Gold Panda - DJ Kicks EP (12" vinyl)

Gold Panda returns with his first new material since 2010's 'Lucky Shiner' impressed all the kids and made him a household name in dance music circles. Here GP is on playful form with 'An Iceberg Hurled Northward Through Clouds', a track that plays with some of the characteristics of Kieran Hebden's Four Tet work. It's all light handed percussion, chimes and bells and fluttering melodies backed by a sturdy bass beat you can get down to. It's what I would expect a Four Tet remix of Lucky Dragons to sound like. This is followed by a reworking of 'Through Clouds' that gets playful with the sample choices and a fantastic kalimba jam entitled '_Kalimba_Pedal_Improv_stem' that again hints at Lucky Dragons. It's a brief but excellent distraction. Flip it and we're treated to the Peaking Lights reworkings. Domino's new star signing hit us with vocal and instrumental versions of 'An Iceberg Hurled Northward Through Clouds' and both play on the strengths of Peaking Lights dub infused party moves. This isn't as spliffed out as I was expecting but the bonus bassline gets things going with the additional vocal acting more as a bonus synth texture rather than exerting a dominance over the track. Great 12”.