Onur Özer
Akmar

Constant Variables is the new techno offshoot of the enigmatic electro label Expansion Unit. CV’s inaugural release comes courtesy of Berlin’s Pascal Hetzel, who is one of the driving forces behind the label. The EP features two expertly layered exercises in techno hypnosis as well as a slamming white-knuckle remix by Luis Flores and a murky excursion into drone-y ambient territory. Watch this space!

Cape is back for Savor Music's 17th release. This time, one of our label owners, delivers a solid four tracker. Each of one them has a distinctive vibe making this release an unique piece of wax that could be played at different moments. On this reference we can hear Cape creating a delicate balance of all his influences and travelling back again to his original signature sound. You can find a little bit of Detroit, Acid and electro tinged sounds and melodies, atmospheric grooves and super dynamic basslines. Enjoy the beats!

With the UKG scene carving out it's niche, 1996 saw the all too brief, but much lauded appearance of the mysterious Mred Marquez for this excellent one-off release on Crosstown Records. Dedicating himself to the tougher, trackier & darker side of UK house and garage, this 4 tracker perfectly encapsulates his vision.'I Release', opens with melodic chord stabs and heavy, warm analogue bass, swinging percussion drives the track on before a classic garage organ plays an unforgettable riff. 'I Realise' (Dub) strips it down and goes for a heads down vibe, a slammer of a track that never loses any of the original's devastating punch and potency. 'Nathalie X' brings the muscle, driven along by yet another monstrous speaker rattling b-line that builds and moves to an incredible peak, there's yet again top draw bumpin' drums and quintessential garage chords and keys. Lastly, 'Do Not Pass Go' is a classic sweaty basement jam. Gritty and more uncompromising in it's approach, banging kicks underpin the percussion that builds with those ever essential skipping snares and clipped hi-hats.There's hefty lo-slung bass throughout, whilst classic riffs and dubbed out chords lift the higher end.

Back in 2021, when Volodymyr Gnatenko agreed to work on his debut album, none of us could have predicted it would be released, post-pandemic, against the backdrop of war. At the time, the 23-year-old producer from Lutsk was riding high on a string of well-received 12s for labels such as Where We Met and Animals On Psychedelics, besides local Ukraine labels such as LSS557 and Rhythm Buro. He was, between covid closures, playing live at Kyiv clubs such as Closer and Kureni, looking to tour in Europe, and spending every spare second making music.How things change. When missiles began to rain on Kyiv, Gnatenko, alongside a few friends from Closer, hid in his studio. For a while, the bombings did not stop. But for the producer, neither did the music-making. Choosing to stay in the city, he continues to make beats, managing only to mix down between bombing raids. He changed his first name to match that of his president, ditching the previous spelling of his name because it was the same as the aggressor, “the same as my worst enemy, I am ashamed and disgusted that I started my career with it”.The album speaks of softer, easier times. A combination of rich ambience, and laidback breaks alongside loose progressive and trance-fused dancefloor tracks, this debut brings together all the strands that Gnatenko plays with. The process, he says, was exhausting and long. Yet the results are lighter, fresher. Maybe because, he says, “it is dedicated to my future wife. All the tracks are my words of love for her". Deeply hypnotic and freely moving between ideas, it feels like it was made a lifetime ago, not a matter of months. Now, it resonates with a new defiance. It is a debut with an extra layer of meaning.

DSP returns with a deep & contemplative split EP from Dublin’s Cignol & Bristol’s Gilbert. ‘Vision System’ boasts 4 machine-made, melodic electro tracks to tug on your heart strings.The record opens with ‘Events Unknowable’ an eerie example of Cignol’s distinct sound. Full of broken rhythms, swinging percussion, ice cold arpeggios, LFO warped pads and an acid line to remember.Electro doesn’t get much deeper than ‘Multicellular’. A beautifully sorrowful sonic statement coated in icey synth elements and nostalgia. Sophisticated simplicity at its finest.Gilbert takes us in a slightly more utopic direction on the flip side. Starting with the musical insight of ‘Harmony In Space’. A Dream laced vision for the future full of smooth synthesis, crisp basslines and pumping percussion.The release comes to a heartfelt conclusion with ‘Eleni’. Full of playful acid lines and expressive sonic elements. A loved up, euphoric masterpiece named after and dedicated to Gilbert’s daughter.