Holding down a residency for We Love Space, releasing music with FFRR, Positiva and Hotflush, and curating fabriclive91 back in 2017, Leeds born DJ and producer Paul Woolford has walked a path in electronic music that most only get a glimpse of. This month the UK talent makes a return to Special Request for the projects fourth studio album, and the first of four new records to come via fabric’s in-house Houndstooth imprint. 9-tracks long, it’s a slow cooking stew of techno, hardcore, breakbeat and IDM,

ROTW: Special Request - VORTEX

with plenty of eclectic snippets of other styles present as well. Not taking himself too seriously, Woolford commented “I had a right fucking doss making this. Fuck all that conceptual guff m888”. As a fan, it’s a pretty exciting thing to hear. Dance music has become a minefield of politics and censorship, and Special Request is putting the fun back into the thing that was never supposed to make you overthink.

Where to start:
’SP4NN3R3D’ – Face-melting resonance and fat kick drums dominate here
‘Ardkore Dolphin’ – Crunchy breaks combine with truly rich synth design
‘Memory Lake’ – Deeply rooted drum sounds and filtered bass create your next favourite club anthem

Previous from Special Request:
Belief System LP (2017, Houndstooth)
Soul Music LP (2013, Houndstooth)

If you like this then check out:
Forest Drive West – Apparitions (2018, Livity Sound)
Skee Mask – Compro (2018, Ilian Tape)

Special Request – VORTEX is out now on Houndstooth.