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Beyond the Struttosphere , Franz Matthews , Bonnie Spacey , YAME , Moritz , Peter P , Julian Sanza , Lafrench Toast
For its 20th release, HIFI/LOFI Records celebrates a small milestone with something a little special: its very first Various Artists compilation, Lost Tapes Vol. 1. Gathering artists from Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, the release brings together a selection of cosmic grooves and interplanetary club oddities that reflect the spirit of the label's extended universe. Since its beginnings, HIFI/LOFI has always tried to focus on quality rather than quantity — a philosophy that feels increasingly rare in a world that increasingly seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Lost Tapes Vol. 1 is a small but carefully curated collection of tracks that perfectly embody that approach: five cuts, all killers, no fillers, which we hope you'll enjoy as much as we do.
Bonnie Spacey sashays back into the Exploited Club catalogue with another dose of decadence. Relax, Relax! has a lot to offer; a multifaceted pack of rich, evocative dance floor music. The title track kicks things off. A feisty Italo line runs up the spine of the track giving it a confident presence from the get-go. Stabs flesh out the groove as tension builds toward a swerve into a tumbling House piano line. The drums stay sharp and punchy while hot blobs of acid throw another sonic curveball into a well measured and eminently playable hybrid. Prophesis burns with a more ominous aura as an agile, glowering bass line links arms with muscular stabs. Pensive synth tones build towards a twisted breakdown that adds to a brooding sense of pressure and lands the track neatly in the bag of DJs looking to weave a narrative through their sets. Solar Echoes adds a final shade to the EP as it casts a sunny, amorous glow across the floor. An upright House groove unfolds with more stout, propulsive drums - this time decorated with charging stabs and gorgeous major-key chord shifts. A spacious breakdown brings things right back to scratch before it snowballs into out and out rapture and ties a technicolour bow on a brilliantly varied release.