Ludwig A.F.
Air LP

Under-the-radar and majorly overlooked Glaswegian label Beluga Records, founded and run by Lorne Walton & James Gray, operated mainly in the mid 90's and released a sleuth of music ahead of its time. Together they recorded and performed as Western Alliance and released two recently acclaimed EP's and it's there where we turn our attention to with their 'Atalanta EP' from 1996. Featuring four no-nonsense, stripped back, groovy, dancefloor rammers it's music that seems now more relevant than ever. Serious gear.

Mysterious Call Edan project on the slightly less mysterious Sounds Better Records label (at least we can say it's from Bristol). 'Frome' that we got here, as you could hear if you pressed 'play' already is a take on Liz Torres' masterpiece that lived a great life in the 90s and got the resurrection after D'Julz re-released it on his Bass Culture Records. This one, it seems, balances between the original groove and all those 'Deep' and 'Get Down' editions perfectly. Not overloaded with stuff, it squeezes everything from its 126 BPM - almost impossible to listen to the end without moving. I tried. Both A and B-side openers here are slightly similar and could be described as the step on Cosmic Rhythm territory. Both of them got more or less the same pipey vibe, but 'La Riviera' has much more energetic beat structure inside (built around kick) while 'Protos' keeps pumping us with hats. The last one here - 'Gum' , with the most annoying moment on the preview cut (cuts just before the drop), probably will get even more people screaming and shouting, than any other track on this EP. Drop is working perfectly, be sure.

Kepler’s Perspective label is back and this time the spotlight is on rising talent, Philip Chernikov. Here he manages to capture exactly what was special about the early tech house movement across 4 functional and varied cuts. All four tracks have an addictive loopy groove, with hypnotic basslines, spacey atmospheres and eerie vocals.

Overground's journey continues with a new release from label co-owner Rickie.

For this 5th delivery from Mephis, label boss Alfalfa shares with us a nostalgic and dystopian interpretation of his migratory experience in a sonic format. Imagine Kafka fidgeting with a 303 in a waiting room, with a happy ending.