Articles
2009 Artists' Picks
Lymbyc Systym

Albums
Cory Allen
aus
The Bird Ensemble
Canaille
Catlin & Machinefabriek
Greg Davis
Loren Dent
Dirac
Drafted By Minotaurs
Flica
Sarah Goldfarb & JHK
Gown
John Hollenbeck
Viviane Houle
I/DEX
Akira Kosemura
Andrew McKenna Lee
Le Lendemain
LRAD
Lymbyc Systym
Melorman
Muskox
The Mercury Program
Nikasaya
Northerner
nörz
Noveller / Aidan Baker
Redshape
Marina Rosenfeld
Stripmall Architecture
Sturqen
Wes Willenbring
The Tony Wilson Sextet
Julia Wolfe
Peter Wright
Zelienople

Compilations / Mixes
Blackoperator
Glimpse Four:Twenty 03
Kod.eX
Portland Stories

EPs
Molnbär Av John
Tommi Bass & B.B.S.C.
Julian Beau
Colours-Volume 5
Dalot
Echologist
Simon James French
Geiom & Shortstuff
General Elektriks
Geskia
Ernest Gonzales
Gradient
Jacksonville
Joker
Ann Laplantine
Loko
Machinefabriek
Stefano Pilia
Damian Valles

VA: Colours-Volume 5
Soiree Records

In the fifth installment of the long-running Colours series, four Detroit-area producers serve up respective takes on what constitutes deep house circa 2009. Recently heard on Yore, Drivetrain (Derrick Thompson) gets thing rolling with “Falling,” an impossibly infectious and hard-grooving cut that works a handful of multi-pitched voice fragments into delicious counterpoint while a throbbing house pulse addresses the rhythm part of the equation. Dorian Gig (Dorian Wilson) then digs into funkier territory with “Sunday in Detroit,” as atmospheric pads and sparkling synth patterns unfurl over a bass-bumping, hip-shaking swing. On the flip side, Dennis Cox opts for a slightly more techno-oriented take on the genre in “Evansville,” which nevertheless catches one's ear with its bass wobble and spacey electronic flourishes. New Soiree Records recruit 2yLiTe caps the EP with a late-night slice of sleek, bass-throbbing called “Love Siren” which oozes just the right degree of Motor City lushness. If there's nothing terribly radical about the Colours concept, the fifth volume's so strong a provocative concept is hardly needed.

January 2010