01: MATTHEW HERBERT
‘MILAN’
(from ONE ONE, ACCIDENTAL LP)
The introspective delicacy of Matthew Herbert’s One One – an album entirely sung and performed by a producer historically more comfortable recording and manipulating the sound of the world around him – at times masks a lack of compositional substance. Not so on the gorgeous ‘Milan’, which comes over like prime Robert Wyatt or a less ham-fisted, less self-consciously geeky Hot Chip; plaintive keyboards, starlit chimes and toybox percussion framing a vocal lead at once heartbreaking and reassuring.
02: GIRL UNIT
‘I.R.L.’
(NIGHT SLUGS DIGITAL)
“More so than the rest of the Night Slugs records to date, ‘I.R.L’ really reflects where the label’s vision of club music is at right now with its big Godzilla chords, scatter-shot drum work and nods to Chicago on the 808s.” - full review
03: JJ
‘YOU KNOW’
(from JJ n°3, SECRETLY CANADIAN LP)
“Nostalgia is, obviously, all over this record – as well as the previously mentioned examples, there’s the Swedish football commentary in ‘Into the Light’, the coral whistles of ‘Light’, the excited, first love opening of ‘You Know’ (“I don’t know why / I think I’m falling for you / I just found out / I don’t know what to do”) – but rarely do artists pull it off as naturally, and with as much composure in their end of the night (or end of the summer) sadness as jj.” - jj n°3 review
04: SKUDGE
‘CONVOLUTION’
(SKUDGE RECORDS)
Swedish producers Skudge are hardly reinventing the wheel here, but they certainly give it a spin in the right direction, repurposing shuddering dub-chords, ghosted diva vocals and rugged, 2 Bad Mice-esque snare sounds in the service of lean, chicaning techno perfection.
05: JAH WARRIOR
‘DUB FROM THE HEART’
(DUG OUT 7″)
Dubstep from the days before dubstep, ‘Dub From The Heart’ first came out in 1996 and would doubtless have wallowed in obscurity were it not for this timely 7″ pressing from Dug Out, the reggae reissue imprint run by Rhythm & Sound’s Mark Ernestus and Honest Jon’s Mark Ainley. Its bulbous, jungle-influenced subs and woody, spaced-out percussion anticipate the future-rootical productions of recent RSD, but even without its clairvoyant quality ‘Dub From The Heart’ would still rule.
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Anon