London is always one step ahead of Berlin, if only in terms of gentrification. After Dalston, it has been Peckham’s turn for a while now, home of the Rhythm Section International label. When Bradley Zero launched his imprint with EPs by Al Dobson Jr. and Prequel, Peckham was still a vivid hub for alternative parties that turned the district, marked by post-migrant culture and its working class inhabitants, into a true melting pot. Since then, a lot has happened not only in the city and at the label, but also in the world more generally, and Zero is increasingly paying tribute to this fact. Last year’s inaugural instalment of the label compilation series »Shouts« was already far more international than the majority of Rhythm Section International’s back catalogue, and the following even more so. More than that, it also noticably more diverse in stylistic terms. Of the 21 tracks available digitally, six are available on two vinyl samplers, thus representing the multi-faceted big picture on a small scale. The first part already features an acid-soaked big beat tune from Australia’s Liluzu, a hand drum-driven UK bass derivative from the Swiss producer Mafou and the kuduro-inspired beats of Nídia, who lives between Portugal and France. On the flip, Yushh’s breaky techno leaves no doubt that she comes from Bristol while Dylan Bryne shines with New York-influenced deep house and Klein Zage from the New York and Berlin-based label Orphan seamlessly follows suit, though countering Bryne’s dub excursions with minimalist piano and a wonderfully humorous spoken word performance. All killer, no filler! Similar things, but not the same can be said about the second part. Soso Tharpa from Washington D.C. opens it with an erratic track that blends the nervous energy of gqom with understated bleep techno grooves, while Pookie – not Blake Baxter’s friend from back in the day, but a rapper and producer from South Sudan – follows up with a hybrid that draws on trap and horrorcore vibes, before Tom Esselle delivers a piece of heavy, classic British tech house. It’s a wild mix topped off by a not entirely satisfying ending, but already the opener of the B-side makes up for that: Hassan Abou Alam from Cairo combines with crafty breakbeats and an ear-catching hook to stunning effect. Brit Adam Pits aims for the peak time with a dry, booming bassline track, but US-American Kareem Ali offers something much more refined – “Black Futures” is an ethereal house tune that makes itself at home above the clouds, stylistically tucked in somewhere between Omar-S, Moodymann and Galcher Lustwerk. It’s a far out ending for this compilation for which the London has ventured much further out into the world than ever before while staying true to its roots: »Shouts,« like Rhythm Section International’s homebase Peckham, is a real melting pot, fortunately light years away from any gentrification.
Shouts 2021 Volume 1
