LISTEN TO YOUR HEART (VIOLET VINYL REPRESS)

Sampling still remains an ever present backbone throughout the album. Session Victim have dug deep for sounds, resulting in a richly detailed and organic sound collage that goes hand-in-hand with their live instrumentation, this time enhanced through several guest musician appearances, most notably Carsten "Erobique" Meyer (ex-International Pony). Smooth guitar samples are built up on Over and Over while on Moons & Flowers the live instrumentals that Session Victim do so well come to the fore.

The treasure trove of San Francisco's record shops proved to be a hard bait to resist and the pair spent a large part of their Californian time hunting for records to sample. Three new tracks emerged from these digging sessions, with the sweeping disco string arrangements on Shadows standing out as a prime ode to days spent combing through bargain bins.

Listen To Your Heart is equally a product of the road. While heavy touring is often cited as a hindrance to the creativity of artists, Session Victim see their live shows as a catalyst to their creativity. Two US tours in 2016 gave the Hamburg duo the opportunity to take track sketches and fragments on the road to incorporate into their live shows and then digest them back in the studio. The playful funk soaked groove of Matching Half captures the sense of movement present throughout Listen To Your Heart and the LP mix of Up To Rise, which caused heavy ripples when it dropped as part of 2016's Matching Half EP is an extension of the upbeat and euphoric groove that permeates the album.

An impeccable demonstration of unadulterated house, Listen To Your Heart sees Session Victim at the top of their game.