Which records are worth your money in this first month of 2016? Check out our selection of the top 10 releases in January, featuring great cuts by Palms Trax, Robag Wruhme, Anja Schneider, Lauren Lane and more.
#10 | Ripperton – I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (vocal mix) | Character | Out Now
After three stunning, floor-fired EPs from the label boss himself, Deetron takes his burgeoning Character imprint to a whole new level of depth and diversity with old friends and new.
Ripperton takes the lead. Last spotted on Character on its inaugural outing alongside label bossman Deetron as Roots Panorama, he lays down an agelessly silky, star-lit groove that’s progressive in its direction but soulful in its message thanks to some fine-tuned falsetto sprinkles. Complete with an equally luxurious instrumental, it’s another example of Ripperton’s own-league precision.
#09 Bedouin – Ride Into The Unknown EP | Cityfox | Out Now
Bedouin is the production and dj duo currently based out of Brooklyn, NY that is made up of Rami
Abousabe and Tamer Malki. Together, the two strive to produce melodies and rhythms that move the listener by drawing from a number of influences across the globe, which are predominately spearheaded by their middle eastern heritages. Their newest release is a three track EP on the Cityfox label titled the ‘Ride Into The Unknown’ EP. – Source: Danceandrave
#08 Borgie – Ad Astra Per Aspera | Electronic Emergencies | Out Now
“From the ashes of socialism, below the Bosnian olympic mountains, rises the star of Sarajevo’s electrotech producer Borgie. “Ad Astra Per Aspera” is Electronic Emergencies’ seventh release and Borgie’s debut on vinyl. It’s a four tracker packed with passion, futurism, fatalism and existential rhythms that will save you from harm if extraterrestrials come to land near you. The tracks are long and have a beautiful trance-like build-up, culminating in a discotech apotheosis.”
#07 Huxley – Widow EP | Aus Music | 02 Feb
Huxley follows up last year’s ‘2.0’ and the launch of his No Idea’s Original imprint with ‘Widow’, released late Jan via Will Saul’s Aus imprint. Huxley’s ‘2.0’ marked a new phase in Huxley’s production output with the Brit eschewing his previous sample driven work in favour of tougher drums, prominent synths and tweaky arrangements. ‘Widow’ continues Huxley’s explorations into pastures new with three tracks that fold a myriad of influences into refreshingly new shapes while highlighting the producer’s love of melody.
#06 Lauren Lane – Diary Of A Madwoman | Edible | Out Now
The second release from Eats Everything’s Edible label, this weighty house stomper comes loaded with thick percussion, mischievous, naughty riffs and drops that will have everyone dancing to the beat of Lauren’s drum.
#05 Eagles & Butterflies – Mysticism EP | Exit Strategy | Out Now
When one of your upcoming tracks is played on air by Dixon in his latest Boiler Room set, you know you’ve struck gold. So it is with Eagles & Butterflies excellent Mysticism EP. English born, LA based producer Chris Barratt aka Eagles & Butterflies reaches all boundaries of the electronic music spectrum with his productions. From Downtempo to Techno to House, with releases on Innervisions, Noir Music, Bedrock and his own Spread Your Wings imprint, 2015 was the year the project took flight and ended the year with a real highlight, the release of his album ‘Abstract’ on Get Physical.
#04 Anja Schneider – Soul Traveler | Mobilee | Out Now
“For this EP I really wanted to dig a lot deeper and produce tracks that reflected all my years collecting records; about two decades worth of music. This is different to ‘Dubmission’ and ‘Circle Culture – more mature. I hope you like it” – Anja Schneider
With another stellar year under her belt, Anja Schneider is hitting 2016 in form. A new year means a fresh sound for the Berliner, who is diving deep into her record collection to draw inspiration from a variable palette of sounds from across the years.
#03 Cleveland – Atlas | Hivern Discs | Out Now
Cleveland is the nom-de-guerre of upcoming Luxembourgian producer Andrea Mancini. Atlas is his Hivern debut, in which he delivers 3 new productions that keep broadening his evocative sound.
Builded around the warm tones of analog synths such as the Roland Juno 106 and the Korg Polysix, Cleveland’s productions have an overall dreamy feel without losing its dance floor focus.
#02 Cubicolor – Falling EP | Fayer | Out Now
It’s been tipped as the breakthrough track of Dutch newcomer duo Cubicolor. ‘Falling’ will be released as a single from the upcoming debut album due on Anjunadeep. The single is supported with a hefty remix to up the buzz, by none other than KOMPAKT contributor Robag Wruhme. “Falling” also features London based Tim Digby-Bell, one of the founding members of the experimental-indie band Duologue.
#01 Palms Trax – High Point On Low Ground EP | Dekmantel | Feb 1
We have been following Palms Trax closely for the past years, and saw the young blood bloom into one of the finest craftsmen in the industry. His latest EP on Dekmantel is a three-track opus where you get treated to three shades of Palms Trax’s sumptuous house music: bubbly funk (“High Point On Low Ground”), driving Italo (“Cloud City”) and hot-footed Balearic (“Paws”). The second track, Cloud City, has all the makings of a serious dance floor anthem, signalled not in the least place because of the near 10k plays it has gathered on YouTube in less than a week.
