Haze is one of those producers whose persistence and willingness to experiment promises to yield occasional gems and eventual masterworks. His compositions, with an emphasis on atmospheric space juxtaposed with interestingly used vocals and well programmed, slightly off-kilter beats have created floor friendly dubspaces and murky pearls for Karloff, 240 Vaults, and his own Contexterrior imprint. “Soul in a Bottle” sees all these formative elements in full-flight—the tension between playfulness and sincerity is brushed smooth and shiny, and the huge kick, interesting static and “incidental” sounds lend a marvellous opening for the hypnotic “three keys from Chicago” melody that carries the wonderful vocal, which seems to float over it all. Following Holger Zilke and Dave Dk’s great Midishower EP reviewed last week, this one is thoroughly ecstatic, summer sunshine music, skillful enough to give the headz goosebumps and make the pretty girls yelp delightfully. The irony of the EP is that even, as the lyrics suggest, “you can’t put soul in a bottle,” it seems like, occasionally, it finds its way frozen into the scratched surface of records.

Kindisch / KD 002
[Listen]
[Peter Chambers]

Is this really Playhouse? I mention this only because Holger Zilke (Smash TV) and Dave DK’s EP here is either a welcome anomaly or an indicator of a new direction. Straddling headfuck electro-mnml and hypnotic (nobody say trance) tech-house, “Midishower” beckons you into the happy imagination of a field full of mashed, smiley dancers. It bounces off its face all over the place, pausing for a moment to bug out before banging the ecstatic sunshine back into you, one wave at a time. In fact, it’s such a grand and blessed-out eight minutes that it’s worth the overbearing euphoria of B-side “Mono Rain.” If it’s summer you want, this EP is the raygun.

Playhouse / PLAY128
[Listen]
[Peter Chambers]