Romare - Projections

Label: Ninja Tune

What do we tend to expect from a debut electronic LP? With a few solid EPs under his or her belt, most producers head in one of two directions for their first album: they refine their existing sound or they go for something completely different. British producer Romare chooses the former approach to follow two sterling EPs on Black Acre which proved challenging while overflowing with groove and invention.

On Projections, he burnishes his sample collages to a sheen, casting a sharp eye at the history of American music by recomposing its features. It’s a warm, generous collection of tracks, overflowing with the spirit of funk, soul and jazz, shot through with an eye-popping cast of samples. And yet, after it’s all over, it feels like there’s something missing. Romare’s first EPs were so creative, so searching in theme, sound and style, that hearing him do more of what he does best is a disappointment in a way. The novelty of his approach has worn off as his craft has improved, so what we’re left with is an album that impresses and caresses, but doesn’t quite excite.

Yet that very mastery of craft is still something to behold. Romare has a way in particular with structure, eliciting drama in his tracks by leaving tracks up to past the halfway point before they gloriously erupt, such as Work Song’s explosion from soupy synthwork to a swung groove and clipped piano samples like excerpts from a lost saloon jam. Motherless Child at first doesn’t convince with a lounge-y melody that sounds like it belongs on the shopping channel, but the seedy trumpet that dominates the track’s latter half is a joyous reward, as Romare boldly changes the spirit of the original.

As well as his fine attention to build and release, Romare’s use of samples is generous and far-reaching, such as on highlight Roots, where a bassline like a distilment of his earlier Down The Line (It Takes A Number) builds with patience, slowly accruing dusty samples til one can only marvel at the complexity of the arrangement, at how every tiny sample plays such an integral part of the whole.

Later The Drifter enchants instantly with its strutting bassline, while Rainbow is a confident dancefloor number, all smooth guitar licks and a lush funk bassline. It’s euphoric without ever beating you over the head with its emotional direction. Yet by this point in the album, perhaps some head-beating would be appreciated. These tracks are so classy and polished that over repeated listens they feel somewhat lacking in grit, even unadventurous compared with his earlier work.

Later tracks suffer from the success of what came before, Prison Blues is a syrup-thick jazzy number that has personality but loses its impact because it feels like we’ve heard it before, while meandering closer La Petite Mort’s slow-mo jazz keys and tidy vocal feel directionless over the track’s indulgent 7 minute length. When Romare can craft a superb tune like the melancholy Jimmy’s Lament in only three minutes, we’re left to wonder why he dedicated so much time to such an aimless parting shot.

Projections is tough to judge because what you get out of it as a listener really depends on what you were expecting (although admittedly all music is prey to the warping powers of expectation). If you’re looking for something bold and fresh in this spirit of Romare’s first EPs, it might be worth skipping over this one. Yet if you loved that first sound and want to hear more like it, Projections is a lovely gem, seducing with a distinctive voice and lavish arrangements.

7/10

January / February Roundup 2015

Two months into the new year and we're getting back into the swing of things here at White Noise HQ. Today we've got a roundup of the top tunes from 2015's first two months, moving from moody deep house to techno via funk, disco and electro. Enjoy!

Tracklist: 

Route 8 - The Sunrise In Her Eyes

DJ Sotofett - Nondo

Hodge - I Don't Recognise You Lately

Romare - Roots

Anthony Naples - Refugio

Sven Atterton - Hot Sun

Vakula - Joywind

Project Pablo - Movin' Out

Tiger & Woods - Don't Try To Stop Me

Linkwood - Expressions

Denis Sulta - Saturday Nite

Dan Shake ft. Rennie Foster - Traders II

Dude Energy - Renee Running

Arttu - Evvy Steps

Hysterics - HTRX9

DJ Overdose - Master Control

Asusu - Serra

Basic House - Cones

Levon Vincent - E1 Black Arm w_Wolf

DJ Paypal - I'm Ready

...and there's always one which we can't find on youtube:

I.A. Bericochea - W4

Best of 2013: 11 EPs

It’s normal to round up the year’s best albums and tracks, but here at White Noise we like to pay a little attention to the EP format as well. While lacking the depth of a long-player, an EP can still offer a striking mission statement, and a platform for more than a simple collection of dance tracks. The best EPs work like miniatures, exploring a single idea from several angles or allowing a producer to flex their creative muscles over a series of different styles. Here we’ve collected the EPs that really stood out to us over the year, by either offering something a bit different or showing an artist at the very top of their game.

There were so many excellent releases this year, and the cruel selection process meant that many couldn’t make the list: superb outings from Big Doint, Innershades, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Palms Trax offered some of the year’s best house tunes, while DJ Rashad, Call Super, and White Material returned with a vengeance on a series of ace records. The EPs on the list gave us just a little bit more, and while some came out almost a year ago, the following vinyls are still on regular repeat here at White Noise HQ.

If you want to read more, click on the title of any release to read the full WN review.

11: Mix Mup – After The Job [Hinge Finger]

After The Job

Mix Mup broke away from Kassem Mosse’s shadow on this fantastic outing for Will Bankhead and Joy O’s Hinge Finger, plying a pitch-perfect brand of lofi house and techno. Doomed and Copa Jams were menacing rollers with a strong undercurrent of funk, while closer Bungalow was a radical left-turn into glistening beatless territory. It was on the title track, however, where Mix Mup really hit the mark, a warped collision of Tina Turner, clicking percussion and an unholy bassline.

10: Martyn – Newspeak [Dolly Dubs]

Oceania

Martyn proved why he’s still one of the best in the game with this expert three-tracker, with glistening bass music backed by two retro-house bumpers on the b-side. Oceania was a beautiful trip, but it was on the low-slung grooves of Newspeak and What Is Room 101 that Martyn really got his jack on. It’s rare to get an EP where every tune is a highlight, but you can trust a producer like Martyn to really nail it.

9: Laurel Halo – Behind The Green Door [Hyperdub]

Throw

Hyperdub’s Laurel Halo was responsible for two of the year’s best releases: this EP and her Chance Of Rain album, and it’s a credit to her remarkable talent that the two couldn’t have been more different. While the LP saw Halo toying with icy, autumnal textures, Green Door was a masterclass in machine-fed funk, from Throw’s beautiful piano to Sexmission’s suffocated techno.

8: Visionist – Snakes [Leisure System]

Snakebite

Logos may have secured the year’s best grime album, but this year’s 12” crown belongs to Visionist. The restless producer let out a slew of lethal productions across the year, but it was on Snakes for Leisure System that he conjured a high-def psychedelia which sounded like nothing else.

7: June – Don’t Be Seen With Me [June]

Face This (Deep House Mix)

We’d be the first to admit that there’s a lot of hardware-driven retro house going round, but none hit that sweet spot of past and future like June did this year. Don’t Be Seen With Me was a masterclass in mood, offsetting glistening melodies with taut drum machine workouts and the occasional foray into acid and new age territory.

6: Romare – Love Songs Part 1 [Black Acre]

Taste Of Honey (From The City)

After topping this list last year, Romare once again scored a winner on his second EP for Black Acre. His collage of samples and genres is executed with a fascinating socio-historical bent, making Love Songs a feast for the mind as well as the feet.

5: Levon Vincent – Rainstorm II [Novel Sound]

???

After a blistering mix for Fabric, Mr Vincent returned to our decks on the superb NS08, where he plied his unique brand of warehouse stomp. Rainstorm saw a return of the untreated synths we loved in Impressions... and Man or Mistress, while the gargantuan ??? saw Vincent aim squarely for the dancefloor, all thanks to the year’s most distinctive bassline.

4: Dopplereffekt – Tetrahymena [Leisure System]

Gene Silencing

Leisure System’s second coup of the year was beckoning Gerald Donald back into the dance game, where he issued an update of his singular scifi funk under the storied Dopplereffekt moniker. Doppler’s hi-def electro has never sounded better than on the propulsive Tetrahymena, or in the tunnelling bassline that reinforced Gene Silencing’s slo-mo menace.

3: Tessela – Nancy’s Pantry [R&S]

Horizon

Not content with issuing what might be the year’s best single, Tessela took to R&S in the Autumn to expand his staccato experiments with breakbeat dynamics. This is techno at its most visceral, from the searing test tones of Nancy’s Pantry to the giddy abandon of the rave-indebted Horizon. Tessela’s palette couldn’t be more current or more vital, even allowing for patience in the simmering threat of Gateway.

2: Anthony Naples – Ill Still [Rubadub]

Faceless

P O T, El Portal, Moscato: Anthony Naples released a lot of brilliant music this year, but for us it was Ill Still that had them all beat. Taking a smoother approach than on other releases, Naples allowed his melodies to shine on these addictive grooves, and all three were superb in their own right. The simplicity of these tracks was addictive: the whirring synthline and straightforward drum programming of Ill Still, or the ghosted vocals and shimmering melodic haze of Faceless: both made for two of our most played tracks. On I Don’t See Them Naples turned a little psychedelic with effortless style, a throaty bassline complimenting a sifting soup of synths and atmospheric detail.

1: A Made Up Sound – Ahead / Endgame [A Made Up Sound]

Ahead

Perhaps more a single than an EP, Dave Huisman’s staggeringly strange single was undoubtedly the most futuristic music we heard all year. Ahead throws dance convention out of the window: no comfortable beat pattern, no melodic hooks to latch onto. Huismans takes a stuttered beat pattern and guts it, splicing in jagged funk samples and splintering percussion. It’s wildly unpredictable and jarringly, brilliantly broken, and we wanted to keep returning just to see if we could manage to make some sort of sense of it all.

Endgame is straighter but by no means simple: a crushed melody split open across an epileptic beat pattern, eventually allowed to morph into sputtering warehouse techno for a searing finale. It’s difficult, perplexing music, and perhaps not aimed explicitly for the dancefloor: but no record left us more dazzled this year.

Best of 2013:

* Best Labels of 2013

* Best EPs of 2013
* Best Tracks: 85-26
* Best Tracks: 25-1

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Summer Sessions: Chill

Back before White Noise was a dedicated dance blog, most of the reviews focused on alternative releases, from indie to offbeat electronica. Although the site is now purely dance-centric, we haven't stopped listening to all those other tunes. For our fourth summer playlist, we present a strong selection of summer vibes that crosses modern funk and soul, indie, beats and more. It's all very chilled, and with a lot more vocals and videos than you're likely to find on the latest Hyperdub release. Enjoy!

Make sure to check out all of our summer playlist series, and to follow White Noise on Facebook and Twitter!

Summer Sessions:

Classic House

Funk and Soul

Hip Hop

Bass
House

Chill

Tracklist:

Fatima - Mind

Andrew Ashong - Flowers

Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill

Primal Scream - Loaded

Gorrillaz - On Melancholy Hill

The Flaming Lips - Fight Test

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Peaking Lights - All The Sun That Shines

Washed Out - Feel It All Around

Toro Y Moi - Divina

Shlohmo - Places

Quiet Village - Too High To Move

Emeralds - Now You See Me

Leon Vynehall - Picture Frame

Bonobo - We Could Forever

Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk

Mala - Alicia

Bibio - Lovers Carvings (Letherette Remix)

Airhead - Wait

Boards of Canada - Peacock Tail

Do Make Say Think - Soul and Onward

Pablo Nouvelle - Be True To Me

Romare - Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin')

Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town

Dean Blunt - Track 2 Feat Inga Copeland

Summer Mixes

Now that we're finally getting some real sun, there's no time like the present to share a couple of fresh  mixes featuring a load of the tracks that have been on repeat at White Noise HQ.

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First up is the Sun & Soul mix: 80 minutes of joyous disco and house cuts, shot through with soulful samples. One for the sunshine.

Tracklist:

Romare - Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin')
Tito Wun - The Way U Do it

Genius of Time - Love Thang

Laszlo Dancehall - Gave Up

Damiano von Erckert - The Dude Loop

Wbeeza - Billy Green Is Ded

Anthony Naples - Faceless

Chesus - Special

Johnick - C'mon Give It Up

Kyodai - Breaking

Lucretio - Want

Andrés - New For U

Floorplan - We Magnify His Name

Damiano von Erckert - Housem

Jacques Renault - Searching For Some Real Love

John Swing - Always At Night

Floorplan - Untitled

Murat Tepeli - Forever (Prosumer's Hold Me Touch Me Remix)

Murat Tepeli - Workinstrugglin

MCDE - Raw Cuts 6

Nina Simone - See Line Woman (Kerri Chandler & Jerome Sydenham Remix)

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Next we have the Short n Sweet mix, a quick party mix that's only 30 minutes but jam-packed with new and forthcoming tracks.

Tracklist:

Omar S - Skynet 2 B
Head High - Burning (Keep Calm Mix)

Wildchild - Renegade Master (Applebottom Power Remix)
Huxley - Lost Love
Danny J Lewis - Spend The Night (H Man Mix)
DJ Haus - Cold As Ice
Innershades - That Girl
Tweet feat. Missy Elliot - Oops (Palace Raw Version)
Kerri Chandler - Rain
Morgan Geist - 24K

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Remember you can click on the 'Mixes' button at the top of screen to access all of our mixes at any time.

March Roundup

Here's White Noise's pick of the month's best tracks. Going from the biggest numbers through house, techno, and then the stranger corners of the dance spectrum, March was great and here are some highlights in our handy Youtube playlist.

Enjoy!

Remember to like White Noise on Facebook or Twitter for a daily dose of fresh tunes.

Tracklist:

Tessela - Hackney Parrot [EP Review]

Headless Ghost - Basik Fire [EP Review]

Breach - Jack [EP Review]

DEVolution - Listen To The Badman

Dusky - Dummy [EP Review]

Dark Sky - Confunktion [EP Review]

Four Tet - For These Times [LP Review]

Mørbeck - Pleasure To Burn

Florian Kupfer - Feelin

Anthony Naples - Busy Signal

Martyn - Oceania [EP Review]

DjRum - Blue On Blue (Voodoo) [LP Review]

Romare - Your Love (You Give Me Fever) [EP Review]

DJ Rashad - Let It Go [EP Review]

Deadboy - Nova [EP Review]

Shlohmo - Later [EP Review]

Bicep & Ejeca - You (Ejeca's Piano Mix)

And the one we couldn't find on Youtube, Divvorce's excellent new EP on up-and-coming NY label Fifth Wall:

Romare – Love Songs (Part One)

Label: Black Acre

Romare’s debut EP Meditations On Afrocentrism, which topped our list of 2012’s best EPs, seemed like a feat too impressive to repeat. Drawing musical influence largely from footwork, blues and hip hop, the collection expertly fused the cerebral - indeed the downright academic - with eminently listenable grooves and mature production chops. The collage of styles and samples apparently took a year of research to make, and now almost exactly one year on the Londoner has come back with a second volume just as good if not better, with a great new collage on the cover and a new musical target in his sights.

Taste Of Honey (From The City)

If Meditations drew largely from African music styles and sounds, here Romare sets his sights on the African-American tradition, with samples ranging from Peggy Lee to Nina Simone to Jimi Hendrix. He kicks off proceedings with the propulsive Your Love (You Give Me Fever), where Lee’s familiar tones are re-purposed, chopped into a call-and-reply with herself over a field of juke beats and delicate synthwork which progresses from warm ambient hum to searing siren as the track wears on. The final two minutes offer an energetic payoff to the releases most danceable tune as the energy keeps mounting over hushed finger clicks and threatening bass sweeps til the close. While many of Romare’s tunes could be said to tell a story, particularly Meditations’ closer which showed a keen awareness of the problems that face a white producer sampling black music, second cut Jimi & Faye (Part One) uses vocal samples brilliantly to chart Hendrix’s ascent to success through the words of girlfriend Faye Pridgeon. Midway through, the bluesy lope gives way to emotive rising synthwork that twists and turns before the big cathartic moment – Faye intones ‘They had no idea he was going to do what he did’ and Hendrix’s squealing guitar emerges over a miasma of distorting synths.

For the B-side Romare leaves the footwork template to explore further, and his flirtation with house on Taste Of Honey (From The City) is a real winner. It’s more subtle than your average house banger but the beauty is in the details here; the ascending melody around the three-minute mark or the expert appropriation of samples interlaced with Romare’s own constantly-shifting production. Closer Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin’) is another treat, a bluesy soup of jazzy piano work, dusty drums and a showstopping trumpet that some may be able to attribute. It’s not often that one comes across a producer with such a fiercely distinctive voice, especially who can fuse myriad stylistic and intellectual influences into such an extraordinarily enjoyable package. Just like his debut, Romare’s latest is a wonderful achievement, an EP of four contained, detailed gems that will make your brain long for the books and your feet long for the ‘floor.

8/10

Best Tracks of 2012: 50 – 26

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

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Here goes part 3 of our 4-part collection of the year's very best tracks. Enjoy! 

50 – Loops Of Your Heart – Cries

Stunning slow-burn synthwork from Axel Willner, the brain behind The Field. Ambient at its patient and emotive best.

49 – Illum Sphere – h808er

Unhinged acid trip from one of the big names to watch for 2013. Starts out as fresh analogue 303 jam before dissipating into a lush acoustic instrumental.

48 – Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka – No One feat. Abigail Wyles

The opener to the UK duo’s album They!Live was one of the most addictive, atmospheric cuts we heard all year. Superb moody synthwork and a nagging vocal lead into a tough House workout that we had on heavy rotation. Album Review.

47 – Breach – You Won’t Find Love Again

Ben Westbeech was back with a vengeance this year, releasing a great collab single with Midland and this, one of the most propulsive slices of House to grace club speakers over the summer. One of those cuts that’s sure to get any party moving.

46 – Special Request – Lolita (Warehouse Mix)

Rough and ready Techno workout that takes its time to get going, and that venomous synth burn before the drop is all the better for the wait.

45 – Storm Queen – Look Right Through (MK’s Don’t Talk To Me Dub)

Let’s Make Mistakes was great, but our favourite Storm Queen (aka Metro Area legend Morgan Geist) tune of the year was this MK remix, which revamped the classic to monstrous proportions. An example of MK at his very best: stylish vocal work and (two different) enormous bouncing basslines.

44 – Romare – Down The Line (It Takes A Number)

The man who capped off our Best EPs list did no better than the slow-mo Hip Hop crunch of this tune. A dangerous bassline underpins sharp finger clicks, classy vocal sampling and a phenomenal jazz-inflected drop. Cross-genre, cross-cultural, damn good music.

43 – Recondite – Tie In

Patient and meditative acid groove from a true original.

42 – Duke Dumont – The Giver

This is one of those tracks that makes you sit up and take notice from the first note. A guaranteed dancefloor weapon, and one of the catchiest dance tracks we heard all year. Just massive.

41 – Kahn & Neek – Backchat

Typical Dub-inspired weirdness from Kahn’s corner. A dangerous grime riddim featuring robo-Reggae vocals and sharp beats.

40 – Geeeman – Bang’t

Second entry on the list for Gerd, because he can do no wrong when it comes to House. Super-simple tune that pairs a nagging pitchbent bassline and punchy beats with an understated vocal. Dancefloor dynamite (and mixes with everything).

39 – Midland & Pariah – Untitled 2

Dirty analogue Techno roller that stole the show at loads of London clubs this summer.

38 – Capracara – Ronin

Everyone who’s trying to emulate the 90s House sound, give up now. Capracara perfected the sound with the flawless Ronin, where outrageously huge beats duel with slick synthwork and a pitch-perfect vocal line.

37 – Dusky – Flo Jam

It was hard to pick just one Dusky track to go on the list, but Flo Jam’s distinctive 3-note bassline had to take the prize. Goes to show that House can still blow everything else out of the water when it’s done right.

36 – Krystal Klear – From The Start

Utterly intoxicating bassy House number from the king of disco. After an unbelievable build-up, this one drops into a ferocious slice of choppy piano House.

35 – Lianne La Havas – Forget (Shlohmo Remix)

The second La Havas remix in our roundup is Shlohmo’s stellar vocal work on his remix of Forget. Deep atmospherics make this one totally unforgettable. Massive vibes. Free Download.

34 – Omar S feat. L’Renee – SEX (CGP Remix)

Omar S is pretty big, but I’ve never heard any of his tunes played out as much in the clubs as this one. Downright dirty vocals and chilled House vibes make this one suit almost any occasion.

33 – Jacques Greene – Prism

One of the scene’s most consistent producers, Canadian Greene went darker on his Ready EP. Its biggest tune featured a bouncing 4/4 and lush synthwork. EP Review.

32 – Voyeur – Blame It On The Youth (Kerri Chandler Remix)

Apparently House legend Chandler loved this one so much that he insisted on both releasing and remixing it. You can see why,  Chandler’s moody rework takes its time with a warm atmosphere and fresh guitar and piano samples.

31 – HNNY – For The Very First Time

Easily one of our most played EPs of the year, HNNY’s stellar debut solo outing on Local Talk was a great night out in a single song. Irresistible synthwork and vocals with big, tasty beats.

30 – Trevor Deep Jr – Keep On!

Another one of our most played tunes this year, Trevor Deep Jr’s impossibly deep Keep On! Crazy atmospheric House workout with classic-style vocals and impeccable production.

29 – John Talabot – So Will Be Now… feat. Pional

The highlight of Talabot’s great Fin album was this bouncy closing tune. The looped vocal is the icing on the cake of a bouncing bassline and moody finger clicks.

28 – ItaloJohnson – B1 Untitled

Dusty House jam from the anonymous European group. Simple and effective, this one proved unstoppable on the summer festival circuit.

27 – Trimbal – Confidence Boost (Harmonimix)

James Blake and Trim’s brilliantly weird collaboration finally saw release this year, and it was just as good as we remembered it. Trim’s raw vocals and Blake’s idiosyncratic production are a match made in heaven. Those deep chords and chipmunked vocals make this one of the year’s essential tunes.

26 – Leon Vynehall – Gold Language

Vynehall’s sophisticated lofi House jam was an unexpected winner for us at White Noise, with gliding piano chords and footwork-style percussion making for an intriguing package. EP Review.

Tune in tomorrow for the final list!