Live Review: Gallery Recordings launch with exemplar single from James Pepper

Gallery Recordings is a new Sydney label thats popped up in the last couple of months. Launching with a massive open air DIY party in the inner west, featuring local legends Freda and Jackson, Lex Deluxe and Body Promise, the imprint has now teased its first release by none other than James Pepper. The single, titled 'For All My Wrongs', is the perfect motif for Gallery’s debut.

The man recruited for the job is no stranger to the underground Australian dance scene. Pepper has already swapped headphones with Gerd Jansen, Denis Sulta and Coeo, and is a prolific burner creator with good friend Black Loops. He's also well known to demolish dance floors with his signature blend of soul and house and just about every venue across Sydney.

The Gallery Recordings ethos is one of "no sonic boundaries" and is one "driven by moods, feelings and emotions". 'For All My Wrongs' matches this manifesto with attitude. Large emotive chords blend perfectly with subby kicks and drum rolls, creating an eight minute exemplar of clinical house music. The track's energy ebbs and flows evoking a sense of distorted calmness. As its keys and vocal sample combine with an abrasive drum loop, the track reaches full throttle. It's at home in just about every context: at a summer's open air party, a secret location 3AM warehouse set in the middle of winter, or as first drinks crack open at pres.

The track's an extremely solid placeholder for not just the debut for the label, but within a very strong James Pepper discography. It's an excellent look for one of Sydney's most watched DJs and producers who has flourished across the last 12 months. As Pepper now looks to Days Like This and some rumoured headline shows across the country in May, it's clear it's only up from here for him. As for Gallery Recordings, first impressions don't get much better than this so we can't wait to hear more.

Words by PARRY TRITSINIOTIS

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