This surely has to be the first instance where I’ve been listening to a disc at work with a view to reviewing it for Cyclic and then promptly encountered the same artist’s work on the latest Ministry Of Sound Annual while filling up my car at the local service station. But more on that later. Iranian-Swiss DJ/producer Samim first emerged back around 2002 as one half of Samim & Michal alongside Michal Ho with a slew of tech-house centred 12 inches through labels such as Kindisch and Tuning Spork, before serious illness forced him to sideline his musical career during 2004. Having recovered and newly focused, Samim returned to the production fray last year with his Children Of Love album for Get Physical as Fuckpony, whilst also somehow finding time to simultaneously release an album under his Bearback alias. On the heels of recent well-received remixes for the likes of Pier Bucci, this latest collection from Samim Flow represents his first album release under his own name, and given the current uber-trendy status enjoyed by the Get Physical label, is more than likely to garner its fair share of hipster attention; if only for its associations. Having said that, however, one of the first things that’s noticeable upon listening to Flow is just how much more grounded in subtle dynamics it is, when compared to much of Get Physical’ “more famous’ roster.
Opening track “Intro’ certainly eases proceedings in gently, with a skipping broken-beat house rhythm almost reminiscent of Compost Records setting a gently lulling groove beneath phased bass runs, sparkling electronic effects and subtly-placed warm, loungey keys. It proves to be something of a deceptively downbeat introduction however, with “Springbreak’ picking up the BPMs considerably, ushering in a stripped-back ride through skeletal tech-house snares, zapping rhythmic pulses and hollow-sounding synth sequences that manages to thread Big Bully’ Chelonis M Jones-esque falsetto soul purr through the massed electronics like some stray ghost in the machine, resulting in an inspired collision of poised atmosphere and dancefloor intensity. Recent 12, “Heater’, meanwhile easily represents this album’ most immediately head-turning inclusion, with its energetic (and unexpected) breakdown from bouncey tech-house into cut-up Latin accordian riffs, and while it’s perhaps no big surprise to see the track being licensed by the likes of Ministry Of Sound/Hussle, those drawn in by that somewhat atypical track alone are likely to be taken aback by the remainder of this album’ contents.
More streamlined, tech-house centred moments such as “Zleep’ and “Ukaka’ show Samim following the same dark throbbing machinemusik trajectory explored recent by Matthew Dear under his Audion alias, before closing track, “The Lick’, unleashes an unexpected digression into Snax-esque electro hip-hop that represents a much-needed dose of humour – indeed, I found myself slightly disappointed that there weren’ more moments like it scattered amongst the tracklisting. While fans of the Get Physical label weaned in by the likes of M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade may be slightly taken aback by the relatively pared-back aesthetic on show throughout Flow, this is certainly an impressive collection that contains many of Samim’ strongest productions to date.
Chris Downton
