From bass excursions by Craig Bratley, to New Order-esque Italo-Indie-Pop from Tom Sharkett - we go deep this week into electronic jazz, Colombian percussive cuts, Japanese funk, and of course, a healthy serving of house music for the dance floor.
Here are your electronic & dance picks for this week:
Craig Bratley - Return To Bass
Craig Bratley dives deep into dub-wise sounds for his second LP. After spending the 12 years since his last album exploring many electronic music genres, he fearlessly tackles dub, digi-dub, ethereal breakbeats, slo-mo acid, chunky house music and more in this eight track journey through bass.
Equally at home in the club, bar, or at home with your favourite headphones - Craig Bratley’s Return to Bass is a tour de force for fans of the low end.
Fuse are back with what they do best - tunnelling, electronic music built for the dance floor. This release, ‘Elevate EP’ from Claus Voigtmann, puts you straight in the middle of the vortex with four club cuts that feel modern, yet loose, swung, and from a more groove-driven time.
‘Bass Tool’ announces itself with rolling drums, metallic synth sparkles and a razor sharp, crushing bass sound that sits at the heart of the hook. ‘Loading Complete’ is a funky tech house track, complete with wiggly, danceable sounds and a repeating robotic vocal.
‘Sidequest West’ is a dubbed-out, echo-filled, optimistic house track that feels uplifting and energising. ‘Elevate’ taps into focused, progressive energy as it envelops you in a warming sub bass, sitting neatly underneath Y2K-feeling keys and melancholic vocals.
With a remix CV that includes Sub Pop and DFA under his belt, Tom Sharkett arrives with electronic and indie prestige and credibility readily-equipped.
Off the back of a recent remix of LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Home’, Sharkett’s new EP, ’25’, dips further into the well of New Order-adjacent, dream-indie-inspired electronic crossover goodness.
From the arpeggiated synth lines of ‘Painting On Glass’ that channel Italo disco, to the post-punk, New Order feeling of ’25’, this record will satisfy the discerning dance and electronic music lover. Mui zyu graces the vocals on a couple of cuts, lifting the music into alt-pop territory in a beautifully angelic and haunting way - ‘Sleepwalk’ is a testament to that.
Essential business.
Afrosound / Wganda Kenya - Tiro Al Blanco / La Bomba
The Discos Panorama series is back, this time with a quick detour to Colombia, where Afrosound and Wganda Kenya treat us to two Afro-cumbia heaters.
B side cut ‘La Bomba’ from Wganda Kenya is the stand out for me, with a combination of latin percussion and a gentle, low end bass guitar that sits welcomingly at the bottom of the mix - put this record on in any setting and instantly you’re feeling alive, alert, and ready for more exciting music.
‘Tiro Al Blanco’ by Afrosound is lead by scratchy, twangy guitar jangles, hectic chords, and marching, propulsive rhythms. This track picks up the pace and turns up the energy.
Retromigration - Half Fried EP
Semi delicious deliver on their unwritten manifesto every time: hard-hitting, Mediterranean-leaning, summer drenched house music for big party atmospheres.
We’re digging back a few releases for this one on a re-stock, and why wouldn’t we? It’s that good.
Retromigration has been in the limelight with his latest WOLF Music release recently, and his ‘Half Fried’ EP for Semi Delicious gives us more of that deep, punchy, late 80’s/early 90’s period-appropriate house that feels authentic, raw, and rave-ready.
This is the good stuff, house DJ’s: take it, go forth and rock the party like you know how to.
Dance & electronic pre-orders - grab them while you can
Isaac Carter - Disconnected EP
When DJ’s of the calibre of Ben UFO, Raresh, and Joy Orbison play and back your record, you need not say any more. This is the case with Isaac Carter’s Disconnected EP on FUSE.
Consisting of four functional, loopy club tools, this will appeal to house DJ’s who require deep, physical, visceral dance music. ‘Disconnected’ thunders in with tunnelling rhythms and tight, focussed groove. ‘Bad Girl’ brings the funk by introducing lead synth licks and seductive female vocals. ‘What We Do’ channels UK Garage with skippy beats and stop-start vocal chops, whilst ‘Loopy’ feels tribal, tech-y, and heads down.
Ultimate club tackle.
WOLF Music are at it again with another dance 12 of straight down the middle deep, bumping house. DJ Soch’s ‘Let Me Tell You EP’ is all maxed-out 909 kicks, organ stabs, and yearning, melodramatic vocal vibes.
Heads down and perfect for a small dark club, the title track and its dubbed-out ‘Power Mix’ feels like something Kerri chandler would put out in the mid 90’s. On the flip, Chewing Gum - a bouncy, skippy playful cut - gets two mixes, both equally energising and deep.
Do not sleep on this one!
Minoru “Hoodoo” Fushimi / Milk Talk / XL Middleton - In Praise Of Mitochondria / Funkin Me Up
Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi sits in that sweet spot of cult Japanese obscurity that record collectors can't get enough of. Operating alongside the city pop era but very much doing his own thing, his sound blends lo-fi electro funk, drum machines and early hip-hop attitude into something completely unique.
Tokyo Love Song brings one of his standout cuts, ‘In Praise Of Mitochondria’, to 7” for the first time. On the flip, XL Middleton links up with Japan’s modern funk oddballs Milk Talk for ‘Funkin’ Me Up’ - a playful rework packed with squelchy synth funk, off-kilter vocals and enough groove to keep both the boogie heads and left-field disco crowds happy.
Oooh - this is just one of those records! Calm returns with another beautifully understated collection of ambient jazz and new age, environmental textures.
Built around rich tones, slow-moving grooves and late-night atmosphere, ‘Ambient Jazz’ channels those quiet, 2am moments when the world finally slows down.
Tracks like ‘After Dark’ drift effortlessly between jazz, ambient and Balearic territory. If you're into the deeper, more contemplative side of music - this one is for you.
Future classic incoming!
Le Ceez is Chicago house through and through. Raised on WBMX, Ron Hardy, and Frankie Knuckles, he's got the kind of knowledge that can't be faked. While he's turned his hand to plenty over the years, it's his edits that really shine - expertly crafted, DJ-focused reworks cut-up by someone who knows exactly what moves a dance floor.
This debut EP for Stilove4music delivers the goods: classic disco energy, reworked by a real Chicago house head who lives and breathes the culture, every day, since day one.
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That's all for this week party people, get your pre orders in early to save the tears, and wherever you are raving, listening, or dancing this weekend - don't forget to have a good time!
Tom