Corndogs veterans Gerald Norton and Suitor return alongside Minneapolis hometown hero Berndt. Deep midwest sounds from Sly Fox Records.
Author: hipodrome
Chevel – Blurse [SALP003]
Chevel (a.k.a. Dario Tronchin) now makes his LP debut for Stroboscopic Artefacts. Over the course of his young career, Chevel has gained a mastery over several compositional elements: Polaroid-like slow melodic fades, sharp ricocheting beats, and simply making one’s headphones feel like a viable means of physical transportation. Despite Chevel’s keeping the sonic toolkit and overall atmosphere consistent from track to track, there is a rich variety in the emotional affectivity on display here. The net effect is like a dream state that leaves strong impressions even though one can’t pinpoint exactly why they are doing so.
Jonas Reinhardt – Palace Savant [FUR097]
Helping listeners to escape reality—which has been known to grate, on occasion—has long been a noble aim of many musicians. One of the most effective ways to do that is to create imaginary soundtracks for impossible science-fiction films, the darker and more un-Hollywood-like, the better. Another method is to take inspiration from great works of architecture—which, as Goethe cogently noted, “is frozen music.” The latter route is used by Brooklyn producer Jonas Reinhardt (aka Jesse Reiner) on his sixth album, Palace Savant.
D’Marc Cantu – The Son Of Man [NYH018]
Established producer D’Marc Cantu has been crafting his own style of jakbeat since the late ’90s, but comes to New York Haunted with some dark and experimental techno and drones.
Moodcut – Heart Beat Takeaway [MORK006]
Dust-soaked and fizzing with effervescent residue, these five tracks swerve and dive between subtle synth texturisations and deep-sleeping sullen house. The boundaries between ambient and house often merging in the depths of the warm, throbbing, analogue fuzz.
Benjamin Damage – Obsidian [50WEAPONCD018]
‘Obsidian’ marks the third album from Benjamin Damage (his second solo long-player). “Obsidian is a collection of fragmented memories from all the music I’ve ever liked, distorted and restructured into a full length techno record. A purely personal project and an end of an era with 50WEAPONS.”
Johannes Volk – Planetary Mosaic [EXP009]
Exploration is back with 3 techno bangers. „Planetary Mosaic“ comes with slow building synths and a majestic piano, constructed around a heavy stomping bassdrum. „Simplexity“ is a stripped down track with spaced out bleeps and a subtle snare staccato attack. „Light Module“ projects a dystopian environment with jacking synth structures, robot voices and a dramatic atmosphere.
H. Bergqvist – Trouble 002 [TROUBLE002]
Trouble In Paradise Records presents four raw minimal dance tracks from H. Bergqvist. From the deep of Stockholm northwest suburb Johannesfred, Trouble 002 explores some of Bergqvist’s rawest material to date, stumbling between ramshackle party vibrations, below-sea-level emissions and intergalactic noise, this release is a dedication to his hometown.
Pajaro Dune – Momentum [TMBR005]
Pure obscure deepness with a scent of house, to cap it all we brought the mighty Zadig to deliver a techno cosmic wonderful remix.
TWR72 – Reflect Part 2 [FLOAT005]
Float Records first vinyl release is a fact. And what could be better then divide it in 2 parts. The first output reflects the second. Label owners TWR72 presents you ‘Reflect’. The 1st remix comes from Berlin based Markus Suckut. A subtle angle is taken on Reflect which makes the remix feel sustainable. Just the perfect remix to include in his impeccable oeuvre. All the way from Finland is analog devotee Samuli Kemppi, who takes care of the 2nd remix. Samuli creates a sudden tension with builds up until the very end. A001, from Amsterdam, turns the original Reflect into a obscure remix with an perplexing 2nd half. A001’s mysterious and quiet appearance is a paradox compare to his musical output. TWR72 closes the EP with the bonus track ‘Response’.
Rod – Distance [KW015]
Hail Blk – Hail Blk [BLK001]
Hail Blk is a Maltese collective record label founded by N.d. Through its algorithmic resonance the label envisions to challenge and re-model the cognitive perception of time and self-consciousness.
Dimi Angelis – ANGLS002 [ANGLS002]
Proper analog and psychotic techno. Exactly the right to destroy the floor. One part of A&S – Dimi Angelis come up with his very own imprint.
Shoc Corridor – Experiments in Incest [DE100]
Dark Entries Records reissuesthe LP ‘Experiments in Incest’ from the 80s UK-based Minimal Synth band Shoc Corridor. The founders of this project, Chris Davis and Israel-born Nogi Prass, who eventually had to leave the band because there were problems with her Visa, started making music in 1979, influenced by German electronic bands Kraftwerk, Neu! and recent developments in UK Post Punk like Public Image Ltd., and formed a band, adding by Paul O’Carroll, Paul Humphries and Andy Garnham to the line-up. The departure of Nogi and Chris, who left with her, from the UK in late 1982 made it virtually impossible to continue with Shoc Corridor, but despite that, they released two LPs in 1983 and 1984 (Experiments in Incest and Train of Events). The band eventually disbanded after the suicide of bass player Paul Humphries following the release of Train of Events.
Liquid G – Liquidation [DE099]
“Liquidation” is the first ever vinyl compilation of Liquid G.’s cassette recordings, taking you on a journey through the underground of the Belgian Electro Industrial scene. Each song was written, produced, recorded and performed by solely by Peter Van Bogaert between 1987-1989. Liquid G. captures the DIY synth-punk ethos of Cabaret Voltaire, The Screamers, and Nervous Gender. Six of the eleven songs on the album are instrumentals, and full of disturbing drum machines, stratified synthesizers, and deep, distorted bass-lines. The core of Liquid G.’s home studio included the Korg Poly-800, Roland TR-505, Roland MT-32, and Boss flanger and delays.
Tomo Akikawabaya – The Invitation of The Dead [MW060]
Minimal Wave announce an exquisite double LP release by obscure Japanese artist Tomo Akikawabaya entitled The Invitation of The Dead. The collection of songs include the entirety of both The Castle (1984) and Anju (1985) releases, all newly remastered. They sound fresher and stronger than ever before, exactly as the artist had intended them to sound when he recorded them 30 years ago. The songs that span this double LP are personal and unique; they are dark synthpop gems.
Las’s Crime – Mesmerique [DOM025]
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, or simply known as L.A.S.’s Crime around the digging circles, were an Italian cold wave duo who formed at the tail-end of 1984 and produced a timeless bunch of EP’s and LP’s which have become heavily sought after in the last few years. Luckily, Spain’s excellent Domestica label have herein compiled the very best from the duo, an eleven track showcase of the band’s top productions from the years between 1985 and 1989. As you’d expect, the bulk of the compilation is made up of fast-paced drum machines patters glazed in the era’s melancholic sound, where winding, lonesome vocals glide and wash over the Kraftwerk-style beats. There are even bursts of early electro within, such as the gnarly “Five Lies”, and more experimental moments like “Dark Orris” or the EBM-charged “Flax Girl Room”.
Hysteric – Extraterrestrial [MSDN1202]
The man from down under has been on a roll lately with his recent mix and EP with Public Possession as well as his blood-sucking edit on Salamanca. Taking pointers from the movie star E.T. he phoned home after a successful European tour as part of the Bordello a Parigi crew. Here, Hysteric follows up Mysidian’s debut release “Italo-Record” with 5 extraterrestrial edits that’ll make for a great soundtrack to your exit from Planet Earth and return to your home-planet.
Francisco – Lineabeat Vol. 2 [SLOMO020]
Francisco returns to Slow Motion for the second in our of retro-dance-floor series; Linea Beat volume 2. Drum beats are rolling and lazers are scanning for a double a-side of vintage yet futuristic discoid funk. Relentless hand claps, ghostly Italo voices and killer bass lines that comes on like the B-52’s of your alternative-universe wet dream. This is the sound of a sweaty cellar at 2am on a Monday morning with a uniquely Italian twist.
Payfone – Quarantine [CHANNEL062]
Since donning the Payfone guise, former Kitty Bronx and Leon Lace man Phil Passera has yet to put a foot wrong. Both 2013 debut “International Smark” and last year’s “Paradise” – the latter for Phil South’s Golf Channel imprint – were both superb exercises in re-imagining New York boogie for the house generation. He’s at it again here, with “Quarantine” offering the perfect blend of jaunty electrofunk synths, early New York garage dubbiness, effortlessly soulful vocals, rubbery disco bass and a dash of Giorgio Moroder. Flipside “Padre Pray For Us” is an altogether deeper, woozier proposition, with blazed drums, hazy Rhodes keys and fluid synths being joined by a killer trumpet solo – the kind that makes you want to close your eyes and just drift away.
