Various Artists – Emerald City – Verdant Recordings

Artwork by Sophie O'Leary

IF ever there was a man destined to run a record label then that man is Andy Green. London clubland stalwart, DJ and occasional promoter, voracious record collector, prolific producer of online mixes and a chap with the most impeccable taste in music, at long last his passion, past-time and peccadillo has crystalised into the rather promising Verdant Recordings.

Mr Green has clearly curated his first release, the Emerald City EP, with much due care and attention and anyone who follows his live broadcasts and online mixes – guilty as charged – will not be in the least bit surprised at the quality, depth and style of Verdant’s debut. Not only that, but the original 100-copy lathe-cut run sold out within minutes at the back end of last year before being snapped up for this the full-press treatment courtesy of Juno.

It is very easy to see why. For the label’s first outing Green has managed to pull in a veritable who’s who of producers of intelligent electronic music aimed at the more discerning punter.

Highly-respected Sheffield-based artist John Shima has a record as long as your arm for this type of turnout having rocked up previously on labels such as Boe, Common Dreams and Contrast-Wax. His contribution Omni is right up there with earlier must-have outings, a satisfyingly solid slice of deep techno with a pleasingly emotional undercurrent.

Another UK stalwart, Plant43 (aka Emile Facey), introduces a more electro-inspired twist to proceedings – which has generally been his stock-in-trade for imprints such as Ai, Bleep43 and Semantica – with the sparse yet hauntingly beautiful Light The Way.

Newcomer Mihail P enters the musical fray with six-and-a-half minutes of accomplished and pulsating deepest techno in the shape of Prismatic. It augurs well for the forthcoming solo twelve on Seventh Sign.

Another old hand, the excellent Leigh Dickson – For Those That Knoe/Qube  – turns in another show-stealing performance with the emotive and lush electronica that is Follow, rounding off a joyous debut from the Verdant collective. Miss it and turn green with envy.

Check out:

Emerald City @ Juno

Verdant Recordings on Facebook

Miles Atmospheric – Ascendance – Common Dreams

LO-FI schmo-fi. Perhaps it’s my age but I have absolutely no idea what the hype is with the much-discussed latest house genre nor DJs Boring and Seinfeld, Ross From Friends or The No. 137 Bus. Ok, so I made up the last one. But honestly, I don’t have a Scooby Doo what’s going on and have decided ignorant is in this case bliss.

Instead I will remain holed up safe and sound in my deep house and techno man cave. So praise the lord for fresh supplies from Common Dreams, sister label to the also very excellent Inner Shift.

It’s release number four for the Edinburgh-based imprint and the same deal as before: one artist, a track-a-side and beautifully done.

This time it’s the turn of Miles Atmospheric, the artist formerly known as Sagnia, who has won plenty of admirers in recent years with sterling efforts on the likes of Aesthetic Audio, Flyance, Ornate and his own tasty label Atmospheric Existence Recordings.

Side one cut Heal is all that is great about both the artist and label. It’s smart, thoughtful and emotional techno crafted with real love and care. Beautiful synth lines and the transcendental quality that envelops the entire piece offset the track’s loopy foundation handsomely.

Checking in on the flipside is Plight, an eight-minute flight of interweaving rhythm and melody. Less insistent than Heal perhaps though every inch as emotive, considered and, ultimately, rewarding. Uplifting and seriously-deep techno at its finest.

Pick up here.

Gauss – Gauss 04 – Gauss

IN an increasingly uncertain world of Brexit, Trump and Honey G (for those of you mercifully outside the UK, check it here), what some of us need is a great big comfort blanket. A metaphorical one, naturally.

So it’s heartening to know that there are still some things you can rely upon. Namely, that if it’s intelligent techno with heart and soul that you’re after then Gauss won’t let you down.

After a cloak-and-dagger introduction on their eponymously-titled label a couple of years back, Gauss have more recently been outted as the production partnership of two respected old hands, Owen Jay and Natan H.

Jay has considerable form not only on his own label Batti Batti but also for the likes of Underground Quality, Moods & Grooves and Minuendo. Natan H is no makeweight either having made his vinyl debut on Anton Zap’s excellent imprint Ethereal Sound before going on to equally impressive outings on Finale Sessions, ManMakeMusic, Mysterious Russian Soul and more.

It is, indeed, those credentials that set Gauss apart. Because strip away the veneer of techno and you will always find a touch of soul or deep house swing in their joint productions.

They’re back again with the label’s fourth release, hand-stamped on gorgeous red vinyl and imaginatively titled, yep you guessed it, Gauss 04. The outstanding title track Numerical Coefficients is nowhere near as cold and prosaic as the name might suggest. For sure there is an element of the mechanical and even automaton about it, but stirring synth swathes nudge the piece in a more emotional and dare I say ‘human’ direction. Six minutes of techno heaven.

Curvature is a cleverly understated number, one of those brooding and deceptively melodic productions that has more pace about it than you might think on first hearing and a very neat line in shimmery cosmic synth work too.

Packing a punch right ‘til the last, Differential closes the EP with more bounce and swagger than Gauss have displayed previously. And it ain’t half good.

Check out:

Gauss @ Juno

Ewan Jansen – Aqua Libre – Red Ember

EWAN Jansen first caught my attention with the deep-as Blueline Summer long-player on the influential Moods & Grooves some tens ago or so. But he’d already been quietly making his mark for a number of years before that with appearances on the likes of Track Mode, Deep4Life and his own Red Ember Records.

Then nothing. Not a peep out of the Australian producer. That was until last year when he popped up with new material on the German collective Hardworksoftdrink. That was quickly followed by a slew of fresh EPs on Adelaide Soundworks, Going Good and Inner Balance.

And now it has also signalled a revival of Red Ember after a 15-year hiatus with the Perth-based Jansen re-launching the imprint with the formidable solo EP Aqua Libre.

Opener and aforementioned title track, Aqua Libre, is dusted liberally with the feel-good factor, a hearty, honest and warming track with little in the way of pretention but a whole lot of uplift and joy. It’s one to put a smile on even the most sour and curmudgeonly of faces. Following swiftly in its wake is Plankton, in many ways a just as pleasurable and rewarding hunk of deepness but with a more muscular groove.

Freckles is no makeweight either, a stirring and emotionally-charged little number with a light touch of disco laced around its edges.

Yet despite the considerable craft and quality of these three, for my taste at least it is the closing cut – how often does that happen? – Castel that nigh on steals the show. It’s a real beauty, spacey, blissful and with that emotional content that both Moodymann and Keith Worthy spoke of.

With more goodies in the pipeline, notably the forthcoming Return To Hyperbola EP on the ever-excellent Inner Shift, it’s a welcome return. I have no idea where Mr Jansen has been, but I’m sure glad he’s back.

Check out:

Aqua LIbre EP @ SoundCloud
Buy Aqua Libre @ Juno
Red Ember @ Discogs

Leo Gunn – Journey Inwards – Deep Explorer

LEO Gunn releases are like the proverbial London bus. No, not dangerous at night with a whiff of stale urine up top, but nothing for ages then two come along together.

In fairness, there is some method in the madness of the folk responsible for this, the brothers Alvarez [aka Dubbyman and Above Smoke] at Deep Explorer who have developed, encouraged and nurtured the precious talent of the enigmatic Gunn. In return, the Adelaide-based producer is fiercely loyal to the label and a deep explorer through and through.

So what’s the deal? Simple really, Gunn returns to the fold with an anticipated mini album for the Madrid-based imprint, plus there’s a tasty two-track bonus 7” available too for those who crave even more Gunn fire.

First up, the longer player then. It’s a handsome beast, visually and musically. Those of us who snapped up any of Gunn’s earlier exceptional EPs on Deep Explorer and appreciate his natural, almost organic, style will not be disappointed. Journey Inwards is very much the sequel.

Dreamy and melodic soundscapes with a hint of Larry Heard-style jazz – in the loosest sense – are very much Gunn’s stock-in-trade, which makes Leo & Leo Jr. the perfect scene-setting opener. From Old sports the jazz motif too, another beautifully harmonious and ear-pleasing piece with a touch of Mr Fingers coursing through its grooves.

Deep Breath has that satisfyingly wistful and mood-setting air that Gunn excels in, but this time with extra beef; not quite dance floor hedonism but no comfy sofa number either. And although perhaps still in warm-up territory, the lush and lengthy title track also has a more urgent kick and intent, whilst skilfully still mining a pensive, faraway seam. It’s proper deep house, as it should be.

Digital vs Midi is another super cut expertly straddling that fine line between feet-moving and head-nodding fodder. So why not try both? Home Base presents no such ambiguity. It’s about as full-on dance floor material as Gunn gets, punchy and purposeful from start to finish.

As for the aptly-named Bonus Tracks on seven inches of vinyl, well, it’s a joyous little something extra for aficionados of Gunn and Deep Explorer. Voodoo and Moondub are easily a match for anything on the album and may even, for my money at least, be the pick of this classy collection. The former is a gentle, soothing and spaced-out production that is so easy on the ears and soul. It’s right up there with Gunn’s best work. The gorgeous and trippy Moondub, as the name suggests, takes inspiration from cavernous, echoing piano soundscapes. Four and a half minutes of bliss.

Best part of two years since Gunn’s last release. Worth the wait then? It was never in doubt.

Check out:

Journey Inwards @ Juno
Bonus Tracks @ Juno
Leo Gunn @ SoundCloud
Deep Explorer online

Tomi Chair – Warm Seasons – TC White

NEVER cared much for U2. Their stadium-rock posturing and Bono’s holier-than-thou pontificating has never been my cup of char. As for their declaration that it – whatever it might be – is Even Better Than The Real Thing never washed with me.

Let’s take the latest release from Japanese rising star Tomi Chair [who also produces under his real name Tominori Hosoya]. It’s been quite a couple of years for the artist whose work has appeared on the likes of deepArtSounds, Minuendo, Soul Print Recordings and TH Pressing, the label he launched in 2014.

Now he’s gone and started up the TC White imprint as a vehicle for his own music debuting with the first-rate Warm Seasons EP.

It’s an originals versus the remixes affair with the latter taking over the A side of this five-track package. Even better than the real thing though? They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or ear in this case, so I guess you pays your money and you takes your choice. But here’s my two penneth.

Pascal Viscardi [Saft/Traxx Underground] with his Mystic Juno mixx [sic] does a fine job in giving Spring a touch of old-school bounce, burble and brawn, a real departure from the original and a tasty cut in its own right. Tackling Summer head on is Nick Anthony [aka Simoncino of Finale Sessions, Mathematics, Quintessentials and many more] with his African Morning mix. It’s a powerful and evocative drum-driven production that again takes the original into new territory giving it a life all of its own.

As accomplished as both interpretations are though – and they really are – it is on the flipside where the two original tracks plus another from Hosoya and the real beauty reside. All three are right up my alley.

Hosoya’s version of Spring has a light and deft touch. There is little in the way of urgency or indeed kick but it is much the better for that. It’s a classy little number for sure.

Summer, by contrast, is bolder, brighter and brimming with optimism. Soulful and sassy, it is deep house with purpose and attitude as well as the pick of this fine collection.

Rounding off proceedings is the exquisite and deeply-satisfying Morning Bird, a delicate breed with more in common with Spring than Summer.

Check out:

Buy Warm Seasons @ Juno

Zarenzeit – Black Inside – DeepArtSounds

WE lost more than one Prince this year.

Not so high profile yet striking a more personal note for me was the passing of Prince Be, one half of hippie-rap combo P.M. Dawn. He was one of the more colourful and charismatic characters to emerge during the early nineties and the band’s take on pop, hip hop and the industry of music was more blissful, inspiring and curious than most. 

I was reminded of him again recently on hearing this album. Not in a musical way as such, although they do share an era and certain sense of soulfulness, but because as I sat back and wallowed in its glory I was Set Adrift On Memory Bliss.

Black Inside is in many ways an unashamed nostalgia trip. Even the cover photography harks back to the time that made these tracks. It’s a past that is clearly held dear to its creator George Boutopoulos [aka George Btp], co-founder of Zurich-based label deepArtSounds. Indeed, Black Inside is imbued with such intense warmth, comfort and sincerity that on each listen I find myself transported back to another time and place too when soul was the music of love and house still in its early years.

Although technically a collaborative project involving Boutopoulos’s label partner Roberto Pistolese [aka Robert P], indeed the pair formed the band as a live act in 1993, Zarenzeit’s debut album has got Btp’s fingerprints all over it. Even the name, which means era of the Tsars, was inspired by an article he read during one of many musical and cultural trips to Berlin during his formative years in the early-to-late nineties.

And despite many other quality releases as Dan Piu and Allstarr Motomusic, given the style, substance and context of Black Inside – the clue is in the title, innit? – coupled with the fact that Boutopoulos penned or co-wrote every track, you get the feeling that this time it’s personal.

Because not only is Black Inside the culmination of a project that started more than 20 years ago, which in itself must be deeply personal and satisfying, musically it is the autobiography of a soul boy who, amongst many other things no doubt, discovered house and Larry Heard. Much like me.

With the entire album sharing a musical DNA, it’s near impossible to pick stand out tracks. They all stand out.

Melodious and moreish instrumentals such as opening cut Time Travel, the perky Grown In The Bird Hood and slightly melancholic Junkietown clearly share a certain je ne sais quoi, whilst the title track and There, But Here As Well are tributes to Zarenzeit’s house and jazz roots respectively. The gorgeous-yet-brief Let Them Think They Won, meanwhile, evokes shades of the incomparable Mr Fingers himself more than any other number on here; deep, soulful and wondrous.

Regular collaborator Sarignia Bonfà, surely one of the best house vocalists to emerge of late, shares credits and lends her talents to the sensuous Love Mood and gospel-inspired Talk About A Child. On a different tack, the soft, spoken-word delivery of guest vocalist and writer Debra Jones-Davis, director at the superb Altered Moods, is simply sublime on 2souls, 1heart, her own heartfelt tribute to the other Prince. Oh Ms Jones, where have you been all my life?

Black Inside resonates deeply with this old soul boy turned househead. It’s sweet, as we used to say, a debut of impressive proportions for the Zarenzeit vehicle that may even prove to be Boutopoulos’s magnum opus.

Check out:
deepArtSounds
deepArtSounds @ Juno
Black Inside @ SoundCloud