypnotic groove with burbling synths and a tightly structured arrangement of drumtracks and vocals which means every second of its 8-minute runtime is scintillating. Not only are all three of these tracks essential for any on-trend DJs; this is Presk like we’ve never seen him before: the gloves are off and the man is clearly making it his business to destroy dancefloors and take names.

8.5/10

Elsewhere – Trippin’

Label: Mindset

Mindset go heavy on the dread with their latest release from Elsewhere, after a series of stellar singles from Synkro, Stickman and Troy Gunner. The typical darkness of the label’s output is present in these bass hybrids, all of which are constructed to be dancefloor dynamite. A-side Trippin’ is the most explosive of the bunch, pitched-down vocals building an ominous vibe before razor-sharp hi-hats and a deep, tunnelling bassline drag the listener down into some twisted netherworld. Subtle atmospherics build mood, and for my money this tune is one of the biggest dancefloor-weapons a DJ could find at his disposal this month.

EP Clips

On the flipside Bot Bott has a similarly destructive drop; this time the vocals are glitched uneasily over creeping synths and a UK Funky-esque drum track. The track has much the same impact as the A-side, but who could complain about too much of a good thing? On final cut The Espers we get something different; mystical vocals float across the distance while rough clattering beats situate themselves halfway between DnB and IDM without really settling on either. It’s a much moodier cut with some impressively detailed atmospherics, proving that Elsewhere has more than just one ferociously impressive trick up his sleeve. For any fans of the dark sonics of Indigo, Synkro or Akkord, this is an essential release; but the expertise and power behind these tunes might just see Elsewhere going somewhere very special indeed.

8.5/10

U – MMAKEU01

 Label: ManMakeMusic

After only a few month’s wait, the latest release from George Fitzgerald’s on-point label is a vinyl-only 10’ from newcomer U. George Fitzgerald's ManMakeMusic label is rapidly acquiring a reputation not only for quality releases, but also for scouting out fresh talent; issuing hot releases this year from up-and-comers  Leon Vynehall and Trikk. Here the on-point label continues to source new productions with U, whose debut marks the label’s first step away from the dancefloor. He assembles an interesting collection of genre-defying tunes that reflect not just dance music but the twisted memory of it, evoking nostalgia-tinted deconstructions that slip between the gaps of house, ambient and sample-crazed electronica, each drenched in heavy atmospherics and ethereal, lofi vibes.

Eah

On the A-side, main track Eah lurches into a powerful groove with stripped beats and dusty tape hiss. The pitchbent vocal takes the tune underwater before it rises back out with filtered synths and sharp snares; a warped house cut that eschews current trends to create an atmospheric cross-section of the groove. Evil Spirits has a more mournful tone, with twinkling pads setting off low-key percussive touches to moody effect.

Haunted is another strong cut that leads the B-side, setting a Boyz II Men sample against ghostly effects and a shuffling 4/4, while final tune Heaven is the most optimistic of the lot, with an upbeat melody contrasted with a sharp bass buzz that creates an uneasy tension. Unfortunately the track lengths prove a little irritating over repeated plays, despite the individual sound all of the tracks apart from the opener come off as a little sketchy.  Still, the unique and exciting voice of U shines through in all of these tracks, offering something different from the mainstream while still somehow commenting on it all, a rare and promising approach.

7/10