Co-founder of art space and label Ortloff, FR Fels debuts on Brokntoys with Planet Fear. The Leipzig based producer presents five tense, melodic electro tracks drenched in reverb.
FR Fels – Planet Fear [BT80]
Author: hipodrome
Rabih Beaini @ Dekmantel Selectors 2023
Terrence Dixon – Edge Of The Visible Universe LP
The “Edge Of The Visible Universe” is a 24 tracks album by Terrence Dixon. The album was recorded in Detroit and Amsterdam and is only be available exclusively on band camp in digital format only.
The album will be followed soon by a vinyl release with the same name featuring four club oriented tracks under the Population one alias.
XIII – Permanent Rain LP [KH046]
‘Permanent Rain’ is introspective listening. Lean back and let your ears catch a source that moves, breaths, resonates and rises, until a quiet truth swells upon us. XIII captures truth in all its honesty. Sometimes it feels so physical, it’s as if time and elements of nature are peeled of layer after layer. This record combines songwriting with sonic hypnosis. A rhythmic, esoteric oasis, containing currents of mysticism, yet accompanied by contemporary electronics. Its elements translate to a brew of mutant raga, neofolk and tripped out celtic fantasies.
Unknown Artist – Spiraling Synthesizers For Heavy Cosmic Music [DEL15]
Delodio label’s managing duo (Fafane and F.M), have been piling up tonnes of tapes and cassettes in their studio for many years. The tracks compiled here, by an as of now unidentified artist, come from one of these cassettes. One thing is certain, the artist who made this instrumental cosmic music loved / loves soaring synthesizers with arpeggiators and drum machines. Throughout the 8 tracks on this album, you get the impression of wandering through a planetarium or listening to an early 80s sci-fi movie soundtrack.
VA – Buone Vacanze Vol. 3 [BAP186]
Vacanze di Natale! Four party jams by Alberto Melloni, Luca Bacchetti and Modula feat. Carmen Lubrano from Italy and Red Woodchuck, the Dutch cherry on top.
Zaratustra – Uprising Vol. 1 [LAX156]
Zaratustra is a young French producer strongly inspired by indie dance, italo disco, EBM, new beat, acid and ethnic music. This track symbolizes the perfect mix of rock, italo and EBM and STOLT strikes the blow with one of his finest vocal performances. Comes with a Lauer rearanging.
Ethereal Beat – Underboard [THANKYOU029]
A hard one to put in a box when it comes to genre, floating somewhere between italo and synth pop, originally released in Switzerland in 1985. “Underboard” is very cool paced downtempo number that builds up with layers of subtle percussion lusciously adorned by some heavy saxy reedsmanship and mysterious vocal accents with no real message – 100% chill o’clock served on ice. “Cedar Of Lebanon” picks up the tempo a notch, once again setting the scene for the reeds to shine as the catchy melody is presented, beautiful 80’s instrumentalism from a golden age, clearly not made in Ableton. B side features a respectful DJ tool style remix by Anatolian Weapons.
Miss D. – Moving [EHAW008]
Miss D. used to work as a model in New York. That she ended up in Vienna was sheer coincidence. That she became a recording artist was never planned, either. She moved to the Austrian capital with a well-known commercial producer in the mid-1980s, and soon she found herself recording TV ads for ice cream manufacturers. One day in the recording studio, someone had the brilliant idea of producing a proper record with her. The outcome was the highly sought-after disco oddity “Moving”, which was originally released in 1986, but most copies were destroyed due to a lack of commercial success. Now getting a second chance, “Moving” is as strong as Austrian disco productions from that era come: slow, bouncy, full of personality and consistently surprising.
Reptant LIVE @ Dekmantel Selectors 2023
Credit 00 – Midnightlife Crisis LP [PNKMN050]
Following up his anthemic late-summer burner, Hope, Credit 00 returns to Pinkman to deliver the album Midnightlife Crisis. Hopping between genres whilst remaining resolutely coherent, the twelve-track LP is a showcase of the Rat Life boss’ many influences. From the driving, mesmeric techno of Music Is A Spiritual Thing to the sci-fi electro on Bouncing Bell and Love Warrior’s downtempo, half-time shuffle, the collection of tracks is broad and varied yet simultaneously unified by belonging to the club. Whether it’s warm-up material, peaktime rollers or afterhours sludge for tired legs and scrambled heads, there’s something for every scenario on Midnightlife Crisis. And with recurring themes of melancholy and anxiety throughout, the album perhaps reflects that all too familiar period for every club enthusiast when the years are ticking by and the lights are coming on.
VA – Electro Coalition 1 [ZC-ELEC-DIG001]
Zodiak Commune Records presents the first digital Electro Acid compilation with tracks from Serge Geyzel, Johnfaustus, G303, Zodiac Childs, Dima Gastrolër.
Mascarpone – Plasmapheresis [MET001]
New label Meteors Recordings presenting their first release. From that indescribable connection between Science and Electronic Music, France’s Mascarpone oriented this EP towards all the imagery that these themes can generate in our minds. Themes that already catched the attention of techno and electro founders many years ago, showing that this link has been present since the beginning. Unklevon remix included.
Mowgli – Galactic Funk Podcast 132
Timothy J Fairplay – Rule The Streets [DGMD005]
‘Rule The Streets’ is Timothy “J” Fairplay’s latest album on his label Dungeon Module. After 2021’s ‘A Snowstorm In The Tropics’, 2023 has been a busy year for the label. In February Timothy released ‘Dungeon Module Volume 1’ followed by ‘I Lay Awake At Night Scheming’ in August. This album was recorded in Timothy’s current studio, with his Casio RZ-1 central to the set up. 8 raw jack tracks inspired by the early days of house music, and catches Timothy at his most minimal. The early days of the Chicago and Detroit and how they drew influence from Europe in their stripped back sound is an endless influence on Timothy’s work. The bumpy opener ‘Rule The Streets’ has a vocal refrain which sounds like something from a 70’s gang movie. ‘Insufficient Funds’ is a playful jam based around a junk shop delay unit. ‘Pleasure Beach’ an 8 bit house/funk beat track. ‘Back To The Stone Age’ with its flanger heavy percussion and a booming Adonis style vocal. Side B starts with ‘Instant Replay’ with its rolling 808 toms and white noise intro. ‘Safety Patrol’ has a deeper Mr Fingers feel, followed by the stalker-ish ‘Gang Bass’ with its sampled live bass and strings. Last of all is ‘Livin’ It Up’ made entirely with the sampler on the RZ-1 sounding like a Lil Louie demo.
VA – Amphibious Carbine [SMI-008]
The Sound Migration label takes another trip back in to the CATT articles to explore the proto-trance and early bleep techno sound they were pushing from 1988-1991. Another five essential gems from the modestly sized catalogue get an airing here, kicking off with Confidential’s haunting ‘Amphibious Carbine’ followed by the boxy pressure of Exocet’s ‘Nitrogen’. This is astounding stuff throughout, not least the freak-zone trip of Holy Ghost’s ‘Walking On Air’, which sounds like the common denominator between Ibiza and Goa in their nascent days as party destinations. Don’t sleep on the clattering funk of Exocet’s ‘Overdose’ either, a seriously snappy groover with all kinds of oddball sampling going on.
Marcus Paulson – Garden City EP [MOS034]
Gherkin Jerks – Gherkin Jerks EP [MU2413]
Three tracks that were included as bonus tracks on the Gherkin Jerks compilation CD from a few years ago are now up for their release on vinyl. All originate from the same Gherkin sessions as Mr. Heard’s two outstanding late 80’s EP’s but were never released as such. The moniker showed a different side to his sonic pallet, and would innovate the acid sound to great FX, influencing a great many of artists in the decades that followed. Psychotic Fantasy eventually made its way to the Dance 2000 Pt. 2 album, while the original full take of Ecstasy and Reznaytor never saw the light of the day. Now for the first time on wax and still sounding as futuristic as ever!
Marco Bernardi – Shuiler [HCS991]
Electro heavyweight Marco Bernardi is back on Harbour City Sorrow with his first release in four years. Given his considerable history exploring the outer limits of machine funk, you’ll be pleased to know this new single offers another two excursions into parts unknown that shirk the formulaic tendencies of so much contemporary electro.
Zuul – Beam Retreat [XRD015]
Exarde clocks up its 15th outing here with another bit of brilliantly direct to dancefloor techno tackle from Zuul.
The Hipodrome Of Music 