Moscow Beat by Åmnfx
Emerging producer with album of undercover House
Pronounced "Amen to FX", Vasily Skobeev makes music as Åmnfx and is the latest 100% Silk protégé to emerge from their buoyant ranks. With previous outings on Opal Tapes, Neo Violence and Dirty Tapes it was French label THRHNDRDSVNTNN (in 2016) who released his debut Vision One, an album of mostly experimental House music. Skobeev's preoccupation with dismantling the core elements of House music and rearranging them in (sometimes) complex fashion remains his clear manifesto on Moscow Beats. A great leap forward though is heard in: better composition, stronger melodies, crisper production and less experimentation.
Opening with the album highlight Forget, a striking piano refrain paired with a thumping beat grabs your attention (by his own admission it's the track Skobeev would choose to sell his wares) and thereafter nothing quite reaches the same lofty heights. Instead we enjoy traces of Acid on We Got It (I've Been Saving Up All Day), soothing synths on Build A Home, stripped back funk on Wayback and dub-inflections on Strictly Dub. In disguise, you might call it undercover House music.