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The title Back On The Controls suggests the wishful thinking of patchy 2010 Mediacom Congos collaboration Back in the Black Ark. Yet here, credited as co-producer, Scratch seems to have been intimately involved in the building and mixing process (as evidenced by his request “I want to listen again” at the finish of opener Rastafari on Wall Street). The productions are thick, booming and soupy: the opposite to sharp metallic continental clarity of ERM. They are unashamedly Ark-centric in use of antique spring reverb, delay and percussion but avoid the signature track bouncing, while the heavily compressed kick drum sound adds a modern UK roots dance feel. Over thumping patterns by Style Scott and Horseman, Boyle and the band create ominous moods caressed by Serbian stalwart Hornsman Coyote’s trombone and bombastic eerie backing vocals from guitarist Hughie Izachaar and Christine Miller. – Reggaeville.com

With their first LP in over three years, Californian psych-dub duo Peaking Lights offer an outlet from the mundane with a kaleidoscopic collection of lo-fi, escapist-electronic pop. Over their illustrious twelve-year-plus career, the husband and wife duo of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis have set themselves apart with their characteristic dreamy, and melancholic sound that blends together elements of dub, and delicate-but-quirky electronics. E S C A P E, Peaking Light’s sixth album, and first for Dekmantel, finds them at their finest, replete with atmospheric landscapes crafted out of homemade-percussive loops, that sit alongside wondrous electronic pop and krautrock-like hooks, all tied together by Indra Dunis’ composed and hypnotic vocal charm.

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Now based out in Amsterdam, and having firmly established themselves on Dekmantel with their 2018 EP Sea of Sand, Coyes and Dunis’ unique brand of indie-synthwave yet further explores their ongoing delve into transcendental, psychedelic music. With E S C A P E, the production duo illustrate their pragmatic use of instrumentation and dubbing to create more heady and celestial avant-pop. From the very outset on opening track ‘Dharma’, the band’s iconic retro-dub aesthetic kicks in, before being accompanied by a litany of drum machines, sweeping compressed effects, and Dunis’ hypnotic serene vocals. Coyes, somewhat of a connoisseur and collector of varying studio gear adopts his steadfast dynamic approach to production, playing with new mixing techniques, tape loops, compression and effects throughout. It’s this freedom to indulge, and create new instruments, processes and sounds that have made Peaking Lights unique; an ever-present industriousness that characterises E S C A P E, whether it be on the deep textures of ‘Change Always Comes’, to the cathartic 80s pre-rave-wave of ‘The Damned’.

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E S C A P E is a vibrant moment full of multi-spectral melodies crafted in an aesthetic the group have excelled in and made their own; a style exemplified by their breakout 2011 LP 936. And throughout E S C A P E, whether it’s on the esoteric ‘Eyes Alive’ to the mesmerising beach rhythms of ‘Dreams’, Peaking Lights’ rich and reverberated sonic palette shines through. For both dreamers and dancers alike, the latest offering to Peaking Lights’ illustrious catalogue is a true mind-expanding and fantastical listen full of passion and catharsis. – Bandcamp

Acid bass, slow funk and cosmic energy make for a mind expanding trip in the Liquid Canoe.

Load up on edibles, make it a macro-dose and let the music lead the way.

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Whether you’re hard at work on a Hamburg allotment, basking in the heat of a Balinese beach or enjoying the cool waters of the Salish Sea, remember that the same sky stretches over all of us. And if you forget your finger for a minute and soak in the heavenly beauty instead, you might just catch the cosmic vibrations of Liquid Canoe, the latest members of the Growing Bin family.

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A loose ensemble, Liquid Canoe is the brainchild of Wolfgang Matthes, a lost Angelino who’s swapped the rush and push of a mega city for the space of the Pacific Northwest - and listening to this eight track offering, you’ll realise that space is the place. Armed with an array of vintage synths and programmed rhythms, Wolfgang sketched out a slew of inter dimensional transmissions, inspired by the commune electronics and space rock of 70s Germany and inhabited by the spirit of the boogie. Inviting friends to drop by and lend their own instrumental skill, Wolfgang quickly turned Liquid Canoe into a true collaboration. Finalised in a converted stable on Galiano Island, the LP is a perfect marriage of the electronic and organic, shimmering arps and spheric synth bass intertwined with American primitive guitar, nuanced hand percussion and glassy chimes. As this mind expanding collection stretches out towards infinity, you’ll hear Floyd-ian funk, cosmic dub, tangerine daydreams and micro-dosed ambience, all imbued with the memories of New York lofts, Bay Area warehouses, skyscraping pines or the world wide web of fungi. Liquid Canoe taking you on an oarsome trip.

(Patrick Ryder)– Bandcamp

Shapeshifting through his vernacular worlds of sound and imagery, Milan artist and musician STILL (Simone Trabucchi)’s practice is defined by a unique, nomadic approach. 

Previously known as Dracula Lewis, a project developing his personal take on ‘folk’ music, he has accumulated a number of releases on various seminal labels, alongside running Hundebiss Records. His new moniker, STILL, follows the unearthing of the histories that connect his hometown of Vernasca to Ethiopia and Jamaica, explored under his visual arts project Invernomuto as an in-depth fieldwork lead to ‘Negus’: a series of sculptures, installations, a book, and a long-feature experimental documentary, screened at Unsound 2016.

‘Negus’ revolves around a cleansing counter-ritual performed by Lee “Scratch” Perry in the Vernasca square where 80 years earlier, an effigy of Haile Selassie I was burned. The documentary then follows a trajectory connecting Italy’s overlooked colonial past seen through personal history to a reverberation  of symbols in Ethiopia and Jamaica. Within STILL, he connects these research threads, evolving their sonic and linguistic aspects further, where ‘computerized riddims’ sustain a shared gospel channelled through  a polyphony of voices. - PAN

Dva is a return to the music of her roots, a triumph of keenly felt and brilliantly expressed reflections of oppression and freedom, be it political, sexual or artistic. Dva is an exploration of self-expression and sound, taking dark dub pop, sound design inspirations and melding them with classical music of her upbringing, taking Emika's production a giant step forward. – Ninja Tune

Jim Jarmusch wasn’t the first but was close to saying it best: ‘Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.’ The culture that fuels our virtuosity is founded upon the art of theft. And this is what O$VMV$M do. This is the debut LP from Young Echo members Sam ‘Neek’ Barrett and Amos ‘Jabu & Zhou’ Childs, under their estranged cut’n’paste, analogue-fondling moniker. Only two months ago, this idiosyncratic Bristol duo had released a No Corner backed EP called Memoryz Of U. It was a practice in sonic splicing; falsifying originality by disassembling samples to their lowest denomination and refashioning them into something wholly different. Now, their eponymous album on Idle Hands consists of brief vignettes of lo-fi synth slurs and esoteric experimentalism. – Crack Magazine

Recording and touring together on and off for several years now, sonic journeyman DJ Vadim and Californian songwriter Katrina Blackstone unveil their long awaited full-length album ‘Double Sided’, released on BBE Music. After providing a pair of stellar guest appearances on Vadim’s 2014 ‘Dubcatcher‘ album, Katrina Blackstone joined Vad on tour and the duo have been steadily laying down tracks ever since. Eschewing samples in favour of drum machines, guitars and a dizzying array of synths, Vadim’s compositions on ‘Double Sided’ range from dubby down-tempo grooves to upbeat afro-boogie business. Katrina’s crystal clear vocals, catchy melodies and highly relatable lyrics provide the perfect foil for Vadim’s raw productions. – Bandcamp