Volume 2 on DJ Deep’s “Cuts” serie on Deeply Rooted comes with 4 tracks. “Steps” intends to bring a Funky beat into a darker and abstract territory. “Stressed” is a Raw beat with an old school flavor in today’s world. “Stressing” is a straight forward beat driven Techno jam. “Surge” presents a deeper maybe a bit dubbier vibe with a pumpin’ beat.
Dekmantel presents Danny Wolfers a.k.a. Legowelt’s ambient project Occult Orientated Crime. It’s for the first time ever that this moniker of the prolific Dutchman will have a physical release. Wolfers: “The OOC sound is an accumulation of twenty years of musical training and research and what effect it has on the brain. Simply put it’s electronic ambient music, which is more advanced compared to the music I’m creating with my Smackos alias. OOC is deeper and more melodic, less loose and vague but perhaps more intense. It can bring the listener into a completely different state of mind, you can almost call it ritualistic neuroscience music.” The six tracks are recorded around the same time, using coherent recording techniques. “Let’s say I was in a flow, or something like that. But I rather think it’s the music itself that gives it a distinctive sound: the way the music was composed, the notes and the sound palette. I haven’t used any sharp sounds for example, but everything is very round so your brains will soak it up as something smooth.” Apart from the track ‘Just a Clown On Crack’, the release lacks kick drums. “Most or nearly all music from PC doesn’t have a beat because it is often unnecessary, it distracts from the melody or what should be processed in the mind of the listener. The melodies, sounds and structure itself are enough to bring the listener into a certain mindset: a beat there would almost sound cheap, tacky. ‘Just a Clown On Crack’ has a trip-/hip-hop feel to it and was craving for a beat. It’s also the last track of the album and, in a rather fluent way, brings the listener back to the misery and tragedy of the normal, everyday world. It’s like returning from the OCC dimension with a soft landing.”
Andreas Tilliander returns to Kontra-Musik in a grand style with his second TM404 album. Titled ‘Acidub’, this highly anticipated release is much more of an evolution than a repetition of the first superbly self-restricted album, where Tilliander even decided to use only one of the two Roland TB-303 waveforms. Acidub is a more playful and open listening experience, no doubt inspired by his extensive live touring with the TM404 concept. In fact, you can almost hear Tilliander’s flock of acid machines breaking free from the restrained modus operandi. Every sound is like a migratory bird with a heart yearning for high altitude and favourable winds. The opening track Alinge paints a lucid picture of these acid birds leaving a cold industrial landscape behind; the flickering black shadows from their wings against the white smoke rising from a forest of chimneys below. The very last seconds of Alinge even echo of the place the silver birds are longing for, but that will remain a secret between Kontra-Musik and the avid listener. Sufficient to say, we can follow these birds of passage as they’re heading south towards a warmer climate, fleeing the cold discipline of the North. Mutron Mantra, for instance, brings us to a rainforest full of serpentine lianas, giant leaves dripping with moist and green pools of water bubbling with organic life. Don’t Defend Mascot guides us through a steaming savannah at dusk with hundreds of yellow eyes following our every step while Pade vividly describes the perils of the flight and the pace and courage needed to press on. In all, Acidub is a surprisingly exuberant follow-up to the more introspective TM404 album. But while the musical journey of this second album is quite different, the experience of sheer aural eminence remains the same. Andreas Tilliander has done it again, and Kontra-Musik couldn’t be prouder.
NGLY makes a return to L.I.E.S. following his highly lauded “Speechless Tape” ep from 2014. Since then we have seen Argentinian producer taking his live act around the world to much acclaim. Luckily he’s also been in the studio recording and finally delivering this new three track ep. Here we get his signature dusty low slung sound full of basslines, creeper strings and driving drum programming. These are subtle yet effective funk-ridden club tools that are sure to move the floor and a precusor to even more from the in demand producer.
Refraction Volume 2 marks the return of the lauded imprint Residual Recordings. Label owner Titonton Duvante starts it off with a funk laden deep groove. Next up is ace producer Christopher Rau. He flips the filters alongside nectarous chords. On the B side, veteran Jeff Samuel brings on the quirky sounds and hooks he is known for making. Rounding out the EP is a contemplative number by Chicago’s Garrett David.
Housewax welcomes italian duo Ainëe Geffen to the family. The two talented artists from Bari deliver here a very solid debut.
Bass Cadet Records introduce a new series : Orbits. Curated from the recordstore, the series is dedicated to the artists who support it and make its life. Leaning on strong ties of respect and friendship, Orbits will consist of a slew of releases featuring some of the most inspiring and influential artists of the electronic music scene. Orbits will start with a re-issue of two Ron Trent timeless jams out of his “Dance Classic” album, released on Prescription on CD only in 2009.
Killer EP on Freerange by Red D, the Belgian DJ and producer, one half of FCL (alongside San Soda), long standing club promoter (since 1992), owner of We Play House. Two originals of which ”Into Darkness” is a real raw dark house tune. Comes in orignal versions and Jacob Korn remixes.
Rhythm Based Lovers aka Jason Letkiewicz aka Steve Summers is back on Future Times with a new 12”. Once again the songs are split up in an RBL style, on the Dance Side we have ”Frequency Illusion,” a glorious slap of vibro-house for the deejay crew, coming in hot like a rugged Pal Joey tune, and on the Romance Side we have the slow hypnotic funk of ”Number Games,” complete with dope mantra vox and Italian slo-house chug.
New varied sonic themes with an overall fresh sound. Although still being young of age, Nitam outlines once again his interest in dance music from the late 80s and early 90s, presenting himself schooled by classic Detroit House as well as Chicago Acid House, but all without limiting himself to a restricted pallet of styles or catering towards musical expectations.
Mugwump’s Subfield label introduces its first signings with the Belgian-Italo duo Front De Cadeaux aka DJ Athome & DJ Hugosan. They expertly produced their own brand of “Supreme Rallentato”, which is a fucked-up slo-mo italo, acid, disco, techno and house hybrid that so rightly fits with Subfield’s mission statement of covering subgenres. This full Ep on Subfield features 2 original F2C obscene & dirty slo-mo tracks at their most playful, “Ouvre Ta Bouche” and “Front De Cadeaux Theme” plus the magnificent dub-house of “Killers”. Remixes comes courtesy of Factory Floor’s Gabe Gurnsey (DFA) in a quite brutal bleep-techno mood and Manchester’s nu-balearic kingpin Ruf Dug (Music For Dreams), getting into what he described as a ” 808 snare roll warehouse analog fucked-up version”
So far the most Punk release in the Borft catalog. This is the meeting between Johan Sturesson (KORD) and Petter Svensson (NEBULA). While Petter has his background as a punkrocker Johan has some years of experience in the Electronic vein this meeting result in a EBM/punk/technoEP dirtier than ever.
Forte Techno is a UK label ran by Ross Alexander and Steven McDonagh that has a firm focus on championing the underground, and we return with our second vinyl only package. This time there are 4 original tracks by all UK based artists including Paul Mac, Binny, Ross Alexander and John Mitchell.
EGR45-00003 features Silent Servant, a DJ and producer whose gloomy rhythms stay with the listener long after the music has faded out. These two brand new tracks, along with a live excerpt, are gritty, hyper-engaging and highly personal takes on techno.
Originally released via Ascetic House in 2015, Vereker’s Grace tape owes much to the canon of vintage anti-music, exploring catharsis via a transgression of traditional compositional & technical values. Working with the same thematic concerns of much of the more leftfield additions to the Avian catalogue – in it’s more subdued moments, anxiety & dissafection; in it’s more high energy – pure hysteria – the recording pairs basic synthesis with warped vocals in the same manner as Industrial progenitors Throbbing Gristle and Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound).
The first collaboration between SARS & Abdulla Rashim sees a diverse long player of aggressive industrial, drone and live electronics. A melancholic story in the manner that has come signifiy the sound of northern Europa.
Number six is here with four new artists making their debut on Bordello A Parigi: Daniel Kyo from Spain, Mystery Of Science from Quebec, John Parsley & Jack Pattern from Switzerland and Luca Dell’Orso from The Netherlands.
