KM Editions Vol. 6 (KM Editions)

We boarded the Keyboard Masher express when number 4 in the series hit the shops (the one with the massive Todd Rundgren edit (Synthesize) we covered a while ago) and immediately bagged number 5 when it landed, which was easily one of the finest releases in downtempo-balearo-edit-land of 2013. What followed was well over a year of radio silence and just as we were starting to get worried this particular keyboarded had had his fill of mashing, number 6 suddenly showed up. Happy to report it was well worth the wait as we're being treated to a trio of left-of-centre disco edit delights here.

'Stolen Shapes' takes up the entire A-side, a cheeky rework of an 80s vocal synth-pop track. I'm not familiar with the original but it sounds decidedly European and I can only imagine how hilarious the haircut of the dude manning the keyboard must have been. The track certainly has its charms but I can't really see myself playing this out anywhere to be honest.

I can however see myself playing 'Astral Playground' over and over and over again. It's the kind of low slung piano-driven electronic disco that I just can't resist. Again, I'm not familiar with the source material but my guess is KM added some drums and oomph in the bottom-end department, some swirls and fx here and there to liven things up and some nips and tucks to make proceedings more DJ friendly. It's right up there with 'Synthesize', absolutely brilliant gear.



Closing track 'Le Cod' is a quirky French reggae/dub track that takes a little getting used to but works surprisingly well (it should work a real treat in warm-up/bar sets in fact). Superfresh stuff all around.

Buy here (only 500 done up so it's safe to assume they won't be around for long).