Pavel Iudin’s “Continental” makes this EP and it’s the best thing he’s released thus far. It’s the lead off for his Soho EP on Quality Vibe, an Italian label run by Samann that I’ve somehow been writing about for most of the last four years. Vinyl only from Day 1 as far as I know, Quality Vibe can claim a fair share of the wax marked as “secret weapons” in the crates of top DJs, and if it were still a practice to block out the label (as Chicago DJs were known to do to their “secret weapons” back in the old days), I don’t think you’d find too many copies of Quality Vibe records weren’t devotionally mutilated.
Iudin is yet another Russian savant, dragging a deep understanding of deep house and techno from the last 20 years with him from Eastern Siberia to the capital and Saint Petersburg. Waxology and Probe on Poker Flat were probably his best received records to date.
And then Soho came along: “Continental” is slinky, sexy and lustrous, with the restraint and confidently minimal approach of a producer decades older. “Voyager” is more dubby and has a beat that is just this side of breakbeat – it’s about to cut loose but never does and I think all of us are better for that decision. “Soho” is all atmospheric techno in the manner of Juan Atkins. “Flow” closes out in a similar vein with just the vaguest build and peak in an energetic crash. Notably absent: anything extraneous, anything trendy, anything that will make you come back five years from now and grimace at the excesses of this painfully trendy era. These four tracks and this EP are, in a word, classic.
Pavel Iudin: Soho EP (Quality Vibe)
A1. Pavel Iudin: “Continental” (6:01)
A2. Pavel Iudin: “Voyager” (6:16)
B1. Pavel Iudin: “Soho” (6:15)
B2. Pavel Iudin: “Flow” (8:26)
First published in 5 Magazine #154 featuring Anja Schneider, Preslav, Crackazat & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $1 per issue!
