AXEL BOMAN レコード& CD

Review: A welcome return to action from Studio Barnhus boss man Axel Boman, who has been surprisingly quiet since the release of his excellent Luz/Quest For Fire double album in 2022. On the Space Drag EP, Boman showcases the depth, variety and imaginative eccentricity of his deep house productions to the full. For proof, check side A, where the ghostly, stab-happy hedonism of 'Acid Left and Right' - all bubbly TB-303 motifs, synth-strings, digital woodblock lines and repetitive bleeps - is followed by the druggy, dubby and percussively dense Latin house quirkiness of 'Forever Latino'. He throws in a fine curveball in the shape of 'Space Drag', where looped-effects laden Swedish vocal samples and woozy chords ride a tight kick-snare pattern and deep, warm bass, before closing things out via the picturesque breakbeat house deepness of 'Ohh Baby'.

Review: Axel Boman's 2013 debut album "Family Vacation" was something of a triumph, so it's heartening to report that this belated sequel is every bit as inspired. He begins in fine style by delivering his most loved-up and glassy-eyed track yet - a Sister Sledge sampling chunk of rushing sunrise deep house - before flitting between booming sub-bass and more bliss-inducing musical flourishes on the down-low throb of "Slave To The Vibe". There's an intoxicating and exotic feel to the gently percussive cut that follows, killer ethno-house jam "Paid By The Rhythm", while "Copacabana Dub" is an expertly executed exercise in deep house/Latin percussion fusion. As if that lot wasn't enough to set our pulse racing, trippy slo-mo house chugger "Don't Bug Me" and opaque deep techno shuffler "Konoba Boba" are both suitably sublime.

Review: Boston duo Soul Clap make a routine yearly stopover in Detroit with House Of Efunk, a DJs' slamdown paying collective tribute to the dance musical legacy of Motor City. Detroit's influence on the House of Efunk is undeniable, and this 25th release in the conjoining V/A series of EPs hears Soul Clap join Axel Boman, Juliet Mendoza, Ataxia, and Mathew Jonson for a serious-unserious serum of dance delirium. Best among them 0s the lo-fi astral projections of Boman's 'Ev'ry Body Wants To Be A Star' (hint: you already are) and Ataxia's future-lectro acid finesse-tration, 'Soul Clap'.

Review: New label Taf Kif kicks off with this classy VA package from some cool cats who know how to lay down a slick groove or two. First up on this distinctly 80s-styled package is Axel Boman, who brings some of his signature sparkling melodies to a synth-pop indebted jam entitled 'Oasis'. Meanwhile Velmondo follows up with something a little more trippy and adventurous on 'Echo Welt', before MLiR inaugurates the B-side with the sultry tones of 'It's Baby Time'. Lusille completes the set with the hazy Afro house deviations of 'Une Longue Route', riding a swung groove that offers something different from the everyday cookie cutter house we know so well.