my level of excitement just went up a couple of degrees because this little beauty just dropped onto the smallfish doormat. cactus island release days are something to be savoured and quiroga's 'am i high?' is a continuation of the absolute quality we've come to expect from the label. usually to be found producing minimal techno for italian labels, walter del vecchio turns his hand here to a deeply beautiful, nicely abstract set of purist electronica tracks with a diverse range of influences. the overriding flavour is latin and his use of jazzy, funky samples along with crisply defined, crunchy electronica rhythms is wonderful. sweet melodies drift over the tracks and there's a sunny feel with a mellow vibe. alternating with that, though, is a more sculptural and textured set of sounds that bleed into the tracks with a tremendous subtlety giving them a truly contemporary edge. at this rate it's going to be very hard for me to pick any more favourites from this series of releases because they are just soooo good! don't miss out on this one as they're limited and, most importantly, it's a fantastic piece of work. killer. smallfish records

myspace.com/quirogasound