Let’s Dance – Adam Beyer: Explorer Vol. 1 (Drumcode)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Artist albums from established DJs in house and techno are relatively rare these days, which is one of a few explanations for Adam Beyer’s first album in over 20 years.

Swedish DJ Beyer runs the Drumcode label, but the title Explorer Vol.1 reflects a desire to explore different approaches and styles within and beyond techno.

What’s the music like?

Right from the start it is clear that a lot of thought as gone into this, and even though Explorer is an artist album it also works as an unmixed DJ set.

Beyer works the ebb and flow of the beats and breakdowns perfectly, keeping the listener’s attention with a wide range of material but getting the feet engaged at every opportunity too.

After the introduction, Taking Back Control has a good vocal, while Alto, with Layton Giordani, uses the familiar “What were the clouds like when you were young?” sample before a sturdy beat kicks in, courtesy of his collaborator.

Elsewhere, Explorer has real attitude, while Desolate Lands, a collaboration with Chris Avantgarde, stands out with its brilliant, roughed-up bass. Tanit adds a strong breaks undercarriage, Beyer getting a fine blend between styles with one eye straying towards the Mediterranean. Meanwhile The Distance Between Us has proper bite to it, a clash of styles that is definitely the sum of its parts. Finally The Long Way Home, like Tanit a track rescued from Beyer’s pre-COVID writing, is a cracker with which to end.

Does it all work?

It does – no skipping here! The beats are brilliant, too.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. An exciting new chapter of Adam Beyer’s career, Explorer has plenty of thrills and spills from beginning to end, stimulating the mind while it does maximum damage on the dancefloor. Very encouraging to see that it’s the first volume, too, as it demands a sequel!

Listen / Buy

You can listen to clips and explore purchase options at the Beatport website – and read more about Adam Beyer and previous releases on his own Drumcode label site

Published post no.2,595 – Saturday 31 May 2025

On this day – the birth of composer Gerald Finzi

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

On this day in 1901, the composer Gerald Finzi was born in Oxford.

Finzi’s most popular pieces tend to be in slightly shorter forms, and his unique way of writing for strings has endeared him to many lovers of British music. Here is a great example, a piece more than suitable for a summer’s evening – the Romance for String Orchestra:

Published post no.2,595 – Monday 14 July 2025

Summer music – Bridge: Summer

Posted on by
Reply

With another sweltering day promised in the UK, here is a rather wonderful tone poem from the pen of underrated English composer Frank Bridge – one to revel in this Sunday!

Published post no.2,594 – Sunday 13 July 2025

On Record – Steve Queralt: Swallow (Sonic Cathedral)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first solo album from Ride bassist Steve Queralt, the result of fitful opportunities to record between the ‘day job’.

Yet the fact that Swallow has taken shape over five years is an illustration that it means a lot to him, as he joins his band mate Andy Bell with a solo record on the Sonic Cathedral label.

Queralt is joined by singers Emma Anderson (ex-Lush) and Electrelane’s Verity Susman, who guest on three of the album’s nine tracks.

What’s the music like?

Beguiling. Queralt writes in the shoegaze tradition, like his band, but there is some wonderfully dreamy music here that puts you under its spell with repeated success.

After an atmospheric introduction, Lonely Town – headed by Anderson – is an early highlight, a dream pop moment of excellence that reaches the heady heights. Anderson appears again on the moody Swiss Air, with exhilarating widescreen production, while Verity Susman’s contribution is also a thing of wonder, a bold vocal backed with big guitars and spacious production.

Elsewhere Queralt complements the vocal numbers from the heart with some impressive instrumentals. 1988 holds itself with poise, a slower number that Queralt paces to perfection until it breaks out into a massive, drum-fuelled epic. A Porsche Shaped Hole has the sort of grandeur you would associate with M83, reaching for the stars and then floating seamlessly.

Does it all work?

It does. Queralt gets just the right balance of soft and loud, vocal and instrumental, slow and fast – the result being that the nine-tracks fairly fly by.

Is it recommended?

This is an auspicious debut from Steve Queralt, a starry-eyed gem that frequently reaches the celestial bodies for which it aims. It is a shame he has started late on the solo trail, but hopefully this will encourage him to take the plunge again without delay. Highly recommended.

For fans of… Ride, M83, Trentemøller, Maps, Beach House

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,593 – Saturday 12 July 2025

New music – ØXN – Cruel Mother (Remixes) (War Child)

Posted on by
Reply

from the press release, edited by Ben Hogwood

Acclaimed composers and producers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, known collectively as DROKK, make a long-awaited return with a striking remix of Cruel Mother by ØXN—originally released on ØXN’s 2023 album CYRM. This marks DROKK’s first release since their self-titled debut album in 2012. The package is complemented by Ben Frost’s haunting, elegiac rework.

Barrow and Salisbury, whose work as DROKK began in 2011, have since focused on a range of scoring projects across film and television. Now, they revisit their DROKK identity with a new purpose: using music to support War Child UK.

“We love ØXN—not just their music, but who they are as people, and what they stand for politically,” says Barrow. “We’ve been huge fans of “Cruel Mother” since its release, and I reached out to see if we could remix it in support of War Child, a brilliant charity I’ve been involved with for many years.”

The remixes will be released alongside the ØXN original on limited edition vinyl, with 100% of profits donated directly to War Child, which supports children affected by conflict around the globe. Order the vinyl and download / stream the remixes here.

“I just hope we’ve done the song justice,” Barrow adds. “Like many people right now, we’re feeling helpless and heartbroken by the suffering of children in war zones. While we can’t fix broken infrastructure or end conflicts ourselves, we can use our music to raise money and awareness. This is our way of contributing.”  

ØXN adds, “Nobody can escape the sickening and horrifying images being live streamed to our eyes every day of innocent civilians, those mostly helpless and defenceless children being murdered or maimed, orphaned and forever mentally scarred because of the choices made by political fascists and tyrants. The proceeds of this release will go to War Child.

“We stand with the children of Palestine. The children of Sudan. The children of The Democratic Republic of Congo. The children of Ukraine. The children of Yemen and all the children dragged into these man-made nightmares.”

Published post no.2,592 – Friday 11 July 2025