Jay Bliss – Vrăjitorul din Orz LP [SG004]

January 31, 2017September 16, 2021 hipodromealbum, deep house, deep techno, jay bliss, minimal house, romanian, stomping groundsLeave a comment

BLISS, Jay - Vrajitorul Din Orz

Debut longplayer by Romanian DJ and producer Jay Bliss. After a few years of releasing quite a bunch of EPs on various labels, Jay Bliss has pulled down the throttle for a while. This doesn’t mean that he took time off from the studio, on the contrary, he perfected his signature sounds. Spending time to bake his own imprints aswell, its only natural that his first LP will see the light of day on Stomping Grounds. Lush and organic pads, playful textures and attention to details are the building blocks of this introspective work, divided into 6 pieces.

DJ Jus-Ed – Transition [UQ067]

January 31, 2017May 8, 2023 hipodromealbum, deep house, deep techno, jus ed, underground qualityLeave a comment

Underground Quality boss Jus Ed is beginning 2017 in fine fettle, with Transition – his first album since 2014 – heading up a spate of vinyl releases. The triple-vinyl set is full of evocative, immaculately produced deep house treats, from the Alton Miller style intricacy of “The Loop 222 Bodin Strasse” and shuffling, yearning “The Day Prince Died”, to the rich bass and dancing drum machine hits of “Medellin My New Grooveland” (inspired, apparently, by a recent trip to Colombia), and the low-slung, Motor City grooves of “Sci-Fi Connection”. Best of all, though, is the rushing positivity of “Spring is Near”, where intertwining synth lines bubble away over a fizzing, techno-influenced rhythm track.

Lamusa II – Club Mondo 2000 [GRA004]

January 31, 2017May 23, 2019 hipodromeambient, deep house, experimental, gravity graffiti, lamusa iiLeave a comment

Italian producer Lamusa II is a master of atmospheric, synthesized concoctions that often sound like they’re being transmitted straight from a time machine out of the 1980s. The RBMA alumni’s latest release, ‘Club Mondo 2000’ on the Gravity Graffiti label runs the gamut from sleazy, break-infused house jams to hazy boogie and weightless flute meditations. “Agua Planet”, closes out the 5-track EP with a New Age feel.

Aybee – The Odyssey [DBRV030]

January 30, 2017March 28, 2024 hipodromealbum, aybee, deep house, deepblak recordings, detroit technoLeave a comment

Deepblak’s Chief Alchemist Aybee come with his fourth full-length studio album, ‘The Odyssey’. As befitting its grand title, this newest long-player finds him concerned with personal journeys: both the personal one that has brought him to this point – living in Berlin, 15 years since founding Deepblak in his native Oakland – and the one that beckons for him personally and creatively in future: Aybee sees himself as being halfway up a mountain, looking back on where he has come from, and to where he will be headed next – both concepts play a profound role in the emotional textures of the album, which in true Deepblak fashion draws from jazz, deep house, techno, hip hop, blues, experimentation, cinema, space, time and infinity. ‘The Odyssey’ represents a change-up for AYBEE in several ways, forged from a desire to keep expectations at bay and throw something of a curveball for those who felt they had him pegged: “a good pitcher always keeps you off balance”. This newest work saw him deliberately limit his sound palette in a creative exercise that challenged him to create a full body of work from a small pre-selected library of sonic elements. While this was restricting in some aspects, the approach to – as he puts it – “throw the ingredients in a basket and cook with it later” gave him more freedom to focus on atmosphere and groove instead of putting hours into trying out different options – “otherwise I’d still be in the studio now trying to work out which hi-hat to use on the third track!”

Minimal Afrika – Clean Sunrise [MA002]

January 30, 2017January 30, 2017 hipodromehouse, minimal afrikaLeave a comment

‘Mornin’ is a radical discoid track built with alien hoover pads and synthetic stabs that is both fresh and euphoric. ‘Clean Sunrise’ has deep feelings for South African shores and gentle Rhodes harmonies. ‘Mannam’ is a triumphant little number whilst ‘Capasa’ is a 6 min long improvised recording locked down in one take.

ASOK – Virtual Light [LT030]

January 30, 2017December 25, 2017 hipodromeasok, house, lobster theremin, stu robinson, technoLeave a comment

ASOK joins the Lobster fam proper, blasting down from the icy territories and bringing the cold winds of UK rave of yore to the front of the queue. “Universe 3” is a glistening, glacially slow-moving ambient piece that shimmers and folds through the spectrum, with small sparkles and hints of twinkling optimism peppered into it’s spacial framework. “Track Four” is a crunchy, scourged techno drum heater that bangs the drum of enchantment whilst raising the spirits of long-long civilisations through spiritual pads and alien synth work. Title track “Virtual Light” kicks off the flip. Built around a core of stolid deep house, but drawing on a solid template of NY house and central German deepness. Proper hazy, aquatic vibes into the dark depths. Lastly, and easily the artist and label fave, “I Mean You No Harm” arrives as a subtle reminder of the simplicity needed to conjure the heaviest moments. Essentially an enormous hardcore number just minus any form of breaks and stripped to the core. Nagging sirens and pitched wails sound off into the night air.

Mori Ra – The Brasserie Heroique Edits Part 3 [BH035]

January 30, 2017January 26, 2024 hipodromeberceuse heroique, disco, edits, experimental, house, mori raLeave a comment

Four deejay wmds beaming in from Osaka: weird, unsettling disco-funk, guaranteed to rock the house. Kanwaza crosses ethnic roots and disco; Cross Calf Dance jacks up the quirkiness; Stormy Weather and Water lock down the after-hours crew.

Tropical Hi-Fi – Oceania [ERS028]

January 29, 2017March 30, 2023 hipodromealbum, ambient, drone, electro, emotional response, emotional response recordings, experimental, tropical hi-fiLeave a comment

Emotional Response starts 2017 with a mini-album of ambient-equatorial enlightenment by Australia’s mysterious Tropical Hi-Fi. The final record from an artist appearing on the label’s first SchleiBen series, this also points to the future. Based somewhere in the far flung Northern Territories, the music of Hi-Fi’s pre-incarnation Electric Egypt was first discovered via the note-worthy airwaves of L.A’s outstanding Dublab radio station. As the wonderfully diverse internet shows and project’s dense, hip-hop inspired collages came to fruition with 2012’s Exotica release, a dual awareness and sporadic contact was maintained whenever a signal could be established with Hi-Fi base camp. As the SchleiBen series was formed, the studio-DJ-cut-up-mix of Oceanic Mythology was warmly received as an inspired counterpoint to the dense offering from Don’t DJ. These first real solo recordings from the Hi-Fi crew – whoever he/she/they maybe – moves on from the cut’n’paste of Electric Egypt to seek a meditative vision. Ambient, drone and field recordings are all part of a drifting tropical flavour that encompasses the listener. Music truly inspired by it’s surroundings, this is not some music journal, flying in to sample a life and it’s sounds, but the real, living entity and it can be heard deep across the 8 short pieces. None is more typified than Tahiti Blue, where fellow traveler Mike Cooper layers his ubiquitous steel blues over simple, lilting drums. Mixed by Leaving Record’s Matthewdavid (with whom more to come on the label in 2017), photography by Native Finger and the ever-present encouragement of friend and neighbour, Ariel Kalma, this is conceptual album to lay back, drift off on undulating swells and simply, let go to.

HAEX-HRLL – Further From The Truth LP [GDLP007]

January 29, 2017November 6, 2017 hipodromealbum, ambient, dj overdose, electro, experimental, giallo disco records, haex-hrllLeave a comment

Welcome to a science fiction nightmare helmed by the legend that is DJ Overdose. Alien prey, DNA in test tubes. Who is being regrown? Will the town survive? Who has been replaced? In these present times of truth vs fiction it’s easy to become paranoid. We have the soundtrack HAEX-HRLL’s Further From The Truth: An abductee saga by replicons from beyond the moon. Chiming in between hot electro, Vangelis dream scapes, XTRO drone. This is one of OD’s most fascinating records to date. Art by a mysterious figure.

Architectural – Metropolitan Opera [ARCH009]

January 29, 2017September 20, 2017 hipodromealbum, ambient techno, architectural, drone, experimental, juan ricoLeave a comment

Experimental LP inspired on the streets of the big city, listening to the sounds from different angles and perspective of the city. Created just for listening, not for the dancefloor.

JS Zeiter – JS-05 [JS005]

January 29, 2017May 28, 2025 hipodromedub techno, j.s. zeiter, jsLeave a comment

After a gap of seven years JS Zeiter returns with the next instalment of dubby tehcno in this long running, but intermittent, series of releases.

Jeff Rushin – Wondering [ARTSCOLLECTIVE013]

January 28, 2017November 23, 2017 hipodromearts, arts collective, jeff rushin, technoLeave a comment

Jeff Rushin presented himself as one of the biggest icon of Functional Effective Techno, this second EP in the catalog is going further on the sonic spectrum.

Akme – Connwax 04 [CONNWAX004]

January 28, 2017January 26, 2017 hipodromeakme, connwax, technoLeave a comment

Connwax returns with another offering of bold and original techno. For this release, they have enlisted the help of a rising young talent in Berlin’s underground scene: Akme. The producer and resident DJ of renowned club ://about blank demonstrates his uncommon technical precision and emotional depth with this debut EP, drawing on his vast array of influences and experiences across all genres.

Brendon Moeller – Stimulation EP [PBR046]

January 28, 2017June 26, 2019 hipodromebrendon moeller, dj spider, phil moffa, plan b recordings, technoLeave a comment

Brendon Moeller finds himself entangled in the Plan B matrix for his next release which includes remixes from Spider & Phil Moffa.

Voiski – Soundless Pattern Of The Tortoise’s Walk [SNBV009]

January 28, 2017December 13, 2017 hipodromesheik 'n' beik records, techno, voiskiLeave a comment

New York collective Sheik ‘N’ Beik follow up a slew of lauded 12’s with the richly emotive return of Voiski. 5th Dolphin Transmission’ kicks things off with a tense sequence tumbling through granular drums and a staggered, luminescent synth line. ‘Let Down Disco’ then dims the lights slightly with soft, buoyant melodies and flickering high frequencies that round off a nicely varied release and another solid addition to the Sheik N Beik catalogue.

Dettmann / Klock – Phantom Studies [OTON100]

January 27, 2017September 15, 2021 hipodromeben klock, berghain, marcel dettmann, ostgut ton, technoLeave a comment

DETTMANN, Marcel/BEN KLOCK - Phantom Studies

Berghain residents Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann link back to Ostgut Ton’s label launch in 2006 with their first studio collaboration in ten years and the extended Phantom Studies, on occasion of the one hundredth O-TON 12″ EP release. With Phantom Studies Dettmann / Klock channel their first joined releases Dawning (2006) and Scenario (2007) from over a decade ago with their first co-production in ten years. On this extended, 40-minute 2×12″ EP Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock parlay their deep personal alliance and musical repertoire through emphasis on new functional Techno as much as hypnotic, melodic and soulful music by thinking outside the box. The seven new, original tracks reflect these attributions by communicating to the needs and expectations of both DJs and home audio listeners, but not neglecting one over the other.

Tadeo – The Pit [TOKEN069]

January 27, 2017December 13, 2023 hipodromeminimal techno, tadeo, tokenLeave a comment

Tadeo first released on Token in 2015 with the instant classic Terra Incognita, reminiscent of the kind of techno-futurism usually employed by some of the Detroit greats. If Terra Incognita was an interpretation of outer space, The Pit comes from deep in the ground. This is electronic programme music; bookended in distinctive Tadeo style with a modal string section that places the record firmly in the avant-garde, The Pit guides us through the moods and associations of a classic science fiction narrative. The record is consistent in its instrumental palette, with a subdued but powerful low-end to set the pace, disorienting semitone meanderings and organic percussion in the mid, and massive, crashing hats that lift statement sections beyond comprehension.

Echelon – Echelon 001 [ECHELON001]

January 27, 2017November 29, 2018 hipodromedetroit techno, echelon, jeroen search, minimal technoLeave a comment

Straight white label with no more info. New mysterious side project of one of the most innovative and known techno acts. The Echelon is conceived in total secrecy. Embedded deep in the contemporary landscape, its sole purpose is to function as an anonymous observer, translating its findings into music and movement. Looped minimal techno in the best Mills tradition.

The Experience – Tubes [FFOR005]

January 27, 2017February 1, 2018 hipodromeandrea benedetti, detroit techno, eugenio vatta, flash forward, the experienceLeave a comment

The Experience is a project by Andrea Benedetti and Eugenio Vatta released back in 1992. The track ”Madcap” was realized during the period of the collaboration of the duo with Lory D’S Sounds Never Seen period and it’s an experiment that mix techno, breakbeat and sample extravaganza at its best. The main track ”Tubes” was a deep techno monster presented in two versions. One has been recoreded live with Andrea Benedetti managing drum machine and bass, Eugenio Vatta sampling, chords and effects and Paolo Dieni on percussion. The second one has more emphasis on melodies and effects with different equalizations and volumes concerning percussion and drum machine.

Cygnus – Cosmos [FR014]

January 26, 2017February 14, 2023 hipodromealbum, cygnus, electro, experimental, fundamental records, phillip washingtonLeave a comment

Fundamental Records present a vinyl edition of the previously digital only album Cosmos by Cygnus, composed out of eleven tracks (plus two bonus cuts on the 7″). Perfectly bridging the gap between street-smart electro DJ tools and more home-listening techno, Cygnus perfectly updates this sound.