All Notes Off: Vincent Floyd, In Sync

All Notes Off is a weekly survey of electronic and experimental sound design that attempts to reach through the dichotomy of composition for reclusiveness and music for the dance floor. This week’s installment delves into two reissued 12-inches from the Nineties, both on renowned Dutch labels.

Vincent Floyd: “Your Eyes” b/w “I’m So Deep,” Rush Hour

Originally released on Jesse Saunders’ one and only Dance Mania Records, a refuge for filthy ghetto-tech singles and mixes since 1985, “Your Eyes” is the perfect recipe for dancing while you’re weeping in your bedroom. The Chicago house essential thumps four-on-the-floor beats with a thick ’n’ simple bass grooves, waves crashing in the distance, and gorgeous vocals from Chan. Factor in a sweet set of sampled congas and a wank-off Miami Beach guitar lick slathering sticky as a dolphin’s tongue.

Floyd’s lyrics tell an archetypical warning not to trust a lover’s eyes, which set beneath the simplistic haze as a metaphor for the facade of the American dream and its mirrors of cultural marginalization. The vocal mix slides seamlessly into the instrumental, ending with “I’m So Deep,” another searing classic. Half the track slants with nothing but pillow top drum sequencing, before a taunting synth fills the empty space and a finale of slinky whispers trickle out like liquid silver on glass.

In Sync - “Storm” b/w “Subway Route,” Delsin

In Sync is one of the many underrated projects of Lee Purkis, who played a pivotal role in introducing techno and house to the U.K. in the late Eighties by crossing the pond to America and lugging records from Detroit. He started the renowned FatCat record shop in London and birthed numerous labels, such as Tenth Planet and Fortune8.

For this reissue, Delsin drew from two 12” singles, 1992’s “Storm” and the ensuing year’s “Subway Route,” both originally released on Irdial Discs. “Storm” opens with swirling white noise and an ominous rotating melody. Purkis’ TR-808 falters and stutters until the kick flows through. The nearly 13-minute track carries its airy mass effortlessly. On the flip is the hi-tech-soul of “Subway Route,” a track that extends for 17 minutes in quintessential Detroit techno fashion.