It’s April now readers and things are finally coming out of deep freeze. I’m finally getting some mobility back in my life and looking forward to hitting up some new live events in the next few months. I’m attending Last Planet’s Department of Civilian Dance in a few days and seeing one of my friends open there which should be a great experience.

On that note I have a review of a relatively new release from one of Nickel City Frequencies previous contributors, the Toronto-based DNB, Garage and House producer Kelmo (the DJ who is also opening at DOCD this weekend), in collaboration with Toronto Liquid DNB legend Mutt aka Sean Roman. Together the duo make up the group that is Spadina Express and collectively they’ve come together to create the new record label “Lately Bass”, the first release of which we’re reviewing today: “Lately Edits: LATE001”.

The tracks on offer in this EP all sit within the range of UKG & Deep House, not falling cleanly into any particular style but incorporating elements of many genres including the characteristic UKG shuffle, deep melodic keys, hip hop samples and more. The EP itself has been released on vinyl as well as digital and Kelmo was gracious enough to hook me up with a copy of the record the last time I was in the city. Given that it was on my End of Year List for best releases of 2022 and I’ve been rinsing most of these tracks non-stop in my 124-135 BPM sets, I think it’s only fair that I give this release the spotlight that it deserves.

The A1 track on the release sees Kelmo take over production duties solo with “Don’t Let Go (Lately Edit)”. Subtle drums and percussion slowly build along side piano progressions until the sample running through the track finally drops. The full production has the punch of a ghetto house production but with the deep harmonics and instrumentality that you would hear in classic deep house. The track is minimal and Kelmo uses all the elements in play to full effect. This is very much a production that is about the spaces between the beats just as much the sounds themselves. Overall this is my favourite track of the release even though I don’t think I’ve been playing it as much as some of the other ones (purely due to mixing in key). A great solo work from Kelmo and brilliant first vinyl debut.

Tracks A2 and B1 see Sean Roman take control in two solo efforts, “Swing (Edit)” and “Trapped (Edit)”. “Swing” is an emotive and melodic tune, with beautiful Rhodes organs rising under the sounds of soaring RnB samples and slick bars of Hip Hop. The percussion and bassline of the track slip into a subtle but pumping warp which calls to mind the sounds of current organ house productions while maintaining the overall laid back vibe of the track.

“Trapped” to my ears is the most deep house oriented production on the EP although it retains elements of swing and organ plonks characteristic of UKG. The rise and fall of the melody is pushed forward further by the grooving, solid bassline and crisp percussion.

The last track of the EP on the B2 side is a track called “Club Heist” from the duo themselves under their Spadina Express identity and remixed by Toronto based house and techno producer Acote. Falling more into the realm of breakbeats and weird techno akin to Marco Zenker or Skee Mask. A steady warm bassline underlies the production as breakbeats gradually build with build samples fading in and out as the dissonant melodies of the track slide over cool pads. The breakdown of the track see all the elements return but with greater urgency and the colour of the track tuned down, stripping back the melodic elements and warping the tune into something slightly darker. It’s a fitting if somewhat different bookend to this four track release.

I hope I’ve done a degree of justice to the tracks on offer here. Kelmo himself has shown that he’s a variable and extremely talented producer working at any tempo, from DNB to House. Sean Roman in turn has continued to demonstrate his musical talent and I’m quite interested to see where the musical journey of Spadina Express and Lately Bass ends up going.

You can purchase the digital version of the release on Bandcamp here:

https://latelybass.bandcamp.com/album/lately-edits-late001

Physical copies of the release appear to be limited at this time however you can check Discogs for availability.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/24874151?ev=rb

Major props to Kelmo for hooking me up with an advance copy of the digital release and letting me play these tunes in my sets for the last year or so. Also he deserves a massive thank you for the physical copy of the record. It’s going to occupy a special place in collection and I’m sure these tunes will continue to find their way into my DJ sets on the radio and at live events in the future.