Reviews

Review: Balcazar – ‘Between The Airports’ EP (Desertor Gang)

Big Shot Magazine Leave a Comment

Balcazar - Between The Airports EP

★★★★☆

Marco Balcazar (a.k.a. Balcazar) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and has since had his music heard all around the world. He has released music on Blaq, Prisoner of Love and Neim Records and has a deep, stripped back dub-house sound that is for the heads. Here he serves up two more such jams that will find favor with the more discerning DJs out there.

First up, “Air Side” is a breezy cut with subtle atmospherics floating about the airwaves above a somber bassline. Celestial night sky melodies come into focus and lighten things up in fascinating ways that send your mind into sci-fi overdrive. The other track included is “Land Side,” a slightly more up-tempo track with ominous sounding melodies and paranoid bass hits driving the thing along. It’s a back room basement track for the dead of night, but despite being so stripped back still packs a heft punch.

Review: Round Table Knights – “Midnight Spark” (Exploited)

Big Shot Magazine Leave a Comment

Round Table Knights - Midnight Spark Exploited

★★★☆☆

Former turntablists Round Table Knights have long churned out popular club tunes, but on the Swiss duo’s EP on Berlin’s Exploited label they get a lot more sensitive, musical and darn right jazzy, especially on the first of the two tracks on offer.

Said first tune is “Midnight Spark,” with its tooting trumpet lines, cutesy chord stabs, swaying drums and claps and airy synth work. It’s a great house track that will truly stand the test of time and is certainly one of the pair’s finest jams. On the flip side is “Morning Delight,” a little more lazily stuck in its groove, with lots of piano stabs and criss-crossing synth lines hinting at old-school vibes and subtle acid alike. It’s a fine effort but the A-side is the one that really stands out and sticks in the memory here. Tip!

Review: Jonny Cade – ‘Atrocious Focus’ EP (Morris Audio)

Big Shot Magazine Leave a Comment

Jonny Cade Atrocious Focus EP Morris Audio

★★★☆☆

Leeds is a city where it’s tough to make an impression as a producer, not least because every man and his dog seems to make electronic music up that way. Jonny Cade, however, is evidently not your average producer, and in spite of his relative youth he’s already served some of the scene’s most seminal labels. On his label debut for Switzerland’s Morris Audio, he serves up two delectable jams, while Oli Furness closes this tasty triumvirate thanks to his remix.

On the original front, first up it’s “Made Me Wait.” The influence of the ubiquitous piano chords is undoubtable, but there are many layers to this one that make it fly, with an unfurling bassline that brilliantly lingers in the background and brings a mound of suspense with it. “Love Baby” is full of crashing drums and an amalgamation of other sounds that all expertly arrive at the same junction, while the aforementioned Mr. Furness opts for a more straight-up, no messing take on his seriously unrelenting remix.

Great work from all involved, but be warned: this EP is not for those of a weary disposition.

Review: Kotelett & Zadak – ‘Moonside’ EP (Hive Audio)

Big Shot Magazine Leave a Comment

Kotelett & Zadak - Moonshine EP Hive Audio

★★★☆☆

Fun-filled electronic music has long been Hive Audio’s modus operandi, and their latest recruits Kotelett & Zadak are most definitely proponents of a likeminded sound. Making their label debut with this EP, the Berlin-based duo give absolutely nothing away about themselves on their biography. Regardless, this is probably a good thing, as lazy clichés aside, they let the music do the talking.

In spite of the fact that there are only two tracks on offer, the lads use every last ounce to leave us yearning for more on “Moonside of the Deep” and “Nele.” The former is a bassline soaked anthem and the kind of track that leaves you waiting for the drop in a big and pleasant way. “Nele” traverses through a more rugged and straight-up road, as it engulfs the listener in a unique glare that won’t go unnoticed wherever it’s allowed to stretch out and run riot.