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12 Apron
Funkineven's The Apron Show on NTS Radio has been a go-to this year. Raw, slammin' house, mostly from his label Apron, is on the menu and the DJ and producer drops in soothing Moodymann-esque whispers in between tracks. If you've given the shows a whirl, it's likely you've heard the jarring keys of 'XL', taken from his debut album 'Fallen', released under his birth name Steven Julien. A debut LP for him and the label, it criss-crosses between floaty, carefree melodies ('Chantel'), tonkin' bass kicks ('Carousel'), synths symbolising the end of the world ('Fallen') and gentle acid ('Kingdom'). The artwork (both pieces - there's two) is fresh-as-fuck, too, making Steven out to be one of house's flyest characters.
It's through The Apron Show we first heard 'Kinda Late' from Parisian producer Bastien Carrara. Out via the 'Apron' EP in May, it's proper raw, floor-shaking house with a real sweet vocal. The kind of track that sounds like it's been left to bathe in the baking sun, it's that glorious. L.M.Y.E's 'Pays To Be Pushed' is another gleaming gem, but it's not just feel-good house among Apron's inventory. 'Black Pow Wow' has London artist Brassfoot performing spoken word over a fuzzy industrial production and Shamos guarantees cranky techno like 'Cranbourne Road'. Funkineven’s got himself a decent squad. D Turner
