Karol XVII & MB Valence - Subway Station 1 EP

Label: Loco RecordsScore: 8/10

Alongside the likes of Catz N’ Dogs, Polish duo Karol XVII & MB Valence are indicative of their country’s new wave of house music producers. The owners of the increasingly consistent Loco Records imprint, they tend to make house music that’s cultivated with a firm, dancefloor edge, the type of which is just as indebted to Larry Heard as it is more modern aesthetics.

On their latest EP, the sumptuous three-tracker that is the Subway Station 1 EP, said qualities instantly come to the fore. Stuffed full of suspense and booty-shaking sounds, it’s a straight-up dose of heavyweight fare that’s hard not to fall head over heels in love with. Of the three tracks on offer, it’s still ”Ain’t Nobody” that walks away with the majority of the plaudits. Firm but gregarious and with a tangible dose of human emotion at its core, it’s an example of a tech-house track that’s made for the ages.

”Panic” is more downtrodden and whimsical, with its many melancholic facets and its analogue feel another track that tugs at the emotions. Sure to be primed for the after-party, its Balearic tinge is a perfect accompaniment to the harsh weather conditions currently pervading Europe and beyond. Lastly, ”Obviousness” is anything but as generic as its title suggests, with another dose of melody and a stripped-back tone among its many alluring sounds. In all, an EP that doesn’t disappoint – and one that’s sure to go down a treat wherever it’s unleashed.

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Grahame Farmer

Grahame Farmer’s love affair with electronic music goes back to the mid-90s when he first began to venture into the UK’s beloved rave culture, finding himself interlaced with some of the country’s most seminal club spaces. A trip to dance music’s anointed holy ground of Ibiza in 1997 then cemented his sense of purpose and laid the foundations for what was to come over the next few decades of his marriage to the music industry.