- The trans-Atlantic love in between Los Angeles' Culprit and similarly-minded labels in the UK (Hot Creations, One Records, etc.) continues to flourish. This time it's Leftroom boss Matt Tolfrey who steps away from his own ever busy imprint to serve up three new tracks (alongside Miami's Lazaro Casanova) that join the dots between his usual afterparty-aligned tech funk and the creamier vibes of the aforementioned Culprit. The aesthetic throughout is thoroughly modern. There are no retroistic pastiches here. It's just shiny, airy and vocal-laced cuts that never stray too far from a hook.
Clean lines combine with a slight robotised machine funk from start to finish, with the resulting sounds coming over as much like properly arranged songs at they do DJ tools. The swaggering and low slung sun scorched grooves of "Metronomy" is the standout, where "LAX" offsets dazzling synths with a more sordid bassline and "Globe" reaches for the stars. As it dissolves to nothing then bursts out once again, the distant metallic piano of Nikko Gibler help tie everything together.
Tracklist A LAX
B1 Globe
B2 Metronomy