Hotflush have released a fair amount of utterly mind blowing music in their time, from the techno explorations of Sigha and Scuba, to the anthemic bliss of Joy Orbison’s Hyph Mngo (whatever that means) and on to the funky claustrophobia of Roska’s remix of Untold’s Just For You.
Continuing this tradition, New York’s Sepalcure are set to mark the label’s 25th release with their Love Pressure EP. Rather than the Brazilian metal I expected when I first saw their name (Sepulture anyone?) their sound has a garage-like, yet frequently halfstep aesthetic, with sugary, buzzing synths and vocals cut from bliss-drenched house acapellas.
The title track has a loved-up, deep vibe, with all signals pointing towards complete immersion. The vocals are the key here, the manipulation of which hints at the haunting of early 90s Hardcore raves. The other track on this side, Down, continues in the same vein, but is slightly more geared towards the dancefloor. It builds with a dominating synth, which seems to do battle with the vocal samples throughout.
The second side is even stronger than the first: 2-step stormer Ever Day of My Life is hypnotic and understated in equal measure and benefits from a heavy dose of bass; and we have the final track from the EP for you to listen to here. It’s undeniably one of the most instantly astounding tracks of the year so far. The kind of tune that makes you feel like you’re experiencing some kind of meditative-zen-enlightenment just by listening to it, before you inevitably rewind it again, and again, and again…