The Month in Music, August
Six magic moments: Houghton 2023
August 16, 2023
Sound and Vision: Horst 2023
September 8, 2023
Four new releases that have piqued our interest this month.
BOBBY.
Strange Fantasy
Bobby.’s Strange Fantasy EP, which dropped this month on the London dj/producer’s own Pleasure Club, represents another valuable addition to an increasingly essential discography. Past releases have shown Bobby. to be a producer with range, and this latest offering is no different: ‘Human Race’ is a serious peak time weapon, whilst ‘Train to Tokyo’ sounds like a Soichi Terada production on a bad acid trip.
But across the EP, it’s ‘Last Chance To Trance’ that stands out. Featuring clean and sparse drums and a low hum of a bassline, the track is built around layers of shimmering melody that gradually emerge as the track progresses. Accompanied by synths that straddle a border between haunting and euphoric, it’s the kind of track that you can imagine enthralling a Sunday festival crowd as day descends into night, or bringing smiles to the faces of early-hours clubgoers as morning makes its scheduled (albeit spooky) appearance.
Football player
FP003
In his third instalment, Kirill Kirik serves up a 4 track EP under his Football Player alias. Hailing from Kherson, the Ukrainian producer has left minimal context to the intriguing pseudonym other than an affinity towards his team: FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
FP003 offers 4 tracks coming in at 130bpm. Every song provides a delightful combination of playfulness with a fairly consistent and tasteful approach to drum programming.
With a more melodic take, synonymous to the deeper sounds of Frankie Knuckles, ‘Just Take That’ yields choral flute patterns which delight as much as they enchant. ‘Magic Moon’ and ‘Source’ deliver a slightly more energetic approach with prominent bass lines and an increased drive on hats and snares.
Whilst all 4 tracks employ a somewhat consistent motif of robotic babbling, ‘Give Me Money’ stands out from the rest due to the centrality of its vocals. The repeated “give me money” manages to create an astoundingly emotional uplift considering the lack of variation it offers. As it fades out into warm, acidic shapes and delightful, woody sounding percussion, you can’t help but wonder when the commanding voice will come back for another helping of aural joy.
Shonky
Untitled (EPI001)
Well over a year on from his last solo release, minimal house heavyweight, Shonky, returns with an untitled debut record on E.P.I.
Whilst continuing with a darker sound, prevalent in his 2022 full LP release, On the Run, the Frenchman ensures diversity on both sides of this record. Gleaming and layered progressive synth lines lead the listener to a more cosmic place than expected with downtempo ‘Tesshno’, but ‘S-Time’ is Shonky at his best.
An emotional emergent flute-line, paired with unpredictable snares and deep looping drums make for an intricate sound. These elements are made all the more rewarding after the first minute which, like ‘Tesshno’, begins with a retro, urgent feel before unravelling into a crescendo of euphoria. Tracks ‘S le Gangster’ and ‘Puppet Master’, feature vocals as menacing as the dominant bassline that pairs, bringing off-centred and quirky sound synonymous with French minimal to the fore.
Dark, unusual, occasionally ethereal but always groovy, EPI001 is vintage Shonky. If this debut record is anything to go by, the new label is well worth an earmark even if the naming process remains a work in progress.
Various Artists
კომპილაცია
Following on from his inaugural release on Ba Dum Tish affiliated imprint Batter Down Records, Toke has gathered the support of three fellow Georgian pals to produce კომპილაცია (Compilation). Providing a snapshot of what the Tbilisi scene has to offer, this release serves up a selection of 4 no nonsense, club ready weapons that will undoubtedly be used by selectors across the board to animate their respective dancefloors.
Starting with ჯუსი (Juice), Tokes marries his signature raw low-end with thumping kicks, providing a grungy energy that is layered with stuttered background radio chatter. Building upon this fertile foundation the track is elevated with a high pitch vocal refrain and a donky bassline that gets the serotonin pumping and the limbs in motion.
Mocongo maintains the theme of embedding muffled vocals into the production whilst bringing a distinctly more percussive flavour to the EP with სქემა (Scheme). Tight snares, hats and claps, along with a purring sub-bass worthy of the finest woofer, coalesce to produce an edgy groove that keeps the listener on their toes.
The B-side tracks from Audio Spacer and Ryeden both carry a similar dark energy to the A-side, contributing to the formation of what is growing to be a distinctly Tbilisi sound. Thoroughly seduced by this Caucasian soundscape, the 8-hour flight time to Georgia is growing more negligible with each release from the Batter Down Records crew.
