- The arrival of another vinyl-only house / techno label is so common these days that it's barely news, meaning that a solid debut release is more important than ever. Luckily, that's exactly the case with Lobster Theremin, the label born from the London club night Streets Of Beige. Its first release, a Chicago-worshipping 12-inch to be filed next to Legowelt, John Heckle and Beautiful Swimmers, is also the debut of Berlin producer Palms Trax.
Though the drum machine groove and slick funk bassline on "Late Jam" hardly break new ground, they're perfectly enjoyable, particularly coupled with a willfully retro synth melody and thrumming snares. Willie Burns, of L.I.E.S. and Crème Organization, remixes "Late Jam," transforming the original into something dusty and funkily robotic. Despite its luxurious unfolding into a warm, deep house track, at just under eight minutes "Equation" is a little too long, and the trite vocal sample detracts from the gorgeously uplifting string loop and synth melody. "Houses In Motion" is Equation's real winner, all sun-streaked pads and percussion that pops, with little jangling chimes scattered on top. It's all so summery that its sparse ending, a lonely drum hit, comes as something of a surprise.
Tracklist A1 Late Jam
A2 Equation
B1 Houses In Motion
B2 Late Jam (Willie Burns' DANCE Remix)