Reviews with Rob Warner - March 09

Daniel Kyo - I Can (Dark Energy)

Following the theme set by Milton Jackson and Shur-i-kan's releases on Dark Energy, Daniel Kyo's 'I Can' is a deep techy track with a hint of Chicago, full of crisp percussion and looped vocals. The Milton Jackson remix is the sort of spacey house he's nailed as of late with a sparse arrangement and nice use of some stabby synths which quirkily make the melody and extra rhythm all in one. 'Shake It' is the gem here though, rolling along as a dubby drum track before adding a great melody which kicks the track into another gear. Wicked track. Dark Energy at Beatport

Isolée - A Nightingale (Diynamic Music)
OK, so it might not be Beau Mot Plage all over again but Isolée's latest is a pretty darn fine track - especially as a set-starter. Using his crazy bleeps, woofs and wooshes style 'A Nightingale' builds from a throbby bass noise to a maniacal number which would sound amazing at 4am. The stepped deep bass is sick sick sick and shows why Isolée is always worth checking out for sheer surprise value. Great to hear he still marches to a different drum to most and is still amongst the best in the game. 'A Nightingale' at Beatport

Chymera - Sumatra (Figure)

Ireland does 'Detroit' better than Detroit these days and Chymera leads the pack after a stream of top releases. 'Sumatra' is no exception and continues his theme of lush epic chords over subtle building tracks which have a hypnotic x-factor. The original mix climbs right through the layers to a big-room anthem peak which gets there without any overuse of bells or whistles - a rarity these days. Deetron does a more gritty, hectic mix in their usual solid, jacking fashion and with the addition of some well placed cut-up vocals. Chymera 'Sumatra' at Beatport

Developer - In Search EP (4 Track Records)

This EP spans heaps of ground. 'Walk On Air' is a straight up dubby techno which keeps the flashy bits away and lets the solid hypnotic groove do the work. Add a few spacey snippets and you're done. 'In Search' is a spacey synth excursion with a techy groove running below. It's not a massive track but definitely original enough that people would take notice for sure. 'Chosen' hits the nutty tech-house category to perfection with computer-ish sounds and detuned notes. Nice!