Friday Trio

Three EPs for Friday from the electronic end of things, suitable for home listening and for playing out, for making the humanoid banana wiggle and writhe and flip his skin. First, from Belfast the new EP from The Vendetta Suite (Gary Irwin). Gary's musical history goes back to the early 90s, to David Holmes' Exploding Plastic Inevitable and then becoming Holmes' studio engineer. Gary, David and Timmy Stewart kept going as producers and DJs, illuminating nights in Belfast with acid house, dub and techno. Fast forward to 2021 and The Vendetta Suite released an album, The Kempe Stone Portal, and David's resulting remix of Purple Haze Yellow Sunshine stands out as one of the best remixes of the 2020s. Fast forward again and here we are in 2026, with The Vendetta Suite's Scrabo Electro, an EP that harks back to the halcyon days of mid- 80s electro, breakdance, B-  Boys and for Gary, teenage days in Newtownards. 

The original mix of Scrabo Electro is a body rockin' gem, squelches and 808s, 'uh uh uh' and burping bass. A Dub For Dave kicks down with a skanking version, underwater dub with Space Invaders sounds. Uprock At Digby's Disco goes full on electro and we finish with the Lead Mines Bonus Beats, scratching and slo mo fun. You can get all four versions at Bandcamp. 

Second, here's an EP from Photay from earlier this year- Always Cosmic is a four track EP led by Photay's remix of United Freedom Collective's Always Open, percussive, tribal, acid house with the distinctive vocals of Falle Nioke. Acid bassline and bleeps, Afro vocals, rattling breakbeat, deep and epic sounding psychedelic acid. 

The EP adds three more versions: an instrumental radio edit of the remix; Always Cosmic, a stripped down cosmische dub that sets the controls for deeper and further; and the pH Dub, wiggy, dark jazzy acid, the elements bent out of shape with some Balearic piano. Always Cosmic is at Bandcamp. 

Thirdly, out now on Barcelona label Adepta Editions is an EP from Ariadne's Labyrinth that I dropped into one of the recent Oblique Saturdays posts. Endless Corners has four tracks, a collision of classically trained piano and violin with rave and club culture. Opener Amble Eddy Song is a delight, dark bass and breakbeats with melodies dancing across the top. Missing Daydream is even better, Philip Glass crossed with 90s breakbeats, a heady trip into ambient techno.

Terminal Dot featured a few weeks ago. It's followed by Threads which rides in on bumping bass and a fractured drum break, urban and urgent, Ariadne's Labyrinth background in London's squat scene, classical training and love of Cuban and Brazilian rhythms in full flight. You can find Endless Corners at Bandcamp.