Professor Inc. – From Scratch To Formula – Boe Recordings

AS Prince nearly wrote, it’s been seven hours and fifteen days since I started this bloody intro. And all because I fancied some Oscar Wilde-style witticism, Ricky Gervais gag or George Bernard Shaw-type play on words around the name Boe. Bo Diddley. Bodacious. Even Bo Derek. But, alas, I’ve given up and all that leaves me is to get to the point and declare how bleedin’ terrific is the new twelve from the super little London-based label of that name.

We’ve always had a real soft spot for Boe here at bringdownthewalls and now nearly 30 releases in – even more if you include special series and sister label For Those That Knoe – that love shows no sign of abating. And having already extolled the virtues of head honcho Ben Parkinson’s production skills in an earlier review, it’s his A&R nous that I am now here to doff my cap at. Because returning to the Boe fold is French producer Professor Inc. with an EP even more thunderously ace than his stylish Illumination Of The Path label debut of three years ago.

Low-slung pumping house is the order of the day on this four-track beauty. Opening shot Crazy sets the tone with its irresistible 4/4 thrust, pulsating rhythm and husky vocal snatch. Underground is another hypnotic belter too, rolling beats and fabulous floaty synths proving an intoxicating brew.

As excellent as these two club-bound cuts are, and trust me they are, being the perverse little bugger that I am, it is once again the B-side that really grabs me round the throat and demands ‘buy me’.

Life After Asylum does have plenty of meat on it too. But here the emotive, even melancholic, strings drift beautifully across the sparse landscape rendering the track one for both the head and the feet. Standout cut in my book, however, is EP closer Put Up The Vibe. Warmer and more comforting than an open-fire toasted crumpet, this vinyl-only treat grooves along joyously with lovely vocal, synth and FX stabs for company.

One of the finest selections from the Boe peeps.

Check out:

From Scratch To Formula @ Juno

Jacksonville: Live In Edinburgh

THAT man Jacksonville might as well take up residence on this site. He is without doubt one of the most played producers round these parts and if not extolling the virtues of a new release, then you can often find us waxing lyrical over a remix he’s knocked out or pining for more material from the Edinburgh-based artist.

Apart from genuinely being one of our favourite deep house dons, he’s also a friend of ours and a top lad too. So what has the man known also as Chris Lyth been up to this time? Doing what he probably does best and that’s putting together a brand spanking new set, this time for a live show in his hometown.

Bringdownthewalls caught up with Lyth for a wee word about preparations for Animal Hospital at La Belle Angèle in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town this Friday [November 27th].

How is work on the new live set coming along then Chris?

Yeah, it's coming along great thanks. I’m almost deaf from rinsing out the monitors all weekend. It’s all good fun, plus having a deadline is a great motivator to work my arse off. 

Is it a difficult process putting it together?

I’d be lying if I said it was easy. It’s a fair undertaking to write an hour of music that is club focused and engineer it to sound good on a club system, all using fairly limited tools. I like to build scaffolding that gives me lots of room to move about and respond to the crowd dynamic.  

Your live set in Zurich [check it out at the bottom of this post] from a couple of years back stills sounds fresh as a daisy. The gig you did earlier this year in Geneva was ace too. So what can those coming along to the gig this Friday expect from the new live set? 

Cheers, yeah both of those sets were good fun. Every set is different and I’ve never played the same set twice. The one I’m working on at the moment is a fair bit techier than the Zurich one. I’ll still keep plenty of groove and atmosphere in there, but the whole thing is a lot punchier. 

Another producer asked me a few days ago if I change the style of my set when I play abroad. I’d say I pretty much stick to my guns. There’s no Tower of Babel-esque confusion of tongues with house and techno. The 808 always translates. 

Is any of the set likely to find a release?

Every time I write a live set I tend to find something that makes it to plastic. It’s a great place to find out if an arrangement works in a club environment. Both Tokyo [Atmospheric Existence] and Seberg [Inner Shift] came from parts of my live set.

So how did the La Belle Angèle gig come about and what do you know about the night there?

It’s with the guys at Animal Hospital [check it here]. I headlined at their New Year’s Eve party at Studio 24 a couple of years ago, which was an amazing night. They have just moved to La Belle Angèle, which recently re-opened after being burned down about 10 years ago. They’re really meticulous about the way they organise their events and always get in a great crowd.

And what’s forthcoming for Jacksonville?

More live sets and some 12s in the New Year. I’m also hatching plans to put out a few EPs on a new label of my own. I’ve got an interesting concept in mind so all being well that will drop soon.

Check out:

Jacksonville on Soundcloud
Jacksonville @ Discogs
La Belle Angèle online

Ben Boe – Journeys Into The Realm Of Team 17 – Contrast Wax

THERE is an empty space on my record shelves that has been crying out for a new release from Contrast Wax. And having turned to Ben Parkinson of Boe Recordings and For Those That Knoe fame, the ever-consistent boutique label have done themselves and my vinyl collection rather proud with this their eighth release.

Having curated his own imprints so diligently and to near-perfection, Parkinson has emerged from the shadows of late and really proved himself a producer of note. Here on Journeys Into The Realm Of Team 17 his fast-growing reputation will only be enhanced even further thanks to three tracks of genuine craft and style.

Steel City Fly By steals it for me. Based around a neatly muted kick, atmospheric pads that ebb and flow throughout and a generally spacey vibe that is fast becoming one of Parkinson’s hallmarks, it really is one satisfyingly chunky bastard of a track.

Continuing on an intergalactic tip is Hope For Enceladus [it’s the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, don’t cha know]. Once again there is an ethereal feel about it due in no small part to the burbling acid line, gorgeous floating pads and subtly searing synth stabs.

Final cut Byzantine Times is a perfect fit and fitting conclusion to another excellent offering from Contrast Wax. More laidback than the other cuts, yet with a touch more menace and purpose about it too, the cleverly-layered snare and synth lines ensure it is no mere filler. It’s a track that means business like the rest of this quality release.

Tip, as they say.

Check out:

Contrast Wax 08 @ Juno

Arnheim – Foggy Silhouettes – Greta Cottage Workshop

IT’S been a real pleasure watching the talented young Arnheim break through.

Over the last couple of years the London-based baby-faced producer has emerged onto the British underground house scene with a slew of ear-catching releases and appearances on the likes of 12-3, Austere and Disrobe. Much of his inspiration comes from his impressive knowledge of and voracious appetite for jazz and having accompanied the young whippersnapper on a number of record shopping trips around the Smoke, it’s fair to say the boy knows his shit.

So while his latest outing on the always-excellent Great Cottage Workshop may not come entirely as a surprise to those who understand his modus operandi, it will certainly come as a pleasure and a welcome addition to many a vinyl collection.

The four-track Foggy Silhouettes EP is as much homage to smoke-filled dive bars of yesteryear as it is a 21^st century take on sample-based house music. Either way, though, it’s damn good.

Citizen Advice is all about the satisfyingly weighty double bass and melancholic piano chords, a device Arnheim has employed before to great effect by plundering his record stack. The delightful One Beat is similar by design too, just a little more hushed and gentle with it, whilst Mild Silhouette Of A Man again deploys that same dusty jazz club motif but with the addition of a well-chosen Moodymann-esque vocal snatch that transcends the track to ‘what the bloody hell is this?’ level.

But the real standout for my money at least is the beauteous Viction. Although tailored from the same luxurious cloth as the other three cuts, the track is draped in even more heart-wrenching emotion and soul yet stitched together with a pleasing modern thread.

Defiantly different, respectfully retrospective and, without doubt, most excellent. A genuine go-buy of a record.

Check out:

Foggy Silhouettes @ Juno

Various Artists - Atmospheres EP2 – Batti Batti Records

HE’S a busy boy that Owen Jay.

Not content with yet another must-have release with long-time partner Melchior Sultana, this time on Deep Explorer [listen here], and a couple of side projects coming together as we speak, he’s also found room to fit in EP number 10 on his own lovely label, Batti Batti.

Understandably perhaps though, he’s taken a back seat on production this time round. Instead Jay has left Atmospheres 2 [check the excellent first in the series here] in the capable hands of three carefully handpicked artists both old and new to the imprint: Saverio Celestri, Jordan and Dan Mela.

Detroit Feeling from young Berlin-based Italian producer Celestri, who also appeared on the label’s Crossover EP, leads the way with a sparky and emotionally-intense little number heavily-influenced by the Motor City, as the name suggests, that leaves an overriding feeling of, well, Detroit.

By contrast, Device from Brooklyn-based Jordan (Finale Sessions/Ornate) making his label debut is a wonderfully dark, haunting and more dramatic track and showcases to perfection the skills which tempted the excellent Fred P into a collaboration on the Deep Explorer compilation, Far & Beyond.

Rounding off this thoroughly enjoyable EP is something of an unexpected treat. Tenuta Ken from the talented Dan Mela is an exceptional ten-minute tour de force featuring acclaimed Italian jazz pianist Stefano Calzolari, which brings together neatly Mela’s passion, predilection and proficiency for all things soul, funk and jazz. Nice.

Check out:

Atmospheres 2 @ Juno

Mood Sync Radio: Reedale Rise

THAT Friday feeling just got a whole lot more exciting. Well, at least once a month it has. Because the folks behind the excellent Inner Shift label and bright newcomer Common Dreams went and launched a monthly broadcast.

Featuring a mix of records, live performance and visuals, Mood Sync Radio goes out the second Friday of each month via online broadcaster Timeline Music. Archived shows are handily available for your listening pleasure here. So far it’s been an eclectic selection of deep house, ambient and electronica chosen or performed by Brad Peterson (Moods & Grooves/Minuendo) and Rai Scott (Batti Batti/Ornate) who, amongst their many other projects, run the aforementioned Inner Shift.

But for their next show this coming Friday [September 11^th], the duo welcome the first of many planned guests, Reedale Rise, who will be performing live. So we caught up with the producer (aka Simon Keat) to chat about his ear-catching Common Dreams 10” debut, future projects and the forthcoming Mood Sync performance.

How did the Common Dreams record come about?

Brad got in touch after seeing some videos of me frolicking in the studio on my YouTube channel to enquire if I’d like to send him some music. I sent him a few bits and bobs and fortunately he liked what I sent. I've often lacked a bit of confidence about the quality of my music, so it was great to have the backing of Brad and Common Dreams to give me a boost.

So it was your first release then?

The Common Dreams record is my first physical release. I do also have an album on Bandcamp that is a compilation of stuff I've done over the previous few years.

Is there more to come?

I have an electro track coming out on the lovely Boe Recordings some time in the next few months. I'm trying to rapidly churn out some new tracks at the moment with an eye on future releases and also to generate some decent quality material for my live show. My first live show in a club is happening on October 24th in Peckham for a night called Friends of Ours and it is safe to say I am already bricking it! I'm not really one for pursuing labels and gigs, so I'm pretty happy to sit back and see what comes to me for now.

Tell us a little about your musical background then Simon.

I've been tinkering with music production since I was about 16 and my mum got me a midi keyboard for my birthday. Apparently I'm a slow learner as it’s taken me another 16 years to get my first record out!

I spent quite a few years aimlessly messing with software and not really having a clue what I was doing. I have some quite cringe-worthy cassette recordings of those early productions that should probably be hermetically sealed and safely disposed of so they can never be heard again by human ears.

I then bought a few basic bits of kit like a Boss DR-550 drum machine and Yamaha sampler but again didn't really know what I was doing. I spent a lot of time wondering why it was so difficult to make drum and bass with a cheesy drum machine before I learned that you were supposed to sample breakbeats. I guess I've only really knuckled down and got a bit more serious about production in the last three or four years, which was when I got an MPC and started doing my YouTube videos.

So what can we expect from the Mood Sync show?

Again, this is all new to me; Mood Sync will be my first-ever live show outside the confines of my studio. I'm going to be on for about an hour. It'll be mostly new material with the Common Dreams tracks making an appearance I'm sure. I'm hoping to play some varied styles but it'll be the deeper forms of house, techno, bassy stuff and electro.

In terms of the set up, what will you be working with on the night?

Though I love my hardware, synths, mixer and effects, I'm using Ableton Live and a midi controller for the live set at the moment. It makes me feel a bit of a techno charlatan to not be banging away at synths and drum machines but I'm hoping that the quality of the music will speak for itself. 

And have you had any hand in the visuals for the night?

I'll leave that in the capable hands of Mr Peterson and Rai.

Mood Sync Radio is the second Friday of each month at Timeline Music. Check it here.

Essence Inc. - The Essence - Chiwax

MYSTERIOUS newcomer Essence Inc. is in fine company alongside the likes of Boo Williams, Perseus Traxx and Virgo Four as he, she, they - or even it I guess - make an accomplished debut for the ever-active German imprint Chiwax.

Three tracks of bold bombastic beats, The Essence EP is a worthy way to mark your arrival on any label. Taking centre stage is A side cut Do It (Can’t Help), a striking opening salvo that is draped in jerky old-school house straight outta the Chicago of the eighties. No surprise of course given the name of the imprint. But rather than emanating from the Windy City, doubtless the release will turn out instead to be the work of some young upstart from Warsaw, Waterford or Wuppertal who wasn’t even born when Jack first had a groove.

As is so often the case, the flip side offers an even tastier proposition. In this case Not Gonna Let, another superior homage to the early days of house that even the pioneers of the genre would be proud of thanks to a jacking groove, bouncy baseline and an inspired Colonel Abrams flashback.

Bringing the EP to a close is the superb We’re In This Together. It’s a deeper joint than the other two tracks but nevertheless also has its heart and soul rooted very much in the formative years of house music. And that has to be a good thing, right?