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12"
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KOM EX092EP
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Ambivalent is the moniker of DJ and producer Kevin McHugh. Ambivalent releases have found their way to classic dance imprints such as Ovum or Cocoon Recordings. He joins the Speicher ranks for Speicher 92. "WHYOU" is a rather muscular affair, boasting potent Moog riffs and a hungry TR 909. The flip side hosts a vigorous, hypnotic remix from Kompakt head, Michael Mayer, a personal hero of McHugh's. Double headliner wax, with only the wheat and none of the chaff.
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12"
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COR 133EP
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US-born Berlin resident Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent presents his Cocoon Recordings debut. "Daylights" is a sheer techno monster full of dark Detroit flavor, with a magic touch of vocal samples and harmonic strings. Although the massive techno bassline is the star of the track, it will surely find its way into the sets of many house DJs too. In contrast, "Swung Out" is closer to pure techno. With hypnotizing rimshots and hi-hats, Ambivalent takes it straight into the dub universe. A perfect after-hours weapon with a dark vibe.
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12"
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OVM 258EP
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Having made his Ovum debut alongside Michael Penman on the hugely-popular Shimmer EP in 2013 (OVM 232EP), US-born Berlin resident Ambivalent returns to the label flying solo. With previous releases on an enviable list of labels from M_nus to Mobilee, Cocoon to Clink, and many more, Ambivalent is still always looking to evolve. Here, he avoids tiring techno templates and delivers the inspiring Latin rhythms and uplifting melodies of the title-track, with dancing synth riffs, pulsing chords, and scattered, rapid, snares. "Selfed Out" is built around an epic lead synth that both creates and dominates the outrageous groove and drive.
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12"
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MINUS 120EP
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Ambivalent returns with a 2-track 12" of stripped-down, bonafide techno. Aimed at the darker, more energetic moments of techno sets, this EP anchors Ambivalent's focus on eerie melodies with his more recent higher-octane material. "Snowblind" lives up to its name in coldness and disorientation and has become an unmissable staple of Richie Hawtin's DJ sets, "Witchfinder" is loopier and slips in and out of hypnotic repetition, varied by delays and short changes. Emulating minimal heroes like Hood and Mills, this track keeps its focus simple.
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12"
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PLUS 8118EP
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This four track EP from Ambivalent carefully blends the soul of his American roots with a European propensity for machine music, producing an ever-evolving sonic blueprint that explores some of his most fluid grooves to date. "Jackson" sets out as a rolling tech cut swollen with satisfying sub-bass. On "Train To Brooklyn" the melody is much freer, falling up, down and side-to-side. On "Lear," the beats boom and bash, hustling both each other and the echoing percussive line above.
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12"
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MINUS 091EP
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With his Ambivalent alter ego, Kevin McHugh has become a leader in the new school techno underworld. Rumors is cutting edge dance music with a balance of form and function, made to tear the clubs to pieces. The title track is a disorienting vocal number that takes the words and throws them into a warped headspace of paranoia, humor and confusion. "Bumble" takes a quick peek back into previous Ambivalent productions, with a familiar focus on some clever FX work.
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12"
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MINUS 079EP
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"Whereas [some] must content themselves with the merely undeniable fact that two times two is four, he rejoices in the irresistible truth to be found, in abbreviated costume, upon the title page of the present volume." --e.e. cummings, from is 5, a collection of 88 poems published in 1926.
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2x12"
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MINUS 056EP
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Cleverly combining black humor with reduced micro-grooves, the title track from Ambivalent's R U OK EP has become one of the most memorable tunes of 2007. It reappears remixed and revamped for a fresh onslaught: Marco Carola offers up two versions of stripped-down metronomic tech-funk, and the "Like It Or Not" mix from Troy Pierce is a murky ride, with a scuttling 6/8 acid bassline that's dark as f**k. The "Kasper is OK" mix keeps the tension at a maximum, the trademark JPLS elastic bass is in full effect, and Tim Xavier and Camea present cool, subliminal fx and jarring claps that resonate into the darkness. R U OK?
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12"
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MINUS 049EP
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R.U.OK? R.U.OK? Everyone's been there at one time or another but no one's documented it quite so explicitly as Ambivalent (aka Kevin McHugh) on his first release for Minus.
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