V.A. WITNESS05

It’s a big family affair as four OEW favourites gather on the latest record. Full squad manoeuvres as the quartet of Priori, Eversines, O'FortyFour and Reflex Blue assemble to do some serious damage.

The four-pronged outing kicks off on a proper heads-down tip. Coming thru with thebliss-out, widescreen pads and locked-in groove, Naff founder Francis Latreille, AKA Priori, sets pace with the sort of track you can imagine inducing trance states at 4 AM. Eversines, on the other hand, opts for a more buoyant kind of flex. Heralding the golden era of early ‘90s acid house, ’Vigilance' retains the hypnotic qualities of its predecessor. Radiant gear.

Serving big electro accelerators, the next two represent something of a departure. But where O’FortyFour’s rude, elasticated contribution comes replete with insectoid detail, Reflex Blue recalls the finest Motor City hydraulics with a slice of Drexciyan-indebted machine funk.

Artwork by Susan Janssen Words by Matt Blair