Author: hipodrome
Martina Lussi – Diffusion Is A Force [LTNC016]
Martina Lussi’s second album fuses together disparate sound sources with a disorienting quality that reflects the modern climate of dispersion and distraction. The Lucerne, Switzerland- based sound artist released her debut album ‘Selected Ambient’ on Hallow Ground in 2017, and now comes to Latency with a bold new set of themes and processes. The range of tools at her disposal spans field recordings, processed instrumentation, synthesised elements and snatches of human expression. The guitar is a recurring figure, subjected to a variety of treatments from heavy, sustained distortion to clean, pealing notes. Elsewhere the sound of sports crowds and choral singing merge, and patient beds of drones and noise melt into the sounds of industry and mechanics. The track titles manifest as a compositional game of deception complete with innuendos, empty phrases and claims – flirtations with perfume names and ironic assertions. From the volatile geopolitical climate to the changing nature of music consumption in the face of streaming and digital access, ‘Diffusion is a Force’ is a reflection on fractured times where familiar modes and models change their meaning with the ever-quickening pace of communication.
Pablo’s Eye – Dark Matter [STRLP022]
Given that the Axel Libeert-helmed Pablo’s Eye project has been running continuously since the late 1980s, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Stroom has found it hard to put out just one retrospective of the Belgian collective’s work. In fact, “Dark Matter” is the third (and final) part of a retrospective trilogy that has brilliantly shed new light on Libeert and company’s work. Experimental, atmospheric and largely creepy, the showcased material variously touches on high-minded percussion music, slowly shifting ambient, Berlin school soundscapes, neo-classical-tinged global fusion, smoky downtempo grooves, the kind of intensely paranoid fare we’d expect from Dominick Fernow, and scattergun electronic dub. More than anything, Pablo’s Eye is a temporary atmosphere, like a taste or a dream.
Villa Åbo – Carpet Proof Of Daily Reports [IDEAL168]
It’s a Swedish house thing. Börft boss Jan Zwarre Svensson a.k.a Frak returns to his early project, Villa Åbo, for six deep and rude acid rub downs. Villa Åbo is more than a band name. It is a former bank buliding in Johannishus in South East Sweden which was where Börft Records was founded and where the boss Jan Zwarre Svensson grew up. It was where the original location of Studio Styrka was and where the first important years of recordings by FRAK and Alvars Orkester was done. It was a creative volcano, and also a social meeting point for likeminded, teenage weirdos into electronic music. Villa Abo is the foundation for a lot of stuff still resonating today. FRAK has been active for a long time now releasing tons of records, Alvars Orkester is asleep but about to be awaken, and Villa Abo is the output for his addiction to deeper electronic dance stuff.
Passarani – W.O.W. [OFFEN010]
Offen Music presents ‘W.O.W’, Marco Passarani’s first solo album in 14 years. Passarani is one of the most influential artists from the Italian underground. Active since the ‘90s he was responsible for bringing rave sounds from Detroit and the UK in and out of Italy. The album puts together influences from proto-house, dystopic electronica and classic Detroit Techno, as Passarani says “I was trying to bring order to my creativity, going through the pieces of the puzzle that I’ve been lost in. Before, I could concentrate on some areas of the puzzle, while now I can see the final picture when I look at all those pieces”. Masterclass business from the Roman machine wizard – another special one for Dusseldorf’s OFFEN.
Betonkust & Palmbomen II – Parallel B [DKMNTL062]
Moving on from their time holed up in a leisure resort relic, the Dutch retrogressive, analogue synth machine obsessives and tape fanatics Betonkust & Palmbomen II have teamed up together once more for a new EP. An immediate follow up to their debut LP Center Parcs, the new EP pays fictional homage to a now deceased famous TV star, who instead on working on the screen, took up a new direction in making music. Once more replete with esoteric experimentalism, analogue jams, drums machines, synths, and a healthy dose of acid basslines, the production duo advance upon their aesthetic with a new extended EP of nostalgic, melancholic electro.
Morah @ DT CAMP 2018
VA – Directors Cut 01 [VOIDC01]
Contributing to the Directors Cut series are core label members, friends, and artists who have supported VOITAX over the years. Each contributor is selected for their unique sound and bold vision. This series is not bound to any genre. The label encourages contributors to step outside the ordinary – anything goes! The first edition will feature tracks from VOITAX veterans Swarm Intelligence and Rory St. John alongside new contributors, who need little introduction, Rave Or Die boss, Umwelt and Downwards affiliates, Talker.
L.F.T. – It’s Alive! [RTTD013]
New-ish Hamburg talent alert.! After releasing a track on the second RTTD compilation, L.F.T. returns with a full EP featuring his idiosyncratic synth-pop-electro-dirge.
Maelstrom – Detection [PRIVATEPERSONS010]
French producer Maelstrom lands on Private Persons to christen their tenth release with some hard-hitting, gnarly electro workouts.
Intergalactic Gary & Pasiphae @ Kiosk Radio (Brussels) 19.01.2019
La Batterie – Let There Be Drums [OYSTERTRIBE1]
First opus of the new series is La Batterie, by the UK’s Richard Podolor and Sandy Nelson in 1983 in the hypnotic shimmering disco of ‘Let There Be Drums.’ The music of Polodor and Nelson is being given new life by Kalahari Oyster Cult. Alongside the entrancing original are two remixes. First up is Australia via Amsterdam’s very own Max Abysmal with his ‘Spooky Remix.’ Adopting and adapting the raw energy of the ’83 version, Abysmal layers ghostly notes and spectral snares into his mechanical remake. The flip takes on a different slant with ‘Shotgun’ taken from the EP of twenty fives years ago. A super slick work of understated funk shot through with bold keys and powerful chants to show another side of the UK pair. The fiercely talented Benedikt Frey closes, turning his daringly able hand to ‘Let There Be Drums.’ He keeps the vocal line, the rest of his rework is dipped in a thick heart of darkness threat. Pulsing thumps, menacing notes and danger lurk in this jungle of Frey’s own making.
Niv Ast – Disco Monroe [SC&P006]
For their sixth release London based record label and clubnight Snap, Crackle & Pop return with another slice of the post punk and kraut influenced electro/techno sounds that are coming to define the label. The latest release comes from Niv Ast and it serves as a follow up to his appearance on this summers Relish compilation. The EP leads with an ice cold slab of post punk swagger in the form of Quebec / Makolet which gets the remix treatment from previous collaborators Khidja, the Romanian duo strip the percussion back for the dancefloor and tease out the track’s darker side with more than a hint of acidic malevolence. For the B-Side Disco Monroe offers a nostalgic slice of pitched down French Electro undoubtedly influence by the Djs recent residencies in Paris. Optimo Music’s Mr TC rounds off the EP with his unmistakably left field vision to give the track a dark tropical re-imagining.
Leon x Leon – Rokando EP [CRACKI047]
A doctor by day and a musician by night, Leon x Leon has been producing songs in his Parisian home studio since 2013, where house, italo-disco and boogie are mixing. Rokanbo EP offers us a clever contrast between synthetic notes and the warmth of tropical groove, and places our gaze towards the horizon, seeking the groove to disturb its line on the infinite sea.
Elena Colombi b2b Interstellar Funk @ Drugstore (Belgrade) 26.01.2019
After a very successful premiere at Drugstore a superbond was made with the Italian-born selector Elena Colombi. For the first night of her residency, Elena Colombi kicks things off with a visage familier: Intestellar Funk. Since a very memorable back to back set at Amsterdam’s De School the pair has shared the decks again at Left Alone party in London and at Dekmantel Sao Paulo, leaving a mark with each and every set.
Melvin Oliphant III / Mutant Beat Dance Interview
Traxx @ Phormix 5 Years Anniversary, Romantso (Athens) 08.12.2018
Joshua Cordova in Hipodrom @ Faust Cafe und Disko (Sibiu) 02.02.2019
Stratis – New Face LP [DE241]
Stratis is an electronic duo from Cologne, Germany, formed by Antonios Stratis and Albert Klein in 1981. They took inspiration from the progressive electronic synthscapes of Tangerine Dream & Vangelis and the proto-techno of Chris & Cosey and Yello, as well as jazz and funk. The duo recorded 5 cassette-only albums between 1982 and 1986 – Exotic, New Face, Musica da Ballo, Film Musik, and Raging Beauty – which were released on their own label Creative Tapes (later called Temporary Music), and which were also licensed to Colin Potter’s Integrated Circuit Records (ICR) label. We are pleased to announce the first ever standalone vinyl reissue of their sophomore album “New Face’, which was recorded and released in 1983. It consists of eight future-fixated tracks that could have been composed for movies like Blade Runner or Tron. A wide range of minimal electronics are presented, from robotic synth pop to melancholic cold wave to Neue Deutsche Welle electro.
Victrola – Born From The Water (Demos 1983-85) [DE235]
Victrola is the duo of Antonio ”Eze” Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio from Messina, Italy. The band formed in 1979 but shortly thereafter relocated to Florence take part in a rich musical scene alongside Neon, Pankow, Alexander Robotnick, and Diaframma. Beginning as a 4-piece (two guitarists, bassist, drummer) they slimmed down to a synthesizer and guitar-based duo by 1982. Their sole release was the now classic ”Maritime Tatami”/”A Game Of Despair” EP from 1983, which we reissued in 2012. ‘Born From The Water’ is a 12 song collection of unreleased demos recorded between 1983 and 1985. The band sent us over 100 cassettes, through which we dug to compile the first volume of their archival darkwave ballads. They used an array of Roland synthesizers (TR-606, TB-303, TR-909, Juno 6) plus a Korg Polysix, Yamaha DX7, Casio VL-Tone VL-1, DR-55 Dr. Rhythm, and Fender Stratocaster and Jazz Bass. Some of the songs would later appear on various compilations, but the versions presented here are unique. Victrola engulfs the listener with trance-inducing synth lines, oblique minor-key bass lines, angular guitar riffs, and melancholic vocals. The songs tell tales of youth, love, karma, and the decline of civilization in modern times.
The Hipodrome Of Music 