Single Review: Frisky - Maceo Plex

Image source: WildbloodMore understated funk laced tech-house gallantry from Maceo Plex single on Crosstown Rebels. A Maceo release is generally always worth a listen and this one is no exception, despite some track names that are more than just a little lame.

'Frisky' is muted in atmosphere so whilst the name conjures up visions of Lynx adverts and sticky Jaeger coated dance floors it is actually something quite different. This is less collective euphoria, more mutual alienation and, a slightly mis-placed spoken word moment aside ("Sometimes you got to get loose, feel frisky") it totally works. It's the house equivalent of a long wordless car journey.

B-side 'Sex Appeal' is a different beast - it's still classy in comparison to its name but this time it is at least descriptive of the subject matter. This is a bumpy, tweaking and emotive piece of acid house. What Maceo Plex has been doing so well recently is bring a warmth and depth to pretty straight forward house and techno, and that is exactly what he does here. The acid is jacking but this is a really full, sophisticated take on the sound. The heavily filtered male vocals may be a touch too much for some though and a dub that strips them back a little would be welcome.

Frisky is out now on Crosstown Rebels, available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

Single Review: Beautiful World - Amirali

This debut release from Iranian / Canadian producer Amirali really reminds me of the whole tech-house prog movement of the early to mid-noughties. That may feel like a bit of a backhanded compliment but the sweeping cinematic sounds and large echoing bass lines come together to make a promising debut release from Amirali.

The original is a little bit gothic, and sure, it takes leads from Booka Shade and label mates Art Department but everyone here is ultimately just singing from the same hymn sheet popularised by Depeche Mode and The Normal's 'Warm Leatherette'. As source material goes you could do worse, but it inevitably feels a little sterile in comparison to the real thing.

The original is backed with three remixes. Daniel Bortz's is more minimal with a large scale breakdown complete with pregnant pauses laced with paranoia. As Hrdvsion, Nathan Jonson turns in a starker electro-influenced mix - functional but it lacks the impact of either of any of the other versions.

Deniz Kurtel, also on Crosstown Rebels, delivers the stand out mix however. Adding in a dark bass line with distorted synths and drums packing masses of reverb it is the only version that really delivers on the promise of the original, the extra flourishes playing off the darker sounds the original feels inspired by.

Amirali's debut album is out this Spring on Crosstown Rebels. Beautiful World is out on 13 February.

Album Review: The Drawing Board - Art Department

Following the praise heaped on debut single 'Without You' (Resident Advisor's single of the year in 2009) The Drawing Board suffers a little under the weight of expectation. It also veers somewhat from claustrophobic and imprisoned to liberated and fancy-free, the latter most definitely being preferable. The album feels lost inside its own ego at times - Art Department's sound has been dubbed "Gothic House" by DJ Mag and to my ears, that isn't a compliment. But at its best this is a work of restraint - the listener left to explore by the space that exists within the composition.

This dichotomy is perfectly epitomised by second track 'Tell Me Why (Part I)' and its sister track, the penultimate 'Tell Me Why (Part II)'. Both are dark, chugging tech-house numbers but the shorter, second part starts stripped of its beat and when it eventually throws a loose bass line into the mix it is accompanied by some jazzy vibes to create a disconcerting collage of sounds. It is both at once paranoid and blissfully unaware. Unfortunately the longer, earlier version has none of the subtlety - it aims for soulful but feels nagging and, sadly, dull. Kenny Glasgow's vocals just feel uninspired and turgid.

There are highlights however. 'Vampire Nightclub' is Art Department at their best. With a slow build and plenty of room, it feels much more like it takes its time than 'Tell Me Why' and that's because, at ten-minutes long, it does. The difference is that something actually happens during all of that time. What makers of modern day tech-house often miss when taking inspiration from their techno forefathers is the importance of progression. Early techno feels revelatory because of its overtly futuristic aesthetic, but it wouldn't have been anything if those early tracks, such as Derrick May's 'Strings of Life', didn't build and evolve. 'Vampire Nightclub' is the best track on this album because it doesn't stay in one place - unlike much here it builds and adds texture.

'In The Mood' also shines, taking the same break used in Q-Tip's 'Breath & Stop'. Here, in the context of The Drawing Board, its brief three-minutes feels raw, intimate and urgent.

Ultimately Art Department could do with taking a little advice from the sample that closes their own (admittedly great) 'What Does It Sound Like': "You gotta always remember the name of the game is what does is sound like?" Too often it feels like the duo believe their own hype.

The Drawing Board has promise but ultimately seriously misfires in a few places due to the over use of meaningless 'soulful' vocals and, sadly, a lack of ideas. Take half of this album and you have some well put together, intelligent dance music - just leave that other half.

BP x

The Drawing Board is out now on Crosstown Rebels, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].

Competition: Win Deniz Kurtel's Music Watching Over Me

Deniz Kurtel's album Music Watching Over Me dropped this week on Crosstown Rebels and we have to say - it's a bit of a grower. From the stable of Wolf + Lamb her debut is further evidence of a real movement building around the duo, particularly hot on the heels of Nicolas Jaar's excellent album, Space Is Only Noise.

As with Space Is Only Noise, this is an album of atmospherics. The difference is that its sights are set squarely on the dance floor. The tracks marry a stripped down techno aesthetic to the more lively rhythms of house - the result is subtle but classy and timeless. Particularly strong are the US Garage stomp of 'Best Of' and the dark and brooding 'Vagabond', which actually sounds like it could be by Chloe - which is no bad thing.

We'd definitely recommend seeking this out but if you are feeling lucky BlackPlastic have three copies up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning one simply send an email to Competitions@BlackPlastic.co.uk with the subject line 'Just because I enter competitions, it don't mean I'm cheap' [now closed, thanks for entering!]. Winners will be selected randomly at midnight on 23 March 2011. Please include your full name and address on entries so we can send out the prize if you win!

BP x

Music Watching Over Me is out now on Crosstown Rebels, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD (though out of stock at the time of writing) [affiliate link].

Album Review: Life Index - Maceo Plex

Maceo Plex's Life Index at times threatens greatness.

The start is a stark invitation - 'I'm A Metaphor' feels like a statement of intent. It's twisted spoken vocal taking the listener on a journey before any rhythms have even really begun. As the clunking industrialism of 'Gravy Train' rides in Life Index begins to feel like a modern update on the classic techno formula. It sounds like the future was supposed to sound.

Single 'Vibe Your Love' is a Minimal Techno Soul Ballad that really hits the mark. The spaced out, clinical swooshes in the background providing a wrapping of loneliness to the vocal. 'You & Me' feels like it actually dates back to eighties Detroit - synths stab through the rhythm and the melody is driven and focused. 'Love Your Style' is at once sensual yet tough and uncompromising. This is music for proper warehouses, not nightclubs.

Best of all is 'Arise', a track which manages to feel like the pressure valve on your brain giving in as everything leaks out. The distorted preacher's vocal, calling on the listener to "arise", lays atop a sinister bassline and the track gives you just enough to leave you wanting more. The whole thing smacks of class - less is more and Maceo Plex knows it.

The problem is that he doesn't know that less can also be less. For every track here that serves as a revelation there is another that suffers from being dull and turgid. It is difficult to pinpoint the problem - 'Silo' for example boasts the same stripped back approach as all of the above tracks, plus a touch of brass, but it just feels flaccid in comparison to the best tracks here.

Life Index is a good album, but at 79 minutes there just needs to be less of it. Listening to it in one go just emphasises the highlights and leaves parts of the album feeling cold.

BP x

Life Index is released through Crosstown Rebels on 31 January, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3.

Single Review: I Can't Wait / Rock Me - Russ Yallop

Russ Yallop's 'I Can't Wait' is a bit of a master of deception. From the first minute you would be forgiven for thinking this is some sort of funky-house jam. The elements are all there: four-four, filters, female vocal.

Yet almost as soon as that minute is up Yallop treats us to a bass line heavy enough to dispel any illusions. Sure - it's house. And it's certainly funky. But this is a long way from anything described by the two labels together. Packed with snap, crackle and pop 'I Can't Wait' practically fizzes out of the sound system, melting the electronics on its way out. It boasts a lovely organic and analogue feel which, combined with some serious low-end, sounds like Chicken Lips at their best.

B-side 'Rock Me' is similar but with less compromise. There is even less vocal, instead just a moan, yet a lovely disco stab is worked into things to give the track it's hook before finally opening up and blossoming in the song's final quarter into a full on soul sample... And then back to the dark techno drums i goes, a brief flirt in the sunlight brought to an end all too soon.

So this is what minimal sounds like when you aren't afraid to fuck with it: awesome.

Check out a preview below:

I Can't Wait-Crossroads-Rock Me by Russ Yallop

BP x

Album Review: Rebel Rave - Various

Anyone that has followed BlackPlastic for a long time may be aware that Damian Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels label is one of those labels we just have a bit of a soft spot for.

Back in the days when BlackPlastic was just starting out the label captured a unique take on the (then current) emerging Electroclash scene - taking that scene's enthusiasm for experimentalism and pop sensibilities. Rather than applying it to the no-wave post-punk and disco samples that was Electroclash's short-lived treasure trove though it felt like the Crosstown Rebels label was genuinely creating something of the future.

The result was some average to good records but more importantly some genuinely excellent mix albums, both on the Crosstown Rebels label (in the form of Rebel Futurism and the follow up, Rebel Futurism II) and in Lazarus' Suck My Deck compilation for Bugged Out! The latter actually proving a particularly prophetic view of the minimal sound that came to dominate over the years that followed.

With this background in mind a Crosstown Rebels compilation still feels like a bit of an event. Rebel Rave is a three disc set with the first two discs being unmixed and the final on the three discs mixed by Clive Henry.

Sadly Rebel Rave feels dry compared to the relative passion and drive of the albums mentioned above. In reality there are some strong moments - the stripped back minimal of Minilogue's 'Hitchhikers Choice' or the angry vocal of The Royal We's 'Party Guilt' for example - but this really feels like an evolution of the minimal Crosstown Rebels sound rather than a revolution.

Where are the clever moments that re-imagine what a genre can be? For a label that released an album as challenging (and frankly bonkers) as Lazarus' own Smoke The Monster Out this just feels phoned in. Maybe they really believe that this set of tracks are genuinely exciting and defining. Hell, maybe BlackPlastic is just getting too old but we struggle to believe this would ever have raised our pulse without some sort of chemical enhancement.

With a title like Rebel Rave BlackPlastic just expects a bit 'more'.

BP x

Crosstown Rebels Present: Rebel Rave is released today on Crosstown Rebels, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].