Krystian Shek - Best Of FAX +49 - 69 / 450464 (Thai Dust Red)

Frankfurt-based electronic music artist Krystian Shek appeared on the scene in 2003 with his first of three artist albums on the late Pete Namlook’s FAX +49 – 69 / 450464 label. Impressively prolific, other albums appeared on labels such as the Indonesian imprint UTC Wired, Diventa Recordings, and Cold Busted. Since the unfortunate passing of Namlook a few years ago the FAX material has fallen out of print, and Shek has worked to reissue these evocative albums on his own Thai Dust (Red) label. This compilation collects Shek's personal favorite tracks from those albums, highlighting a compositional style that is both melodic and atmospheric but still built upon a rhythmic foundation. Early inspiration from Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre is evident as well as the solid beats of '90s downtempo electronica. These cuts groove as sounds shimmer and float through cerebral layers of synthesized texture. Highlights include the dark and pulsating "Quan", the cinematic "Cherry Girl", and the sci-fi pseudo-soundtrack of "Love Liptease & 808". There's much more to explore here.

Nick Warren - "Amazing work from Krystian. An excellent artist."
Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe) - "Beautiful."
Mojo Rising (Cold Busted) - "Absolutely lovely melodic electronic goodness here. I'm so happy Krystian was able to get this material back into circulation."
Quincy Jointz - Great music. It sounds really good after all these years."
Stereo 77 (Plimsoll Records) - "Cinematic, yet groovy at times."
Pathaan (Globetronica) - "A great listen!"
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle / Strange Days) - "I love love love all of these!"
MadameFLY (BeatConcious) - "A solid abstract set that celebrates the ominous side of the FAX sound."
DJ Doubles (Freestyle Fusion) - "This is just so beautiful."
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - "It's a collage of downtempo and slo-mo electronica, and tastes like a bitter sweet dark chocolate."
Diesler (A Little Something Radio) - "I really enjoyed 'Splashin'' … deep."
Clairvo (Tilos Radio, Hungary) - "So glad to hear these melodies and harmonies … they all pet the listener's mind!"

Available now from Bandcamp and Beatport.

Val De Mossa & DJ Gotsoul - Deep Water EP (Thai Dust Red)

Eclectic German label Thai Dust Records reserves its ‘(Red)’ sub-label for their deeper, more chill-oriented work. The Deep Water EP is a deep house production through and through. The background of Krystian Shek, AKA DJ Gotsoul, is definitely beats-oriented with his previous releases on Thai Dust (Black) and a recent downtempo album on the Cold Busted label. For those that remember his club-smasher “Acapulco Nude,” Krystian’s new deep house moniker should come as no surprise … it’s just another step forward in showcasing his diverse capabilities. For this release he has teamed up with German Radio Galaxy host and DJ Val De Mossa as well as regular collaborator Surya, an Argentinian vocalist currently based in Spain.

Starting things off, “Pasadena" is a smooth to swallow - and oh so easy to dance to - deep house pill. The song’s bass has a dark edge to it and is complimented by haunting piano notes that are spectral in nature. Surya delivers a brilliant vocal performance, with a moodiness sure to halt any fans of the lovely Bajka in their tracks. A take-no-prisoners remix comes from BDLX, also known as Krystian’s fellow Cold Busted artist Bahia Deluxe. He rounds the low end into something punchier, turning it into a devastating lead. The other two originals on the release, “La Isla Blanca" and "Senses Of The Islands,” employ islander percussion in evocatively melodic progressions, with the latter being cinematic enough to close the eyes to as the imagination travels far. Just like that, Thai Dust (Red) has an EP on its hands capable moving dance floors in dramatic fashion.

Tony Humphries - “Great deep house tracks!”
Jask (Thaisoul / Soulfuric) - “Love it!”
Hippie Torrales - “‘Senses Of The Islands’ for me … nice mid-tempo groove.”
Vincent Kwok - “Great tracks! I’m loving the vocals on ‘Pasadena.’”
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - “‘Pasadena’ and ‘Sense of the Islands’ are truly lovely. These will get a lot of summer support from me!”
Sarah Favouritizm (Southport Weekender) - “This is lovely … great voice, too!”
Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “I’m into ‘La Isla Blanca’ .. summer is all over this breezy and driving sound.”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Really cool bass-led vibes here … I’m feeling the original ‘Pasadena,’ plus ‘La Isla Blanca,’ the latter being a really cool deep groove with smart keys. Strong EP.”
Igor Marijuan (Ibiza Sonica FM) - “Great stuff.”
Chris Udoh (Tigerhook) - “Awesome summer vibe on this one!”
Niksa Dragolin (Eurostar Radio, Croatia) - “Hell yeah, this water is really deep! I love ‘Pasadena.’”
Alan Powell (The Midnight Mix on Solar Radio) - “Beautiful selection of deep house grooves with a touch of soul.”
Michael Fossati (Spirit of House) - “Deep, sexy and truly mesmerizing.”

Available now from Beatport.

13 Crew - Scratch Bunker (Thai Dust Black)

German turntablism label Thai Dust Black reaches across the border into Tri-City, Poland, for a release from 13 Crew. Since the collective was formed in 2002, the crew has shifted around with the current make-up consisting of O2ld, Lolo, and Wojak. Years in the making, Scratch Bunker marks their debut album and is full of scratch-heavy, turtnablist-crafted productions with features from Lower Entrance, Dr Nico, Slyther, and Owca. Dig in because each cut is an onslaught of samples, repurposing bits from emcees of the past and pieces pulled from stranger, not easily identifiable sources. These skillful DJs highlight their handiwork across beats ranging from funk and soul to hip-hop and downtempo. Bombs away!

DJ Moneyshot (Solid Steel Radio / NinjaTune) - “Cosmic cuts and killer beats. You can’t get fresher than this!”
J Kid Stretch - “Awesome skills!”
DJ Chicken George - “Ah Yeah! Cuts are on point!”
DJ Yoda - “Nice stuff.”
Basement Freaks - “The dopest!”
Trotter (Royal Soul) - “‘Rock The Party’ is the one … big up!”
Stereo 77 (Plimsoll Records) - “Dope EP. It reminds me so much of classic Ninja Tune, Switchstance, and Cup of Tea Records.”
Doc Proof (Funkanomics) - “Dope scratches … I love it!”
Double-D (Funky Fresh Radio Show) - “Yeah … some real hip hop right here. Very skillful and super fresh!”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) - “Beats-a-plenty … this seriously kicks!”
Benge (Sex Fly Radio Show) - “It’s nice to hear turntable stuff with flavor. It’s been a long time.”
SimonG (Deep South Audio) - “Smoking! Summer BBQ session ahead … some serious decknology in action.”

Available now from Beatport.

Dogher-Man - Certainly (Thai Dust Black)

German turntablism label Thai Dust Black journeys deep into Finland for its latest discovery, the scratch addicted beat wrangler known as Dogher-Man. Based in the faraway town of Kokemäki (population 7,923) a young Dogher-Man entertained himself by incessantly scratching on his mother’s unwitting record player. All grown up and funneling his obsession into years of ‘intense turntablism study,’ Dogher-Man has revealed his Certainly debut mini-album through Thai Dust. Heavy tracks of hip hop beats and high-speed scratch deployment of clever and in-your-face sample drops make for a charged rhythmic stew that aims to ‘get this party started!’ F-F-F-fressshhh ….

DJ Moneyshot (Ninja Tune / Solid Steel) - “All that scratching is making me itch! Word up, son. Skills for days.”
Double-D (Funky Fresh, Germany) - “Mad beats, crazy scratching … awesome.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch-A-Vibe Radio Show, UK) - “The beats are addictive!”
Genetic druGs (Cyberjam Show, Germany) - “High-end turntablism and fantastic voice samples … a futuristic style.”
Mojo Rising (Cold Busted) - “Nice skills and cool grooves. I’m digging it. Refreshing to hear real turntable skills these days.”
Tim Aldous (Strictly Business Radio Show, UK) - “Awesome stuff. Really impressive skills.”
Shantisan (Salted Soul, Vienna) - “One for the scratch heads!”
Monkeyboxing (music blog) - “This man’s quite a good turntablist … and when I say ‘quite good’ I mean ‘excellent,’ as evinced by this debut EP.”

Available now from Beatport.