In a sea of seriousness and bad news Pager Records are just the tonic. Their bouncy grooves and infectiously positive messages regularly make their way into the bags and playlists of peak time specialists. The label that is co-ran by Markus Sommer and Phil Evans calls Robert Johnson home and where better to test drive their latest creations than the Offenbach nightspot.
The latest creation has been a while in the making. By his own admission co-founder Phil Evans has been off the grid for a while apart from a few choice releases. Now Phil is back and he has a sparkling double 12” LP to show for his time away and as you might expect his ‘S-Mile’ LP was worth the wait.
Skipping over to our focus track ‘Skipping Toes’ on C1 we find Phil in the more dancefloor mode from the LP. The stripped-back drums arrangement leans on the simple clap snare combo but the main driver here is the excellent bassline that is so smooth and slick that it sneaks right into the mix and before long it has control of your feet and toes. The accompanying synth really adds to the playful theme of the tracks and the entire album, there really is nothing else to do but smile.
Taking it back to the beginning of the release side A features a duo of deep house heaters. ‘Long Sip’ cats our minds back to hazy afternoons spent at the beach or in a park and ‘Cloudy Head’ easily conjures up memories of that magical point where the sun begins to set and plans are being made for the evening.
Flipping over and moving towards the heat of the night ‘Dat Ting’ ramps up the pressure and skipping beats and playful stabs do the trick while jacked synth takes over on ‘Keep It Real’. C2 ‘Tek Cheez’ keeps up the tempo before title track ‘S-Mile’ breaks through and ‘N8 Ride’ brings it home with a super sweet twilight jam.
The ‘S-Mile’ LP from Phil Evans is now available to pre-order via subwax.es.
More info on Phil Evans
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More info on Pager Records
Facebook | Resident Advisor | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Discogs
