- Having carved out a rep for his edits of classic rock and disco, Marseille producer DJ Steef debuts for Gomma off-shoot Toy Tonics with a showcase of his slow-burning, disco-dappled house sound.
"Venusian Missing," with its vocal sample from 20th Century Steel Band's "Heaven and Hell" (as used on classic rap tunes from LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa among others), is a shimmering Terje-meets-Middleton nu-disco pearl featuring a muscular, bouncing bassline and heavy congas. "Fomo Men" dispenses with the previous track's froth, stripping out all the whooshes and settling for a dense, locked-in synth groove. Old school disco signifiers, a two-note Rhodes keyboard line and weighty bass attack then characterise the loose-limbed "Nocturne."
The dubby "More Lifes" doesn't quite have the heft of what's gone before; "Angels Behind the Bar" is more successful with its jazzy, rhythm-rapped-out-on-a-desk vibe while the closing "Fleche" revives more classic cosmic disco tropes, dropping them into a vat of rolling, chunky '90s house.
Tracklist A1 Venusian Missing
A2 Nocturne
B1 Angels Behind The Bar
B2 Fleche