Ptaki - Antypody EP (People Must Jam)

Last weekend I had the pleasure of having a few beers and a chat with Scott from Shadeleaf (That Man Monkz) and at some point - after a bucketload of IPA, I might add - we discovered we both have a bit of a thing for 90s hiphop, don't rate DMX spitting rhymes about his bloody wiener and - a bit less off topic - both judge music (old stuff, new releases, demos, promos, the whole shebang) by two simple standards: 1) does it have proper machine soul and 2) would we stick it on if we were home alone and in a pensive mood, or - alternatively - be eager to stick it in the bag and bust it out in the club. We also established that there's either way too much inoffensive, middle of the road fodder committed to wax these days or that we're both miserable, picky buggers. Bith of both, most likely, which means only a handful of releases passes through the floodgates. And then two days later, against the backdrop of a hangover that is still lingering, Ptaki's new EP on People Must Jam lands on our doormat. Now the People Must Jam imprint never fails to deliver and Ptaki rarely disappoint, but the Polish overlords really outdid themselves here. Phoar, do these tracks ever have soul. And boy, do two of the four cuts scream for a banging system and the other two offer sweet sweet sonic balm for our troubled and tortured souls. 

Things are off to a banging start with Milosc, an uptempo stompin' filterfest that wouldn't have been out of place on a mid-90s Roule record, but at the same time comes with plenty of swing, funk and soul to keep the disco aficionados happy (I can easily see Rahaan dropping it in a disco set). Its relentless grooves, massive breakdowns and chirpy melody lines will have the kids frothing at the mouth in about 12 bars. And then there's the glistening and yearning 'Termy', a bonafide future balearic classic, clocking in at around 80 bpm and easily one of the best things I've heard all year long. Put on the kettle and press play, you'll have it on repeat till kingdom come.



Flip over for Lotnik, more solid filtered dancefloor gold. Massive bassline? check. Badass drums? yup. Smokey, driving keys? You bet your bippy. This is the kind of hypnotising peaktime stuff that you look forward to dropping at the end of your set all night long.



Our Polish heroes dim the lights again for the ace Radio Romans, downtempo baby making music of the highest order. 

Incredible record, Termy being the track that we suspect will be one of the staple tunes of Ptaki's body of work when Rolling Stone Magazine run a retrospective cover story on the pair in 2065.

Out now on limited 12" vinyl, pick it up now or cry later