The playful album title of Mr Pink, What Have You Been Smoking? (a reference to Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs) is a sign of things to come on a record that positively beams with vintage soul. And here ‘vintage’ is unquestionably a better descriptor than ‘retro’, the latter implying a certain trendiness; this is fun for fun’s sake, a glorious foray into wiggling house and dusty hip hop.

Following up the successful I Think We Agree The Past Is Over, Cologne’s ava. label boss Damiano von Erckert teams up with Tito Wun to deliver five irresistible tracks each: von Erckert, some rusty 4×4; and Tito Wun, gleeful boom bap.

‘Leave uuu’ sets the tone with a sensuous vocal jam, before von Erckert gets straight to business on the Karen Young-sampling house bomb ‘The dude loop’, an exalted slice of filtered, horn-led house. Slipped between the jubilant jams are apt 40-second interludes, all bongo rhythms and soul snippets from Tito Wun (a seasoned German hip hop and edits specialist), tying together what could otherwise come off as a disparate sort of mixtape.

The album’s numerous highpoints come from the friskier Tito Wun cuts, unabashed in their use of catchy samples – see the grizzled swing of ‘The way you do it’ or the sexy funk of ‘Reel ting’. Elsewhere, von Erkhert offsets the rapturous moments with a couple of shuffling percussive numbers, each limber enough in arrangement to fit with the record’s breezy mindset.

The only complaint, perhaps, would be the LP’s meagre 30 minute running time. But in the end it all adds to the youthful, unpretentious charm that courses through Mr Pink and, of course, the burning desire to give it just one more spin.

ava. | Released: January

01. Damiano von Erckert – Leave uuu
02. Damiano von Erckert – The Dude Loop
03. Tito Wun – Apesier (Interlude)
04. Tito Wun – The Way U Do It
05. Tito Wun – Stapelskirt
06. Damiano von Erckert – Hercules in NYC
07. Tito Wun – Reel Ting
08. Tito Wun – Cruzkit (Interlude)
09. Damiano von Erckert -Crackle Shinin’
10. Damiano von Erckert – Good Love For YOU

★★★★

Eddie C’s 2011 album Parts Unknown displayed his fondness for eclectic crate-digging and a flair for manipulating obscure, determinedly warm samples. The Canadian’s follow-up LP, released on both vinyl and CD, is lighter on the hook-laden samples and yet it is even broader in its scope, taking in all manner of downbeat sounds, be it instrumental hip hop, reggae, cosmic disco or jazzy house.

Apart from the dreamlike synth work on ‘Drinkin & Thinkin’ (its rewound effects similar to Theo Parrish’s ‘The Rink’), the cutesy disco sensibility of Parts Unknown is replaced with a new sort of charm mined from a surfeit of unexpected influences. The sheer diversity of the record is reflected in its array of tempos: things start with a dubbed-out reggae vibe on ‘To Each Their Own’, albeit serving as an album intro rather than a sign of things to come; whilst jaunty Brazilian keyboards make an appearance towards the end.

Country City Country’s only real constant is a low-end groove, each track weighted with the plod and rumble of rusty bass, rooted in the DJ’s love for twinkling instrumental hip-hop (most apparent on the languid roll of ‘Stoney Pharmacy’ or the blissful boom bap of ‘Fool On The Hill’).

Two of the highlights ‘Every Life Under The Invisible Hands’ and ‘Jam On Dallas Road’ come from Eddie C’s teaming with Mike Roma (a previously unknown producer from little-known rock band The Electric Timber Co); a peculiar pair of boogie-house tracks imbued with a gentle, soft-rock guitar strut.

By Eddie C’s own admission, this is not a record assembled with the dancefloor in mind, and it is true Country City Country is best suited to easy listening. And yet there are moments that are bound to titillate dancefloors: such as the groovey ‘Every Life Under The Invisible Hands’; the jittery 808 drums and bass stomp of ‘Erase’; or the driving house workout of ‘(Be Aware) Nothing For Free’.

This is by no mean the sort of album that will knock you off your socks on the first listen, but repeat listens will reveal a lovingly put together record, filled to the brim with dusty and diverse funk gems.

By Duncan Pelham

Endless Flight | Released: February

01. Got I Own Thing
02. Stoney Pharmacy
03. Fool On The Hill
04. Motsa
05. Drinkin and Thinkin
06. Jam On Dallas Road feat Mike Roma
07. Erase
08. Every Life Under The Invisible Hands feat Mike Roma
09. Black Meat Dance
10. Always
11. Eisbergen
12. Surprise Pass
13. It Goes Free
14. La Palette
15. (Be Aware) Nothing For Free
16. Let’s Stay Together