Last autumn Leng Records welcomed a new name to the roster, Greek DJ/producer Lex, via some warming and colourful tracks on the label’s 10th Anniversary LP and sampler EP. Now the Athenian has returned with his first full release for Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell’s popular imprint.

Real name Alex Andrikopoulos, Lex first rose to prominence in his home city of Athens when he ran the Radical Soundz record shop during the first decade of the millennium. More recently his reputation has spread worldwide thanks to his association with Leng, a recent 12” on B2 Recordings and DJ sets that frequently join the dots between disco, house and techno.

His first full EP for Leng is arguably his most musically expansive collection of tracks to date, with a swathe of guest players – keyboardist Artis Boriss and drummer/percussionist Harold Perez most prominently – swinging by to help bring Lex’s vivid musical visions to life.

For proof, check out lead cut ‘Punta Allen’, an eight-minute chunk of organic dancefloor goodness in which Lex and his musical associates layer steel pan style melodies, spacey synthesizer flourishes, eyes-closed electric piano solos, warming chords and jangling guitars atop a heady bass guitar line, unfussy drums and sweaty pots-and-pans percussion. The track’s effortless evolution, which slowly unfurls before rising towards a gorgeous and joyous conclusion, is testament to the Greek producer’s dancefloor instincts.

You’ll find more low-slung, dub disco-influenced bass on the exotic ‘The Jamail Pass’, where mazy and feverish organ solos and rolling hand percussion provide a platform for Paqua member Alex Searle’s Nile Rodgers style guitar sounds. The track’s inherent funk – emphasized by occasional bass guitar solos and fills, as well as some tumbling synth sounds – is apparent throughout the track, something that only adds to its smile-inducing allure.

Closing out a very impressive first EP on Leng is ‘Angels of Rhythm’, a hazier, faster and more intergalactic excursion that cannily combines the low-slung bass of dub disco with the intoxicating vibes and warming dreaminess of deep house. The track’s intoxicating late-night feel is partly due to an undecidedly cosmic spoken word vocal from sassy singer Harrier Summer, though Artis Boriss’ pitch-bend-sporting synth solos and fizzing electronic noises certainly help. Driving but also deep and groovy, ‘Angels of Rhythm’ offers a memorable conclusion to a very impressive EP.

Punta Allen EP

LENG SHOP

Lex (Athens) - The Jamail Pass

Zeynep Erbay - Flashlights On Love
BUY LINK: https://soulclaprecords.lnk.to/ZeynepLove
Label: Soul Clap Records (https://soundcloud.com/soulclaprecs)
Release date: 21/10/2022
https://soundcloud.com/zeyneperbayy

The biggest trick, a cliche one might even call it, and the reality of life itself is this; everything in the world revolves around love.

It comes in different shapes and forms, and flows through life.
We sometimes feel love, whether consciously or unconsciously, with a little external help from chemicals, foods, drinks. (Track ->Chemical Love).

The question is; what does it take to be vulnerable, can we connect to the pure self within each of us and truly feel the love? (Track -> LAVA)
Whatever the circumstances may be, if we try to bring our best selves into the present, can we perhaps feel it even more? (Track -> Heart  Math).

Love is part of our existence,  so this time, let's put flashlights on 'Love' and think one more time :)  Hope you enjoy the ride! ( Track -> Flashlights on Love)

BUY LINK

PREMIERE : Zeynep Erbay - Chemical Love

Robag Wruhme - Pnom Gobal

Crystal Volcano

Crystal Volcano [Chloé (Thévenin) Remix]

Eoan

Analog Science #3

Drip

Way back when Kraftwerk invented the very first machine, they never could have dreamt of how technology would go on to overwhelm our lives and turn us all into machine-dependent drones. Actually, maybe they did exactly that but we just decided not to listen. Either way, the revolution of the machine has well and truly taken place and we'll have to just spend from now until eternity bowing down to our new electronic overlords.

The Emperor Machines, if you will.

As we seek to find new ways to worship our glorious binarian leaders, the very best thing we can do is throw ourselves head-first into the machines and see what we can make of all their fancy features. They're actually not too bad once you get to know them and there's plenty of top quality music to be heard from them thar machines. Why don't you delve in and give it a try?

More Info

PREMIERE: The Emperor Machine - Sisco Seeker (Nein Records)

DJ Nature - Everyone

As one half of British twosome Earthboogie, Nicola Rose Robinson has spent the last few years offering up joyously tropical musical fusions on Leng. She continues to explore and blur those boundaries with her new solo project, Tigerbalm, whose debut single “Ello Koko” is as colourful a concoction as you’d expect.

Robinson first started work on the track while travelling in Lombok, Indonesia, drawing influence from her humid surroundings, the country’s distinctive musical culture, and the far-sighted blend of aural inspirations. On returning to the UK, she enlisted the assistance of Alex Searle (bass and lead guitar) and Patrick Dawes (percussion) to complete her musical vision.

Opening with an infectious rhythm rich in disco drums and ear-catching hand percussion patterns, “Ello Koko” brilliantly blends flash-fried tropical funk guitars, squelchy electro synths, weighty dub disco bass, warm electric piano chords and sampled Indonesian vocal snippets. The resultant dancefloor-focused workout is simultaneously low-slung, jaunty and kaleidoscopic: it’s as impressive a solo debut as we’ve heard for some time.

As you’d expect, Robinson’s original version comes backed with some similarly inspired remixes. The first revision comes courtesy of rising stars Flamingo Pier, a collective whose glorious fusions of electrofunk, disco, Latin and African rhythms regularly explore similar sonic territory as “Ello Koko”. Their take on the track is powered forwards by an elastic synth bassline, Nile Rodgers style disco guitars, NYC boogie style lead lines and Patrick Dawes’ superb percussion. It’s a summer-fresh treat.

To complete the package, Razor ‘N’ Tape co-founder and Escort band member JKriv sticks a rocket up the backside of “Ello Koko” and turns it into an unfeasibly heavy dub disco treat. Alex Searle’s bassline and Dawes’ heady percussion dominate the mix, with Robinson’s dancing melodies stretching out atop the weighty grooves. Throw in some well-placed, delay-laden breakdowns and you have a version tailor made for celebratory peak-time moments.

PREMIERE: Tigerbalm - Ello Koko [Leng]

Piotr Bejnar - Everything's In You (Vakula Remix) free dl