Alphonse: Smokey Vinyl 12"

Where there's smoke, there's fire! Alphonse Rozel's “Smokey” is a perfectly fine slice of tribal (aboriginal?) house, reinterpreted via Papua New Guinea by The Pilotwings on their considerably more breaks-heavy 'Future Sound Of Lyon' rework (beau travail, messieurs). But it’s all about side B for us: Alphonse’s original mix of “Glint AM” is dead-serious breakbeat house with its staccato bassline and crunchy breaks smoothed out by some sublime pads and peppered with snare fills, while Normal 4 trots out new age sample kit for his considerably more spaced-out remix, defo one for the bleep & bass enthusiasts. Safe to say there’s probably something on here for you, but lovers of S.O.N.S., J-zbel, BFDM & the like won’t want to miss this. Originally released in 2016 and gone before you could say “Chris & Cosey used that album cover already,” this repress won’t hang around long either. Recommended.

• 4-track import 12"
• includes remixes by The Pilotwings + DJ Normal 4
• music label: [Emotional] Especial 2018

reviewed by military 2step 09/2018