Erta Ale
SLN016

Frappé, the label to follow in 2021, supported by Laurent GARNIER who has recently said about them: “This label is on fire …. Looove the hard party vibe from the whole thing, and also love the cheekiness of some tracks. With tracks with huge samples from CHANGE, to tracks with obvious influence from “St Germain” …These guys know the score…”The French label is already making a strong comeback with a fourth release: a pure House Music-infused Various Artists EP. Each of the 5 tracks explores a different aspect of what makes the House music sound of today, and yesterday, keeping intact the very Frenchy and dancefloor DNA of the label. Once more, Frappé is bringing together artists coming from different backgrounds, putting on a same record Lo-fi, Jazzy, Garage and French Touch influences.Frappé is collaborating for the first time with a non-French artist and has picked a rising star of the electronic music scene in the person of northern-Irish producer Mark Blair. For the young prodigy, this is also his first release on vinyl, likely to make “French Kiff” a collectable item on Discogs soon! He is making his mark on this wax with “Tropicana”, a track as simple as it is efficient on which house chords are supporting a warm and sensual trumpet riff. All this is made in the lo-fi fashion which is his signature sound.The release features also great tracks from Naux, Groove Boys Project, and the label owners : Basile de Suresnes and Ten Fingerz.

Having proactively set the pace of the Danish scene for the past few years under many guises and just as many records for an array of premium labels, Regelbau spearhead Natal Zaks alias Central, aka Picture this time around, joins the Kalahari Oyster Cult fold with a quartet of fresh-minded, bouncy joints taking the classic Aarhus vibes for a trip into further hypermodern melodic grounds.

The stage is always set for the next phase with Corni’s music, and with his record ‘Cables Wynd House’, a new pattern of his audial language begins to take shape, and its a very beautiful one at that. Continuing on with Corni’s love affair with all things Leith, the title of the EP refers to the iconic ‘Banana Row’ housing estate that towers up within the district of Edinburgh, a brutal and gorgeous structure which binds lateral lines with social interaction and everyday living. Much like the impressive structure it is paying homage to, the record itself is, in our eyes, Corni’s most complete work to date, with his already accomplished sound spread out and explored to its absolute limits on this 4 tracker. Kicking things off with ‘Closed (Zarkoff Poetry Vocal)’, the immediate context is filled with his classic drum patterns, with the bass following soon after, and then the chords kick in. The space is filled with this beautiful harmony, a floating etherealness that strikes right through the heart, and as the vocal sample slides into view, everything just makes sense. Try listening to this one as the warmth of the sunset occupies your world view. ‘Body Techno’ comes next, and this cut contains some of the evolutionary work which Corni has displayed significantly in his previous works, with a dense mid section giving rise to rich acid tones and heavy set bass notes and cymbal patterns. ‘Glue City’ evokes the same feelings as the opener, building upon an expertly crafted rhythmic and bass sequences with sublime melodic overtures which once again find a wonderful balance between one another. ‘Pills’n’Drills’ lands at the end, and this one is glorious, reminding us of that very specific early to mid 90s Detroit House and Techno feel, with a steady yet fast paced beat leading the line as life affirming synths roll across the top. Sheer bliss is achieved in these 4 tracks, that speak of life and its many twists and turns, along with a reflective sense of emotion and what we feel transposed alongside what the music is conveying to us on the same level. So why not join us as we meander through essences, flavours and meanings, joyously walking along to a soundtrack that gives over so much and fuels our imaginations with passion - its House in its most glorious form, raw and undulating, clean cut and tender, and never ever wavering…

First release from the Italian composer Sancra on Ipso Facto.4-track ep with different styles and emotions, composed in Rome (2021-2022).

RDS plumbs the depths of analogue texture on his Kalahari debut proper. Following a guest appearance on Eversines’ ‘Plooi’ EP, the Amsterdam artist returns to explore the more expansive integers of his hi-tech sound across four deftly crafted tracks.It's exactly the sort of enveloping, sophisticated material we’ve come to expect from a De Lichting member.Straight deep space manoeuvres on the opener. Setting billowing widescreen pads against solid, tight groove, ‘2312’ feels as if it’s escaping the eye of some turbulent solar event. Then, landing with a sensitivity absent from the harsh climes of its predecessor, ‘BBsuite’ leaps from translunar to tenderness with dappled keys and lithe breakbeat intricacy. Saying that, there’s still something undeniably explorative and sc-fi in its mood, almost reminiscent of Orbital or Future Sound of London.There’s more refined deepness on the flip, starting with ‘Silky’s supple, slinky flex. Forlorn, exquisitely widescreen ambient techno, it treads between the warm optimism of early Detroit modes and a certain somber melancholia. And finally, ‘Autechrein’ finds RDS smudging his palette on a dusty, downtempo overhaul of the after-hours formula.