RECORD OF THE WEEK: DJ SHARK - CAT EARS

In this new segment YoungOnes will be focusing on the more tasteful side of Drum & Bass and Jungle. For my first record of the week I’ve chosen a brand new track from none other than house producer Gnork, well actually from his jungle alias, DJ Shark. His new track, Cat Ears, features house influenced elements materialised in the rising swirls that give it a flavour you might hear in a lot of tracks at 120 BPM.

Throughout the tranquil track there are melancholic waves that have defined the Hungarian producer in his house tacks. These lend themselves to that dreamy airiness that make up the liquid feel to the song.

DJ Shark's play with the bass is the main focal point for me, it’s warm, bright and thumping. The percussive elements that dart over the top the track all work in every sense for capturing that old school beat we use to hear come out of the 90s. 

Check out the flip side for Gnork's edit of M-Beat's classic jungle track, Incredible. 

3.7/5

Words by Henry Mills

RECORD OF THE WEEK: DJ Slyngshot - Battlecat [Yappin Records]

DJ Slyngshot follows up their ace 12” from earlier in the year with another platter of dusty dancefloor goodness, chopping up chunky breaks, disco lasers and hip-hop snippets on the title track before playing a more conventional 4/4 stroke for the A2.

The B side is a majestic slice of deep house, effortlessly combining drifting pads and shuffling percussion with a bassline boasting more momentum than the petition to ban Trump from the UK. Honestly, this record arrived yesterday morning and my play count is already reaching double figures – I for one certainly can’t grasp it.

It won’t be long before you will have to pay a premium for this record so snap it up HERE while you can!

4/5

Words by Matt Jenkins

November Releases...

Our five pick's from November featuring Hubie Davidson's 'Sanctified' on Midland's 'Regraded' edit series, German Alex Niggemann's 'Divergent', 'Boundary Regulation' on Kuedo's EP'Assertion Of A Surrounding Space', 'Silhouettes' by the talented Floating Points & 'Lej' the meaty banger from Timmy P on ALiVE Recordings.

Chosen by Matt, Tobias, Ed, Chris & Ben - READ & LISTEN HERE

RECORD OF THE WEEK: PROJECT PABLO - I WANT TO BELIEVE [1080p]

Project Pablo is another of Montreal's rising stars, from a city who's musical roots stem from rock and jazz. It's so easy to see that I Want To Believe has been born out of these influences. 1080p have made their vinyl debut with this release (it was actually released on cassette in August of this year.

This EP was created with a pure sense of listening in mind. As you move through the record, the grooves stay smooth and light; nothing too in your face. The tracks stay true to their chilled vibes throughout with subtle underlying tones of warmth that are made up of instrumental brass play. 

Definitely watch out for Project Pablo as you'll be hearing lots more from him. Word on the street is that Church will be putting out a new release of his next year.

4/5

Words by Ed Robinson

Purchase: Vinyl

RECORD OF THE WEEK: KENNETH SCOTT - TONIGHT [LEGWORK]

Legwork Records have been one of my favourite labels created in recent years; they've released music from Matrixxman, Brett Johnson and Convextion, not to mention using the label as an output for their own music. Behind the scenes it's the child of San Francisco heavyweight Lance DeSardi and his partner Leopold. 

Berlin based Kenneth Scott allows his A-side to take on an almost spacey, futuristic sound. It sounds somewhere between Detroit and Berlin, past and future. It's a rolling track that Scott exercises his synthesiser skills on. 

On the flip, the Legwork guys up the tempo a bit and lay down a basic 4/4 house beat. It's never going to be the most innovative of remix, yet I suspect that the track wouldn't fail to impress in a club at 3am...

The record is not actually out yet, but we will put up a purchasing link as soon as it is available to buy.

3.9/5

Words by Matthew Barnett

 

FATIMA YAMAHA - WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO (DJ HAUS 4/4 EDIT) [SLEEP ALL DAY]

Sleep All Day's second release, DJ Haus's 4/4 edit of Fatima Yamaha's 'What's A Girl To Do,' was eagerly anticipated by me. In fact, the postman got a bit of a fright when I opened the door before he'd even knocked on it and snatched it out of his hand before scuttling upstairs to give it its debut spin. 

Before i get on to DJ Haus's bootleg, let's talk about the original for a bit. Bas Brons, A.K.A Fatima Yamaha, is a Dutch producer who released 'What's A Girl To Do' back in 2004 on his EP on D1 Recordings along with a few other tracks. The track made waves particularly in Glasgow, where a series of troubles hit the Scottish city and the sample in the middle of the track from Lost in Translation seems to pay homage to that. Local artists, Hudson Mohawke and Jackmaster have kept the track in rotation, the former retitling the track to 'Resistance' for his 'Lantern' LP.

All DJ Haus has really done with this track is put, as the title might suggest, a 4/4 underneath the original. The original makes too many waves for DJ Haus to do too much in terms of editing, yet the original needed that beat underneath it and he's provided just that. 

This track has been played out a bit since its release in September yet, it hasn't quite got the exposure I think it deserves. Listen and enjoy. 

3.8/5

Words by Matthew Barnett

Purchase: Digital / Vinyl

RECORD OF THE WEEK: Fred Everything feat. Jinadu (Deetron Remixes) [Lazy Days Recordings]

A stunning two track piece featuring remixes from the Swiss wizard Deetron of Fred Everything & Jinadu's 'Searching'.  These are Deetron's fifth & sixth remixes of the year, having already remixed works by Ripperton, Alex Niggemann, Todd Terje, & Huxley.

Both edits are the same, but the Dub version is without the vocals from Jinadu which I can't put my finger on. Jinadu has an incredible voice but for me the sound and vocals isn't a match made in heaven. The Dub version is the one, it feels more natural gliding away with its entracing sounds, and that alone . If you listen to the original of 'Searching' you'll find that the tempo and style of the production fit much better than with Deetron's soulful tech version.

It's easy to tell this is a Deetron production due to the way he lays it out and the typically Deetron way the track gradually builds. In this remix what gets me are those excitable tapping noises that control the piece with their teasing nature in the first half, and afterwards they go one step further, an extended bounce around that sounds angelic to say the least.

Both remixes are out tomorrow, November 13th on Lazy Day Recordings

3.9/5

 

Full Dub version:

 

Purchase: Digital / Vinyl

Words by Ben

RECORD OF THE WEEK: DEEPCHORD - ATMOSPHERIC (SOMA RECORDS)

Glasgow’s own Soma Records provides us with Deepchords’s three track ’Atmospherica’. The aptly titled EP is compiled of three cuts from Deepchords upcoming full length. ‘Ultraviolet Music’. ‘Atmospheric’ was released on the 2nd of November and will be available on vinyl on the 13th.

The first track ‘Fargo’ features a muffled booming kick along with some atmospheric synths. Layered with the odd subtle vocal sample, this track sets the pace for the rest of the record.

‘CMOS Therapy’ has a real moody feel to it. Repetitive stabbed chords sit well over dubby delayed percussion, while constant atmospheric pads work well to piece the elements together.

‘Night Song’ is again a brilliantly titled atmospheric Dub Techno piece. Deepchord fuses a lot of elements in this track including synth stabs, pads and intricate percussion, while still retaining a sense of space and atmosphere.

What Deepchord has done so well with ‘Atmospherica’ is to create these moody, dark, undulating pieces while still retaining a sense movement and intricacy. You could hear these tracks in the basement room of your favorite venue, or on your bed.

3.5/5

Purchase: Vinyl / Digital

Words by Tobias Young

RECORD OF THE WEEK: AL ZANDERS - SLENDER EP (KARAKUL)

Al Zanders, a young producer from Sheffield (also known as Lodger), has followed up his previous two releases for Stamp records with a three-track record on Phonica sub-label, Karakul. Zanders picks up the pace after the debut release on the imprint from NY*AK, yet still issues the same lazy and low-slung sound that saw the first release fly off the shelves around the UK. 

The A-side kicks off with 'Slender', a melodic, ambient track that engulfs the listener into a sort of washy, moody state. Zanders's live deep-house bassline builds and builds, allowing vocal hints and piano splurges to appear throughout the track. The snares and piano cuts seem to fall off the record, not entirely in perfect time. If you like this track, then check out his release on Blind Jacks Journey. 

Flip over and the B1 continues in the same rich vein. 'I Don't Want You To Judge' seems to be the slightly livelier sister track to 'Sleder,' with its vocal samples complimenting the analogue sound nicely. I was particularly impressed with the disco-y guitar riffs that arrive about halfway through the song before the track drops again into the conga loop that makes the track such a roller. 

The last track, 'Let Me Be Lonely,' starts with a sample of Isaac Hayes's 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight' (1978) before plunging into the warmest bassline of them all. Snare snaps, echoing hi-hats amongst other percussion stabs make this a thoroughly versatile piece of music that can be played at any time in any place. Zanders, in my opinion, has left the best until last on this EP.

A remarkable release that marks the tenth episode of our Record of the Week feature. 

Listen and share. 

4.2/5

Words by Matthew Barnett

Purchase: Vinyl


Record of the Week: Leon Vynehall - 'Midnight on Rainbow Road' (Rush Hour Recordings)

Very few producers can make records like Leon Vynehall, a musical force to be reckoned with and one of our favourite producers to have emerged over the course of last two years. Take a minute to stop whatever it is you are doing, kick back and enjoy ‘Midnight on Rainbow Road’. A personal favourite, that spins us out to the cosmos and back on a climatic six minute tour de force. The soft building notes, guitar energy, spaced out samples and steadily growing percussion line make it a truly addictive listening experience. It was released exclusively on Rush Hour for Gerd Jansons second 'Musik for Autobahns' compilation three weeks ago.

Having listened to it numerous times it’s placement now seems entirely obvious. The sound of the motorway rush at the start and finish, as well as it's driving vitality make it the perfect kind of record to take you to a place elsewhere on those long enduring motorway journeys from a to b. If you like this we recommend checking out ‘Butterflies’ & ‘Time’ by Leon Vynehall released on Clone Royal Oak Records and K7 respectively.

YO looks forward to hearing what these fast descending winter months will bring to Leon's release catalogue for the remainder of this year.

3.8/5
 

Words by Chris Shenkman

Purchase: Digital

RECORD OF THE WEEK: THE EMPEROR MACHINE - LOVE LICK (NEIN RECORDS)

The Emperor Machine - Love Lick (Nein Records)

The Emperor Machine seems to have done the double for our record of the week. Last week Ed raved about his remix of Flash Atkins's, 'Summer of Love' and this time he’s here to grace us with one of his own born. 

The tracks were released on Nein records, which is headed by producers, Tronik Youth and Jonah Considine. The label puts out analogue sounding, disco-tinged acid house (too much of a mouthful?) But who are we for genres anyway? The point is is that the put out brilliant music on a regular basis. 

On the A-side, 'Love Lick' is a slow, chugging house track that has a Sci-Fi feel about it. The downtempo sound of the track allows disco influences to prevail and synthy goodness links these elements up. The track keeps you hooked as it grows and builds over the eleven minute duration in an old-school progressive, almost punk, way.

Unfortunately Nein haven't posted the second track on Soundcloud, but you can here it on Beatport here.

Next is 'Sisco Seeker,' which is perhaps the grown up version of 'Love Lick,' the big brother if you will. Coming in at 108 bpm it still remains a relatively  slow chugger, but the strong analogue beats really power this track through with percussive elements featuring heavily also. The track has a strong disco influence but remains a relatively dark showing, as the Emperor stays loyal to Nein’s sound. 

This mesmerising powerhouse is a must for DJs looking to give the dancefloor an extra kick late into the night. 

3.7/5

Words by Barnaby Curran

Purchase: Digital

Q&A with Andy Peyton

Andy Peyton has been a big part of the London clubbing scene for a number of years. He does the booking for The Nest and The Old Queen's Head, co-owns XOYO, and has just opened up Phonox in Brixton. We went down last month to see what the new club had to offer and we were in safe hands as YoungOnes interviewee, Jasper James, was at the controls with Leftroom boss, Matt Tolfrey.

We were blown away by the new space which boasts an incredibly clear Funktion-One soundsystem, a downstairs bar, and an amazing lighting rig which was controlled live by two visual technicians. 

We caught up with Andy - READ HERE

Top 5 September Releases

The first of a new feature where members of our team pick their favourite release from the previous month.

From September we feature Special Request AKA Paul Woolford, Session Victim, &ME, Floating Points, & Gnork

READ/LISTEN HERE

Record of the Week: FLASH ATKINS - SUMMER OF LOVE REMIXES (PAPER RECORDINGS)

Flash Atkins - Summer of Love Remixes (Paper Recordings)

Paper Recordings are back with their 194th release; a triple-header compilation EP of three remixes taken originally from Flash Atkins's album, ‘The Life and Times.’ Remix duties go to Emperor Machine, Steve Cobby, and B.G. Baarregaard.  

On the A side, Emperor Machine’s remix of ‘The Summer Of Love’, brings nothing but dance floor euphoria in the form of 90’s synth pop chugging house. The prominent analogue baseline takes center stage with sexy and mysterious reverbed vocals and the odd futuristic space spree flirt throughout the mix.

On the flip, Steve Cobby’s edit of ‘Forbidden Flesh’ offers a bubbling deep disco take on the original. A carefully thought out edit with layers of directed drums & sumptuous vocals; after party vibes, 'Just say it won't stop tonight, just say it won't stop.'

Last but certainly not least, Oslo based Icelandic producer B.G. Baarregaard is back with a peak time, acid-infused nu-disco slammer. His take on ‘Badger From the North’ clearly shows why his quick rise to nu-disco fame is so apparent. His use of complex production techniques and sound track arrangement take the remix in a different direction to the original. B.G. has been turning the heads of some of the industries biggest players including Sleazy McQueen and Greg Wilson with his wicked acid infused disco style.

Overall, a good 12” with a lot to offer, a time and place for each cut and will be a staple in my record bag for the foreseeable future.

4.1/5

Words by Ed Windsor-Clive

Purchase: Vinyl

Record of the Week: MIDLAND - DOUBLE FEATURE (REGRADED)

Midland - Double Feature (ReGraded)

Apart from producing two remixes for AKASE and The Howling, Midland's been off the producing circle so far this year. However, he's back on ReGraded, a sub-label of his own imprint, Graded, which focuses mainly on sample-based, disco-tinged house music. 

On the A-side, lengthy stringed instrument movements overlay guitar sample work, which builds and builds for the duration of the track. Other instrumental sound-based play interjects throughout the track also. This is one for the disco heads.

Flip it over and you have the far more playful, hip-swinging, 'Stop (Don't Let The Beat).' Again the track builds for almost two and a half minutes before Midlands trademark deep-house drone comes in. Some might recall Aus Music's 2013 release, 'For (Yacht) Club Use Only' when listening to this track, although it is undeniable that Midland has changed his tune for sub-label, ReGraded. 

Overall a solid effort from the UK-based producer, he continues to impress year on year. 

3.8/5

Words by Matthew Barnett

Purchase: Vinyl

RECORD OF THE WEEK: Unknown Artist - Legit Edits #2 (Philpot)

Unknown Artist - Legit Edits #2 (Philpot)

The mystery surrounding records released by 'unknown artists' has become more prominent of late. The artist seems to want the heads to ask around and solve the riddle surrounding the record - it's a sure-fire way to build up hype around a release. Philpot Records have done just that on their newest release, 'Legit Edits #2.' 

I'm normally useless at attempting to identify who made a song based on just the track alone, however, Philpot owner, Michel Baumann (holder of aliases 'Jackmate' and 'Soulphiction') hasn't made it difficult to discover his secret. 

The record has Soulphiction written all over it from sampling John Lucien's 'Rashida' to filling the A side with those soulful, uplifting, organ chords. If you like what you hear, then Legit Edits #3 was released at the start of the summer. 

The A side combines many different layers of percussion with a few different organ riffs and a sample that sounds, 'Don't let the troubles of this world get you down' and so on. It's an uplifting track for these overcast September evenings. 

On the flip side the 'unknown artist' adds a dubbed out bassline to Jon Lucien's 70s track 'Rashida' which is a song about unrequited love. Apart from chopping and changing a few parts of guitar work and vocal samples, the edit stays fairly loyal to the original track. This is more of a slow, broken-beat track that is certainly less suited to the dancefloor. 

Soulphiction has once again impressed me with his editing work, yet another record to add to his long standing case against Kenny Dixon Jr's belief that white guys can't make soul. Perhaps a bit more could have been done with the B-side.

3.2/5

Words by Matthew Barnett

Purchase: Vinyl Only 

RECORD OF THE WEEK: Auntie Flo & Esa - Uganda (Highlife World Series)

Auntie Flo & Esa - Uganda (Highlife World Series)

Auntie Flo and Esa are back with the third and final installment of the Highlife World Series. The Highlife World Series is a collaborative project in which Auntie Flo and Esa traveled to Cuba, Kenya and Uganda, creating tracks with local artists. Auntie flow hails from Glasgow while Esa Williams is from Cape Town. For the past few years they have both been an integral part of the Glaswegian music scene, though now they both reside in London. Not only does this project shed light on talented artists from around the world, all the proceeds from each release will be sent back to their respective countries to fund further musical endeavors.

Doadoa14 features an incredible baseline layered with a soothing vocal performance from Christopher and thumping afro jazz grooves.

Esa’s 12’ mix of Sanitary’s “Min Kula’ fuses traditional East African instruments such as the kalimba, with layered vocals and a booming baseline. With the addition of a rather mischievous piano riff, this track is sure to keep you moving.

The record allows its self to breath with 'Africa Ni Lea' (Africa is today). A crisp track bursting with optimism. The guitar riff merges with the vocals allowing beautiful harmony along with smooth drum grooves rolling beneath. This track seamlessly combines organic and synthetic sounds, which I believe is what this project is all about.

The Record ends with Behrs remix of ‘Africa Ni Lea’. This track really turns the original on its head. Although this version ditches the prosperity of the original, it takes the track to a far darker place, resulting in an intriguing sonic experience.

A collaborative project of this nature will always bear interesting results and Highlife World Series Uganda certainly did that. If you like what you hear make sure you check out the rest of the series as well the blog that goes with it.

 

3.8/5

Words by Tobias Young

Purchase: Vinyl / Digital