- Helsinki venue Post Bar takes a leap into label-dom with a strong first EP featuring two hometown heroes.
- Post Bar is a small club in central Helsinki that shares a central courtyard with neighbouring Kaiku. I had the pleasure of visiting both venues on a trip during Flow Festival in 2018, and the thing that stuck with me the most from that weekend of Nordic indulgence was the incredible vibe at Post Bar. The loud, wafting soundsystem, the well thought-out and cosy low-lit space, a sense of freedom on the dance floor—it reminded me of community-oriented venues like Plastic People and Dance Tunnel in London (RIP). This is down to the small crew behind it, who take a crafty approach to promoting (Post Bar's online presence on Instagram especially has brought me much joy in the years since). Born out of the pandemic, the first outing on their all new Post Sonics label is a four-track EP of electro-tinged house and techno from Helsinki-based producer, clothing designer and all-around creative Maria Korkeila, AKA emkay.
Some of these tracks have an effervescent vitality to them that might make you want to flail around waving your hands in the club with your nearest and dearest—and the lyrical hook on "Bootiesong" suggests exactly that. Its musical counterpart "Rapid Oxidation'' is a breezy electro slammer more geared for late nights, with a melodic bassline, twinking arpeggios and snare hit combos that draw to mind the powerful Drexcyian ruminations of James Stintson's otherworldly The Other People Place project. That leaves "Housche," a detailed production with a classy, almost ornate rhythm track. Another Helsinki hometown hero, Sansibar, bumps it up a couple of notches on his "Tekkimix," sending things galloping into the weekend.
Tracklist01. Rapid Oxidation
02. Bootiesong
03. Housche
04. Housche (Sansibar Tekkimix)