- Stereotone is a club night and label based in Glasgow. They say they're "focused on good music and good people," which is bossman Jonathan Fernandez's way of saying that the dance floor comes first. That much is clear on Stereotone's inaugural compilation EP, Team Trax Vol. 1, most notably so on "Queen Street (G1)," whose pounding toms and ecstasy-laced synth stabs reflect the intensity of a typical night out in the city. Fernandez, AKA Wheelman, leads a team of young producers whose debuts have only emerged in the last year or so.
That might explain this EP's unevenness. On "Air Dry," Miz twists an elastic acid line into pleasingly angular shapes, but the absence of colour makes it feel slight rather than minimalist. (His Midnight Man Handle EP used a sparing palette to better effect.) The synthetic soul of Beaker's "Buster" has a different problem. It pits soothing electric piano and flute against hi-hats that are harsh and disruptive, and the effect is like a radio station you can't quite tune into.
Along with Wheelman's "Queen Street (G1)," the other standout comes from The Burrell Connection, whose excellent debut, Pollok County Classics, informs "Land & Sea"'s blend of Glasgow staples. The regal Detroit synths and muggy atmospheres are lovingly rendered, but the rattling bleeps and breakbeats tug "Land & Sea" back from being the straightforward Drexciya tribute it could have been.
TracklistA1 Bleaker - Buster
A2 Miz - Air Dry
B1 The Burrell Connection - Land & Sea
B2 Wheelman - Queen Street (G1)