Rockers Hi-Fi
Seven Hills Presents: Rockers Hi-Fi 92-96

London based Subb-An is no stranger to all manner of Tech and Minimal sounds. He’s well known for the high calibre releases on his own One Records and countless seminal releases on lablel far too many to mention. Yet on ‘Synchronicity EP’ you will discover Subb-An like you’ve never heard him before. The newly found sound that he explores here with ease and panache is both steeped in 90’s history yet with knowledge of modern dancefloors.

DJ Aquatraxx debuts on UTTU with an epic 5 track EP made up from live sessions in his Rome based studio.. Drexcian inspired houz muzik.

Back in 2021, when Volodymyr Gnatenko agreed to work on his debut album, none of us could have predicted it would be released, post-pandemic, against the backdrop of war. At the time, the 23-year-old producer from Lutsk was riding high on a string of well-received 12s for labels such as Where We Met and Animals On Psychedelics, besides local Ukraine labels such as LSS557 and Rhythm Buro. He was, between covid closures, playing live at Kyiv clubs such as Closer and Kureni, looking to tour in Europe, and spending every spare second making music.How things change. When missiles began to rain on Kyiv, Gnatenko, alongside a few friends from Closer, hid in his studio. For a while, the bombings did not stop. But for the producer, neither did the music-making. Choosing to stay in the city, he continues to make beats, managing only to mix down between bombing raids. He changed his first name to match that of his president, ditching the previous spelling of his name because it was the same as the aggressor, “[the same as] my worst enemy, I am ashamed and disgusted that I started my career with it”. The album speaks of softer, easier times. A combination of rich ambience, and laidback breaks alongside loose progressive and trance-fused dancefloor tracks, this debut brings together all the strands that Gnatenko plays with. The process, he says, was exhausting and long. Yet the results are lighter, fresher. Maybe because, he says, “it is dedicated to my future wife. All the tracks are my words of love for her". Deeply hypnotic and freely moving between ideas, it feels like it was made a lifetime ago, not a matter of months. Now, it resonates with a new defiance. It is a debut with an extra layer of meaning.

"We spent lot of time in a thorough search, looking for gems among our friends producers from all corners of Ukraine. As a result, we got a universal record that can satisfy the tastes and needs of many. First track from A-side made by Victor B, a talented producer from Odesa, whose live performances can often be heard in the walls of the Odesa club PORT. Side continues by the work of Closer resident from Kyiv - O 'Fourty Four aka Pahatam. This man has more than ten years of musical experience behind him and knows how to capture the listener's attention, which he skillfully demonstrates in his work. B-side begins with the track of the already well-known musician from Kharkiv, co-founder of the Trance Pandemic label — Kurilo. The track has absorbed all the best technical and stylistic methods of its author. Our friend from Zaporizhzhia Brooht completes the record. A lyrical and slightly dreamy composition that balances so well with dynamic and dance-provoking bangers."

Next up on Amenthia is the newly hatched collab by Konduku and Aa Sudd as Konsudd. The two artists are closely connected to the inner circles of Amenthia, and present their exciting journey through rhythm experiments and sludgy grooves. Their back and forth 'remote' working approach enabled their latest experiments and sounds to be twisted inside-out by each other. Inspiring and pushing each other to step into unknown territory, its been a lively process resulting in a magnificent pack of crispy half-tempo electronics from the future.

James K debuts on Incienso with sophomore album Random Girl. What’s gathered at first is a heterogeneous mixture of intimacy and sore, collected between 2014-2018. As if in a cruel playground game, K breaks a tracklist full of complex soundscapes, voice manipulation, and dazzling shoegaze with a self-built noise box, stethoscope throat-voice and a cellphone recording from a fake tropical island on ecstasy. Consequently, Random Girl is a voice against infantilization of girlhood, a decisive refutal of integrity, fighting what can be understood as the death of expression. Take a sip of water before your memory error blinks. Dial to K. Listen to the disfragmented territory and the cast of it she’s making. It might not be what you will have thought tomorrow.