Articles
2013 Artist Picks
Jane Ira Bloom

Albums
Wataru Abe
Antonymes
Benoît Pioulard
Jane Ira Bloom
Blu Mar Ten
Matti Bye
Celer
Maile Colbert
Viv Corringham
Ensemble Economique
Karlheinz Essl
Farthest South
Faures
Flica
Fryadlus
Ghost Bike
Ikebana
Rafael Anton Irisarri
The Jaydes
Lantscap
Tristan Louth-Robins
Löwenritter
Chloë March
Lubomyr Melnyk
Mental Overdrive
Northumbria
Ed Osborn
perth
Xenia Pestova
Preghost
Redfish
Rion
Sicker Man
Thee Silver Mt. Zion M. O.
Ken Thomson
Otto A Totland
Vitiello + Berg

Compilations / Mixes
#100
Best of Poker Flat 2013
Evolution of the Giraffe
Danny Howells
Missing Fragments

EPs / Cassettes / Mini-Albums / Singles
Richard J. Birkin
DJ Bone
Cernlab
Akira Kosemura
Fabrice Lig
Lilies on Mars
Mako
Nian Dub
Nuage
Quiroga
Sheens
Snoqualmie Falls
Solenoid
Strong Souls
Tessela
ujif_notfound
Voyager

Strong Souls: Remember When EP
D3 Elements

Remember When doles out three straight-up, sophisticated, and sultry deep house jams from Raymond “RayDilla” Funnye operating under the Strong Souls name. Funnye brings a deep history to the EP: in the mid-‘90s, he released material on the Chicago label Dance Mania and the UK Black Market imprint, and more recently oversaw Vibes And Pepper prior to launching his latest venture D3 Elements. Of more immediate concern is the new EP, however, which more than rewards one's time and attention.

The A-side's “The Beast” augments its swinging house strut with silken string pads and (the true cherry on top) a beautifully pulsating bass line before amplifying the muscular groove with additional percussive layers. The result is five minutes of classy house music that's as propulsive as it is serene. You'll be forgiven if you're reminded of Rick Wade when the late-night scene-stealer “Remember When” rolls out a lithe disco stomp and embellishes it with bongos and shimmering Rhodes chords. Keeping the quality level high, the B's transporting “Don't You Know,” all dreamy washes, synth radiance, and funky bass pulses, swings and swaggers with a delicious, jazz-inflected exuberance. Words like warm, soulful, and classy spring to mind as one takes in the release's nineteen minutes.

January 2014