Single Review: Eroica - Royalty

Royalty's debut EP caught my ear a few months back, duo Chesca and Yorke creating a selection of polished dark Italo pop moments. If that was the promise this might be the pay off.

Whatever slight rough edges existed on their debut EP are nowhere to be found here. Title track 'Eroica' emerges from the depths like a seductive harlot through crude oil - shimmering jet black and irresistible. Dark stabs of grit and bass punctuate the rhythm whilst the vocals encourage us to kiss on the dance floor. It's almost all a bit too much, big snare drums drowning in reverb against cinematic melodies and amped emotions.

Along with the original and an instrumental version Yorke turns in his own Atlantean mix, which slows it down to a mean funk - this is what R&B would sound like if it was made for grimey basements with beers and Jack rather than stadiums and champagne flutes. An incessant key tone marks out the chorus with a hint of determination that perfectly reflects that of the vocals.

The other original track comes in the form of 'Vector Glide'. The name befits the track's straight lines and menacing atmosphere. Opening with thick analogue bass and crisp hard drums it is what your Tron dreams sound like - an electronic gravy of Com Truise and John Carpenter.

Royalty's sleazy cosmic pop hits just right - if you like Chromatics, Glass Candy et al you won't be disappointed.

EP Review: Changes EP - Francesca Lombardo

As Crosstown Rebels approach their 100th release they show little signs of showing and this debut release from Francesca Lombardo instantly marks her out as one to watch.

Classically trained in piano, Lombardo transitioned to electronic music and started work on Changes after a chance meet with Crosstown Rebels label owner Damian Lazarus at the Miami Winter Music Conference last year. Taking twelve months to create the result is an EP that evidences a producer's hand much more refined than you would expect from a debut release yet. It's a varied suite though - the subtler moments balanced at times with more overtly dance floor focused tracks.

Things open with the title track. Of the four songs included here it is one of the more balanced moments, a groove based minimal tech cut. Expect filtered and distorted vocals and some big melodic keys contrasting a big kick drum.

Next up is the ethereal 'Is It True', an atmospheric piece with brittle vocals and watery echoes. It certainly isn't a dance floor cut despite some big bass and at times large drums. The melodic synth that creates the track's climax and plays out to the end mirrors a sparse beauty in this track and as good as 'Changes' is it is helplessly out-outshined here.

On side B 'Old School Anna' is the most focused dance track, a Detroit influenced minimal track with jacking drums and hi-hats. It's a pretty amazing contrast to know this came from the same head as 'Is It True' and yet I can't help but admire the ambition and versatility in that contrast. The EP closes with 'Sofiel', which maintains a tight bassline and some shuffling drum patterns whilst treating itself with a series of warm melodic pads and a lush progressive ambience.

Changes is released through Crosstown Rebels on 16 July on vinyl and 30 July digitally. You can pre-order the digital release through Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].

Get a taste of Lombardo's work by streaming her Crosstown Rebels mix on Soundcloud below:

EP Review: Teen Collection - Hot Jam 96 by Various Artists

This latest release from VisionQuest features not just one artist but three. The whole release plays with VisionQuest's trademark tech influenced house sound and is geared up for summer but aside from that this represents a pretty varied release.

The EP opens with Lauren Lane who enlists Jaw from dOP to create 'Lazer Eyes', a soulful cut with a disco edge. It has the crisp treble and deep base of a more minimal track but there is pretty obvious crossover potential in the sun flecked guitars and sultry falsetto vocals.

Next up is 'Alice' from QBeck featuring Julia Govor and it is a very different track. Govor's feminine vocals are fragile and yet even more sultry whilst the track itself is dark tech-house. It is a well balanced track though, with a bridge of slowly collapsing rhythms and just the right amount of loose jazz in the shakes and live bongos to offset the heavy, clinical bass line the runs through the majority of the song.

The final track comes from Clarion, one half of Footprintz - whose 'Utopia' was VisionQuest's second release in March last year. Here he closes this EP out with 'All Over All Kinds' and it is closer to the 'Alice' than 'Lazer Eyes' in it's minimal tech sound. Once again it's a vocal track with Clarion providing his own tones for a dark and deep epic synth journey. It borrows liberally from Art Department's sound but feels a little less hamstrung by its own ambition - this feels enjoyable in ways that, for me at least, their music never really has.

All in all a nice set, though the tracks are sufficiently different that it is unlikely all three will rest easy in any single DJ's box.

Teen Collection - Hot Jam 96 is out through VisionQuest now.

EP Review: Back Up Queen - Nathan Barato feat. The Ride Committee & Roxy

There seems to be something in the water in Toronto - recent months have seen a burst of techno and clipped, minimal house releases emerge from the city to melt our icy hearts and win over our souls.

Nathan Barato's debut release on Rekids continues that trend, taking a 70s soul vocal sample, some additional camp vocals and adding them to tight, reverb heavy jacking house. The girl fight lyrics are a little much much the chunky drums and enclosed echoing ambience of 'Back Up Queen' make it a great soundtrack for dark moments in small, dark rooms.

Two remixes follow up the a-side. Oliver $ gives things a deeper, tribal feel that ditches the sample and gives the vocal more presence. The 808 Fake mix does the opposite, ditching the vocal whilst tweaking and looping the sample into a simple bumping minimal groove. Of the two mixes the latter is probably the better but they both lack almost all of the charm of the original, which has just enough funk and classic house atmosphere to make it a sweaty seven-minutes of pleasure.

Back Up Queen is released on Rekids tomorrow.

EP Review: Acido - Capablanca & T. Keeler

This new Gomma EP from Berlin's Capablanca & T. Keeler is a dark, cosmic disco take on Balearic house - both disorientating and electrifying at once. Following on from the duo's previous release for Gomma, the percussive debut No Hay Ritmo, this is a wilder, more adventurous beast altogether.

The a-side is the 13-minute title track and it melds disco, Italo, punk funk and electro into an extended struggle. Imagine the slow descent of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' as the drugs wear off, eventually grinding you into confusion. It's probably the most experimental thing I've ever heard from Gomma and Capablanca & T. Keeler pull it off with aplomb.

'Tropanado' keeps things a (tiny) bit briefer at eight-minutes and gives us a slower, scratchy post-punk track with hints of ESG, Gang of Four and Liquid Liquid. It's a heavy, dubby and elastic track and the freeform structure and loose bass make it even more captivating than the title track.

The release is rounded out with a remix of 'Acido' by Sweden's Name In Lights, who give the original a more overtly epic feel with layers of keys and a four / four beat. It's mainly about the break though, which kicks in just over halfway through to give the song a momentary soulful feeling and a building acid crescendo.

Frankly it is all too rare to hear a release outside of DFA that manages to balance experimentation with this much sheer danceability and Acido is a credit to not just Capanlanca & T. Keeler but also Gomma. Go grab it.