Single Review: Regrets We Have No Use For - Maxxi Soundsystem feat. Name One

​Maxxi Soundsystem seems intent on getting a little better with each release - several releases in the past year or so have been good, but this one for Hypercolour is a belter.

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Regrets We Have No Use For - Maxxi Soundsystem feat. Name One​

'Regrets We Have No Use For' opens with a series of male falsetto notes, metallic bass lines and high-pitch melodies - all of which gives way in anticipation of Name One's vocal. That change is sign-posted by the deep, hollow-sounding bass that forms the bedrock of much of this track together with a clatter of drums.

Name One's vocal, concerned with the helplessness of regret, is ultimately functional rather than game-changing, although perfectly suited to the emotional sunset vibe of the track. Maxxi Soundsystem tweaks it into a percussive bridge with great effect. It's a track that succeeds in the details - bass lines that fade in and out, delicate vocal refrains, anguished synths.

Matthew Herbert's remix is actually less eccentric than expected. It removes the sharp lines and blunt corners of the original but the feeling of a depressive house record remains. The bass is softer, the vocal submerging itself and swimming around in it. Undeniably a quality remix, but the original is a great starting point.

Regrets We Have No Use For is released through Hypercolour next Monday on 12" and MP3.​ UPDATE: The release date for this is now confirmed as 22 October.

Album Review: Lune - Kjofol

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​Lune - Kjofol

There is something happening in the world where minimal, techno and IDM meet: it seems to be embracing jazz music. There were elements of its instrumentation and structure in both Nicolas Jaar's and Acid Pauli's debut solo albums and last year Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer teamed up to produce Re:ECM, an album of tracks based on material from the jazz and classical label ECM Records.

Lune is the debut release from French-born Berlin resident Fabien Vilain and it is similarly influenced by free jazz, applying the structure and styles to minimal electronic music. There is a significant variety of styles here but the drive to experiment is consistent throughout.

The opening track is filled with ambient noise, snatches of violins, spoken word, gentle but rapid background percussion and slowly moving organs. It is a three-minute taster of the sounds to come that seems to be assembling itself before the listener, like an orchestra warming up.

Title track 'Lune' is where Vilain hits his stride, a synthesis of loose jazz drumming and bumping electronic beats - brushed drums, snatches of high-hat and a stop-start four-four. Rather than end the track gently and touchingly seems to run out of forward momentum. Not everything is as delicate though, 'Note For Sale' is a bouncy Latin-jazz number, sharply cut and seemingly made for cocktails in the sunshine.

As it nears its conclusion Lune becomes increasingly experimental. The final two tracks bar one, 'Le Jour Aime Le Nuit' and 'While Others Go And Come', are almost 12- and 14-minutes long respectively. The former is shot through with ghostly ambient notes, broken drum beats and spoken vocals, though my reliance on English leaves their meaning opaque here. Both are just the sort of mad-hatter music you expect of Villalobos, and Vilain delivers it convincingly.

Of course Lune isn't an easy listen, but this sort of thing never is. It is best consumed in clutches - a few songs at a time, whilst your concentration remains high. It is undoubtedly beautifully constructed and convincingly put together.

The artwork also deserves a special mention - the digital review copy features a series of distorted and destroyed ink and watercolours, with different artwork for each track. These compliment the music perfectly.

Lune is released through Apparel Music physically on 8 October and digitally on 29 October.​

EP Review: Goodbye Horses - Tone Of Arc

Goodbye Horses comes out on No. 19 Music next week and it is musician Derrick Boyd's love letter to cinematic 80s film scores.

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Goodbye Horses - Tone of Arc

The title track is a cover version of the 1988 Q Lazarus track as featured in the film Silence of the Lambs. Boyd's vocals soar as stark frigid melodies are forced out of a synthesiser and heavy drums provide the momentum.

B-side 'Sound Sail' is perhaps more interesting though. It retains the 80s filmic feel but is a subtler beast altogether. Catchy, clipped drums are paired with soulful vocals layered in reverb and bruised chord progressions. It could almost be described as Tamla Chromatics - the layered production betrays a deft-touch, creative an understated track of cool emotions.

Deniz Kurtel makes a logical choice of remixer given the material. She turns in an even softer, more spacious version of 'Sound Sail'. Two separate bass lines interplay - one slow and wandering, the other a rapid staccato pulse. It is a dark and contemplative track that gradually slots keys and drum patterns together to create a deeply haunting but incredibly atmospheric seven-minutes.

Goodbye Horses is released on Monday through No. 19 Music.​

EP Review: Horizon EP - EJECA

​Garry McCartney unleashes three tracks of 90s influenced dance on this new EP through Needwant under the pseudonym EJECA. Growing up in Belfast McCarthy's entry into dance music came through the house and garage popular at the time - a fact clearly evident on his new EP.

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EJECA - Horizon​

'Horizon' sounds like mid-nineties garage - tracks like Roy Davis Jr's 'Gabriel', released before the concept of a UK version of New York's "Garage" was even a concept. The bass is raw and hollow sounding, the vocals pitched slightly up and samples tweaked to perfection. If you were there at the time it's hard not to feel a twinge of nostalgia - you can almost smell the smoke machine kick in. On the flip side 'Dazed' is deeper but equally inspired by the recent past. Progressive keys build a gentle tension before a snappy house beat and driving chords.

Final track 'See Through You' is actually the most contemporary of the three, influenced as much by dubstep as 90s garage and house. The beats are more complex yet softer, the bass deeper but more rounded and the vocals submerged in layers of noise. It contrasts well to the immediacy of Horizon's opening in being a little less obvious.

Horizon is released through Needwant on Monday, available for pre-order on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].​

EP Review / Download: Shell - Ursa Minor (Little Bear)

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​Shell - Ursa Minor (Bear)

​Ursa Minor's new EP opens with the warm and featherlight title track 'Shell'. It's a dreamlike pop record with a slight Eastern influence and a rave sensibility. Vocalist Little Bear's vocals are slightly Björk like - similar to the worldly operatic vocals wrapped in lush electronics that made much of Début so good. It feels all too brief at a little over five-minutes but it is immediately worth this EP's ticket price.

Much of what remains is in juxtaposition to that opening song. 'Ha!' features thick, chunky bass and short, sharp drum beats. The vocals remain extravagent but the wobbly bass, 'Blue Monday'-esque drums and acid patterns are from an entirely different place.

'WTF Is Love' is similarly heavy and thick with acid whilst 'Wild Flowers' is closer to the EP's opening; whilst it is less dark it lacks the lightness and rave influences of 'Shell'. Ular Gray's Bearhouse Dub of 'Shell' rounds the EP out with a reduced, minimal take - deep basslines and cut up vocals transform the track into something nearing IDM. It retains the tracks core appeal but lacks the same immediacy.

Check out the dark Ular Gray ​mix of 'Shell' below via the Soundcloud stream - there is the option to download it too if you like what you here:

Shell is released on 1 October, you can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 here [affiliate link].​