V.A. - Musik for Autobahns Limited Sampler (Rush Hour)

I went on a bit of a record shopping spree over the holidays ('fuck Santa, I take care of my own') and amassed quite the pile of new records I’ve been meaning to write about.  There has also been a ridiculous influx of incredibly strong new releases in January (seems like all our favourite imprints are stepping up their game) so the ‘cover on the blog pronto’ stack is getting bigger and scarier-looking by the day. Time to make good on one of my resolutions for 2014 and cover at least a record on the blog a week. Seeing as it’s almost the end of the month and I haven’t put up a single post yet, I’d better get on with it too.

Let’s break in the new year with Rush Hour’s Musik for Autobahns Sampler, a limited release starring 5 tunes that were on the CD compilation but didn’t make the vinyl edition of Musik for Autobahns, compiled by the label boss of Running Back.  I missed said compilation (I’ve been shunning Rush Hour a bit since they decided not to stock our own releases any more, which is petty as fuck, I know, but  I’m a mere man amongst you moral high-priests), but according to the glowing reviews I found left and right it was one of the year’s highlights. I don’t regret walking in the shop and picking up this sampler though, as it’s a collection of some fine, fine tunes indeed, carefully threading the line between modern electronic soul and ambient soundscapes.

There’s much to enjoy here, including a spaced out collab between Marcus Worgnull and MCDE, but it’s the two more dancefloor oriented tracks that are tickling my pickle here so I’ll focus on those and leave the others for you to assess. Suzanne Kraft - which has to be the wonkiest moniker in the industry for a chap called Diego in real life - makes an appearance on the A with ‘ESL’, delivering a supreme slice of his trademark breezy, downtempo, synth-heavy boogie that we’ve grown to love so much. If you were into his LP on Young Adults you’ll lap up this shimmying chunk of gloopy loveliness.



Flip over for Young Marco’s tillating ‘In The Wind’ for more spaced out goodness. A tight broken beat pushes things forward while gentle melodies and deep synth lines provide the depth and warmth that make you keep planting the needle at the start of the track the second it’s about to reach the runout groove. Most excellent fare from the ESP affiliated producer, who also put out a cheeky 12” with ace synthy reworks on Cameltoe Records recently. Obvious brownie points for that label name, which in itself merits the purchase of yet another slab of wax you’ll have to lie about to the mrs.



Kudos to Rush Hour for putting out yet another immaculate release. Now if only they'd start stocking our releases again we could hug it all out and aim for world peace together.

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