MUSIC TUNED UP 2017’s first dancefloor weapons p.110 OPUS PRIME January’s top albums p.128 ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Compilations not to miss this month p.132 A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Throwing Snow returns to Houndstooth with his conceptual ‘Embers’ LP... p.130 djmag.com 109 HOUSE BEN ARNOLD Kian T Room 69 EP Toy Tonics QUICKIES 8.5 Last Waltz If there's a hotter label on the Tunnel Snakes [email protected] house scene at the moment, it Me Me Me would have to cleverly distract 8.0 Toy Tonics from its current Man Power's Me Me Me imprint presents this from proliferation. This latest slab Last Waltz. ‘Y'ave Changed’ is the one, a twinkling is from Kian T (geddit?), a slab of Balearic-tinged delight. There's a remix from 'mysterious Italian producer', the very hot Red Axes too. who constructs bumpy, funk- laden house music from up a hill Simon Garcia somewhere in wine country. These Trimmer EP are indeed drunken grooves, Pets Recordings notably the magnificent 'Good 8.0 Things', a mucky, p-funked romp. Madrid's Simon Garcia drops this for Pets, the 'Room 69' too wobbles in all the highlight being a dancefloor-ready, organ-heavy, right places. Bonus track 'In My laser-noise-blasting remix from Karlovak main man, Eyes' nails down the wayward Mr. Tophat. Hats off. percussion; skippy and brilliant. NVOY Folamour Make You Mine Shakkei Black Butter All-City 7. 5 8.5 Can't argue with this. Fat, brassy stabs, diva vocals, Lovely work from Frenchman, and production so shiny you could eat your dinner Folamour, aka Bruno B, co- off it. Can't see Richie Hawtin dropping it, but founder of the Moonrise Hill that's his loss. Material label (makers of 'poetic house music'). On this three- Melé tracker for All-City, ‘Shakkei’ builds Scouse Afrika/Sleepless the pianos to a dizzying crescendo, Edible while 'Maybe I Did Burn Ya Place' 7. 5 MONEY couples clattering percussion with Massive, percussive Afro-house from the Wirral, SHOT! soul-melting chords. 'Each Day brought to you by Melé and courtesy of Eats Mr. G Is A First Day' couples its tough Everything's Edible imprint. Aim for the dancefloor- G's Juiced Up? EP beats with warming Rhodes keys, dominating ‘Scouse Afrika’. No Idea's Original whipping a loop from Light Of The 9.0 Mathew Jonson & World's classic 'London Town'. No one does it like Mr. G does Sebastian Mullaert TUCCILLO HOLIC TRAX it. And this deep, girthy funk Pollen 4 Life Stefano Ritteri for Huxley's No Idea's Original Hypercolour The Pretty Ghost EP label is proof positive of his 8.5 Congaloid mastery of the dancefloor. A top-flight double-header for 8.0 'Can't Stop?' is a rolling, Hypercolour, with Canadian don Italian-in-London Stefano Ritteri relentless groove, layering Mathew Jonson hooking up lulls you in to a false sense of funk on funk on funk. Deviously with an old time chum, Swedish security with his disco congas, but simple, devastatingly effective. producer Sebastian Mullaert (one soon things start to get demented '4am NYC Downlow' drops half of Minilogue). Inspired by a on 'The Pretty Ghost', with atonal in sub-bombs, and some five-day trip the pair took to one arpeggios and wobbling synths. unsettling, late-night vibes. of Sweden's sprawling national Who knows what key its in. But 'Makes Me Mad' squelches parks, 'Pollen 4 Life' builds its frankly, who cares. It's ace. On the through six tough minutes endless arpeggios into some flip, 'Your Playground Is The Sun' of groove-heavy mania, and subtle, but highly effective drama. is arguably more conventional, there's an irresistible dub too. It's fragile, flighty and quite with gentle chords giving way to a All hail the don himself. gorgeous. Over, there's a moody, quiet screamer of a track, building brooding dub version. layers of bliss on top of one 01. TUCCILLO ‘G-Capsule’ Holic Trax another. Very strong indeed. “Forthcoming from Holic Trax. Bomb.” Purveyors Of Fine Funk No Moon 02. TUCCILLO ‘Black Talk’ Unblock Soul Message EP Nothing Else Matters Simian Mobile Disco “A killer for the dancefloor.” Metaphoric Recordings X-Kalay Welcome to Sideways Pt. 2 Delicacies 03. DOUBLET ‘Robin & Maikel’ Doublet 8.5 8.0 “Let’s get deep.” The peerless Dan Curtin digs Firm, yes. Skirting techno, well 8.5 04. OMOKI TAMURA ‘NY Bassworks’ Holic Trax out his Purveyors of Fine Funk quite possibly. But that's what This generous five-tracker of “Classic house vibe with a new touch.” alias, first emerging way back the pitch slider is for. Just a tweak unctuousness from Simian Mobile in 1994, and last seen properly (don't go mad, obviously), and Disco shows James Ford and Jas 05. SHAUN REEVES & TUCCILLO ‘Smile (The Mole Remix)’ One Records on Bass Culture in 2013 (though this from No Moon, aka Fred Shaw to be in some prolific form. “Dope remix by The Mole.” he also made an appearance on Sheperd, is purest deep space 'Bubble Has No Answers' is a 06. DOUBLET ‘Frog Remain’ Doublet Sebo K's Scenario earlier this funk. 'Manc1010101' is a lush driving, clicking groove, minimal “Funny track for strangers.” year). 'Soul Message' is a driving burst of abrasive, dancefloor and fluid. 'Space Is Filled With 07. TUCCILLO ‘Playhead’ Holic Trax houser, with distant echoes of insanity, while 'Nothing Else Ringing' clangs its electronic bells “Groove and bass, this is what we love.” disco, while 'Genius of Touch' Matters' drops a little acid. in tumult, while 'Face To Face unleashes trance-inducing, slowly Over, 'Listing Lazily To The Left' With Spoon' takes one roughly 08. DOUBLET ‘Funky Truck’ Doublet “Disco disco!” building madness. Handle it with maintains the breathless, rough- from behind. 'Staring At All This care. 'Subaffection' is genuinely hewn, almost distorted vibrations, Handle' will have people thinking 09. DOUBLET ‘Paradise Village’ Doublet joyous, life-affirming house hurling in jazzy keys. 'Everything's their brains are melting at 5am in “Timeless tune.” music, followed by the pounding, Coming Up Millhouse', meanwhile, Berlin. 'Remember In Reverse' is 10. TUCCILLO ‘Los Amigos’ Holic Trax powerful Soul Mode. Stunning. is a skittering delight. magnificent. That is all. “The tune for my brother.” 110 djmag.com BREATH IN THE HISTORY. UNVEIL THE FUTURE. DUBROVNIK. CROATIA. ONE OF THE TOP DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD OFFERS YOU CULTURE CLUB REVELIN. SITUATED IN A UNIQUE 500 YEAR OLD MEDIEVAL FORTRESS, THE ATMOSPHERE AND BEATS CREATED BY WORLD CLASS DJ’S AND TOP CHART PERFORMERS WILL LEAVE YOU WANTING MORE. NUMEROUS CELEBRITIES AND DAZZLING PARTY PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD REVEAL THE DUBROVNIK’S NIGHTLIFE TEMPTATIONS, A NIGHT OF CLASS AND STYLE WITH A UNIQUE HISTORIC TWIST. A BLEND OF ANTIQUE EXTERIOR AND MODERN INTERIOR WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON HOSPITALITY AND STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY HAS SET CULTURE CLUB REVELIN APART FROM THE REST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! www.clubrevelin.com SEE YOU IN ! cultureclubrevelin revelin.dubrovnik ClubRevelin DUBROVNIK IN 2017 Untitled-1 1 13/12/2016 14:46 TECHNO RICHARD BROPHY RICHARD — there is a renewed appetite for underground electro. Boris Bunnik, aka Versalife, has been QUICKIES one of the leaders in this field for Mikron the past few years, mainly thanks Foresight EP Zone to his ‘Night Time Activities’ [email protected] series. On ‘Artificial Affection’, 8.0 his signature mysterious, multi- ‘Foresight’ is Mikron’s third release on Hacker’s layered sound prevails, while the label and explores a doom-laden, dystopian sound. dark, dystopian ‘Cloaking Mod’ At times, the pair’s sound even explores a dubbed- and ‘Manipulated Matter’ show out, hardcore-influenced sound. The Exaltics rounds where this cult sound is heading off a classy EP with a muscular, angular electro take to next. on ‘Ulterior’. Celldod Dmx Krew Kess 03 Space Cucumbers Kess Kill CPU 8.0 8.0 Anders Karlsson, aka Celldod, has There is clearly no end to Ed Dmx’s talents, as been releasing music since the this release demonstrates. From the title track’s late '80s — mainly on cassettes. dramatic strings and stepping rhythm through The producer’s frazzled electronic the tonal, acid-flecked ‘Positronic Matter’ and the sound has now found a home muscular electro-funk of ‘Re-Invasion’ and ‘More on fellow Swede Rivet’s new Questions’, it's another exemplary EP. label. Annie Gylling’s shrieking vocals, whip-crack percussion Modular Ball MONEY and noisy, coruscating rhythms Purple Girl SHOT! prevail on two versions of 'Falska Rowtag Gudar', while 'Vantar Pa Dig' sees 8.0 Karlsson veer into noisy, abstract Two-thirds of Tokyo Black Star deliver a superb Intergalactic Gary experimentation. Fans of Liaisons release that touches on Italo, electro, disco and & Pasiphae Dangereuses and CCHB will love techno. Set to a mid-tempo pace, the title track Made Of Glass EP Various Artists this release. combines low-slung bass with atmospheric synths, Bio Rhythm Semantica 10.5 while ‘Double Dragon' sails into the ether, powered 9.0 Semantica Reggie Dokes by powerful claps and jazzy flourishes. John Scheffer, aka Intergalactic 7. 5 New York EP Gary, is one of the world’s ‘Force By Hand’ is a rare sighting Psychostasia greatest underground DJs, but from Silent Servant in the club 9.0 BROKNTOYS BROKNTOYS his last production was back in techno world and sees him turning So 2016 wasn't a complete 2001 with I-f as the Paralaxx in a grinding, ebm-themed write-off; it saw the return of Corporation.