Singles Club #14

Each week our very own Joe Europe picks the tracks that have delighted his ear drums and are destined to go on to cause a stir. Joe (himself no slouch on a drum machine/turntable) puts to bed the notion that writing about music is akin to dancing about architecture – a wordsmith of great grace with a mighty fine ear to boot – we at R$N take note of his choices with quasi-religious fervor and we recommend wholeheartedly that you do too…

TCB Monogamie (Die Orakel)

New label alert!! This dropped into my inbox the other day and after only a very quick perusal it was clear that it was something special. Die Orakel is definitely going to be an imprint to watch out for.  For their first release they serve up two tracks by artist TCB plus a remix collaboration from Kassem Mosse and Mix Mup.

The opening track Monogamie is a slow burner to be sure but boy is it worth sticking with (maybe thats the point of the analogy). Kicking off with disjointed percussion and random noises that just set up that expectancy nicely. From there our appetites are whetted by warm strings and fluid bass line that slowly picks up the groove. Its not until after 4 minutes that we get a steady 4/4 pulse that picks you up and takes you with it and its definitely worth waiting for.

On the B side weve got Unchained which is another slow builder but this time more of an abstract affair. Random analogue pips and bubbles slowly gain momentum and are joined by strings and the metallic sighs of a post-coital robot. No kick drums here. Beautiful. Finally the Kassem Mosse and Mix Mup remix of Unchained keeps things abstract but with that steady clunk of analogue percussion thatll make things right.

Out 7th October wax and digital

Christopher Rau Derive Volume 4 (Derive)

The don of warm, smiley analogue house music delivers 3 tracks of warm, smiley analogue house music that happily reminds you (in case youd forgotten) that hes bloody good at what he does. His second outing on the Derive imprint gets the big thumbs up from me for what thats worth. Simple Setup revolves around some lovely care free chords with a broken beat slotting into place nicely. Safe the Energy is all about the lovely rounded square wave bass line that meanders its way through. Athens is the most sonically challenging of the three, with harsher, more driven beat that exists over the top of slightly atonal harps and other little off kilter artifacts.

Out now on wax

Sebastian San Lunar Dance (Ab Initio Records)

Sebastian San gets ready to drop an new 12 on his own label Ab Inito and its a 3 tracker of deep dancefloor business thats definitely a welcome additional to the arsenal. Kicking things off in an upfront manner the title track goes straight in there with its loopy percussion and repetitive dubby chords which he builds on nicely over 11 minutes. Next up Crash Course is a deeper, more atmospheric jam with the bare, percussive Asphalt bringing up the rear. And thats it basically. Not much to wax lyrical about here but thats no bad thing.

Out on wax 14th October

Joe Europe