Stacian – Fractal ID [CLEAR007]

STACIAN - Fractal ID

A project based variously in the Midwest, the Bay Area, and currently Nashville, Stacian is a longtime vehicle for dance floor alchemist, electronic artist, and producer Dania Luck, who delivers for Chicago’s CLEAR a collection that synthesizes a wide breadth of influences; from varying strains of minimal wave, to the darker baroque flourishes of German new-wave and post-industrial— all while scavenging the displaced futurism of early analog electronic music. From the glam-spattered invocation of “Dance With Me” to the frenzied snare-hits of “Read Me”, to the post-industrial stomp of “We Are War”; “Fractal ID” unfolds like a map of hypnagogic states. By the time we reach “The Well” and “Idea of Home” a trapdoor in the dance floor has opened to an otherworldly abyss, where pulsating analog beats materialize, and glimmering arpeggiations illuminate the icy well of our shared technological isolation. Stacian’s “Fractal ID” is a propulsive and perilous journey to the depths, of dynamic rhythmic modulations and expansive sonic textures; a lone ray of light that bounces and refracts along the cavernous sub-levels of the club floor.

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Stacian – Fractal ID [CLEAR007]

VA – Frigio All Stars Vol. 4 [FRV037]

VARIOUS - Frigio All Stars Vol 4

Summer 2021 sees the fourth in the Frigio All Stars series hitting all respectable shelves. Jack Carel opens the 12” with the acid burning grunge of “Fuck This Shit” followed by Sons of Traders with the chugging 4/4 nastiness of “A for All.” A trippy, dark industrial streak runs in the snares and swagger of Rambal Cochet’s “Doomsday Scenario Interface” and in the powerful introspection of Daniel Holt’s “The Recluse.” Neud Photo arrives on Frigio with a menacing debut, “The Split” which pierces a haze of smoke in this late-night floor-filler. Honored Matres who appeared on the first volume of these series, returns with the blackest of the compilation. Machine gun percussion close the 12” with Chris Mitchell offering the chopped and gnawed “Alsina”.

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VA – Frigio All Stars Vol. 4 [FRV037]

Low Standard Deviation – Bunker 4018 [B4018]

LOW STANDARD DEVIATION - Bunker 4018

This very one Lost Boy from Brazil washed ashore the Lowlands’ ‘Finis Terrae’, a produce of first-generation ‘Shock Doctrine’ and a real ‘carioca’ borne on the New World’s ‘Bossa Nova’ and ‘Esplendor Geometrico’ of old ‘Ancien Regime’ para-military junta that delivers quite some maximally dark and manic minimal wave of late, at times even slightly reminiscent of Siouxsie and the Banshees and of Joy Division, and all sung through old and charming, slightly dissonant ‘Samba’ melody lines vaguely hailing from certain sinister up-hill ‘Cidade de Deus’ margins of a distinctly distant ‘Vagamundo’ Purgatory past in either the Portuguese, the English or the Spanish tongues, rendering the paranoia ‘facsimile in Limbo’ of the coming Futurist Global Orderly State, this deep-state ‘Novo Estado Novo’ within the current ‘Nova Bossa Nova’, this ‘Guerra Nova Prometheida por uma Terra Nova Prometida’, the World’s Electronic New Wave ‘Fado’ of Digital Panopticon and similar forms of purely A.I.-bot-generated (nothing personal!) Totalitarian Torture ‘Technique du coup d’Etat’ in genuine random numbers as already foreseen and shown to all some long time before in the Magic Green on that ‘Funky Dollar Bill’, ‘Novus Ordo Seclorum’.

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Low Standard Deviation – Bunker 4018 [B4018]

VA – Cameroon Garage Funk [AALP092]

VARIOUS - Cameroon Garage Funk

Analog Africa presents their 32nd compilation, “Cameroon Garage Funk”, highlighting Yaounde’s 1970’s underground music scene. The quest to assemble the puzzle-pieces of what seemed to be a long lost underground scene took us to Camroon, Benin and further on to Togo and it was in the cities of Cotonou, Lome and Sotouboua that we managed to lay our hands on most of the songs presented in this compilation. Since there were no local labels, no producers, and almost nothing in way of infrastructure in Cameroon at that time, the artists had to be everything: musician, producer, executive producer, arranger, financier, promoter and sometimes even distributor. The sixteen tracks on Cameroon Garage Funk pulse with raw inspiration and sweat DYI mood uniting the featured diverse musicians around their willingness to do everything themselves in order to take a chance in the music scene.

vinyl / CD

VA – Cameroon Garage Funk [AALP092]

Karpov not Kasparov – Memory [DH027]

KARPOV NOT KASPAROV - Memory

Romanian two-piece Karpov not Kasparov have dropped their new EP ‘Memory’ on Disco Halal. A five-track release opens with the sunkissed, synth-driven vibes of ‘Except For Bears’, ensuring the EP commences with some cosmic disco energy. Next up is the hypnotic, computerised sounds of ‘Fool’s Mate’ and otherworldly synth oddity ‘Les Pions Sont l’Âme du Jeu’, before the title track and recent single ‘Memory’ sees the Bucharest duo delve into psychedelia-laced outsider pop territories. Things are then closed out with an instrumental of the same track.
Valeriu Borcoș and Eduard Gabia aka Karpov not Kasparov describe what they do as ‘a musical game of chess between synthesizer and drums’. The Romanian duo also incorporate an analogue visual artist and contemporary dancers into their live performances, resulting in a theatrical show and a kind of real-time soundtrack to the action around them.

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Karpov not Kasparov – Memory [DH027]

Oshana – Disciples of Dystopia [PSI004LP]

OSHANA - Disciples Of Dystopia

Channeling her innermost depths, Oshana reveals her widest body of work to date, “Disciples of Dystopia;” a multi-faceted expression of the emotions, influences, and sounds that have guided her on her musical journey. The album aptly marks the fourth release on her very own, Psionic label, and is the first double 12” in the catalogue.

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Oshana – Disciples of Dystopia [PSI004LP]

Leonid – Namurian Phase EP [LDR_25]

LEONID - Namurian Phase EP

LDR returns with another addition to their roster at Lunar Disko. Waterford native Leonid delivers a rare EP, crafted as always with methodical depth and warmth. A 5 track journey of emotive electronics and machine soul, evolving into another timeless masterpiece from Leonid.

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Leonid – Namurian Phase EP [LDR_25]

VA – EPM20 EP2 [EPM22V]

ADVENT, The/ZEIN FERREIRA/CARL FINLOW/DETROIT'S FILTHIEST / MODULATOR - EPM20 EP2

EPM continue their 20th birthday celebrations with an ep dedicated to electro featuring The Advent, Carl Finlow, Detroits Filthiest and Freddy Fresh. As all good electro-heads will know, The Advent (Cisco Ferreira) is as renowned for electro as he is for techno. On ‘Strangeform’ he works alongside his son and rising talent, Zein to turn in pure electro-funk that’s blistering to the last beat. Another absolute master of the scene is Carl Finlow who brings deep bass notes, carefully crafted melody and his meticulous production skills to ‘Optogenetic’. Detroit’s Filthiest has been wowing listeners with his work for labels like Casa Voyager, Bass Agenda, Philthtrax and his own MCEC. His track ‘Werewolf’ is the electro monster the title suggests – dark and tough Detroit-electro book-ended with a playful vocal. The EP closes with the legendary, Freddie Fresh who after three decades is a genuine virtuoso. Under his Modulator guise he layers beautiful retro synth stylings and sci-fi atmospherics on ‘ProMars’. The third EP featuring four house tracks will follow in July, with the ‘EPM20’ compilation after the summer.

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VA – EPM20 EP2 [EPM22V]

Planar Traits – Portal Vision EP [RIDE04]

PLANAR TRAITS - Portal Vision

A smokey hookah lounge lies nestled amongst Saturn’s outer rings – for those who know where to look. Its sole occupant for a thousand years, the being known as Planar Traits. Lick the cosmic toad and strap yourself in for a fourth ride on the Magic Carpet. Propulsive breaks and mystical atmospheres send us crashing through the waterfall, deep into the velvet jungle beyond.

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Planar Traits – Portal Vision EP [RIDE04]

Armec – Caged [VIS324]

ARMEC - Caged (feat Hardfloor remix)

20/20 Vision present the debut release from Manchester based artists Armec. The Caged EP hits the ground running – with a record that spans heavy club-ready electro and futuristic soundscapes. Complete with a remix from German acid connoisseurs Hardfloor.

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Armec – Caged [VIS324]

Zobol – Diminishing Returns [HAWS012]

ZOBOL - Diminishing Returns

For the 12th release on Welsh imprint Haŵs. Zobol and Reptant are clearly on the same mission: to breathe life into the humdrum and start the road to recovery on the dancefloor. ‘Diminishing Returns’ posits an answer to its first question: that innovating with what we have is the way to overcome monotony, as well as reassuring that the collective pulse is still very much warm.

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Zobol – Diminishing Returns [HAWS012]

Machino – Half Forgotten Dreams [PHXS18]

PHXS18 is coming from Los Angeles based Machino. 9 tracks album 45 minutes of music, surrounds a dark atmosphere of Electro which combine with Electronic Body Music and a blend of industrial visualizing the fragmented, vulnerable state of the occurring within an isolated, controlled space where robots learn to function solely from the movement of their human subjects. the subject’s demeanour of fragility and curiosity towards the robot creates a sense of eroticism within their synchronous relationship.

Machino – Half Forgotten Dreams [PHXS18]

Carl Finlow – Engines of Creation [AVD013]

FINLOW, Carl - Engines Of Creation

Carl Finlow makes his full debut on Avoidant Records with the clinical Engines Of Creation EP. Easily one of the most highly respected producers to come out of the UK, Carl has a discography going back over 20 years and spanning multiple genres. After his first outing the label as part of the ”Defend Your Planet” compilation, Carl drops 4 classic, superbly produced cuts of hi techno electro funk. Title track “Engines Of Creation” opens in true Finlow style with robotic beats and flexing, otherworldly synths. “Dead Centre” bangs hard with it’s disruptive, fast paced percussion but leads down darker paths with ominous, spacial FX and atmospheres. The frenetic sounds of “Sonic Six” continue Finlow’s innovative and funked up trajectory before closing out with the interstellar trip of “Reckless”, that bounds through the the cosmos, radiating it’s high energy output.

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Carl Finlow – Engines of Creation [AVD013]

Suzanne Ciani – Improvisation On Four Sequences At Festival Antigel [ATMO-001]

CIANI, Suzanne - Improvisation On Four Sequences: Live At Festival Antigel

Improvisation on Four Sequences was performed live in quadraphonic sound on the Buchla 200e and the Animoog at Festival Antigel in Geneva, Switzerland on January 25th, 2020. This record is specially encoded to be played back in quadraphonic sound and is also stereo compatible. This is the first release in 25 years on Suzanne Ciani’s Atmospheric label, which focuses on her live electronic music.

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Suzanne Ciani – Improvisation On Four Sequences At Festival Antigel [ATMO-001]

Nicolini – Penni’s Palace [SONLP006]

NICOLINI - Penni's Palace

Welcome to Nicolini’s wonderful world of surprise – Penni’s Palace. Here you will find zebra-chairs and matchbox countachs, colourful tv-screens and Penni the cat presiding over proceedings. You will also find Nicolini, hunched over his MPC or Casio keyboards, sweeping the EQs to make the sounds move, jamming out his songs in heavy microdoses. They are the sounds of machines and the city – Amsterdam centre to be precise – brought to life with volts of electricity. These songs started out as a live show on the terrace of Garage Noord nightclub, and over the following months Nicolini tweaked and re-recorded them into the collection of tracks you have before you. Bristling with energy, these live jams have a loose, almost mystical feeling – you never know quite what’s around the corner. Sounds jump out of the speakers at you, from car engines to reverb crashes. Opposites face off against each other – the mechanical meets the organic, and the cold emptiness of the city contrasts with the warm timbres of tropical climes.

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Nicolini – Penni’s Palace [SONLP006]