There's a glitch in my soup...

I was trying to do a Current Top 10, but realized that there are only really seven current releases that are getting me hot under the collar. So, instead of thinking up three fake entries (would I do such a thing?), here are the sure shots alone.

HEIDI VS RITON - VEJER (ORIGINAL) // GET PHYSICAL Heidi, Phonica high priestess, has been making a big splash this summer, and deservedly so - with high profile DJ slots around the world (her splendid Monza mix CD is soon to drop on Get Phiz) and her debut production 'Vejer' doing serious club damage wherever it roams. Put together with beau Riton, it's a layered, shimmering epic that takes Physical's sound to the next level in a way that none of their previous '06 releases have - moody snatches of cello punctuate the predictably (in a good way) bumping rhythm track, before giving way to a monstrous, treated piano riff that had me damn near raising my hands aloft in "Praise the Lord!" ecstasy as I rode the tube to work this morning. On the flip, we get two solid Jesse Rose mixes, the dub being the one for me - I mean, when is the dub ever not the one?

OCTOBER - THERE'S A GLITCH IN MY SOUP / TAPE // CD-R I received the wonderful news a coupla days ago that October - up-and-coming producer (check his Fluid Ounce releases), legendarily nice chap and general mucker/associate of TAPE's Bristol office, has had a pair of tracks signed to the label of one of my all-time musical heroes. I don't want to jinx it at this stage by saying who that label/hero is (do you believe in jinxes? No, me neither, but equally I'm the kind of person who, as a child, used to, like, tell myself that I had to turn the lights on and off forty times before I entered our living room otherwise the devil would appear. Catholic upbringings, eh?); but I can tell you it's someone I've paid lengthy tribute to here in these pages. Anyway, this good news is particularly heartwarming because one of the two signed tracks is 'TAPE' which Jules wrote for, you guessed it, us shitkickers. It's a wicked track, strongly influenced by the Inner City Visions sound (especially 'Where We At') and needless to say we're proud to have it named after us (those of you who come here regularly might've checked out the clips which Carnage posted last month). Anyway, I don't know if 'There's A Glitch In My Soup' is intended for the same 12", but fuck me, it's good. This tricksy steppa is nice-n-techy but has that processed jazz feel I love - Jules really works the syncopated kicks Sonar Kollektiv style, and applies dreamy, rising synth strings that remind me a lot of Metro Area. Basically, it's fat, and showcases Jules' increasing confidence in the studio. Check www.myspace.com/djoctober for more info/sounds from the man himself.

MATHEW JONSON - AUTOMATIC / BEACH PARTY // WAGON REPAIR Not sure what I make of this. The A-side to MJ's newbie is an overbearing 2step beast, rendered with his beloved harsh synth-snare sounds (as made famous in 'Decompression', 'Zombie Bikers', '7.19fm' - in fact virtually everything save 'Marionette') and fearsome electro stabs. The thing that puts me off is the jazzy trills which end each phrase; now, complex and chicaning basslines have always been one of Jonson's strengths - in the same way that Nick Drake creates glorious tension in 'Hazy Jane II' by fitting the line 'What will happen in the evening in the forest with the weasel with the teeth that bite so sharply when you're not looking in the evening' (or summat) into a musical phrase about half its size, Jonson's overpopulated basslines have always been a source of drama and delight. On 'Automatic', however, I feel as if he's trying to outdo himself - like, 'How many notes can I fit in this riff? More than on "Zombie Bikers"? Hell yeah!'. More pertinently, though, my brain just can't square the aforementioned jazzy flourish (melodically very obvious) with the roughhouse rhythm track that's the tune's greatest strength. Hmmm...need to give this one some more listens. On the B-side, we get 'Beach Party', which Mathew (pictured above left) dedicates to the early morning party people - it's a bit more spacious and certainly less aggressive than 'Automatic' but my first impressions aren't too positive. That said, if there's one thing I've learned in the last two years, it's this: Don't judge a Mathew Jonson track until you hear it out.

SIG - ANYMORE // LEVEL RECORDS Brought to my attention by Electro-Lights (check sidebar for link), this is a piece of lusher-than-lush, gently boompty minimal with a proper 'life is worth living after all' bassline, and layered strings that recall the stately-but-serene ambience of Kompakt's finest moments. You will not regret getting hold of this track, I assure you.

PIER BUCCI - HAY CONSUELA (SAMIM REMIX) // CROSSTOWN REBELS I've got serious man-love for Pier Bucci (though ever since I saw him play live w/ his brother Andre, (for some reason) I can't help but think of Eastenders' Mitchell Bros - Grant Bucci and Phil Bucci will now be how I forever think of 'em). Anyway, you all know, or should know, that Pier's 'Familia' LP of 2005 was absolutely cracking, but no one bought it on CD and Crosstown never got a proper vinyl release out. Here, Tuning Spork/Fuckpony's Samim has been enlisted to remix one of the album's weaker tracks (weaker, as in brilliant but not staggeringly brilliant), and, to my ears anyhow, he's absolutely nailed it. Stripping back the fussy arrangement of the original into a spare, stylish and totally jacking groove, Samim gives the yearning vocal loads of room to breathe and the result is one of my favourite tracks of the year.

PIKAYA - GRUNE RUFHAUSE // CADENZA The a-side to the new Cadenza is a mild departure from the slightly tiring rhythmic experimentalism of 'Clara Ghavami' and the hynoptic/plodding groove of 'Solomon's Prayer'. 'Grune Rufhause' fizzes along very nicely indeed, full of the effortless swing and off-beat elaborations that make Cadenza tunes stand out every time.

MINILOGUE - HITCHHIKER'S CHOICE // CROSSTOWN REBELS Crosstown score again, signing up the creators of 'Boy From Botany Bay' for this essential EP. It's all about the A-side, 'Hitchhiker's Choice' , where we find a gloriously melodic bassline snaking its way in and around a tech-house backing of irresistible tautness. There's a moment, about four minutes in, when everything drops out, save for the kick; it sounds like the tune's on its run out before THAT riff returns, as slippery and addictive as ever. Sweet christ, I love this tune. As far as I'm concerned, the B-sides are just an amazing bonus, neither of them scaling the heights of 'Hitchhiker's' - but don't get me wrong - the production throughout this EP is masterful and the 12" totally essential.


HYPE CHART ...
things coming soon that I just can't wait for...

1. MY MY - SONGS FOR THE GENTLE LP // PLAYHOUSE Eagerly-awaited, complex and diverse album from one of the hottest production teams out there, soon to land
2. COBBLESTONE JAZZ - INDIA IN ME // WAGON REPAIR More leftfield, man vs machine techno-jazz from Mat Jonson's side project; a worthy-follow up to the mighty 'Dump Truck' EP
3. EXERCISE ONE - 12 YEARS // LAN MUZIC Top-drawer Berlin minimalism for head and feet alike
4. PHONIQUE - WHAT I PLAY (SPIRITCATCHER REMIX) // SIMPLE Will Saul's Simple continues its run of sterling releases, with Dessous hit-and-misser Phonique providing the raw materials for a sumptuous-n-robust version by Spirit Catcher
5. VARIOUS - BACK TO BACK CD // MOBILEE Work it out