Based on the Road to Rimini nights it might be fair to assume that Signals would be an electro label, maybe flirting with house and techno in places. Based on the first two releases Signals is going in any direction they like.
Another Northern UK club night has sprouted wings and turned into a record label: Newcastle based Road to Rimini. Just before the new year the well loved Rimini shut its doors. From the ashes of the former night Signals has been born. The fledgling label has not had time to mourn the deceased night, with two Eps already on shelves.
First up for Signals is The One with Let’s Get It Straight. I managed to catch a bit of these guys at Magic Waves, good live act with a serious presence. But, what about the record? A solid 808 beat drives the opening title piece. The track weaves through different elements of the house genre. The vocals are soulful and deep, conjuring up comparisons to Theo Parrish or Moodymann. But this isn’t deep house. Likewise, the beats and some of the synth bars bring up Chicago memories of Larry Heard. “Change My Name, Change My Number” follows down similar lines. A minimal love track, as beats are beats laid out in a spartan fashion with broad chords draped over. Vocals are again key, with full bodied lyrics giving the track a solidity in its floor friendly undertones. Legowelt is once again on remixing duty. This time, Mr. Wolfers is in house mode and does justice to the original in his remake. Vocals are echoed into themselves to nice effect with added snare giving a bit more beat bicep to the original. As the track a bit of clone 303 sound is injected to give extra protein supplement to produce a house zealot gem.
Up next Signals have flown to Sierra Leone via West London with The Otherside featuring Musa K. The men from Signals found the tracks on a C90 tape from the Andy Kershaw show from 1996. Nearly fifteen years later, and some Toon army sleuthing, the original artist was unearthed; the second Signals’ release was born. Funk, afrobeat and colonial commentary are the mainstays of the 12”. Deep bass and strings back up a grizzly tale of murder and mutilation in “Headless Corpse.” It’s strange to hear what could be lounge funk blended with such a descriptive narrative of inhuman killing. “Roadblock” sees some brass enter into into the laid back tones, but Musa K has something to say. The juxtaposition of the dark tales of Sierra Leone with organic notes works very well.
Based on the Road to Rimini nights it might be fair to assume that Signals would be an electro label, maybe flirting with house and techno in places. Based on the first two releases Signals is going in any direction they like. The One is a house record, but it can’t be pigeon holed easily into any of the available slots. The Otherside and Musa K would seem more likely residents of Bear Funk or, but happily sit on this newcomer. With such a varied start it seems that Signals is well capable of any style. So what’s going to be next? You’ll have to wait and see.
Let’s Get it Straight is out now on Signals.
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