Bystander & Give In - Echo Beach West EP (Rock It Science Laboratories)

Rock It Science Labs continues to showcase its strengths with the Echo Beach West EP, a collaborative effort from two of the young label's flagship members: Los Angeles-based artists Bystander and Give In. Since taking on the Bystander moniker, Sean Patrick has applied his veteran DJ and producer background for Hallucienda, Adjunct, and Shaboom – labels all headed by established workhorses in electronic music. In 2013 Sean came on board with RIS Labs and this is the first of many musical contributions from him in addition to his work behind the scenes. Give In is a DJ, producer, singer-songwriter, and engineer who applies his trade to many sides of the industry outside of his artistry. He initially made a mark as Origami in San Francisco’s early-2000s underground scene through releases on labels like Drop Music and Fabric London. His project Give In has seen massive support including a release on Dirtybird Records which followed his RIS Labs debut.

The Echo Beach West EP epitomizes the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – albeit they are clearly some well-oiled ones. Intricate, deep, dark, driving soundscapes are developed with an extraordinary attention to detail. "Feeling For The Edges" sees Bystander make his vocal debut with a somber ode to things left unsaid, done atop a rich bed of minimalist percussion, warm bass, analog arpeggios, twisted chords, and haunting tones. "Stay Down" opens with big kick drums and droning chords that lead to a conversation between bass line and melody, eventually making way for Give In's poignant lyrical embellishment. Instrumental mixes of each track wrap up this stellar release.

Clint Stewart (Second State / Safeword) - "I'm digging 'Feeling For The Edges'. Nice and moody for early mornings or late nights."
Jamie Jones (Hot Creations) - "This sounds cool."
Larry Tee - "I love 'Feeling For The Edges'!"
Severino (Horse Meat Disco) - "Yes … pretty cool vibe."
[a]pendics.shuffle (Adjunct / Hallucienda) - "Nice … the 'Feeling For The Edges' instrumental is the one for me."
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - "'Stay Down' is tidy!"
Haris Custovic (Laus Music) - "Very melodic and driving."
Recess (Shameless) - "I love having both instrumentals and vocal versions. Both are solid tracks. I'm going to give 'Stay Down' a spin on the rooftop tonight."
Mke Swells (SoundScape / Make It New) - "'Stay Down' is hauntingly beautiful. Love it, so good."
DJ Firefly (Couch Dancing Radio Show) - "Each track on this EP is more like a journey than a song … oh, the places you'll go!"
Brian Bacchus (Summit Sessions Radio Show) - "Absolutely excellent release. Not often would I give a release 5-out-of-5 stars, but this one is deserving."

Available now from Beatport, Juno Download, iTunes, and Spotify.

Various Artists - Phono Obscura (Hallucienda)

Phono Obscura confidently charts the course of Hallucienda, the new imprint that is the evolution of Hallucination Limited, curated and collated by renowned DJ and trusted tastemaker Three. With an eclectic assortment of established names and future candidates from the electronic music globe, Phono Obscura’s nine tracks present a focused vision through artists that balance the need to push envelopes and the desire to fill dance floors. These producers represent the initial Hallucienda family, with future album artists rubbing shoulders with 12“ mercenaries. Opening on Lock Smith’s hypnotically oozing ”Wouldn’t You“, Phono Obscura proposes a dream-zone safe house in between the head space and the bass bin. As one forwards to Reverse Commuter’s ominous remix of ”History Is Not Shrinking“, by The Bystanders in collaboration with Mount Sims and Linda Lamb, and J. Alvarez’s vintage machine funk of ”Strut”, the sound and thematic binding string of Phono Obscura is clear. Other contributions from Wiggle’s Terry Francis, Sunshine Jones of Dubtribe, Radio Slave, Remi Mazet, Öona Dahl & Johnny Cruz, and NYC’s Ulysses further cement Phono Obscura’s status as a step above a mere compilation project. There is evidently a lot of thought and strategy in Three’s selection to accurately convey the message of Phono Obscura and its series, as this is just the first of many planned editions.

Gavin Hardkiss - "This is timeless music. A proper inquiry into the nuances of the darker side of house music."
James Zabiela - "'Strut', 'Dance Gravity', the Radio Slave remix, 'Oceans', 'The Sun' … all dope! Congrats on the new label"
Laurent Garnier - "I really love Lock Smith's 'Wouldn't You'. I'll be playing this a lot."
Soul Clap - "Wow, loving this compilation … Hallucienda 'til ya burn!"
Doc Martin - "I'm slightly biased towards these producers and grooves … a little something for the headstrong. Full support!"
Nick Warren - "Excellent compilation, guys. Some killers here!"
John Digweed - "Good stuff."
Peter Kruder - "Cool compilation with loads of good stuff on."
Greg Oreck (Thugfucker) - “I've been excitedly awaiting this reincarnation of Hallucination and even my high expectations have been exceeded. PHONO OBSCURA is a lot like Three himself. Sometimes deep, sometimes hard, often trippy, and always a sight for sore eyes / ears when you're about four days into an after-party that doesn't seem like it will ever end. We'll surely be playing every single one of these tracks and I honestly can't remember any other compilation I could have said that about. Quality stuff from a quality source. And a great and diverse collection of sounds and artists that we'll be definitely waiting to hear more from."

Available now from Beatport, iTunes, and Juno Download.