Harry Wills
Round the Back

Jorge Caiado and Paul Cut return for another round after their 2020 collaboration on Caiado’s. Time & Space LP. Those familiar with the two will know the order of the day: immaculately produced and deeply-felt house music that marries a studio master’s subtlety with a live musician’s flair. Each of these tracks bursts with the essence of soulful house and its jazz forebears, traversing moods that are by turns wistful, playful and go-getting. Cut’s solos on the keys — which recently graced Larry Heard’s latest LP — provide the loose counterpoint to Caiado’s tight production. Inner Balance softly strikes again.

Bari-based producer Frhanks visits Bucharest via Chicago on this organic and entirely distinctive EP for Lisbon label Welt Discos. ‘Bonus Beat’ is a raw blend of jazz and jack trax that leaps straight out of the Music Box to slap you round the face. The extended meditation of ‘Spring’ adorns a minimal groove with delicately plucked improvisation, striking a pastoral mood for the first glimmers of daylight. On the flip, ‘When Is Time To Go Home’ trips along like a late morning walk back to the tent, caught somewhere reassuring between reverence and whimsy.

Dark techno EP by versatile Finnish producer Empath. Four hard and distinctive tracks inspired by cold cyberpunk ction and built for sweaty warehouses.

Toronto label and party Hypnotic Mindscapes presents another issue of modern electronics crafted for the dancefloor with the third edition of their compilation series, displaying a bundle of trend-defying tunes from crew-adjacent artists.A1 opens with long-time friend and collaborator Patamamba (half of Kimchi Records) with “Igoon of Blue”, shades of progressive house music simmered in evocative acid lines reminiscent of 90’s nostalgia. The A2 features Hypnotic originator Cosmic JD with a deep-slamming breakbeat piece titled “Steam”, punchy basslines and trancey Arps bubbling into the early morning. On the flip, scene-vet and Seekers boss Alex Picone debuts on the label with “WhyWasteWine” a fast-paced, modern tech-house number with wonky melodies and metallic artifacts. Rounding things up, Moroccan (via Montreal) up and coming artist Jalil enters with an electro-infused ode to “Technology”. Artwork by Sofia Eleni.

Edinburgh based producer Gallonigher presents his full EP on Reductive. After his last release in 1999, he is back in force with this true Tech House four tracker, written and produced in 2001. Full send. Distributed by Off The Grid Distribution.