San Francisco-based electronic producer Lando Kal (real name Antaeus Roy) is best known as one half of the electro-hiphop duo Lazer Sword, but following on from his recent release on Hot Flush this latest 12” for the Netherlands-based Rush Hour label sees him exploring sounds influenced considerably more by broken house, garage and electro. On the A-side of this 12”, ‘Maneuver’ sees Lando plying a path akin to a far more stripped-down take on fidget house as treacherously broken and unpredictable house snares jerk and stutter against retro-rave sounding synth pads and cut-up fragments of a Robin S. soul vocal sample, the entire mix descending halfway into a soulful synth breakdown, complete with clicking 808 breaks. On the flip, ‘Run It’ goes off on a completely different tangent, taking things off on a glittering retro-electro wander that carries equal touches of Cybotron and Anthony Rother as smeared out vocal samples trail against a rigid backdrop of drum machine rhythms and zapping robo-effects. I have to confess that the latter just slightly edged out as my favourite of the two impressive tracks on offer here. Available on 12″ transparent clear vinyl or as a digital download.
Chris Downton
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