That watery 2-step seems destined to traverse the seas escaping from British borders and washing up (once again) on the shores of San Francisco.  Skeletal System‘s self-titled EP is a delicate mixture of Cold Wave delights but the second track, Dialogue, is the one that manages to marry the worlds of Cold Wave and that low key 2-step that seems poised, finally, in 2010, to engulf us all.

This is the inversion of diva-house.  The mournful vocal here not neatly disguised within the confines of uplifting chords and surging drum machines.  Here everything is naked, and cold.  Even the breakdown, marshalling the House music tropes of stripped back drums, slowly introduced synth melody and ADD snares is wilfully understated and bizarrely graceful.  Instead of euphoria we have relief.

Skeletal System – Dialogue

Deploying the same plunging bass vocal as our beloved Water Borders, Strange Forces allow us to dwell in a bar of gothic ambience before flooding us with the sun-kissed dreams of chillwave.  Layers and layers of vocal, guitar and synth mingle in the reed fields of this heavenly bliss.  So to the end of the film, laying back, the last 90 minutes a fever dream away, Osiris gazing down at you as you let the sun brush against your skin.  A snare hits, the camera pulls back to reveal the gaping blue sky and the credits roll.

StrAnge forces folded space between their native Brisbane and the worlds of possibility that are Berlin.  From there they haunt their surroundings with their echoey psychedelia.  You can find out more here.

StrAnge Forces – Fields of Aaru

…and finally, a special mention must go to our brothers to the north who this weekend will end their Sunday night residency at Glasgow’s Sub Club.  Only one of our number ever made the pilgrimage up to the hallowed dancefloors but we’ve all experienced the genius of Twitch and Wilkes on their forays south of the border.  Their first (non-OSCARR) mix CD appeared back in 2004 and has been followed by a string of absolutely essential compilations, curations and remixes.  Seriously, get it all.

Optimo (Espacio) we salute you.

and someone made a playlist of their classics.  Speakers up, press play.

Epilogue -
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