Record Reviews (10/04/23)
Photonz - Orpheus [One Eyed Jacks, 2023] (Samples)
The first release that veteran Lisbon label One Eyed Jacks has put out since 2017, and the first solo EP from head honcho Photonz since 2021, Orpheus, as its name suggests, has its eyes (mostly) on the future. The title track is a confident reintroduction to some of the things that make Photonz tick: deep Amapiano bass; crafty syncopated percussion that flips between the roll of UK Funky and a sharper, steppier gait; plucked melodies that scatter across the pitch spectrum (that’d be the lyre); and, in the second half, newly-distorted notes that bring in a touch of grime. The mood is melancholic but far from a downer and I can imagine this giving a lot of energy to early-hours dancers, which is exactly how I plan to use it.
Among the three remixes we have a funky banger from SHE Spells Doom, who adds 15 bpm to the pace and a collection of whistles, vocal snippets and other carnivalesque details that give the track a fidgety forward momentum. Kara Konchar tweaks the original out in a way that reminds me of another noisy fav, ‘Jefe’ by Underspreche — the kind of track I often put on the USB, but rarely reach the point where I feel I can play it. OEJ family member Lake Haze rounds things out with a wistful electro vignette, which is pretty but not as thought-provoking as the other versions.
Love Letters - I Call Upon [The Bunker New York, 2023]
Acid house meets cold wave in the original version of ‘I Call Upon’ by Love Letters, his second outing on New York club institution The Bunker’s in-house label. The track’s ricocheting, farty snare and military step recall the likes of Crash Course In Science (see this synth wave mix by Mike Servito from last October for more of that kind of thing), while the lascivious delivery of the vocals is straight out of the early Trax playbook.
In the end, the lyrics actually go on a bit of a journey, from standard sexy talk — “I call upon the body/To pump, dip and slide” — to something more empowering, albeit dryly so — “I call upon the body/To relate yours to mine/Comparing is a foolish game/To me you’re all fine”. This is what Love Letters rather amusingly calls his “flesh-losophy” and it’s refreshingly put when contrasted with the creepiness of many OG acid house lyrics (which I’ve written about previously) or the days of pzar’s army of identikit bikini-clad acid house cyphers (RIP).
Across the rest of the EP we have the aforementioned Mike Servito amping up the original into a full on acid house workout, which I’ve already roadtested and can confirm absolutely slaps, before WTCHCRFT pushes the bpm to the high 140s in a kind of DJ Rush-meets-Hardfloor slammer. Then there’s an instrumental and acappella: the former, I hope no one feels the need to reach for; but I can’t wait for serendipity to one day show me the perfect foil for the latter.
Detran Boys - Infrações Levíssimas [40% Foda/Maneiríssimo, 2023]
The latest mini-album from the hyper prolific Gabriel Guerra, whose label 40% Foda/Maneiríssimo is a vehicle for the “gazilhões” (his word) of projects he has running at any one time, Infrações Levíssimas continues where 2022’s Detran Boys debut Dicas De Tránsito left off — that is, with a collection of lightly optimistic ditties apparently about cars and driving (an ongoing preoccupation, it would seem). Again this album comes off more like a set of variations than fully distinct tracks, which at first may give the package the impression of being unmemorable. In fact, on repeat listens, the charms of each tune and the connections between them begin to add up into something greater than the individual parts, a thing quite rare in today’s skip-happy listening economy.
Soft, loose, breaksy drums; hiccuping, cut-up vocal declarations; pillowy pads; an overwhelming sense of comfort. This is warming-up music, but also blissing-out-at-the-afters music, for anyone already horizontal but with their head still in the clouds. Texturally and harmonically the tracks are, to me at least, reminiscent of another recent favourite, Out Of The Blue’s Early Hours EP on Nottetempo (which I put in my RA mix). By that I mean they’re highly musical and have character and wit, and put greater faith in these qualities to move the listener (physically and spiritually) than in any of today’s widely favoured manipulations. I can’t wait to play ‘Ojerizar O Código Hoje’ at just the right moment, and see how something so gentle-hearted can connect deeply with people on the dancefloor.