Following the success of his enigmatic singles “Seeing Through Shadows” for Richie Hawtin’s Minus label and “Flight LB 7475” for Ovum, Düsseldorf’s Loco Dice returns with a monster four-track, co-produced with Hannover’s Martin Buttrich, the man behind one of this fall’s biggest hits—"Full Clip,” released on Carl Craig’s Planet E. The four cuts on this doublepack EP are monsters all, between eight and 13 minutes apiece. Coming hot on the heels of similarly sprawling releases from Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano & Thomas Melchior, they confirm Cadenza’s commitment to stretching electronic dance music’s form to fit a more expansive frame. These are anthems, but they’re anthems of a different sort. While too many hits beat their riffs like dead horses and treat their listeners little better, Loco Dice turns their attentions to gauzier, wispier elements: ghost melodies, feathery percussion, iridescent timbres that flash once and are gone. These are tracks for clubbers who like their bumping subtle; they’re cuts for headphone listeners who want to follow a corkscrewed groove until the g-force tugs their lips into a private smile. The four tracks sound simple at first—easygoing house rhythms, skeletal melodies, agreeable sounds and textures—but the more you listen, the deeper they get, multiplying their inner dimensions exponentially. “Raindrops On My Window,” opening with clopping hooves and twittering birdcalls, feels like a journey through the forest back to civilization: a male voice mutters monosyllables, a female singer wails a near-Eastern lament, and the track’s taut machine rhythms box in an unruly bassline that cuts corners with every bar, refusing to slot itself in 4s. The whole thing is dead simple, unabashedly dark, and delectably funky. “Paradiso” is one of the gentlest tracks you’ll hear this year, braiding keening keyboard lines and unfolding like a flower caught by time-lapse photography. Romantic melodies meet Afro-Latin polyrhythms; Steve Reich learns to

Anja Schneider (Mobilee Rec.): “Puh .. what can I say .. :) I cannot say which track I love the most but they are all amazing and have this typical dice atmosphere or better candenza atmosphere? Super cool ! THXXX ”

David Duriez: “track D1 is excellent. really into it. ”

DJ MAG (UK): “It has been a great year for the man they call Dice what with releasing 2 of the biggest anthems of the year on Minus and Ovum respectively and now this double pack on Luciano's Cadenza. All 4 tracks are charcterised by the Dice / Buttrich formulae of long drawn out tracks that develop gradually drawing you in. More gentle and subtle than his Ovum and Minus releases these tracks have a delicate and magical feel casting their web over you before you realise. "Raindrops" has a fluttery rhythm, cloppety drums and birds tweeting; "Paradiso" is exceptionally beautiful with tender keys and a dreamlike quality, while "A Chico A Rhythmico" is probably the most upbeat with its funky bassline and innovative percussion.”

DJ T (Get Physical): “Loco Dice is getting better with every release in the moment - this is one of the best releases in the whole year so far, all 4 tracks show a maximum of musicality and trickyness in contemporary arrangement, my compliments!”

Giles Smith (Dj Mag ): “Giles Smith Charts # 15”

karotte: “yes. hot stuff von würfel. no.4 in my november charts. one of the records of the month. the next big hit for cadenza....”

Laurent Garnier: “4 very good cuts favourite track is the D side Will play few of them out very good quality as allways with Loco Dice ”

Matthias Tanzmann: “amazing release! but i didn't expect it any worse.. ;o)”

Tobi Neumann: “i love this record!! i play it since summer.. great. will be in my next charts ”

TOP TUNE in IDJ Magazine (UK): “People regard Loco Dice as being somehow responsible for the asinine image the minimal scene has developed, but it’s impossible to deny that his releases this year have been pretty exceptional. ‘Harissa’ is no different; each of the four tracks here are full of endlessly extended blips and clips that only reveal their full intricacies when consumed the whole way through, but when they eventually open up, they offer something quite special. Dancefloors will find most in common with the ominous Latin drama of ‘A Chico a Rhytmico’. ”

Woody (Fumakilla): “very nice double trouble 12inch!”