Music Reviews

Review: Hardkiss Present – ‘Revolution – The Hardkiss Remixes’ (Siesta)

Ian Fleming Leave a Comment

Hardkiss-Revolution---The-Remixes

★★★★☆

The Hardkiss brothers, Scott, Gavin and Robbie, have long been considered pioneers of the diverse West Coast sound. Unfortunately, Scott passed away a year ago, although his musical memory lives on brilliantly here thanks to the Revolution – The Hardkiss Remixes, a four-track EP that sees the three all play their role in remixing “Revolution” found on the new Hardkiss album, 1991.

It’s Scott who gets us going, with his remix a fitting swan song for a man of undoubted talent. Beautiful in its simplicity, it’s also rich in singalong vibes and features crossover potential too. A more than worthy way with which to bow out on, there’s a melancholic edge attached to its upbeat hues.

Next is Gavin, who expertly leans on the bass guitar for his very harmonious remix, while Robbie injects it with dance floor zest aplenty, resulting in a remix that’s unlike the others on display. The EP concludes with Conspiracy 3’s effort, as they throw the kitchen sink in in what’s a bassline-led, funk-soaked affair. With four stunning remixes on offer, this one is well worth checking out.

Read our exclusive interview with Gavin and Robbie Hardkiss about their new album, 1991, here.

Track of the Moment: Pig&Dan’s “Slash”

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Pig-&-Dan

Over the trajectory of a decade-plus career that has seen them meticulously dabble in techno, tech-house and electro for labels like Soma, Cocoon, Terminal M and Bedrock, Pig&Dan have seemingly never much cared for catering to trends. So it’s only fitting that their new burner “Slash” is as gigantic of  a blazing-hot, big-room techno track that you can get. The twelfth release on their Elevate label, the track is composed of relentless minimal drums and a bombastic bassline that’s peppered with a swirl of acid. Over the course of eight wonderful minutes “Slash” never lets up — nor do we want it to for a single moment. “Slash” is as perfect a techno tune as you’ll hear these days.

Album Review: Vermont / ‘Vermont’ (Kompakt)

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Unbenannt-1

★★★★☆

If the earth suddenly flipped on its axis and the music industry started handing out awards for the most beautiful sounding albums instead of the ones that were the most popular, Vermont would be awash in trophies. The ambient collaboration between Marcus Worgull (Innervisions) and Danilo Plessow (Motor City Drum Ensemble) is a delicate, gorgeously produced work overflowing with bold, majestic ideas. What’s even more notable is how the album falls well beyond both producer’s comfort zone: music produced for the dance floor. A beat-less masterpiece forged from jam sessions and assorted analog noodling, Worgull and Plessow’s 14 songs float, captivate and never fail to hold your attention. For their self-titled debut they get by with a little help from their friends: Cologne Krautrock legends Dominik Von Senger of Dunkelziffer and Phantom Band (guitar on “Sharav,” “Cocos” and “Montag”) and Jaki Liebezeit of Can (drums/percussion on “Cocos” and “Macchina”) add to the lush sonic wash, while Irish violinist Dermot O’Mahony (Übersprung”) and Cologne leftfield musician Lena Willikens (theremin on “Lithium”) contribute to the splendor. Cinematic in a grand sense without espousing any sort of grand artistic statement, Vermont quietly deliver one the best performances of the year.

File under: Wolfgang Voigt, Autechre

Album Review: Deep’a & Biri / ‘Emotions Visions Changes’ (International Deejay Gigolo)

Matt Oliver Leave a Comment

Emotions Visions Changes

★★★☆☆

The Israeli pair’s strict set of deep electronica rules gets house and techno wound around a distinctive scene standard — the scrunched cyclic filter that sounds like a tunnel boring machine with LEDs, or Darth Vader’s heartbeat pumped through an iron lung. Twitching murkily and experiencing a peculiar twinge of the optimistic (though only in a dominant shade of metallic grey), Derrick May and DJ Hell have lauded what is an undoubtedly thoughtful and calculated piece of engineering that has left the Detroit manual dog-eared.

Its dubtronic science burrowing through a concrete jungle that’s part ghost town, part science fiction colony, is kind of beautiful in its own clunky, downbeat way. Protective of your headphones in its occupancy of archways of echo, reverb and accentuated ricochets, it goes without saying that once the record’s stall is set out, the amount of variation invested becomes a thorny stick-or-twist issue. Deep’a and Biri keep on with what they’ve introduced, raising the tempo with “It’s Makes Sense” and “Pressure Loss,” recalibrating on “Tears,” but trundling averagely on “Black With Purple” when stimulation goes missing; arguing that the same pattern through all four sounds slightly worked on.

The foundation of leaving you in suspense wears thin to the point to trapping you. Technically capable as a sensory investment, the two know the game and play to the rules, both of which act as the album’s strength and Achilles heel.

File under: Terry Lee Brown Jr, Steve Sterac, Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald