September: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Kornél Kovács 'The Bells' (Studio Barnhus)

Studio Barnhus, the dynamic Swedish house label founded by Kornél Kovács, Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist, is named after the Stockholm street, Barnhusgatan, that’s home to their office-cum-studio. The strict translation of ‘barnhus’ is orphanage – ‘Barn’ in Swedish means kids, ‘hus’ is house – but when you hear the music and uncover the trio’s lively personalities, it’s hard not to be drawn into other word associations, like fun, camaraderie and wide-grinned playfulness. Kovács has all these in abundance. With ‘The Bell’ – engineered alongside his friend, Brit production whizz Matt Karmil – Kovács proves that serious house music doesn’t need to be po-faced and earnest. He’s serious about having fun. It’s a collection built from a narrow range of influences, from disco to dancehall and dub to late-90s house, but as a result it feels coherent and consistent, sitting somewhere between the carnival workouts of Basement Jaxx and the atmospheric widescreen sprawl of DJ Koze. ‘Gex’, for example, is a frenetic blur of samba samples and screeching horns that sounds like a near-Nordic relative of Jaxx classic ‘Fly Life’. This energy is never far from the surface on ‘The Bells’. Cut-up, French Touch-style guitar licks and jerky rhythms collide on ‘BB’, while on ‘Dollar Club’, Kovács switches to high-stepping dancehall house in a haze of shimmering chords and celestial voices.

But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s merely a procession of good-time house. Each track gets subverted in some fashion. The otherwise gloriously sunny stomp of ‘Pop’ has a surface so granulated it feels like Kovács has taken a sheet of sandpaper to it, and the booming, reverbed stabs of ‘Szirka’ are further roughed up by persistent, scratchy interference as if a box of cockroaches has been emptied over it. Kornél Kovács is having a great time on ‘The Bells’: it’d be remiss of you not to join him.

9/10

Zomby 'Ultra' (Hyperdub)

Masked man Zomby has been one of the most frustrating figures in 21st century electronic music. After a blast of incredible early EPs that stirred instrumental grime, old-school rave, acid house and Aphex Twin melodics into a unique, heady sound, he lost focus. His music emerged in fragments, the best stuff often only appearing as 30 second YouTube leaks. While he never stopped making startling tracks, he never made a coherent album – until now. Fittingly, he’s back on Hyperdub, the home of the best of his early releases, and there’s lots of echoes of that work, particularly the spine-tingling synth warbles and clusters of notes that he adapted from Wiley’s ‘Eski’ grime and moulded into his own signature. But here, he’s elaborated it further into unfolding high-drama chord patterns and song structures, as shown by the galactic sci-fi scope of ‘Reflection’ or the seven-minute psychodrama of the murky Burial collaboration ‘Sweetz’. Sometimes it’s deeply fucked-up, as on the churning ‘Fly 2’ or jagged ‘Freeze’, and sometimes it’s very beautiful. ‘HER’ provides a woozy kind of bliss, while ‘Thaw’ is, appropriately, as heart-melting a piece of ambient music as has been made this century. This is the record Zomby’s always promised to make, and it’s everything we could have hoped for.

9/10

Dusky 'Outer' (17 Steps via Polydor/Astralwerks)

It’s always tricky when electronic duos try and do a Chemical Brothers, mainly because they were (and still are) such a unique proposition. But Dusky, now signed to Polydor and joined by grime legend Wiley and synth hero Gary Numan on vocal duties, are attempting just that with their music and live show, which means their original sound may be stretched somewhat. So the question is: does ‘Outer’ lead us into the heavens or to Las Vegas? Thankfully, it’s way more of the former, with the scintillating ‘Tears’, the muscular ‘Runny Nose’ and 2015 standout ‘Ingrid’ (“take me away!”) still snapping, and their Wiley collab still sounding like the best rave vocal 808 State never made. Equally impressive is ‘Spruce’ feat Pedestrian, which wouldn’t sound out of place being covered by James Blake: it’s a smart reminder that there’s more to Dusky than four to the floor. Sadly, the collab with Numan (‘Swansea’) is only a partial success but overall, ‘Outer’ is a starry-eyed electronic LP packed with surprises.

8/10

Gerd Janson 'Fabric 89' (Fabric)

Gerd Janson is a self-effacing DJ, even though he’s resident at one of the world’s great clubs, Offenbach’s Robert Johnson, and co-owner of ace underground dance label Running Back. Luckily, he lets his new Fabric mix do the talking. Sparkly future-disco battles with punchy house, with a wispy cloud of acid floating across it. John Talabot’s ‘Voices’ sets the tone – floaty yet always on the verge of explosion – while the huge chords of Shan’s ‘The City Never Sleeps’ are so retro, you half-expect Robert Owens to appear. Add peak-time anthems such as HMC’s ‘Marauder’ and you have a deep mix that’s a perfect balance between classic and contemporary.

9/10

Wild Beasts 'Boy King' (Domino)

Wild Beasts are back, this time with an “apocalyptic” second album exploring sex and death. Full of smart, pleasing vocal hooks and chiming guitar solos, ‘Boy King’ is way more rock than their electronic debut. “I’m letting my inner Byron out,” said frontman Thorpe, and on the gritty yet seductive ‘He The Colossus’, he teases “You’re my sweet cherub, you could have me any time.” Written in London and recorded in Texas, ‘Boy King’ is intrusive, abrasive and in-your-face – but that’s no criticism: one can imagine lads properly belting out ‘Big Cat’ and ‘Alpha Female’ at live shows. “I wanna feel outrageous,” Thorpe sings in a falsetto on the overtly sexual ‘Get My Bang’, all pulsating synths and a heart rate-rising guitar climax. Excellent.

8/10

Blue States 'Restless Spheres' (Memphis Industries)

Following the millennium, it looked as if Andy Dragazis’s Blue States were going to cross over. He signed to XL, released critically lauded albums and had a song featured heavily in the film 28 Days Later. But in 2007 things went quiet. The period since is referred to by ‘Cable Ties’ and ‘Hiatus’, both laced with sadness. There’s a sense of lost possibilities throughout, bathed in sun-hazed pastoralism, accentuated by sweet feminine vocals (except on the psyche-prog ‘Beyond The White Light’, which features a male at the mic). Mixing organic instrumentation, such as the ethereal guitar of ‘Vision Trail’, this album laces its cuddliness with melancholy.

7/10

Motion Graphics 'Motion Graphics' (Domino)

It’s only 30 minutes long, but few records are as complex, ornate and innovative as Joe Williams’ debut as Motion Graphics. He brings his experience as a UX/UI sound designer to bear on a record that encompasses experimental, future r’n’b, jazz and classical. If that sounds like hard work, the results are far from it. His sounds are familiar, formed from the ‘foley’ – the term for the ambient noise, like the crunch of footsteps in snow, created for movies – of our digital lives. Some are immediately discernible, like a ringtone chime, while others, such as the hum of a fridge freezer, far less so. The aural familiarity of tracks such as ‘Anyware’, with its warp-speed cellphone melodies, imbibes ‘Motion Graphics’ with warmth and, above all, joy.

7/10

Marconi Union 'Ghost Stations' (Just Music)

Having mastered the art of dubby, ethereal ambience so successfully that their track ‘Weightless has been described as the ‘most relaxing song ever’, Marconi Union could have kept pushing the same buttons. But the title of ‘Ghost Stations’ gives a clue to its ambitions: an empty space, a vacuum where new ideas can germinate. You can hear it on the opening ‘Sleeper’, where spectral clarinet and ghostly trumpet intertwine with quasi-techno beats. It really kicks in during the second half of ‘Remnants/Shadow Scheme’, which segues from icy, classical piano into slo-mo house. All of the trademark Marconi-isms are here, but they’re now emboldened by broader musical strokes.

8/10

Alan Abrahams 'Portable' (!K7)

Immaculately dressed and stood behind a vintage-style condenser mic, Alan Abrahams looks like a 60s soul idol. The South African certainly has the rich, resonant voice for it, but no soul idol ever crooned while also working sequencers, FX and handheld gizmos. Abrahams (also known as Bodycode and Portable) makes emotive vocal electronica and esoteric house. Although a long-time Berlin resident, the music of his homeland echoes through this elegant debut. It’s most discernable on ‘Bondage’, which fuses a jerky tribal rhythm and quaking bass keys to Abrahams’ haunting tones. On the instrumental ‘Séraphin’, meanwhile, eerie synths, rattling rim shots and smouldering drums build a track that pulses with dark malevolence.

8/10

Kenny Glasgow 'Circus Tales' (No 19 music)

When ‘Without You’ came out as a B-side back in 2010, Art Department were just the shot in the arm that dance music needed: the mournful, soulful track came to define the summer and paved the way for Tale Of Us et al. Now Kenny is flying solo with an album (his second) that delivers from every angle. The production is world-class, the grooves are just what clubs like Cocoon/DC10 need and the robo-vocoder vocals are moody and meditative rather than trite and obvious, with ‘Interactive Entertainment’ and ‘Come On’ just two of the highlights. With a proper sense of LP flow and a touch of acid and 6AM drama for the heads, this is one circus we advise you to visit.

8/10

Various 'Permanent Vacation 4' (Permanent Vacation)

Munich label Permanent Vacation aren’t too keen to use what it calls “the B-word”, but there’s no escaping it: this is as Balearic as it gets. Sluggish 80s funk and boogie rhythms, new age-like flutes and chimes, old-school house elements slathered in reverb: it couldn’t be more Formentera sunset if it tried. There’s a strong Dutch showing from Suzanne Kraft and Young Marco among the 12 exclusive tracks – and while some of it veers into functional sunny-terrace fodder, there’s more than enough cosmic voyaging and wistful bliss-out to make this a wholly worthwhile addition to your summer soundtrack.

6/10

Rival Consoles 'Night Melody' (Erased Tapes)

The Erased Tapes labels are one of the great successes of the decade. This is mainly thanks to the solemn post-classical sounds of the likes of Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds, but there’s much more to the label than that – and electronica producer Rival Consoles has been with them from the very start. On this new six-track mini album, his sound has become richer and more complex than ever before, with airborne trance synths over deep bass, layered percussion rhythms and occasional washes of shoegaze guitar. It takes us back to the late 00s, when the likes of Martyn, Sepalcure and Joy Orbison were bringing lushness and melody to (post) dubstep – and that’s no bad place to be at all.

7/10

Glass Animals 'How To Be A Human Being' (Wolf Tone)

Glass Animals’ tropical-tinted debut ‘Zaba’ met with mixed reviews, but the Oxford quartet sound more interesting and original on this follow-up. Lead single ‘Life Itself’ is cool and confident, its bouncy bongo drums mixing with bold oriental melodies. ‘Youth’ follows suit, boasting bizarre chords, before ‘Season 2 Episode 3’ showcases frontman Dave Bayley’s experimental lyricism: “My girl eats mayonnaise from a jar while she’s getting blazed” is brilliantly nonsensical wordplay. ‘Pork Soda’ and ‘Cane Shuga’ are both delightfully odd, ‘The Other Side Of Paradise’ is built around a hip hop structure and intriguing closer ‘Agnes’ has stadium-sized potential. Nobody else sounds like them right now.

9/10

Boxed In 'Melt' (Nettwerk Records)

After featuring on one of 2015’s biggest club hits, George Fitzgerald’s ‘Full Circle’, singer-producer Oli Bayston’s dance-pop project Boxed In is back less than a year after their well-received debut. The London four-piece impress most with upbeat, club-leaning efforts like the rumbling, progressive undercurrent of ‘Up To You/Down To Me’, while the swelling electronica of ‘Jist’ fuses a catchy bassline with infectious, repetitive lyrics. The album’s percussive moments are perfect for sunny festival slots. Elsewhere, ‘London Lights’ is comparatively relaxed, though its slow-burning synth-line stretches into club territory, and the expansive sonic landscape throughout ‘Black Prism’ could be a James Blake cut.

7/10

Eddie C 'On The Shore' (Endless Flight)

On four of the tracks here, it feels like the trip-hop revival is upon us. Not Portishead/Tricky style moody song-based stuff, but trip-hop in the sense of early Mo’ Wax, Ninja Tune or Nightmares On Wax: heavily swung and beautifully edited, with dusty, crackly breakbeats, loads of dub space and cool jazz chords. It’s all done so crisply and lovingly, too, that it somehow manages to sound fresh. The rest of the album is sunny, chilled boogie and deep house that approaches the style of Endless Flight’s parent label Mule Musiq. All that is often exquisitely done, but it’s the downtempo tunes like ‘Low Road Dubs’ and ‘Mistaya’ we keep coming back to, and crave more of.

7/10

Various 'Kon & the Gang' (BBE)

Kon, of renowned New York crate-diggers Kon & Amir, strikes out on his own with a collection of easy-going disco-house. For most UK clubs, this would be back-room stuff. Cuts such as Serge Gamesbourg’s ‘Do It Well’ and Kon’s own soulful ‘Can’t Get Enough’ are sedate, but on the New York underground, these blissed-out shufflers set the pace. There’s inarguable funk in Bosq’s bass-bumpin’ ‘Out Of My Head’ and Kon’s rework of Doc Daneeka’s ‘I Promise’, which features a Seven Davis r’n’b vocal. On this occasion, though, the point isn’t whether it makes you dance, but how it gels into a hazy journey that musters a mood of smooth tranquility.

710

Larry Heard 'Rebirth 10' (Rebirth)

House heads already know precisely who Larry Heard is: he’s Mr Fingers and the producer behind perennial vocal anthem ‘The Sun Can’t Compare’ as Mr White. He’s also already remixed three tracks for Italian label Rebirth (check out ‘Even If’ by Bocca Grande on the second disc/mix), and has now been recruited to mix 46 of the label’s best. The music is excellent, and while the mixing doesn’t always soar (hey, there’s a lot to cram in here), remixes from Morgan Geist, dOP. Soul Clap and Mark E are a reminder that since the closure of Buzzin’ Fly, Rebirth have picked up the baton when it comes to vocal house.

7/10

Patten 'Ѱ' (Warp Records)

Patten’s third LP isn’t your average summer party album. But then, summer 2016 hasn’t been your average summer. Blending elements of grime, footwork, techno, industrial and more, the UK duo has created an at times claustrophobic and unnerving (yet always compelling) LP that seems to perfectly soundtrack our uncertain times. Recalling the tunes acts like Zomby and Ikonika dropped after the first wave of dubstep started to sound tired, Patten’s third release is a whistle-stop tour of the UK’s hardcore continuum, never pausing long enough to get bored. ‘Sonne’ is a firecracker, all gunfinger beats, eerie keys and disembodied vocals, while ‘Used 2 B’ is ethereal electronica of the highest order. We can’t wait to hear it on a big system with a huge AV show.

7/10