detail: having persuaded flamingods to dj at an east london food bank fundraiser (£7k raised for eat or heat), byrd out hounded them to produce a remix ep of their 2017 kewali ep, bringing together a team of intriguing artists. erol alkan s co-conspirator in beyond the wizard s sleeve, richard norris takes mixed blessings in a more a dancefloor friendly direction, liverpool 3 piece stealing sheep paint a hypnotic gloss on the title track, bringing out the colours in a downtempo sunrise of a remix, made for 6am, the quietus darlings vanishing twin s remix starts at a run and carries on from there, most obviously absorbing the middle eastern vibe. the ep is a step forward at a time when the world seems bent on looking backwards. artwork by james burgess, mastered by the legendary noel summerville.

octo champ releases his second ep of 2017, following up on not quite there yet, which received major exposure from thump and dj mag. this upfront four-track release is a selection of dance floor ready disco and house and sits boldly apart from a lot of other music within these genres. dj support so far from dan shake and titeknots amongst others. taking inspiration from the more exotic corners of the musical spectrum the ep leads with the upbeat make heaven and its conga rhythms, vocal hooks and electronic patterns. cmi is slower and moves further into the groove whilst lacuna is the ep s funkiest cut, featuring a killer bass hook, percussion, guitar chops, claps and more vocals to carry it along. closing with a second four to the four track diametric leads with an elastic, acoustic bassline, synth pads and you ve guessed it: more vocal hooks. octo champ is one-half of dj/promoter duo rigid disco, running parties and radio shows across both london and glasgow and booking rising stars such as tom blip, fyi chris, hector plimmer and the rye wax crew. octo champ has remixed soundway s flamingods and chpln as well as contributing to the cdr x dimensions sounds 2016 project. most recently, his music was picked up by let s go swimming who released the not quite there yet ep.