- Janis hails from Frankfurt-am-Main, but the four tracks on Parental Advisory are more Frankfurt-on-Thames. The themes he explores on his debut release for House Is Ok, the label he runs with Oliver Achatz and Marko "Homeboy" Pelaic, have a considerable UK influence. On "Parental Advisory House" that means the sort of rich, twanging bass sound you hear used by everyone from Huxley to Julio Bashmore to Citizen. It's a cheerful slab of jerky urban house, with blaring funk synths and a stuttering, angular vocal.
On "Flitzefu Pumpkin," Janis, who by day composes music for high-end TV ads and art films, tethers bumpy broken beats to a UK garage swing and colours it with 8-bit frills. The same late-'90s flavour extends to "Ensonig Youth," which rolls along to a slo-mo 2-step beat. With cotton-wool pads and soulful synth trimmings, it's slightly softer than the rest of the EP, but it carries an emotional heft nonetheless.
Studio Barnhus boss Kornél Kovács' remix of "Parental Advisory House" sees the Swede keep the skipping Brit vibe intact but gives it a dubby twist. Possessing more than a hint of Roy Davis Jr's "Gabriel" in its relentless skip-hop groove, Kovács works in bursts of pistol-crack percussion, swooping synths and languid bass. It's an absorbing finale to an impressive EP.
TracklistA1 Parental Advisory House
A2 Flitzefu Pumpkin
B1 Ensonig Youth
B2 Parental Advisory House (Kornél Kovács Remix)