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Wallace - Willow EP
CWPT007, 03 November 2023

Having initially forecast his production energy into his own Tartan imprint, Wallace’s music quickly developed a cultish following among record collectors and influential DJs including Gilles Peterson, Optimo, Hunee and Ryan Elliott. Another supporter has been CWPT’s founder Palms Trax, who, following releases on Studio Barnhus and Rhythm Section, snatches four highly sought-after tracks for the seventh release on the label, each showcasing Wallace’s inimitable and enviable skills as an engineer and a willingness to stoke the sort of organic euphoria that DJs dream of igniting.

Amongst the curios, rarities and other finds that have peppered Palms Trax’s sets this past summer, it’s title track ‘Willow’ that has levitated entire club and festival dance floors like few others. Escalating from a disco percussion loop, ‘Willow’ soon brings on high-energy melodies and a captivating sense of something more ethereal, seemingly reinvigorating old tricks with exciting new flavours: if you only raise your hands to one climactic snare roll this year, we ask you to make it this one.

This refreshing intersection between flourish and function is felt even more heavily on ‘Breathe’, a contemporary electronic battle weapon whose breaks-and-bassline arrangement fluctuates between weightless wonder and heavy business. Frontloaded with the detail and atmosphere of a vintage Chems or Leftfield cut, 'Breathe' exhales then explodes all the skill and reverie of the most memorable 90s techno.

Wallace appears to dip into the chillout room for the swampy rhythm of ‘Masada’, before proving his slow-motion mettle, a Sergeant Peppering of psychedelia creating true hedonistic density and groove. In conclusion and on the contrary, ‘River Dancers’ maintains subtle hypnosis at a similar pace with much less, employing simple timbres and a stuttering, innocent vocal inflection to conjure wide-eyed whimsy far downstream from the EP’s earlier, maximal wonders.

Released by:
CWPT
EP release date:
3 November 2023

Willow

How No (feat. Irvine Welsh)

Out now: https://orcd.co/Rkd003

London’s Matt Ryder, AKA Odee X, kickstarts REK’D’s 2025 with the ‘X-Ray’ EP this January, following the release of his ‘So Hot It Hurts’ EP on Rekids aﬃliate Don Rimini’s Bunkaball.

The ‘X-Ray’ EP’s title track sees Odee X place a powerful piano melody at the centre among bleepy synths and clever drum arrangements, a short but eﬀective vocal appearing before its frenzied drop, omitted in the instrumental version. The infectious ‘Culture Dub’ then comes in with a carefully built groove of organic percussion, playful sampling, and plenty of echo to round out this classy peak-time House EP rife with dub influences.

Formerly known as B.U.U.G, Odee X has released on labels like Street Tracks and Nightmayors, with his contemporary takes on House and T echno winning the support of artists like Laurent Garnier, Jamie Jones, and Marco Faraone while receiving plays on BBC Introducing.

Matt Edwards launched REK’D in October 2024 to release no-nonsense House music without the limitations of parent label Rekids. So far, they’ve released dancefloor-ready EPs from Italian Theory Of Swing boss St. David and Nervous Records alum James Juke, with Odee X now landing on the label ahead of what will surely be a jam-packed year of quality releases for the REK’D imprint.

Buy/Stream

Odee X - X-Ray

Out now: https://orcd.co/REKIDS257

Tiger Stripes appears on Radio Slave’s Rekids for the second time, following up his ‘I Heard It Through The Bassline’ EP with the ‘All Night Long’ EP this February. For title track ‘All Night Long’, an anthemic vocal calls to action as infectious sub-bass drives a snappy groove. It’s the kind of House Tiger Stripes does best, with follow-up ‘Goddess’ chugging along with more deep low-end while eﬀective sampling breaks up the arrangement throughout.

Strange Idols’ Tiger Stripes is a prolific producer, remixer, and DJ active since the early 2000s. He’s collaborated with artists like Kerri Chandler and Jerome Sydenham and released music via heavyweight underground imprints, including Hot Creations, Get Physical, and Rekids, where his ‘I Heard It Through The Bassline’ EP won support from artists like Solomun, Laurent Garnier, Seth Troxler, Honey Dijon, HAAi, and more.

How No (feat. Irvine Welsh)

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