Tom Carruthers
Programmed World

Back on Kalahari Oyster Cult after a maiden incursion in 2020, Brussels' boldest club explorer Andrea Mancini, alias Cleveland, resurfaces with “Golem” - a helluva four-track trip spanning Arcadian shimmers, bobbly swamps of disproportioned FX and other off-piste routes swiftly veering into the wild wild west of house production. Treating sound like an entomologist magnifies the dazzlingly lush shapes and colours of insects, Mancini overexposes his elements, clicks, percussions, pads, clicks, et al. to a profusion of playful procedures.Opening cut “Forest” sets up the scenery into serenely alive woodlands, where slo-rattling percs and wonky polyrhythms gently coalesce with further entranced congas and alien gargling, shaping up to an off-beat symphony of sorts. Adding a steelier spin to his macro views of teeming cellular life, “Trullo” blends in a propulsive mix of dynamic drums, fluttering chimes, aqueous dub, and squelchy sub-bass moving incognito.Dwelling the flip is the title-track “Golem” and fellow KOC affiliate Junes’ remix, each bringing along its distinctly unique palette of colours and sensations to the table. While the original mix rather focuses on the in-betweens and über-detailed immersive quality of its audio CGI, merged with a sixth sense for wrong-footing stop-and-go sequencing, Junes remix puts rhythmic straightforwardness back at the centre of considerations, cranking the tempo up a notch without stripping it bare of its vital textures and ideas lavishness.

Quinoa Experience, the Madrid based collective, is eager to unveil the long-anticipated first release of their new label – Quinoa Cuts – entitled “The Nutritionist’s Guide to the Galaxy, Vol. I”.The intention behind the split E.P. is to produce a versatile, nutritious and invigorating record through the juxtaposition of the two sides.On the A we find a ‘’Vitamin’’ side, where fresh, subtle and deepgrooves will stimulate the listeners’ appetite to get them levitating, introspectively. While the B-side, the ‘’Protein’’, is best saved for climatic dancefloor moments and muscle-building workouts.Emerging from Tunisia, Pan-J serves us the vitamin supplements. Solid and funked-up basslines with hefty doses of swing amount to sunny and radiant minimal house productions. Colorful and engaging, his tracks will dissipate all traces of fatigue from your body. Two ritual-ready tunes with a proggy approach that don’t neglect moments of suspense.Flip it and we find the protein powders by a Ukrainian artist Roma Khropko, co-founder of Criminal Practice – a prominent Kiev DJ collective and label. His side speeds ahead with playful organ chords, subversive solar rave fits with killer samples, sweeping percussion shifts and delightful switch-ups that send the record straight into orbit.”