TBC Promotional Reviews April 2016

Albums/Compilations

Scene Delete by Sasha (Late Night Tales)

Panorama Pacifico by Satin Jackets (Eskimo Recordings)

On Vacation by CFCF (International Feel)

Starring… XXVIII by Louie Vega (Vega Records)

Future Disco Vol. 9 – A Disco Love Affair by Various Artists (Needwant)

Singles/EP’s

Magma by Agents of Time (Ellum)

Mechanical Sparrow by Stella feat. O Martin (Eskimo Recordings)

Diary of a Madwoman by Lauren Lane (Edible Music)

Vibrate by Audiojack feat Kevin Knapp (Hot Creations)

Drowning in Irises by Dance Spirit (Rebellion)

We Can Talk by Satin Jackets feat. Emma Brammer (Eskimo Recordings)

Love Apparel by Lorenzo Dada (Culprit)

Bird That Fly/Moments by Kidnap Kid (Birds That Fly)

Happy New Year to all of our TBC followers and readers, we welcome you back with out first official article for 2016 (our best of 2015 was posted in 2016 but was based on last years releases) based on new releases listened to since the start of January 2016 via our promotional label access. We have been fortunate to have access to a number of superb releases across the LP/Compilation and Single/EP format from the labels Late Night Tales, Eskimo Recordings, International Feel, Need Want, Ellum, Hot Creations, Rebellion and Culprit plus some newer labels to TBC: Vega Records, Edible Music and Birds That Fly. We have included the playlist above of the new releases for review and each will receive a short review before selecting out favourite from each format. This light style of review will enable us to cover more releases in 2016 and help promote some of these new releases either before they are released or as they are released. We hope you can support the artists and labels and get involved where you can, we will of course add any links for sneak previews where we can.

Albums/Compilations

Scene Delete by Sasha (Late Night Tales) – TBC FAVOURITE ***

Sasha : Scene Delete

Released on April Fools Day 2016 from the ever impressive Late Night Tales who have been on a roll over the last few years with amazing releases from Royksopp, Jon Hopkins, Nils Frahm and Automatic Soul (Tom Findlay of Groove Armada), this LP from Sasha was compiled over a two year period from tracks produced by Sasha while on the road touring that did not quite fit into his standard house and techno style. Sasha offered Late Night Tales a great opportunity to put out a soundtrack-esque electronica master piece. The similarities to ‘This Binary Universe’ by BT is a good thing with lullaby style tracks, classical melodies and atmospheric beats and percussion. Sit down, turn up the bass or get your headphones on and bliss out, this is perfect for the super chilled after party or a quiet Sunday.

Panorama Pacifico by Satin Jackets (Eskimo Recordings)

Since TBC discovered Eskimo Recordings and all of the disco joy that this label brings we have been fans of Satin Jackets who are stalwarts of Eskimo as their releases are consistently represented on the seminal Eskimo Recordings collections (Blue, Pink, Orange and Green to date). We have long anticipated a production album from Satin Jackets which is due to drop on the 8th April and the album delivers their signature sound but in some ways fails to exhibit anything further from Satin Jackets which we had hoped for having heard the best songs on the album already via other releases. The stand out tracks are Feel Good, Cala Banana, You Make Me Feel good and Shine On You of which the latter is simply superb and one of our favourite Eskimo Recording tracks of all time. A production album where 4 of the 12 tracks are excellent is a good debut for Satin Jackets but we hope that they can excel further on their next release.

On Vacation by CFCF (International Feel)

https://soundcloud.com/international-feel/cfcf-on-vacation-snippets

CFCF a.k.a Michael Silver is a new artist to TBC but on researching his back catalogue he is a very busy bunny, recording under multiple aliases, producing scores for film soundtracks and producing for his own LP’s (under the CFCF moniker he already has 6 albums to his name since 2009!). International Feel is a rather eclectic balearic label that sometimes focuses too much on bizarre electronica with an array of rare percussion and tribal instrument accompaniments. This latest release however, really hits the spot. A perfect blend of chillout, percussion, jazz influences, guitar and key combinations, blissed out sounds and quiet but effective bass lines. The opening two tracks Sate Padang and Arto are the standout tracks on the LP and you will be inspired and forced into a meditative state when you immerse yourself in this CFCF experience.

Starring… XXVIII by Louie Vega (Vega Records)

http://shop.vegarecords.net/products/louie-vega-starring-xxviii

TBC was not sure what to expect from Louie Vega on his first ever solo album seeing as he is an artist that has been performing since before we were born. A 35 plus year career saw Louie dominate a scene of house music between the Nineties and Naughties when Morillo, Sanchez, Negro, Knuckles and Rivera ruled the house scene. Since that time he has pursued other projects including his NYC radio show (ROOTS with Kevin Hedge a.ka. Blaze) and continued to focus on a number of musical genres including hip-hop, soul, salsa and jazz. This double disc LP is full of collaborations inc. Byron Stingly, Funkadelic, Jocelyn Brown and Soul Clap – the list extends to 25 collaborators over 28 tracks. The overall mood throughout the 28 tracks is soulful, party, disco,  piano led, vocal house and is as you would expect from Louie Vega. There are some cheesier vocal house tracks that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but there are also some real gems; ‘Aint’ That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?’ is epic, ‘Just The Way I Like It’ is a bass heavy, funk journey, ‘Lets Do It’ is a disco party track and ‘You’ve Got is Bad Girl’ is a jazzy-funk fuelled scat vocal track.

Future Disco Vol. 9 – A Disco Love Affair by Various Artists (Needwant)

Can you believe that we are on vol.9 of the Future Disco series?! TBC have been fans since the original incarnation of the Future Disco series on Needwant recordings in 2009 which introduced us to some classic nu-disco and deep house from Juan Maclean, Shit Robot, Tensnake, Mario Basanov (a.k.a Ten Walls), Friendly Fires and Who Made Who. Need want also expanded the series to include the Poolside Sounds series which continued to provide the perfect deep house and nu-disco to accompany your summer parties either at home or abroad when on holiday or ‘festivaling’. The latest in the series continues to provide great tracks from Fatima Yamaha, I-Robots, New Order and COEO which feature throughout the 73 minute deep house and disco journey. Unfortunately the flow does seem a little strange between the tracks so while this is a great party CD which stays true to the Needwant style the overall compilation does not exude the quality and flow which you may be expecting when considering the past releases in the series.

Singles/EP’s

Magma by Agents of Time (Ellum) – TBC FAVOURITE ***

https://soundcloud.com/agents-of-time/sets/ell034-agents-of-time-magma The great production trio Agents of Time continue in a rich vent of form with ‘Magma’ which is a two track release on Ellum (Maceo Plex’s label). Magma is a roaring and rasping progressive tech-house track that builds and flows while maintaining an excellent bass line which pulses throughout the track. The B Side is ‘Obsidian’ which is the perfect accompaniment to ‘Magma’ and makes it obvious why Maceo Plex signed this trio up for the new release on his label. ‘Obsidian’ is not as expressive as ‘Magma’ but the breakdown is superb, a subtle yet bass line lead build up explodes around the four and a half minute mark into a stormy, electronic breakdown. Highly Recommended.

Mechanical Sparrow by Atella feat. O Martin (Eskimo Recordings)

Atella provide this release on Eskimo and ‘Mechnical Sparrow’ is straight up Eskimo material with a low BPM, dreamy track and a great vocal from O Martin. The Club Mix offers an improved BPM and more house based structure which strikes similarities to other Scandinavian production artists of recent times. Man Power strip backs the original for a dubby, electronica remix which offers a surprisingly alternative yet interesting version of the track. The club remix is definitely the most favourable and a great release for Eskimo overall.

‘Diary of a Madwoman’ by Lauren Lane (Edible Music)

Eats Everything’s new label Edible has a very interesting release from Lauren Lane in ‘Diary of a Madwoman’. The title track is a great catchy house number with a nice breakdown, sinister style keys and vocals which haunt the track while giving it an edge. Overall the track has a great tempo and bass line. ‘Fomo’ is track two and while continuing in the same vein as the title track doesn’t really hit the same level. The last track ‘The Right Kind of Weird’ is more in keeping with the overall feel that Lauren Lane seems to be aiming to deliver. This is another catchy house track with a great bassline, freaky vocal samples and a great collection of samples, drums and noises. A solid third release for Edible Music.

‘Vibrate’ by Audiojack feat Kevin Knapp (Hot Creations)

Audiojack have been around for a decade now and have always maintained a solid production and DJ pedigree which makes them dark horses of the club scene as they have never hit the heights of A-list DJ’s. Their latest release on Hot Creations is their first for the label and in their own words “was made purely with the dance floor in mind” which is evident from both the title track ‘Vibrate’ and the B-side ‘Random Matter’ which both have heavy bass lines and a great kick. The former is more club friendly with a rolling bass and kick drum, repetitive vocal and great synth keys which feature at intervals to capture your attention. The latter is also a great club track this time without a vocal and great squelchy key section which builds to a breakdown. Of the remixes the Barem version is a quirkier tribal house take on the original which is a nice alternative.

‘Drowning in Irises’ by Dance Spirit (Rebellion)

Dance Spirit were founded by Damian Lazarus so it makes sense that their latest release is on Crosstown Rebels sister label Rebellion. The title track is a progressive house track which would sound perfect at Burning Man or a BPM Jungle party. Dreamy, psychedelic sounds with chanting vocals that emphasise the progressive nature of the track. Of the B-Sides ‘Unfold’ is the stand out track with a great bass line and shonky piano keys that reverberate throughout the track which is again infused with chanting, haunting vocals – a great B side. The title track and ‘Unfold’ would be great inclusions in an epic progressive sunrise set.

‘We Can Talk’ by Satin Jackets feat. Emma Brammer (Eskimo Recordings)

The latest release from the Satin Jackets album ‘Panorama Pacifico’ (see above) is not one of the standout album tracks but the remixes from Larse and Moullinex do spice things up a bit, the former is a deep house remix with an almost trance like progression and the latter is a quirky disco remix with a broken up structure that really suits this track. The latter remix is the standout track on this release, well done Moullinex.

‘Love Apparel’ by Lorenzo Dada (Culprit) – TBC FAVOURITE ***

Culprit continue to deliver a solid release roster and the latest offering is from Lorenzo Dada which is one of the standout releases in this selection. The title track is a superbly produced, vocal lead, beautiful, house track with great piano keys, dream like development and nice bass line. Axel Boman and Bambook offer remixes both of which are excellent alternative takes on the original. ‘Ministry of Night’ and ‘Powder’ are the B-sides, the latter being the most interesting with a great deep house and progressive feel that wouldn’t be out of place in a Ten WallsorMaceo Plex set and would sound superb at a festival in the sunshine. A great release from a super prospective talent Lorenzo Dada.

‘Birds That Fly/Moments’ by Kidnap Kid (Birds That Fly) – TBC FAVOURITE ***

https://soundcloud.com/kidnap_kid/sets/moments-ep

Both sides of this release are excellent deep house tracks from a new label Birds That Fly and from an artist that is being promoted and talked about a lot at the moment called Kidnap Kid. The first track is a quirky track which is lead with distorted keys that creates a sound that has been very big in Berlin over the years, one you would expect to hear down by the Spree in the summer sunshine. ‘Moments’ is track two with an amazing vocal from Leo Stannard, this a dreamy, summery, piano lead track with an epic uplifting vocal. This track oozes quality in production and will kick the new label off in a great way. Good luck Birds That Fly and Kidnap Kid, we look forward to more of the same.

Thanks for reading, we hope you have enjoyed both reading and listening to the latest releases. Please support the artists and get involved. Congrats to those releases selected as TBC favourites; Sasha (Late Night Tales), Agents of Time (Ellum), Lorenzo Dada (Culprit) and Kidnap Kid (Birds That Fly).

TBC