- DJ Honesty is an old associate of Cab Drivers, a Berlin-based duo who make some of the grooviest house out there. His latest release arrives on Another Picture, a label run by Losoul, who also has a soft spot for loops and dubby sounds. Janerio, DJ Honesty's first record of 2017, nods to '90s dub techno and Shed's Wax project, comprising two tunes heavy on stabs and bass. "Janerio," the 11-minute A-side, could have come from any of Shed's five Wax records, with a rapid-fire bassline, bursts of dub chords and plenty of reverb. The melody that creeps in past the halfway point adds a flash of colour, but if you're one of the many people with Wax tunes at home you won't find much use for the track.
The reduced "Shortwave" is more original. The groove is stronger thanks to a slow-moving bassline, which is paired with another set of dub techno stabs. There's more room for the percussion to shine, giving the track a crispness not found on the A-side. DJ Honesty recently relocated from Berlin to Portugal, so hopefully the sunnier setting results in more cheery gems like "Shortwave."
TracklistA Janerio
B Shortwave