Electro/club 2022

(Pictured: Dasha Rush)

Could this winter of 2022 finally mark the return of club culture? Two years after the pandemic broke out, with restrictions giving way almost everywhere, the craving for abstraction, communion, even oblivion, however fleeting, seems stronger than ever. If the selection presented here is any indication, house and drum'n'bass seem to be cementing that desire: the urge to lose oneself inside irresistible grooves, all-consuming basslines, narcotic melodic lines seems more necessary than ever, as does the drive to leave behind entire seasons of deprivation and lockdown. In this scramble for oxygen for a scene that, more than any other, has borne the brunt of the last two years, there's nothing left to say but: dance, dance, till you drop!

Dasha Rush – Dark & Filthy (Sonic Groove)

It's all in the title. Filthy, dark, lethal: Dasha Rush's techno returns in grand style with an Ep of overflowing viciousness that hits the senses with no great preamble. The opening of "El Kinky" alone (another title that says it all; Berlin will obviously adore it) is enough to grasp how programmatic dirt and darkness are to the latest Ep from the seasoned Russian producer: Edm-style breaks, synths drilling into the mind, the hypnotic pull of the vocal lines. Fierce and gripping, it takes almost no time to win over the hearts of technophiles. Elsewhere the atmosphere turns even more scorching: the percussive machinery of "Psycho Runner" emerges triumphant amid sweat and grime, a heavyweight cut that the bass reinforces with due firmness. And speaking of bass, "Gallic Message" shows just how well a good line can drive a track, giving it the right sense of space and an ideal sense of tension. More mysterious, almost narrative, is the closing "Darkness": if the mood promised by the title is absolutely delivered, the touch of suspension it's given also reveals another side to this dark, grimy exploration. Rush's techno is filthy, no doubt about it, but luxuriously so. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Dj Fucci – Fauna (Naafi)

Tradition and future, movement and contemplation: Latin American club culture has been combining these apparent opposites with great mastery for quite some time now. "Fauna", the Mexican producer's debut on Naafi, is yet another convincing demonstration of a flourishing of talent and research capable of speaking to different worlds that are, in fact, much closer than they might first appear. Inspired by the movements of indigenous Mexican animals, their calls and sounds (each of the four tracks is devoted to a specific animal), this short Ep charts that rich naturalistic territory with great descriptive skill, without ever abandoning its core club sensibility. Bass, breaks and house abstractions blend with cumbia, mambo and dembow for a lush forest exploration. Prey and hunters, threat and docility: DJ Fucci's nature is in constant motion, running and taking shelter, right up to the next revelation. In this sense, the vast percussive arsenal on display (from the guiro, typical of cumbia, to native percussion such as the tlapizalli and the toxacatl) sharpens the sense of an almost divine communication with creation, which the hypnosis of the dancefloor transposes onto further narrative planes. Thrilling. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Dj Nigga Fox – Música da terra (Príncipe)

Príncipe's music has always been free, in every sense of the word. For a fiercely maverick figure like Rogério Brandão, that principle rings even truer. The author of some of the label's most illustrious moments, with the new "Música da terra" Dj Nigga Fox works through subtraction more than ever before, using a more muted palette that better suits a varied play of nuances. Sure, the opener "Mateso" could almost be misleading, batida in the fullest sense of the word, all percussive crossfire and stabs thrown into the blender. And yet, even here, amid the weave of a rhythmic synthesis of great charm, more docile, almost more suspended tones emerge — ones that the following three tracks bring fully into focus. The dancing continues, but in a far less explosive way: thus "Gás natural" plays on a lulling melodic loop capable of infiltrating perception subliminally; in its own way, it almost feels like the producer's ambient turn. If "Sanzaleiro" comes across as more triumphant, it's more due to the overlapping of different looped layers than to the production cut itself, once again crossed by dangling synth lines. "Sasuke" closes things out, pure hypnagogia applied to the Príncipe philosophy: a play of prisms, a slow liquefying that infuses acid currents around a distant memory of batida. A late-night track, a closer that hints at new horizons for Brandão. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Gyrofield – Retinues / Urgency (Critical Music)

Hugely prolific (a dense swarm of releases since her 2017 debut) and duly renowned in the scene, Kiana Li is one of the most effervescent talents in the new drum'n'bass circuit, a sharp, receptive mind capable of hybridizing and presenting herself in the most varied forms. A double single released shortly after late January's "Depths Of Winter", "Retinues / Urgency" is wild material, murky d'n'b, a concentrate of energy that invites total presence with great persuasive force. Aggressive basslines, obsessive hi-hats (their use in "Urgency" in a way gives the track body and tension), snares with dub undertones: Gyrofield shapes a rich, engaging sound, capable of the due ferocity but also willing to allow itself the right amount of humanity. Landing on the historic Critical marks a further step forward for a promising name who already has plenty of experience and knowledge to draw on. The path ahead is already well laid out. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Henzo – YCO004 (YCO)

First glimpsed a year and a half ago with the enticing "Not Like That Not Like You", the Manchester producer returns with a pair of tracks and a remix for YCO, the label run by Aya and BFTT, now up to its fourth release. Where the previous Ep's dembow outlines dominated the scene, however treated and reworked they were, on "YCO004" the vision is far broader, even venturing into an imagined Dubstep on "FSOTM Anthem", a spatiality that, amid weighty basslines and obsessive vocal samples, uncovers a wholly different dimension in the producer's portfolio. "Finola Shake" doesn't shy away from the same step grit of the first track, and the track's bass nature is certainly plain to hear, but it's clear how deeply the Caribbean matrix informs the structure, a production cut that also enjoys incisive breaks toward deeper scenarios. Wisely placed between the two title tracks, the remix by Florentino and Manuka distills their core ideas into a "Finola Anthem" that is pure directorial mastery, an obsessive, teeming recap, but at the same time a repository of other possibilities, sharp as a blade yet also capable of a wholly new sensuality, guided with a knowing, sly touch by the two mixers. Plenty going on across just three tracks, but the trip is absolutely worth the ticket. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

KaySoul – What Is Blackness? (2022, Shall Not Fade)

A groove gleaming like stones in the sun, crisp synth and sample arrangements spinning in a timeless dance. The eternal allure of house music placed in service of an equally profound question: "What Is Blackness?" From South Africa, KaySoul attempts an answer: five sinuous tracks and three guest features across twenty-nine minutes of peaceful yet inquisitive deep house listening. If the opener "That Blackness", with Nina Simone's voice drowned in a '90s-style mix, is a clear statement of intent, it's the following "Africanus", with Gustavo Martinez's nocturnal sax streaks, that frames a work that's conceptually stimulating and musically refined. On "10 Ways" the beat turns electronic and the cymbals sizzle while Steve Faets, seated at the keyboard, weaves delicate jazzy embroidery. Without ever losing control, "East Meets West" sketches out a rhythmic propulsion that flirts with jungle hints, leaving it to the introspective "Yak" to close the listen on an acid-tinged note that seems to have come straight out of Detroit. Overall, an irresistible house morsel, and KaySoul is one of the most enjoyable discoveries of early 2022. (Damiano Pandolfini)

Kim Anh – After Dark (self-released)

From being LA's "Club Queen" to relocating to the Big Apple, with all the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, a new life, entirely new horizons: with "After Dark", her most expansive release to date, Kim Anh reflects on the changes and memories of a whole lifetime, weaving past and present together in her own way, tightly bound under the banner of a sound that's both modern and nostalgic at once, fiercely dance-driven. At the crossroads between disco and house, with all the acid and deep inflections that entails, two cuts such as "After Dark" and "House Of Virgo" cement the seasoned poise of a true queen of the night, the melancholic seduction of a voice that moves with pop grace even over the most extended progressions (Nancy Whang comes forcefully to mind). Veering almost into electro territory, with piano reverbs lending a lush chillout dimension, "Giving" is pure surrender, a voice full of remorse and awareness that moves between the jazzy grain of Robert Owens and the soulful frameworks of a Gaelle. Reclaimed from Erykah Badu's catalogue, "Recovering" is the outlier of the collection, a piano loop steered over a crisp breakbeat cut, a plush bassline and seductive melodicism. Experience, knowledge and sensuality: in twenty-five minutes Kim Anh packs in a project of refined wit, a nocturne to be savoured in all its voluptuousness. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Nia Archives – Forbidden Feelingz (Hijinxx)

"Headz Gone West" last year, "Forbidden Feelingz" this March: to put it plainly, Nia Archives means business. Heading into her second Ep, the English producer spreads her polished jungle language across a tight embroidery of snappy, supremely limber tracks, in which every second earns its place. A tribute to her home country's rich Black musical tradition, the short project fits naturally into the long lineage of the hardcore continuum ("18 & Over" carries within it all the force of a hidden Metalheadz classic), but it also lends an ear to the producer's softer, more soulful side, capable of finely crafted melodic breaks. "Luv Like", a loop of guitar and piano phrasing, is r&b seeping into the folds of the gentlest drum'n'bass, and while "Part Of Me" carries the taste of a PinkPantheress-style velocity (albeit with a more pronounced vocal architecture), "Gud Gudbyes" is Roni Size transposed 25 years on, with the pleasure of psychedelic textures and dubby currents shaping its course. Kaleidoscopic and intense, the new Ep attacks and presses forward with growing confidence, showing the grit of a voice that's steadily carving out her own niche. Before long, she too might well end up among the icons immortalized on the cover. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

Romeo Louisa – Rarified Terms (2022, Shall Not Fade)

In case that flashy cover photo didn't already give it away, young DJ Romeo Louisa is French and loves anything that gleams with retro elegance. His music is like a yacht moored in Saint Tropez: poolside cocktail-hour house, elegantly jazzy but with a beat sturdy enough to entertain the bikini-clad influencers who've come to take selfies on the pier. Across seven minutes of seductive, ultra-plush synth arrangements, "Desire" blends St Germain and Dam-Funk into a wiggling funky embrace, while the title track deconstructs it all into a jarring Omar S-style game. On "House Of Jazz" the vocal, piano and sax samples fan out, propped up by a 4/4 that worms its way under the skin and into every crevice. There are a full three remixes on offer to flesh out the listen: Denyl Brook and Funk Cartel both rework the title track, stretching and twisting it toward, respectively, Central European club techno blasts and jazz-funk arrangements. THEOS gets his hands on a gorgeous remix of "House Of Jazz", fired off at a trot, closing out the listen on a cheerful note. What are you doing this summer? We're doing "Rarified Terms". (Damiano Pandolfini)

Yetsuby – JIN06 (JIN)

With Uman Therma she can craft solid ambient music under the Salamanda name, but on her own the South Korean artist Yetsuby isn't afraid to take on the club context, delivering an Ep tailor-made for the most ecstatic moments on the dancefloor. True to a concept of suspended dance music with dreamlike folds, on this sixth release for Taipei's Jin label the musician handles the threads of drum'n'bass, house and Idm to craft a refined bouquet of gentle, delicate dance tracks that are never too abstract to be put to use on the dancefloor. Minimalism poised between Francis Harris and Moomin, bent toward a drier, sharper touch ("Bay"), ancient Korean fables turned into crystalline breaks ("Bear Becomes The Human"), trance sine waves played out over sparse synthetic contributions ("Jelly"): the producer's expressive range shows no fear of limitations, she steers the game with excellent control, and with all the atmospheric lightness the occasion calls for. Dense, yet never frantic or overwhelming (even the remix of "Jelly" takes care to preserve the basic traits of her sound), Yetsuby's music proves to be a many-sided prism, further proof of the great versatility of the electronic languages being developed on the Korean peninsula. (Vassilios Karagiannis)

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