Detroit pioneer Robert Hood returns to Rekids with a four-track EP of his trailblazing minimal techno.
Robert Hood – The Blueprint EP [REKIDS184]
001.Features
VA – Hai Noroc! Garage Beat & Pop Artifacts From Romania [667-1]
The Romanian music scene in the early 60s was pretty grim if you were young and restless. Traditional music and soppy folk was the norm, but when in December 1961 kids in Bucharest got to see the film “The Young Ones” starring Cliff Richard and The Shadows, their eyes, ears and minds exploded with the seed of rock n roll. This gateway into the wild ways created a wave of bands who were eager to sink their teeth into any morsel of 60s culture from the West. ‘Hai Noroc!’ is the first collection of Beat, Garage and Pop artefacts from Communist Romania. 16 hard to find cuts and previously unreleased tracks offer a glimpse of a youth gone wild in an oppressive Communist state.
VA – Insidia [FREE DOWNLOAD]
Free Summer compilation from the brokntoys basecamp. Insidia is a taster of things to come and features music from Mayo, KÆ, SMPL SMPL, Atsushi Izumi, Serge Geyzel, Sinitsin & The Droid, KafkaCtrl and Steifl.
XVARR – Transitional Being EP [AM-02]
Aural Medium has handpicked six tracks for this special new release which spans the last decade. As such, Transitional Being shows off another side to the production palette of XVARR. These are tracks that are steeped in ritualistic dance heritage but also enslaved to technology. They are often built around taught drum patterns and sequenced basslines, with twinkling synths up top and more than a slight trace of comic energy in the mould of Weatherall or Baldelli. Tracks lure you into a state of trance and on the more club orientated tracks presented here there is nowhere you would rather be.
Roy Davis Jr. – Tha Black Light Exposure EP [GR-1280]
Anthony Nicholson – BlakMuzic EP [CM-59V]
Circular Motion is back with this banging EP from Mr. Anthony Nicholson brought forth on the previously unreleased format of vinyl. The BlakMuzic EP is purely a dancefloor delite and a dj’s weapon of peace.
Stephane Attias – Journey To The Light [VISIO041]
Stephane Attias is back with a new 12”, a tribute to Phil Asher. At the beginning of 2021, DJ, producer, mentor and friend Phil Asher passed away suddenly and Stephane naturally wanted to pay tribute to his memory like many people . Exchanging ideas and memories with some of his friends, Stephane proposed Trinidadian Deep as well as Mark de Clive-Lowe to collaborate on two tracks in Phil’s memory and the result is here now. With live percussion, organic keyboards, house beats, and broken grooves, Journey to the light and Illusion will hopefully participate to keep Phil ‘s memory alive on the dancefloor or on your sound system. Rest in power Phil Asher.
Cignol – Ancient Technologies [ACT101]
Nullptr – Terminus [CPU01100011]
The faultless Central Processing Unit label welcomes back Eddie Symons aka Nullptr with this slick new EP. His sounds are fresh and futuristic with plenty of otherworld motifs making them so. ‘Connected’ kicks this one off with a bumping bassline and far-sighted pads while ‘Mesospheric Cruise’ sooth the soul as it journeys through the cosmos. There’s more tension in the restless beats and bass of ‘Syndicate’ and ‘Terminus’ that make for a nice yin to the a-side’s yang.
Sound Synthesis – Orbital Mechanics [ORBITAL101]
Sound Synthesis is Keith Farrugia, an electronic music producer form Malta whose vision of electro takes you into the future. This time out he lands on Orbital Mechanics with four fierce cuts of starting with the slapping electro funk of ‘I Am Machine’ and moving on to the more intense paranoias of ‘Nexus Of Dark Energy.’
VA – Dalmata Daniel eats Lahmacun [DDC04]
Pure energy shines through the latest Dalmata Daniel compilation, where all producers gathered together for a good cause. Lockdowns and social distancing practices are slowly easing up in the luckier half of the world, yet local producers and clubs are still facing a hard ongoing period of no live shows with a non-existing club culture. As a result, web-based platforms are more important than ever. The Lahmacun community radio is an integral part of our Budapest scene, as they provide a remarkable online platform not only to musicians and DJs, but to local broadcasters, hosts and music enthusiasts alike. Keeping up the spirit, Lahmacun radio is eager to promote and celebrate music from the local Hungarian scene and from passionate labels, collectives and communities, be it anywhere in the world. This 20-track fundraising compilation is therefore dedicated to Lahmacun radio. It is presented by 10 local and 10 international producers, hailing from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Greece and Israel. All of us worked and participated in this compilation to help the operation of this very important platform. All income we receive from sales of this V/A goes to support their work.
Sacred Article / SSPS – Output/Signal [KODE04]
Nation’s sub label Kode returns with a split 12” release entitled “Output/Signal”. On Side A we have “Empty Spirit Of A Psychopath (Psyche Cover)” from Sacred Article, a new alias project for their debut concept creation cover of the band, Psyche, of electronics in their region of cold harsh industrial, warm synthpop, dancefloor minimal mayhem and beyond. The flip side comes from label compadre SSPS, kicking off with the live performance of “Train Full of Strangers”, from Unlimited Nation Online Festival in the summer of 2020, an electrifying tune influenced by Suicide.
Paranoid London – PLEDITS#2 [PLW003]
Two more delicious PLEDITS from the most wanted hard drive in Hackney. B-boy classics, New Romantic bonus beats & Detroitisms all get the PL treatment here.
Absolute Body Control – Lost / Found [MEC056]
Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 influenced by the sound produced by the likes of Suicide, D.A.F. and the UK electronic scene. Eric Van Wonterghem joined the project next year just after the release of the debut 7″ “Is There An Exit?”. They released together just some cassettes during its brief initial run, but this was enough to gain a following in and outside Belgium. A compilation of tracks entitled “Eat This” was eventually done in 1993 and a first edition of the collection “Lost / Found” was issued on CD in 2005. Dirk and Eric took the project back on stage in 2006 and decided to re-activate it. They first re-recorded some of their classic songs for the album “WindReWind” and then continued releasing new material and touring all Europe and beyond. “Lost / Found” is the definitive collection of this minimal-synth-wave act and is now available for the first time on vinyl record with a total of 52 songs including 8 previously unreleased.
Nuovo Testamento – New Earth LP [AV!074]
Nuovo Testamento is the Los Angeles & Bologna-based trio featuring members of Horror Vacui, Sheer Mag, Tørsö, Terremoto and Crimson Scarlet. With the addition of Chelsey Crowley on vocals, synthesists Andrea Mantione & Giacomo Zatti found that their initial coldwave tracks, originally written for the male voice, took on an undeniable synthpop feel. While still recording these songs for the debut Exposure EP in 2019, the band leaned into this evolution and their shared love of Italo disco, beginning to write what would become the New Earth LP. Recorded in isolation during a global pandemic, New Earth is a dark Italo record dappled with light. For eight new tracks, dancing synths perfectly balance the rich dream of a charmed life with melancholy. Guitars have taken a step back, allowing disco beats to flood the floor and joyful fun to prevail. The record anticipates a return to dance spaces, imagines shared experiences and celebrates personal power.
Tom Guycot – Deranged Fan LP [GDLP011]
The telephone rings at midnight. The sound echoes through the halls of your home in the Hollywood hills. Nervously you pick up the heavy receiver only to hear the desperate breathing of a lunatic… The same lunatic that has been calling for months. Welcome to ‘Deranged Fan’ the score to an imagined American thriller by Tom Guycot. Laying somewhere between the Italian and French legends and Harold Faltermeyer, Deranged Fan is Beverly Hills Cop on mescaline and chloroform. Vintage strings sing over analog bass on a journey to the darkest places of your mind… Can you escape your fate as one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood? Or will you end up just another tabloid fable…
Rex Ronny & DJ Sotofett – Epidermis [FP075]
8 years after his last visit to Full Pupp, DJ Sotofett returns, accompanied by Rex Ronny, to embodies a solid 7 track EP with a strong Sci-Fi pallet of Cosmic-Italo racers. “Epidermis” is not another conjectural Nu-Disco record but a strong Disco-Dub infused travel in rhythm and melody. The entirety of the EP is bound together by four Galactic synth tracks and three driving Disco cuts, all with an individual approach. It’s a solid nod to the excellence producers of Italian Disco and UK left-of-center dance music has taught us since the late 70’s.
Arp Frique – Nyame Ye / Qi Quem Que Nos [RHSJ016]
Limited 7 inch for Recordstore day 2021. Tracks feature are taken from Arp Frique’s upcoming album ”The Seed”.
VA – Native Dance 02 [ND002]
Bayetë returns with a second Native Dance edits sampler, teaming up this time with close friends and local producers (Baguette, Miraa., Probably Sean, Uma) on four dancefloor-ready edits roving over luscious chanson, quirky downtempo, and sun-soaked italo-pop.
Summer Break
The Hipodrome Of Music 