The night was young, but unfortunately I'm not. So after having endured a night out in the scum-infested (media types / general public) streets of Soho, the gentle easy ride of the 189 bus to take me home was a fucking relief.

When I got home, I did listen to these....

Alter Ego: Daktari remixes (Klang) - 12"
Having been one of the few not converted to Alter Ego's recent resurrection, the old gits of dance music have managed to rope in some key names from the minimal house movement to make them look good. Just skip Villalobos' rather dry take-the-money-and-run effort and head for Robag Wruhme's epic rejig. Looped, lopped cuts punctuated with hisses and hics; its as if his framework of rhythm is powered by steam.

Mathew Jonson: She is He (Itiswhatitis) - 12"
After laying into Mr. Jonson in a previous post somewhat, I have to say I take it all back. I'd initially lost then subsequently found this old release behind the sofa. The title track is the best thing he's done, hands down.

Luciano & Serafin: Funk Excursion / NSI: Max Binski / Luciano: Bombero's (Cadenza) - 12"
As the first rushes of spring take their hold of North London, these three 12"'s seem to perfectly reflect this new light. Label-boss Luciano's policy seems to be to release tracks that fill an entire single side that play at 33. They're slow, studied and build over its own idea of time; these are hardly immediate rushes of click. Check the addictive build of 'Funk Excursion', NSI's 'Clara Ghavami' propels and shudders to the tune of washed out piano lines and Luciano makes my train journeys that much better with 'Octogonal'.

The Ivytree / Chris Smith: Split #17 - 12"
Konono No.1 / The Dead C: Split #18 (Fat Cat) - 12"
Part of Fat Cat's long-running split series, rifle shot artwork oozing collector's lust. Past submissions from the likes of Fennesz, Matmos and Merzbow have been pretty on the mark. But this time, we tread the unfamiliar. Chris Smith's swatch-shifts in drone, The Dead C rustle up an impressive array of instruments for their post-rock parables and The ivytree are staying out for the summer. But best of all though is the distorted drum-ride of Konono No.1; afro-rhythm amplification taken to extreme frequencies. Imagine Lightning Bolt left stranded in the Congo for a year; intense, mesmerising and possibly the most startlingly original 12" I'll hear in 2005. They'll be hitting London in May supporting Tortoise....it's gonna be well Africa.

Geoff White: Ique - Roc / Tadeo: Dub Infection / Alex Under: Multiplicanciones (Apnea) - 12"
Spain is rapidly becoming the mediterranean centre for all things click and the Apnea label is yet another addition to growing number of outlets. Geoff White, possibly the busiest man in house, kicks things off with a yet another faultless performance. But it's the loopback dub undertow of Alex Under's remix of 'Roc' that gets the universal head-nods of approval. The intro sequence of stop/start rhythms and timed delays are almost too beautiful for words. Tadeo manages to rope in dub-techno-voice-for-hire Tikiman to add some much needed style to his rather lacklustre effort. But this paragraph really belongs to Alex Under; three untitled tracks of well-developed, sophisticated micro-dub.