It feels like yesterday that Lobster Theremin were a fledgling imprint, demonstrating an unerring ability to put out strong release after strong release. Since then they’ve become a bit of a behemoth. It has spawned several sub-labels, a distribution arm, a shop, and is arguably helped establish a new and fresh wave of house and techno artists. With that in mind, the reaching of its 50th release on the main label only tells half the story, but it proves to be a fine excuse to bring back an artist from much earlier in its catalogue.
The honour falls to Route 8–Hungarian Gergely Szilveszter Horváth–who appeared on the label in 2014 with ‘Dry Thoughts‘ and then in 2016 with ‘This Raw Feeling‘. The former holds a special place in my heart as it was my own first physical piece of Lobster material that made it into my little vinyl library. It was a release that really started to signify that something special was going on with the label, cutting an engrossing and introverted path. Amusingly, Gergely’s latest release ‘Come Home‘ couldn’t be further from ‘Dry Thoughts‘ in terms of tone if it tried. Where ‘Dry Thoughts‘ was overcast and introverted, ‘Come Home‘ is all sunbeams and terraces.
In fact, the A-side tracks feel like classic pieces of nineties garage dubs, from both sides of the Atlantic. The jazz flecked ‘Come Home‘ is so classically stateside that you wouldn’t have been surprised if Michael Proctor or Arnold Jarvis suddenly waded into the mix alongside the trumpet solos and soft touch electronic keys. Moving down a few grooves, ‘From The Valley‘ has got the Roach Motel vibe utterly down, undeniably American in roots yet has that electronic deepness that Junior Boys Own brought with the London take on the sound.
‘FunFun‘ continues the tour of classic house structures with a piece of driving disco house, only for ‘Turning Point‘ to break from the pack with a melancholic breaks track that errs more towards the earlier Route 8 releases. While the bulk of ‘Come Home‘ tickles nostalgic sensibilities in a satisfying way, it is the latter which ends up being the one that lingers in the mind the most.
Come Home is released via Lobster Theremin on 1st June, pre-order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. Come Home
A2. From The Valley
B1. FunFun
B2. Turning Point
Discover more about Route 8 and Lobster Theremin on Inverted Audio.