Giganta - Force EP (Werkdiscs)

Giganta is a DJ, producer, and sound designer from Athens, Greece. She was a Red Bull Music Academy participant in 2011. Giganta does a weekly show on Paranoise Radio in Athens and is part of the Rotation DJ Collective that throws parties throughout the year in Athens.

This is the sound of Athens 2014 through the eyes, ears and body of Eleni Adamopoulou AKA Giganta. It’s representative of her fight against the negativity and violence that has surrounded her in her city since 2008. While Giganta’s powerful emotional response is portrayed in her music, her technical ability to create complex layered tracks is always present and striking: the synth melodies, bass and vocals pulling together in unison to create The Force. Think chopped and screwed, but with the opposite effect in pace. The rhythms are more than shuffling, they’re skewed and complexed with plenty of bass heavy bounce. Rich synth shapes abound in very intricate chord formations, also accented by or used as energetic effects.

In Giganta’s words: “Force causes a change, either concerning movement, direction, or geometrical construction. It is the power that starts something. Music is the force that creates hopes and dreams. And so it all begins.”

Will Saul (Simple Records / Aus Music) - “I really love this EP.”

Tensnake - “Interesting stuff … ‘Force’ seems to have some influence from Pepe Bradock.”

Lance DeSardi (Bang The Box) - “Killer tunes here. Everything is raw as f#@k, but ‘Can’t Stop Playing’ will get most of my love. Excellent.”

Fine Cut Bodies (Biscuit Real / Chi Recordings) - “Nice garage vibez here!”

Tyler Stadius - “I like the tracky, quirkiness here.”

Ourra (Pop Out And Play / Alola) - “The whole EP is pleasingly f#@ked up … love it! ‘This Goes On’ is my fave, but it’s difficult to choose. Quirky and very cool.”

Harry Avers (NOICE!) - “A nice blend of ‘old school’ sampling and ‘new school’ production techniques. Some nice soul here.”

Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Wicked EP! Really interesting beats here … definitely stuff that could be used to add something fresh to a house / tech mix set.”

Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “Deep and moody. I like the tension on this.”

SimonG (Deep South Audio, NZ) - “Smooth, techy sounds from Greece … very nice. ‘Spot Scene’ has that hip house undertone. Fresh!”

Kadabra (The House Hookup Radio Show) - “Really cool EP. Different but still functional. I will have fun testing these out.”

Milton Welch (Soul Reflector) - “I love the complexity here. ‘Spot Scene’ is what i’d imagine avant garde house to sound like. Definitely not run of the mill or by the numbers. Refreshing.”

Available now from Beatport and Juno Download.

Simian Mobile Disco - A Form Of Change EP (Witchita Recordings)

In May, Simian Mobile Disco released their fourth LP, Unpatterns, a collection of long-form techno that picked up where the stripped down, epochal synth sound of 2010’s Delicacies left off. This new A Form Of Change EP collects four tracks from the same recording session as SMD’s Unpatterns that, for one reason or another, didn’t quite fit with the flow of the album order. The EP is loaded with a wide array of subtle nuances from the duo, each song exceeding five minutes in length. Once again the band is heard plowing the furrow of manipulating subtle modifications to machine generated patterns, allowing parts to drift and shift, and new forms to be teased out. Perhaps it’s a foreshadowing into the new, sexier direction they have chosen for their sound. Total dance floor warmers here, and, undeniably, another sterling example of Simian Mobile Disco’s restless creativity, and their yen for refining and redefining the parameters of their own musical landscape with almost laser-like precision. Dig in.

Ewan Pearson - “Unpatterns was such a great album - very nice to have some more of it! ‘A Form of Change’ is the one for me here.”
Danny Howells - “Superb as always … love!”
Will Saul - “What a lush EP. I’ll play this to death.”
Lindstrøm - “Sounds great!”
Ashley Beedle - “A wicked EP with ‘Everyday’ being the fave. Big support.”
Justin Robertson - “Highest caliber technoid lushness from the masters. I’ve been caning ‘Breaking Time.’”
Giom - “Brilliant. I love these.”
Alland Byallo - “‘Everyday’ is quite nice. I’ve liked these guys since they were just Simian. They’re defintely onto something good.”
Tom Findlay (Groove Armada) - “‘Breaking Time’ is sick.”
Sleazy McQueen - “This is big.”
Nick Chacona - “Five stars … ‘Unfixed’ is especially a masterpiece.”
Chris Fortier - “‘Everyday’ has been huge for me.”
James Curd (Greenskeepers) - “I love Simian Mobile Disco!”
Jim Stanton (Horse Meat Disco) - “Just lovely, deep, delicious … playing!”
Erik Rug - “I really like ‘Breaking Time’ and ‘Everyday’ … a really great release.”
Cosmo Vitelli - “Great. ‘Unfixed’ is my fave.”
Chrissy Murderbot - “‘Breaking Time’ is huge!”
Tal M. Klein - “Great release. Very tight production, as expected. I’ll be having a lot of fun with this!”
Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space) - “Simian Mobile Disco tracks are always refreshing.”
Joshua Ferguson (Dialogue Inc.) - “In the typically ‘similar but different’ way that SMD manage to push their sound, this is still undeniably work from James x 2. A brilliant follow up to Unpatterns and a solid techno workout from start to finish.”

Available now from Juno Download and Beatport.