EP Review: In The Woods - Maxxi Soundsystem

Back on Futureboogie for the first time since his label debut in 2012, Maxxi Soundsystem is well known for his productions and remixes across labels including Defected, Hypercolour, Vellum Audio and Culprit LA. 

Near Me is a gently shimmying track featuring deep basslines and lots of space to create the backdrop for vocals from Crazy P's Danielle Moore. There is an understated yet highly atmospheric aesthetic at play, dark synthesizers and multi-layered rhythms creating a near tangible edge to the track.

The Barbarellas version of Near Me is deeper, melancholic synths sewing the seeds of something more sinister whilst Moore's vocals continue to act as the song's gravity. 

Finally the EP's title track, In The Woods, is an instrumental house cut that uses rapid-fire breakbeat snare rolls to create a stand-out sense of velocity. The heaving melodies and percussive detail are exactly the kind of thing Maxxi Soundsystem excels at.

In The Woods is released through Futuireboogie on Monday, check out the title track below:

EP Review: I Like Disco - Lonely Boy

Futureboogie are kicking off 2015 with I Like Disco, a new release from Lonely Boy, real name Joshua Heath.

The title track is an funky electro cut full of elastic bass and clean lines that feels modern whilst drawing on plenty of memories from the past. There are hints of mid-noughties tech-house, the Get Physical label and early Crosstown Rebels... It's slick and catchy without spilling its guts. Emperor Machine provides a remix that toughs up the original, pulling back on the whirling synth melodies and beefing out the sharp basslines and chunky drums - it is distinctly Emperor Machine in other words.

B-side The Subtle Frenzy is a slow building track, percussive elements echo and bounce like ping pong balls whilst a progressive groove is gradually layered on thicker and thicker to create something clearly created for peaking dancefloors.

The release closes with digital exclusive Take Your Time. It is a more measured, slower building track with a melody that loops whilst a set of loose percussion shuffles on. It is a more ominous and less certain conclusion for the release, but just as good as everything else here.

I Like Disco is out now through Futuireboogie.

Everybody likes disco, but not as much as Lonley Boy. LA based Joshua Heath makes his debut on the label with a nod to his love of vintage disco grooves, putting together a finely crafted house cut that does the business but doesn't take itself too seriously. Dropping on 27th January via the Bristol based Futureboogie imprint, the release comes complete with a killer remix from The Emperor Machine and a B side that'll give this one a run for its money. Press play if you like disco too. https://soundcloud.com/lonelyboymusic https://soundcloud.com/futureboogie Connect to i-D's world! www.facebook.com/iDmagazineofficial twitter.com/i_D http://i-d.co

EP Review: Change My Life - Hackman

Following on from his recent Bruh Jackman collaboration with production partner Jabru this debut release for Futureboogie treads a familiar path, blending soulful house and deep chunky rhythms.

Title track Change My Life is full of soft Rhodes and glittering soulful vocals, providing a warmth that rubs up against the techy, robotic bass work. It creates an uplifting and laid back modern disco record, the vocals arguably generic but functional in their determined optimistic independence. It's hazy disco music for dusk, and suitably lovely.

The tracks that follow are a little deeper. Lost From Me has a more delicate and distinctive vocal but innevitably isn't quite as instantly catchy. The simple drum patterns and rumbling bass lines build a heavy and more intense backing that feels like the moment just before a storm breaks.

Final track We Make Delicious is more techno influenced, thick drum patterns and menacing bass stabs create a stripped back, more minimal feel against which a sultry vocal dances along. 

Change My Life is released through Futureboogie on 9 December on vinyl and 5 Jan on MP3 [affiliate links]. Preview the title track on Soundcloud:

FBR023 - Hackman - Change My Life EP Out 9th December - pre order now http://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/118356 www.futureboogie.com

EP Review: Bruh Jackman EP - Bruh Jackman

The latest EP on Futureboogie comes from Bruh Jackman, a duo formed by Jabru and Hackman (hence the name). This self-titled EP sees them combine elements of neo soul and bass music to create sophisticated electronic head music.

Opening track Miss My Love is a slow-building groover - a series of melodic percussive components are melded to a big low-end electronic bass line giving the track an open-air feel. Bruh Jackman have liberally applied vocals to this, giving the track the kind of transcendent feel their genre-mashing bio aspires to - it's soulful house with a strong focus on bass.

California, here in both original and instrumental form, is more laid back and less overtly electronic, though there is still plenty of sparkle in the production. It eschews the typical mood-based vocals of most dance music in favour of story-telling, creating a track that is much closer to those neo soul roots. The influence of dance music on the production work is still plenty evident though, with crisp synths used to lay down thick, warm melodies whilst a scatter-gun percussion lines gives the track a futuristic garage vibe.

The final original track, Just To Keep, is the most conventional here and the closest to Futureboogie's heartland. It's a driving tech-house track with a hint of melancholy in the vocal arrangements. It evident that this track comes from the same heads as the other two - there's a consistent focus on bass and rhythm - yet it's impressive that three such varied tracks have come from the same artists and it will be interesting to hear where they go next.

Bruh Jackman EP is out on 14 April through Futureboogie, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 and vinyl [affiliate links].​

EP Review: Trinket - Last Waltz

Image source: Dalston SuperstoreLast Waltz are trio Geoff Leopard, Mick Rolfe and El.Dee and when they aren't making electronic music they are celebrating it through their Dada parties set in England's North East. Trinket, to be released through the pretty much on fire Future Boogie, is their debut release.

The title track is a free fall through space, warm cosmic rays sweeping past the listener as half-formed refrains of piano echo past and a determined glockenspiels are scattered across the soundscape. And it keeps coming back to the same momentum establishing bass line - at times it drops away, emphasising the tightly wound constructions, but it always comes back.

In contrast 'Ashes' is steady, a drum beat marking the way forward like lights rhythmically illuminating the motorway. Still equally cosmic it also features a deep analogue melodic bass but the vicious toms and hi-hats drenched in reverb steal the show.

London-based Bad Passion provide a remix of 'Trinket' that is more direct. The smattering of percussion and the piano continue to work well but the drum beat feels needlessly harsh and the speed too fast in comparison to Last Waltz's effortless original.

Trinket is out now on vinyl and released on MP3 on 12 August 2012, available from Amazon.co.uk here and here when released respectively [affiliate links].