Dom & Roland’s third album, Chronology, is a drum & bass fanatic’s wet dream. As usual, D&R pulverizes you with digital brutality, floor-shaking basslines, cinematic atmospherics and breakneck beats. Skynet and Kemal remain merciless on two collaborative tracks, and the record also includes dancefloor-smashing, and potentially classic, remixes by Hive, Calyx and the triple team of Dieselboy, Kaos, and Karl K. If you’re a d&b diehard, Chronology merits praise and repeat play; if you’re not, it’s just another dark ‘n’ deadly mindfuck.
Ezekiel Honig People, Places & Things
The NYC-based loner likes it soft and somber. Clicky techno beats tap lightly beneath the charmingly spliced buzz, clank and clatter of everyday life. Temperate textures drone peacefully and compassionately. People, Places & Things is minimal on the outside, but dense once you gently sink to the middle. Once you’re there, heartfelt emotion seeps through, a bursting gushiness of the My Bloody Valentine kind. Add to that sound the dissonant click-techno of Process, the found-sound playfulness of Matthew Herbert and the cute, catchy melodies of ISAN, and you get an album of alluring tranquility and entrancing, drugged-out lullabies.
Fred Everything Light Of Day
House music is never stale when Fred Everything is at the controls. On his second album, this Canadian outshines most house maestros with smooth elegance, crystal clean production and a racy irresistibility. He elaborately integrates elements of nu-jazz, reggae, Latin, ’80s electro and liquid funk into a solid deep house structure. Ranging from jazzy breakbeat to straight 4/4, each track on the unmixed yet fluid Light Of Day bumps and grinds gracefully with sexiness and soul. Vocals from Roy Davis Jr., DJ Heather, Joseph Malik and others only add to this winning collection of catchy, heartfelt serenades.
Prince Po The Slickness
A nation of hip-hop heads mourned the demise of Organized Konfusion, the seminal ’90s group that stretched the idea of rap lyricism with cuts like “Releasing Hypnotical Gases” and “Bring It On.” And while Pharoahe Monch successfully re-invented himself with a Rawkus record deal and hits like “Simon Says” and “Oh No,” his equally talented partner Prince Po toiled in underground purgatory with some duly overlooked projects. Until now. Leave it to a young LA producer and a British record label to revive the career of this New York emcee. Madlib, Danger Mouse and J-Zone create the background for Po’s mesmerizing delivery here, and each track drips with heart and soul as a classic voice collaborates with the best of today’s talent. Long live the Prince.
Various Artists Lunch Money Singles Vol. 1
What started as a series of hand silk-screened 7-inches by sensitive Canadian hip-hop producers and their friends has now become the Lunch Money Singles series. Anticon affiliates Moodswing9 and Controller 7 make rare solo appearances with their poetic and understated instrumental work. DJ Signify shows you his dark side with “Buk Out” and Sixtoo takes on Simahlak in the sampling one-upmanship that is “Side A Through D.” Pieces that jump out from this downbeat collection include Moodswing 9’s baroque-meets-jazz “Reflection of Progress” and the plaintive “Watchedusslowlydie,” from Sixtoo and Matth’s collabo He Did Glass Music. This series provides a glimpse into this group’s upcoming producers’ bedroom battles and side projects. Collect them all!
The EQ Project I Wonder
The Qualifide label has built a reputation for pushing the 4/4 vibe, and the legacy continues with the cut-up brilliance of El-B and Qualifide’s “I Wonder” and the shiny happy “Get Into.” Add in a quirky dubwise Ghost remix and you’re looking at 100% pure goodness on vinyl. Rinse on sight.
Artifact From Russia With Dubz EP
For months, Matt “Jam” Lamont teased listeners with snippets of this EP. Now available on Lamont’s Solo imprint, Artifact delivers a level of musicality drawing instant (and well-deserved) comparisons to MJ Cole. From the slick Rhodes of “Bad (So Good)” to the deeper sounds on “Believe Me,” this is a 4/4 bombshell. The cold war is over.
DBX Good Love
DBX’s “Good Love” is a 4/4 vocal workout with a heavy bassline; the flip, “Rapture,” adds familiar ragga chants to the “Champ” loop to create one floor-smashing choon. Also on AWOL, Carlito’s “Saturday” is a surefire pleaser with a lyrical hook and solid drum programming; its B-side, “Ghetto Dance,” does 4/4 in a break-wise style with serious low-end action.
Evil 9 Restless
The Evils are my favorite producers on the scene at the moment and this single is the first taster from their brilliant forthcoming debut album, You Can Be Special Too. “Restless” effortlessly fuses hip-hop and breaks with a blistering assault of searing guitar thrown in for good measure. A guaranteed floor-shaker.
Poonisher Base 1/Gonna Keep Ride
I’m all about building a groove in my DJ sets and “Base 1” is an ideal tool for this. The arrangement develops gradually, around the focal point of a really bouncy analog bassline. This will appeal to those who like their breaks with an electro-house twist.
