Detroit don Norm Talley is as consistent as they come in house music circles. Despite a fine catalogue of cool cuts, ‘Cosmic Wave’ is his standout and a clear fan favourite. It dropped back in 2010 but has been reissued many times on different labels, this time on his own Upstairs Asylum. It’s the very essence of stripped-back and functional house/techno but with an impossibly impactful machine soul, the drums, synth waves and percussion all looping infinitely. But within that endless repetition there is beauty, hypnosis, and catharsis to be found. Sheer class, before you even get into the shimmering, sublimely gliding remix from Luke Hess & Brian Kage and the sparser ‘Cosmic Reality’, all stop/start funkiness rooted down by massive electronic handclaps.
Morris Audio is welcoming Dutch artist Böhm with “People communicate EP”, full of dreamy, old school House with a techy edge. Techno, Acid or old school House, Böhm’s versatility while keeping a real underground edge is class.
London-based deep house duo Saison debut on NYC’s Nu Groove. With their four-track EP, Saison continue to show their versatility with this collection of tougher tracks built for the underground.
Thorn (also known as Human Figures and previously known as Death Posture) is the new incarnation of NY based producer with a trajectory with labels like Black Lodge Recordings, Frigio Records, L.I.E.S and Death Magic Decay. This time returns to Body with ‘Shape Of Intent’, an EP with 6 dancefloor-ready cuts, refining his hypnotic and minimalistic sequences with dark funk rhythms and wave atmosphere. Includes two tracks in collaboration with Motiv-A (DKA Records, Lost Soul Enterprises).
Formed by George Thompson, Kyle Martin and Jonathan Nash, Kommune were active between 2014-2015. As close friends living near each other, their musical journeys were intertwined; Nash and Martin had recently completed their debut album as Land Of Light, while Thompson (aka Black Merlin), at that time putting the finishing touches to his debut album ‘Hipnotik Tradisi’, was also working with Martin as part of the duo Spectral Empire. Sharing equipment and ideas, Kommune arose organically, serving as a creative outlet for exploring analogue machine music in an improvisational context. Sessions in their North London studios led to a handful of gigs at venues including Hamburg’s legendary Golden Pudel and London’s LN-CC. This fleeting chapter of musical history may well have gone entirely undocumented had it not been for the fortuitous decision to meet up for a recording session in October 2014. Filling a car with their machines, they drove to a converted barn in the south of England, proceeded to set up, settle in and hit the record button. Over the course of two days, fuelled by the experiences of recent performances, the trio immersed themselves in the machines, crafting subtly evolving, long-form compositions with an enchanting balance and flow. Across the four long-form compositions that make up ‘Oast’, the trio summons barely controllable scrapes, acid-like bubbles, and bleeps from their machines, leaning on dub mixing techniques to give the tracks a sense of depth, dynamism and organic ambience. Mastery of the TR-808 drum machine is central, with remarkably nuanced drum programming imparting a hypnotic rhythm to the work, allowing other elements to emerge and unfold at a beautifully measured tempo. Recorded entirely live and improvised without any overdubs, ‘Oast’ offers a profound journey into minimalist electronic music while serving as a tribute to friendship, curiosity, and the spirit of experimentation.
In anticipation of the highly awaited LP ‘Cafe Futuro,’ Franz Scala releases ‘Crush Test.’ This track features Charlie, Wrong Era’s own enigmatic electro icon. ‘Crush Test’ captivates listeners with Scala’s menacing bass arps and haunting whispers. Continuing their collaborative efforts, Scala and Charlie evoke the celebrated essence of the Neukölln melting pot, drawing a ballad on kindred memories and welcoming listeners into the atmosphere of before.
After launching his own record label “Biloba,” Raffaele Arcella, aka Whodamanny, returns to Periodica with a limited-edition double tracker infused with unmistakable Italo-disco vibes and a Latin touch. Placebo and Loca Loca deliver rhythm with depth, reminding us how vacations can feel like a fleeting illusion of escape from reality—and how much nostalgia lingers in the memories of summer nightlife.
Hilltown Disco presents the 12th Angel in their ongoing ‘Angel Series’, Persephone. All profit goes towards the worthy mental-health project, Art Angel, who continue to change the lives of people in the Dundee area. The charity is run by those who have been through similar experiences, and offers a safe place for people to discover and rediscover themselves through many different art-forms. You can find out more at: www.artangeldundee.org.uk Joining the label to help raise awareness and funds are; Ivna Ji, Chupacabras, Hayter, Crossover Network, Rapha, Romphea, and Marickville Electronique.
In recent years, Blackploid has come to be one of Central Processing Unit’s signature artists. The German producer has averaged more than a record a year for the Sheffield imprint since he first landed on CPU in 2021. This prolific run continues with Cosmic Drama, Blackploid’s second LP for the label. The album takes the baton from its predecessor Enter Universe in style, delivering twelve tracks of top-quality machine-funk that draw down from electro’s classic artists while also imbuing proceedings with a playfulness that very much gives things a signature Blackploid-ish flavour.
Longtime TX techno scene veteran Xander Harris is back for blood on the reactivated TRU (Texas Recordings Underground) label from fellow Lone Star cyborg Gavin Guthrie (TX Connect) as well as DJ/Producer Xinexport. Prepare to enter a world of scuzzy synths buzzing like cathode-ray screen-glow reflected back from bloodshot eyeballs, basslines sizzling like seared flesh around overheated nethacker brain-jacks, synchronized laser saws slashing serrated arpeggios to the rhythm of robotic drum machine assembly lines, dystopian melodies refracting through the haze like swarms of gleaming crimson camera eyes…6 trax of unstoppable terminator assault audio.
Fireground are a male/female duo with Neapolitan origins that – after appearances on labels as esteemed as Tresor, no less – landed on Illian Tape back in October 2024 and now return with more cultured techno that finds a perfect sweet spot between atmosphere and intent. ‘Marea’ opens with some jazzy melodies zipping about over dusty drums and classic deep house chords. ‘Harbour Walk’ then has fizzing synths overloading a cantering groove that fills you with rushes of warmth and ‘Gateway’ is a more direct techno pumper with deft percussion and grimy pads, making it primed for warehouse action. ‘Smile As One’ closes on a dubby, stripped back and heads down broken beat vibe for 5am sessions.
In a sea of disposable cookie cutter music Hieroglyphic Being continues to be a singular voice in the crowd. The 12 track album “The Sound Of Something Ending” deftly maps the intersection of house, techno, and EBM, while maintaining the curiosity of free jazz & the DIY of punk.
Moto Music presents Time Synthesis, a sonic collaboration of the living legends Dan Piu and DJ Estimulo, creating a future past guaranteed to last. Experience the dynamic aurora of class, seamlessly guiding your senses through savory flavors of funky Detroit and atmospheric Techno hybrids to the smoothest of sunset coastal Deep House designs marinated to move bodies on the dancefloor and influence the mind. Indeed a synthesis of good times where the future of authentic house and techno was never left behind.
Paranoid London land on cult NYC label Nu Groove with ”Talk Dirty / Revolution”. Known for their dynamic, hybrid sets combining experimental DJing with live electronics, Paranoid London are a firm favourite of heads in the know thanks to their impeccable, eclectic taste that honours house’s underground roots.
The Hipodrome Of Music 