Boomkat new PANABRITE, JAMES BLAKE, PORTRAITS, etc

**Edition of 500 for the world – initial copies come on limited white vinyl** Digitalis invite us to dive headfirst into the synth froth of ‘Soft Terminal’, the latest emission from maverick soundscaper Norm Chambers, aka Panabrite. Over the last few years he’s amassed a small library of exceptional material for the likes of Gift Tapes, Aguirre and Digitalis, plus one rather special pearl, a real scene classic, produced incognito and which we’ve been sworn to secrecy over. Compared with the stacks of dribbling dronesmiths and half-baked fantasists who populate this arena, his sound is beautifully considered and almost pop-like in vision and appeal: the most unlikely heads have been singing his praises and that’s testament to his pure, instinctive grasp of melody and complex, layered arrangements. It’d take a really keen ear to distinguish the proggy magic of ‘Glass Palace’ or the placid pastoral bliss of ‘Janus’ apart from vintage material – but the distinctions are arbitrary. Simply, the epic, transporting arpeggios of ‘Beta Axis Terminal’ or the impeccably gloopy exotica of ‘Camembert Symphony’ tap into a most rarified spirit shared by minimal synth music, kosmische and prog, and it’s a precious thing to behold.

Ramona Gonzalez, the enchantress we all know and love as Nite Jewel, serves an impeccably crafted sophomore album; ‘One Second Of Love’ for Secretly Canadian. You probably don’t need to be reminded, but in case you’ve been in a coma for the last three years, this New Jersey lass has been making some of the most stylish, endearing pop music around, including collaborations with the don, Dam-Funk, Stellar Om Source, and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti buddy, Cole M.G.N. Since ’08s ‘What Did He Say For’ I.DI.B. it’s been possible to plot a graph of increasing aptitude in her field: each new droplet feels sharper, more supple, lovingly sweeter, bringing us to this absolute beauty. Her musical palette of dusted ’80s drum machines and glowing synths remains firmly unchanged, but the arrangements are ever tighter, glittered with a dreamy halcyon shimmer that never once feels contrived or anything but sincere, suspending your disbelief by the finest satin threads. In the magical poperatic narrative of ‘This Story’, the nudging funk of the title track, to ‘Mind & Eyes’ dusky country soul, or the exquisite near-baroque perfection of ‘Unearthly Delights’ we hear an artist at the height of her powers, able to commune the most rarified, life-affirming feelings.

Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi convene their annual hookup with ‘Imikuzushi’ for the rarified Black Truffle imprint. The fearsome power-trio launch headfirst into churning, motorik garage formation with ‘Still unable to throw off that teaching a heart left abandoned unable to get inside that empty space nerves freezing that unconcealed sadness…’, with O’Rourke revving noxious bass beneath Ambarchi’s swaggering, swingeing percussion and of Haino’ ecstatic soloing and walls of feedback. Mercifully, ‘Ready and waiting and tired of waiting this happiness hovers for a while opaque’ starts out more like a Bohren And Der Club Of Gore cut before descending into taut, muscular skronk with a limber jazz-funkiness and lashings of swerving guitar distortion. ‘Invited in practically drawn in by something facing the exit of this hiding place who is it? That went in’ is even more groovesome, starting out pensive, almost jazzy, and locking into an hypnotic psyche-rock groove with turbulent, body-tearingly funky conclusion over it’s extended 22 minute duration, while ‘an acute sensitivity is not simply a “madness” an acute sensitivity to the resonance of “i love you” teaches us just a little something it’s not that we can’t do something it’s just that we haven’t done it yet…’ is just out-and-out, transcendent free-rock heaviness.

Night Slugs hittin’ em from the baseline with a stunning 12″ hookup between Jam City and Main Attrakionz. The man’s not short on aces but this one is properly off the scale. ‘The Courts’ marks a new pinnacle for his productions, using a concrète palette of squeaks, skids, and airborne movements to construct a shocking rhythm where syncopated slap bass pivots around bleacher-caving kicks and claps in some ultravivid 1080i hyperspace. Our jaws are scraping the floor the right now. Flipside, following Type’s issue of their ‘Black Grapes & 808s Part. II’, Main Attrakionz appear on the glossy, noirish ambient textures and skunky industrial funk strafes of ‘The Nite Life’. Massive 12″ – you know what to do!

*Please note that this record comes housed in a hand-stamped 12″ record mailer that will have your name and address hand written on it and despatched with no additional packaging, thus personalising your copy. This is at the request of the label* Sterling debut release from the enigmatic Δkkord collective based in the peripheries of Manchester. For now, the provenance of their identity will be on a need-to-know basis: their music will yield more than names could inform. These three tracks are a distillation of their passions for “minimalism, art, design, mathematics and sacred geometry”, and aesthetically occupy darker ground in the shade of the Autonomic sound. Checking in with the spectral robo-ragga of ‘The Drums’ – sounding something like Burial meets dBridge – they shapeshift into rolling Electro-Ruffige a la Boddika on ‘Renewal’ catalysed by muscular, rippling arpeggios and pointillist percussions, while ‘Back & Forth’ engages with tensely constructed Electro-step hyperspace. We’re sure you’ll agree; it’s a strong look.

Samoyed delivers an insanely strong four-track 12″ for Lukid’s Glum label. He’s long been championed by the label head and like-minded producer Actress for his raw, intuitive meld of ruff electronics and House with subsonic sounds that go all the way down. Aside from his debut album this is his most substantial, and dare we say best output to date. On the A-side brisk, ruff-cut machine beats are countered with slow, goopy subs and swooning exotica sounds with a Shake-like insouciance on ‘Her Honey Dripping Behind’, while ‘Cherry Red’ slows his roll to an elegant, autumnal take on Detroit beatdown enriched with horns, strings and more o’ that heavy bass. Flipside, ‘Klondyke Rush’ sounds like a Lone track after a few too many rums, in the best way, while ‘A Small Good Thing’ reminds of vintage old skool Recloose. Strong twelve!

**Heavy red wax in clear plastic sleeve. No digital** Local Action’s massively anticipated first movement of 2012 is a damn fine platter from Radio 1Xtra’s Garage & Bassline specialist, DJ Q. His Brandy-sippin’ 2-step versions have been doing the rounds since late last summer with the likes of virtually everybody, before landing on vinyl due to popular demand. It’s pretty much an essential purchase for any self-respecting modern Garage fiends – grab one while you can.

**Includes digital download code redeemable from the label** What’s this, Carlos Giffoni making acid-powered EBM ??? On Ford & Lopatin’s label??? We’ll have some of that. The No Fun head honcho and noise figurehead’s ongoing exploration of analogue and digital synthesis has yielded some diverse results in recent years – from the punitive minimalism of his Severance set for Hospital Productions, to the deconstructed psych-techno of his No Fun Acid project. This new single for Software builds on the promise of the latter: ‘Evidence’ is a surprisingly affecting song, arranged out of little more than ultra-caustic 303 attack, 4/4 kickdrum stomp, and some additional flights of keyboard fancy from guest Laurel Halo. Giffoni’s vocals – brilliantly dead-eyed and monotone, clearly styled in the spirit of the European minimal wave – appear fleetingly on both tracks, sounding particularly boss on B-side ‘Desire In The Summer’, which brings together similar elements as the A but convinces more, thanks to a scuffed, Ike Yard-style electro rhythm and a mounting tide of industrial grind which brings all the violent intensity of Giffoni’s feted noise work into a (sort of) pop context. A record that demands to be heard.

Dead smart dancefloor electronics from the UK underground. Glasgow’s Dam Mantle command the frontside with a lush take on Chicago juke slowed to a UK-friendly 140bpm and with more emphasis on swirling, synthesized head-pressure systems. We’d struggle to name another cut from this scene which hits the vibe so squarely, fluidly, or instinctively. It’s an A grade winner. Meanwhile downtown, London’s Becoming Real slips into hypnotic Funky/Techno mode on a similar, lushed-out vibe, finding a sweet tension between piquant, hyperventilating R&B synths and samples and a motorised Techno drive that doesn’t sound formulaic or hackneyed like so many in this scene.