Steve Bug & Cle - Seven Hills

Steve Bug & Cle - Seven Hills (13/06)

Poker Flat return to proper late-night form, with a cracking 12" from head honcho Steve Bug, accompanied by long-time collaborator Cle. Reductionist in the way that only Bug can be, the two tracks tease extended breakdowns and epic synth swathes out to create an awesome blend of techno and deep house. Opener Seven Hills teases delay-heavy analogue chord and a single kick-drum out almost to the point of frustration, before slowly raising the pace with vintage hi-hats and lone snare drum; extending the delay and accentuating the hi-hats, layers lowly filter in and it builds into a more driving dancefloor track. Becoming relentlessly more epic over the course of a two and a half minute breakdown, it all falls into place at the drop, eroding into trails of delay and echo. With a slightly more Detroit feel, Monkey Shoulder kicks in a lot swifter, with jacking metallic cymbals rattling around in the mix. Dropping elements in and out, there's far greater sense of dynamics at the work, though it's no less extensive in its scope.

Poker Flat's last couple of releases haven't really had me looking to hamburg with any eagerness, but with Bug and Cle turning out material of this caliber, there's proof that it's still got the chops. Damn fine EP.

John Tejada - Sweat on the Walls (remixes) - Poker Flat

Six years after it's release, John Tejada's stripped-back house anthem Sweat on the Walls gets a much deserved repress, with Martin Landsky and Donnacha Costello taking on remix duties. With it's bouncing bassline, shuffling percussion and oscillating acid synths, the original still sounds as fresh and jacking as when it dropped back in 2004. Frankly, the meandering vocal really doesn't do a lot for me, and it's the little snippets of "sweat on the walls" and "how does it make you feel?" which set a dancefloor on fire, rather than the slightly irritating "I just take some time... time is taken, you know? where do you want to go" that interferes with the squelchy run-out. Regardless, it's a polished acid gem that still tears it up with subtle filter sweeps and ebbing and flowing percussion. The Martin Landsky remix suffers a little bit in my eyes, choosing to extend the vocals, and dropping the infuriating hipster voice in over the first big drop in. It's a shame really; whilst Landsky doesn't really take the original to great new heights, his remix brings out the best in the nagging synth lines and decaying percussion, adding a couple of dynamic shifts that really improve on the original. Sadly, the vocal tends to get in the way of the best bits.

Donnacha Costello's rework is a definite winner though, focussing more on the warm analogue tones of the original and extending it to nearly nine minutes to explore the intricacies. With the vocal reduced to a looping murmur, Costello starts from a soft bass tone, adds swathes of synth and a rising acid line and complements it all with retro hi-hats and cymbals. It never reaches the peak-time feel of the other versions, but explores new depths of sound and teases the listener with a growling acidic bassline. Definitely one for the analogue house / techno heads.