Glasgow label 12th Isle, renowned explorers of the outer sonic reaches, returns with a new six track V/A 12” that acts as a nice barometer of their current tastes. All wrapped up in lovely surrealist sleeve design from Al White. As with their previous and debut release in this format, 2019’s Inkosi, the six tracks here trade the folkloric, deep ambient listening that characterises many album projects on 12th Isle for a wide-angle dance-floor centric approach curated by label co-founder Fergus Clark.

First up is ‘Peeeeel,’ a lovely slab of dub-wise business from Echo Party, aka Murray ‘Dip Friso/Grim Lusk’ Collier & Hannan Jones. ‘Peeeeel’ is actually pulled from Hard Drive, a self-released 2023 audio-visual CDr by Echo Party which slipped out under the radar of all but the most ardent Dip Friso fanatics. Inspired by a Jane Campion short film of the same name, the low-slung, strung-out percussive psyschedelia of this track wouldn’t sound out of place on one of those cult mixtapes David Holmes did in his pre-Soderberg era.

If you are a fan of the format, you’ll want a fresh V/A 12” from your favourite label to introduce a new name or two. 12th Isle do just that as unheralded Italian producer Guizzi follows with ‘Conga Cave.’ A meandering, creeping late night jam, ‘Conga Cave’ sounds right at home on a label that has released similar hazy low tempo drum magic from RAMZi and Cru Servers.

12th Isle calls Orsova a mixtape of sorts, and the vibe of track sequencing from Fergus Clark justifies this description. The gurgling, playful house dynamics of ‘Extra Wet” from Dublin’s Der Opium Queen hits a nice ascendant curve from the preceding Guizzi and Echo Party tracks. Fans of Future Times releases circa another great V/A in Vibe 3 will immediately gravitate towards this one. Any good mixtape needs a little curveball action and Memotone provides just that with B1 cut “Only So Young.” Coming in at around 100 seconds of fizzing vocal folkstep , the track finds the prolific Bristolian in a whimsical mood. Love the off-key drums on this one.

Lo Kindre and Raf Reza each contribute the most potent dance-floor cuts to round out the record. The former conjures a mighty slab of pulsing motorik in the shape of ‘Igregia’ which conjures up favourable comparisons to John Carpenter soundtracks circa Assault on Precinct 13. The usage of space, specifically dramatic pauses of silence, is really potent here. One of the many mix themes I’ve never fully explored is a mixtape of last tracks and album closers, but Raf Reza’s ‘Dubfoot’ is a real contender for inclusion should the motivation take hold. Bleep-infused techno rich in motor city soul with drum patterns that keep you guessing.

'Orsova' is out now on 12th Isle and available via BANDCAMP