various / 14 tracks

14 Tracks - Present: Future

The emotive futurist rhetoric and aesthetic of Kuedo's excellent 'Severant' album is the inspiration for this selection. Released on Planet Mu, the former Vex'd man's solo debut LP is a hyper-fused celebration of classic sci-fi synth music, Footwork and modern Rap, assimilating characteristics of all three into a vivid, futurist fantasy headspace. If you've not already copped the album (out this week) we recommend you do so quicksharp, or at the very least check Kuedo's definitive mix for Fact Magazine, but for comparative, contemporary listening there's some nuggets in here which you don't want to miss. On a Footwork and Juke bent there's Rashad & BMT's amazing remix of Emika and the hyper-soul of DJ Diamond, plus excellent outsider augmentations from Dam Mantle and Machinedrum. For the Crunk agenda, you'll find butter cuts like Lunice's 'Juice' and the cold, rollin' fusions of Desto and Om Unit, next to more curious hybrids of Synth-Pop and R&B from the likes of Holy Other, Miracle, and Balam Acab. Then, of course, there's two originals from Kuedo to whet your appetite, the heart-in-mouth calculations of 'Ascension Phase' and his glorious KMS remix, with a conclusion from one of the original synthesizer futurists, Tangerine Dream and Kluster co-founder, Conrad Schnitzler (RIP).