Our youngest Parisien Clem steps up for this week’s staff pick! When she is not behind the counter at Phonica, Clem also co-runs elliptiq, a Sunday daytime party at The Yard in Hackney Wick focused on the leftfield side of techno.
In this week’s staff pick I’d like to talk about Marco Shuttle’s latest release, ‘Systhema’, on Spazio Disponibile. For those who still haven’t heard it – stop whatever you are doing right now, (except reading this review), put the record on, lie down and listen…
What a nice surprise that Spazio Disponibile’s latest release is finally an album. While SD’s other releases were until now more clubby, hypnotic and deep techno oriented, Marco Sartorelli shows an evolution of his signature sound going beyond the label’s boundaries to explore a more ambient and experimental side of electronic music.
Shuttle set extremely high standards on his first outing for Dozzy and Neel’s label, but the challenge has been well-met with his latest offering. Marco sends us directly to another special realm with the ambient and oriental sounds of ‘Adrift’ and ‘Thebe’; whilst the main body of the album veers between perfectly cut tracks made to hypnotise a club at any hour and lower-tempo cuts of equal quality. ‘I Fail, You Fall’ highlights the album’s constant energy; its evolution perfectly controlled with sharp rhythms putting you in a second state.
Then « Ende » comes , a breath taking drone piece featuring misty synthesisers – an amazing soundtrack for five minutes of meditation.
Overall, a fantastic album – immersive, tight and beautiful from top to bottom. Highly recommended!
