Russia is on some shit right now… between the ascent of Kate NV, the gleeful unpredictability of Buttechno, the still too-good-to-be-trueness of Kedr Livanskiy, not to mention a plethora of other artists making waves, Rossiya is definitely having a moment. New York label Arcane continue their crusade to spotlight overlooked talent with this 5-track plate from Moscow’s Alexander Kalinin aka Michura. Side openers “Break Away” and “Prima” are heavy on some vintage Roule / Crydamoure sampler abuse nostalgia (why aren’t more producers revisiting this style?). The Bangalter comparisons end there though, as Michura’s “One More Time” is nothing like Daft Punk’s… in fact it’s just the sort of low-key late night deepness we needed to push through the rest of this unrelenting 2018 summer. Jazzy house roller “Not A Pianist” is the most straightfoward cut, and “End Titles” winds the record down with a soundtracky slab of tech-noir that you’d almost mistake for a lost Glass Candy track if not for the hi-hats (Russians do it better!). Includes full-color art print with track titles translated in English.

• exclusive vinyl-only release
• includes double-sided art print
• limited edition
• music label: Arcane 2018

reviewed by sakura incident 08/2018