VIL ‎– Above Below

Lisbon’s Paraiso bring their A&R a-game once again with a stellar EP by one of the city’s most beloved techno DJs – VIL – and a chef’s kiss remix by the one and only queen of twisted dance, EDND from Algarve. VIL effortlessly strikes a balance between his seasoned raver’s effective ammunition approach and his penchant for freshness that has accompanied him since his early days as a dubstep DJ. Concise elegance and banging inventiveness meet in the opener Rotari, as the A2 follows with detroitian levels of class and relentlessness, all ecstatic hats, warm stabs and beautiful percussion. Ghet09 closes the A side with tom-filled jack-infused beats and smooth keys with an instant-classic quality, all offset by eerie pads cause it’s techno we’re gladly witnessing after all. Anjos, the new Birmingham brings in-your-face energy in the tight drum programming and a dash of trippy, quasi-dubby melodic elements in an ode to Lisbon’s tentative premier techno neighbourhood Anjos. Deranged yet loved-up, the B2 is a perfect peak-time dreamy mood-setter – proving we’re in the hands of a skilled emotion-to-dance translator. The record closes with a stellar remix by one of Portugal’s innovators, EDND herself, who drowns the opening track in mysterious waters and adds beautiful melodic elements, perfect for that much-appreciated deep dive moment on the dancefloor. There’s a wonderful digi bonus for the heads, where oneiric pads are punctuated by vocal chops from a very familiar classic.