Hailing from the deeper westside of Frankfurt (South Hessia), Sound mirror welcomes Gerait, head honcho of Bockenheim Housenation. Sweet ambient sounds slide into a deep house stomper on side A, followed by an atmospheric and lush minimal synth disco track on B1, plus a bass heavy, slightly eery and sort of tribal rhythm track on B2.
From the twilight zone of Rhythm Section International comes a new label for 2017: International Black. International Black is the sound when the lights go off. Recorded entirely on analogue hardware via reel to reel tape, this inaugural release features two hypnotic and timeless tracks from two of South London’s finest exponents of real house music. The record is made with the dancefloor in mind; channelling that moment in the club where things get dark, hypnotic, a bit weird and a lot more interesting.
As the world collapses, dragging its unwilling inhabitants into insanity, a few things, fortunately, remain true. The man who’s contributed to the development of the JAK sound on behalf of the Nation community from Lake Michigan to the Dutch west coast, where he became well known for several EPs released on Creme Organization Records, is back. After two full-length albums, dozens of EPs and action in the 2AM/FM project, D’Marc Cantu has gained well-earned respect as an underground artist. We are very pleased to bring this little return to the JAK beat style.
2017 marks 10 years of Lick My Deck and we are very excited to welcome one of Chicago’s finest and one of electronic music’s most singular visionary artists to the family: Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being. Jamal teams up with “The Truth Theory Trio” to deliver the “Materialized Psychism Of The Bottomless Void” EP. “Long Night Of Iboga” opens the EP and sees Jamal & The Trio create a DJ focused cut with unpredictable drum patterns, abstract melodies and psychedelic horns. A killer weapon for any seasoned selector. “Mystery Of The Changelings” is a mesmerizing 11 minute odyssey through magical harps, melancholic synths, and a piano riff that will stay with you long after listening. Truly music for the mind, body & soul. Praise be to The Sun God.
The Chicago Maste Ron Trent returns on his own imprint Electric Blue with the second part of the “Humans, Drums & Machines” – trilogy.
Amongst those on the Amsterdam club scene, Tom Ruijg is highly regarded as a DJ and producer. “Skyfall” is his first 12” for Voyage Direct, following a fine contribution to the First Mission compilation back in 2015. More pertinently, the EP marks the first time he’s used the Tracey moniker for a release. Perfect balance between head-in-the-clouds melodiousness – delivered via cascading, new age influenced synthesiser motifs, starry electronics and crystalline lead lines – and serious dancefloor grunt.
In the 1980s, that feeling transpired across Lisbon, Paris, Rotterdam, and Boston, as one the largest waves of migration from a single country, propelled by political instability and economic uncertainty, sent thousands of Cape Verdeans to the West’s cities. Through 18 diverse tracks, this compilation reveals how immigration from the Cape Verde Islands to Europe and the United States gave us an alternate history of the electronic music that dominated hearts and minds across the world in the late 1990s. But the story doesn’t start in a major Western cultural hub, rather in the small cluster of islands 400 miles off the Senegalese coast, and offers an unparalleled insight into the longterm cultural splendor catalyzed by migration.
It is a rare occurrence, especially when you consider that we are writing this in the year 2017, that an unreleased soul/disco album from the 1970s surfaces after 40 years. The Tramp crew first heard about the album while discussing the re-release of Teakwood’s sole 45RPM single release “Can You Dig It” with former band leader and founding member of the group, Fred Forsh. It was in 1972 when two new Berry College freshmen met and realized that they were both music majors which led to an impromptu jam session in the lower level of the student center. This was the beginning of what would soon become Teakwood. “Those two original members, Ralph Moore on saxophone and me on piano, along with five others went into the studio in 1976 and recorded two songs for our first and only single”, remembers Fred Forsh. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, Moore and Forsh parted ways but Teakwood continued with four remaining members plus two new ones and with this new lineup, went into the studio in 1977 to record nine songs under the collective title “A Distant Star”. However, for some obscure reason the songs were never released but luckily the reel-to-reel master tapes survived. The tapes were sent to the head quarters of Tramp Records in early 2016. In the end it took several attempts at three different recording studios to transfer them successfully.
For the third set of Excursions, we’re letting off some tasty Turkish flavours. Darkhouse Family presents ‘An Ottoman Excursion’. Halal Cool J (aka Don Leisure of Darkhouse Family) has blessed us with four cheeky edits, crafted with care, and guaranteed to create dancefloor flames. For ‘An Ottoman Excursion’ we head straight in with the neck-snapping drums and epic riffs of ‘Visne Nektari’, before the synth-led ‘Derbent’s Groove’ breezes triumphantly into motion. For the flip, we nicely drop the pace a little to do the ‘Turkish Duck Walk’, before the humidity of the ‘Fernebache Heat’ raises up the tempo to close out the set. 4 chops. 8 minutes of Turkish Psych-Funk vibes.
With the dust of their new album Fenix still settling, Far Out and Azymuth flex back 37 years for one of their finest and most indelible records in their illustrious and consistent career: “Dear Limmertz” slaps and pops with the same ridiculous soaking wet slap bass it did when it first blew your mind. With dreamy chords, that yearning vocodered vocal and the pensive prelude thrown in, it’s still an incredible one-of-a-kind record. And that’s before we get to the way-ahead-of-its-time breakbeat and deep groove of “Maracana”.
Volumi Dinamici is the second long player of Claudio PRC, a project that combines music and art inspired by the Futurist concepts of movement and dynamism and artistic currents such as Abstract Expressionism; the name itself is a tribute to a work of Italian artist and pioneer Luigi Russolo. Volumi Dinamici is a collection of 11 tracks accompanied by the same number of illustrations, different from each other but characterized by a common technical and compositional approach. The several shades of the atmospheres and the linear rhythm of the grooves come together to form a dense and mental musical dimension, a journey into the sounds and their intrinsic symbolic value. Depth, lights, shadows and noises are tangible elements of this work that mark the beginning of a new sound research based mainly on the instinctive use of machines and analogue instruments.
When Tresor founder Dimitri Hegemann stumbled into a former bank vault in East Berlin on March 13th 1991, he had little idea that the space he had unlocked would fast become one of Berlin’s most influential and enduring techno clubs. As Tresor celebrates its 25th anniversary with this work of artists from the US, Germany, China, France, Austria, Italy and the UK, it is worth dwelling on how the cultural conditions that birthed Detroit techno – economic neglect and broken industry – were mirrored by the disused bunkers and impromptu parties of post-unification East Berlin, where techno found new, vigorous expression. This record marks the spirit of those 25 years of creativity, a paean to the psychedelic music of Dimitri’s youth. From the signature magnetic soundscapes of Vainqueur to the dark textures of upcoming Beijing producer Shao; from Jon Hassell’s slow epicurean volutes, to the ritual auras of Marcelus and Claudia Anderson’s contributions; from the dub-infused pioneering programming of Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald, to Mønic’s enthralling cadences, it represents some of the old and new names that continually epitomise Tresor’s perennial spirit of ingenuity.
The talented Italian producers Pietro Caprioglio aka Autre and Federico Pedron aka Xinner kicking it off with “Nebula”. An emotional piece of late night techno music full of analog warmth and heart warming depth. Autre´s “Seiryu” is an athmospheric and loopy groove monster for the deeper dancefloors.
Dresden´s Kryptic Universe delivers with “01309 Stairways” one of those georgeous and simply perfect analogue sounding dub techno tracks. Incredibly textured piece of work wich could have been already a classic since the golden basic channel / chain reaction years. Owen Jay and Brian James closing it up with “Chordless”, a mind blowing take of chord driven club material.
Idealist is the new member to the Echocord family. His first EP on Echocord contains 3 heavy powerfull dubby tracks, all for the dancefloor.
The material collated on this third release from Heavenly Music Corporation was composed specifically for St. Giga in Japan, a satellite broadcast radio station transmitting ethereal audio harmony 24 hours a day. What made this station otherworldly was its programming; motivated by tidal movements, the aquatic ebbs and flows of each day synchronised to the activity and intensity of the music broadcast.
Recorded live @ Suicide Circus (Berlin) 06.01.2017
Continue reading “Mick Wills – Endless Illusion Podcast #19”
London/Lisbon label Release/Sustain start the year as they mean to go on. Presenting a 4 track various artists 12” titled “Nightfall & Other Stories”. Opening proceedings on A1 is Vakula, a regular at the Release/Sustain ‘Conclave’ parties and part of the RS family. His offering, “809”, is a percussive drum tool trip of a track, with sporadic raw percussion shooting shining across a positively minimalist backing. For A2, we see Italian stalwart of underground dance music Simoncino. Obscure sample work, and a repeating line ‘I can use a friend’, twist and turn over rugged, thumping, functional drums and bass. Furthering the quality of this standout 12” is Chicago house music pioneer Vincent Floyd. Rich in melody and familiar classic house sounds, Reggie’s soft jacking house sound bring a silky smooth, North American touch to a previously rugged, European 12 slab of wax.
DJ/Producer from Merseyside UK, John Heckle has produced records for Mathematics Recordings, Tabernacle Records, Crème Organization, Lunar Disko and more. His releases include two full length studio albums, The Second Son and Desolate Figures (as well as The Last Magic Maker mini-album), plus multiple singles, remixes and EPs. Now he makes his debut on Chiwax with some more machine jacking house tracks.
The second Memories On Wax release comes from Jan Svenson AKA VILLA ÅBO, one of the members of Frak, and the man behind Börft records and other projects such as Zwarre. Duophonic Mind is a 4 track release with 3 slow and heavy analog techno and a powerful remix by the emerging talent, Estrato Aurora.
