Trauma Collective returns with four cuts of decidedly hypnotic and abstract techno from ever-prolific ASC. Rounding out the last decade with a string of stand-out releases on his own imprint, Auxiliary, the San Diego producer brings his cerebral sonic aesthetic to the fledgling Madrid label. “Loop Research” showcases a singular artist unbound by tempo and at the top of their game.
Surgeon is back in the Zenker Brothers Operating Room slicing up four deep and moody techno cuts with the surgical precision he is known for.
James Pennington is the Detroit techno talent who records as the Suburban Knight and has done since the middle of the eighties. He’s got plenty of mini-classics to his name such as ‘The Groove’ and ‘Art of Stalking’ and now he is back with what amounts to his first solo record in over a decade having previously worked with Inner City and Underground Resistance. Here he offers scintillatingly soulful techno on ‘Inner City’, which comes with a deeper and more quickened 207737 edit. Reverse the record and you’ll find ‘Species’, an intergalactic techno trip on bumping beats. ‘Intel Bombs’ (feat Ray 7) closes out with intense drum work and turbocharged stabs.
From the same minds behind the 808 Box and Electric Eclectics projects released on Fundamental Records, the time is now for Electro Transmissions, the new project from Electro Records. ET 001 is a various artists release, what they call the Abduction Krew, with tracks by Electro Nation, Zeta Reticula, Mas 2008, Sound Synthesis and T/Error.
‘Dreams of empty spaces’ is the second release from Electro Label Suborder. With that new EP, French based producer NGA doesn’t bother about flourish and goes straight to the point. Expect nothing but 3 dancefloor killers. Every track is a pure piece of Minimalistic Electro which will perfectly fit in every high skilled DJ set. Whatever the side you choose to play, you can count on that mix of metallic basslines, 808 drums and hypnotizing keyboards, to activate clubbers body mechanics.
Atlanta artist 30303 debuts on Vault Wax with five cosmic, space-influenced live acid jams. The far-out journey begins with ethereal, spaced-out breaks and trips into darker, grittier techno turns.
Another exploratory and bulletproof data delivery by Das Ding, returning for his second record in the Mechatronica White series following ”I Am Not A Robot” from last year – this time assisted by Heap’s radiant interpretation on the flip.
Kris Baha returns to his imprint Power Station since ‘Mind Your Head’ in 2016 with 4 mutant industrial cuts ready for a dancefloor of 1.‘Behave’ begins with a hypnotic sequence guiding the listener through the piece as sonic sirens screech from the cavernous dystopian wastelands of 2020.
Legowelt has been a key figure in the Dutch electronic music scene since the early nineties, steadily releasing timeless music that merges the pioneering sounds of Detroit and Chicago with idiosyncratic sci-fi fascinations. “Unconditional Contours” captures Legowelt’s stint at the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments (SMEM), after he was invited to be the first artist in residence at the institution’s “Playroom” project. Legowelt visited SMEM in Fribourg, Switzerland, in early 2019 to explore the collection and record music. Possessing an extensive collection of synthesizers himself, he used hand-picked synthesizers from the museum’s archive: the rare Farfisa Synthorchestra, the EVS-1 Evolution, the “shittiest rompler ever made”, amongst many others. The 10-track album “Unconditional Contours” is both a probe into the vast collection of SMEM, and a display of Legowelt’s well established compositional qualities. Leaving ample space for new sounds to unfold, Legowelt invokes gentle trips, brooding excursions, bleep heavy soundscapes, and reimagined elements of dance music classicism. SMEM and -OUS are launching the “smem+ous” series to document the “Playroom” residencies. A limited edition of this album was already sent out to early supporters of the “Playroom”. Founded in 2016 and based on a collection of more than 5000 synthesizers, organs, drum machines and effects that had been collected over a 35 year period by Klemens Niklaus Trenkle, SMEM offers residencies, studio sessions, talks and workshops.
“When I first saw this collection, I was truly flabbergasted. Endless rows of synthesisers – some so obscure I had not ever seen nor heard of them. This place will probably turn into the world’s most magical place for synths.” – Legowelt
KMRU is the moniker of Joseph Kamaru, a sound artist, and producer based in Nairobi. One of the leading exponents of the burgeoning experimental music scene in Nairobi and beyond he was listed by Resident Advisor as one of ’15 East African Artists You Need To Hear’ in 2018 and is a regular performer at the fabled Nyegenyege Festival having also presented live performances at CTM festival and Gamma Festival. Peel is KMRU’s first release for Editions Mego. exquisite mix of field recordings and electronics unravelling at a repetitive and leisurely pace to expose a rich tapestry of sound that has been revered for it’s ability to cross borders with the sheer undertow of emotional content. The subtle calming atmosphere within Peel belies the compositional prowess as layers of delicate sounds wrap around each other creating a hybrid new form ambient musics both captivating through it’s textural depth and kaleidoscopic patterns. The track titles lend themselves to the themes and mood set within: Why are you here, Well, Solace, Klang, Insubstantial and the title track. This is a deep heartfelt journey with a new strong voice being expressed through the means of organically presented electronic ambient sounds, one which reveals further layers on repeat listens.
Long-time Muslimgauze fans with keen eyes and/or photographic memories may immediately notice something about the newly unearthed Sadaams Children album; with some slight orthographic differences, it just about shares a name with a short track from the classic Narcotic (Staalplaat, 1997; the similarity and the difference is pretty much expected from someone who both liked to reuse names and didn’t care for consistency in spelling as Bryn Jones did). While none of the four lengthy tracks found on Sadaams Children actually sound like sparse, clean string sounds of Narcotic’s ”Saddams Children”, three of them never previously heard extended versions of tracks previously found on that release – well, one is both an extended and truncated version, but such are the idiosyncrasies and joys of the ever-complex Muslimgauze oeuvre.
Introducing C.P.I. an almost forgotten project from Capablanca & Marc Piñol granted a full album release via John Talabot’s Hivern Discs. Emerging in 2014 with a rare 7″ release, Alianza follows a brace of EPs spread across a four year peroid, with this album diving deep into the submersive ambient realms of analogue, machine made music. Full of tension, lo-fi industrialisms and atmospheres that play with themes of giallo italo (“Osera”), and winds of the new age in “Islaalsl”, find spiritual spoken word in both “Rasa” and “Epileg”, with the latter drifting unnoticed into a haunted cathedral of choirs. For lovers of ambient 4th world music, dub techno noise-floor, crackle and pop (“I/O”) and epic space western drone (“Sol”), C.P.I. have arrived.
Following the first episode, Drivecom presents the second part of the Generative Operations series. It continues with the dark, technical and minimal concept of music mixed together with contemporary, cinematic elements and experimental sounds and textures. The vision and workflow keeps up the same vibe as with the first ep and you will find more synth lines involved into a generative structure from complex and massive modular patches. The sequencing is always different each time every track is being played back giving us a unique listening. About the sound design all the tracks have a cinematic vibe as in the first 12”. Always looking for a situation where cinema meets electronic music as being planned as a film sound track.
Soweto-born Sello Twala emerged as a key figure in South Africa’s bubblegum scene, initially cutting his teeth in the early 80s as part of groups Umoja, Harari and Image, who in 1985 released the track that would give him his nickname: ‘Chicco’. Teaming up with co-producer Attie van Wyk, later that year he released his first single as a solo artist, ‘We Can Dance’. It was followed in 1986 by ‘I Need Some Money’. Both tracks add accessible English lyrics and catchy call-and-response vocals to infectious Shangaan-rooted dance rhythms, appealing to a wide audience that defied apartheid categories and established Chicco as a charismatic solo star, as well as a talented producer, both in SA and across the continent. Based on the success of these breakthrough singles, Chicco would go on to release politically charged pop albums We Miss You Manelow (1987), Thina Sizwe Esimnyama (1989), Soldier (1989) and Papa Stop the War (1990) and Nomari (1991).
Hello Sailor Recordings is back with its first (and last) release of 2020, this time with another excellent addition to the beloved 7” series. The chaotic sounds and lyrics of ‘Sera que eu to Pirada’ originally released in 1995 by short lived band Silvanna & A Maquina do Tempo, feels current amidst the challenging times we face and it’s accompanied by ‘Vem Viver Pra Mim’ on the flip side. Both songs were elegantly edited by Sao Paulo mystery producer Hotaru for this Brazilian holy grail of early electro and proto-house.
Star Creature legend E. Live going hard with his first solo full length. 6 cuts that dive deep into a funky transgenre orbital amalgamation of space funk, boogie, jazz funk, chill wave & deep house.
The Annual Ndatl special edition release… with some lush and phat grooving Detroit house tracks.
After blessing a special intimate Utopia Records dance in a North London loft with his iconic romantic and deep Italian House sound, pioneer Carlo Troja aka Don Carlos returned to Milan and sent the music to launch Alex Bradley’s new ‘Utopia Club Tracks’ dance music sub-label.
The mysterious DJ Slyngshot has stayed rather low key since debuting in 2014, but his music has an alluring and unique charm that has made him a real underground favourite. He now debuts on the cult Workshop label with four dreamy, drifting breakbeat tunes for those in the know. The raw and rugged opener is simple but effective, A2 has thumping kicks and old school pads and B1 is a dreamy, acid laced groove full of physicality. B2 closes out with jungle samples and warped synths that cry to be played loud on a huge system. These cuts all sound at once retro but also as if beamed back from the future.
For the third Syntetyk release the Warsaw crew has compiled the work of 13 modern artists, from Poland and the world, in attempt to present the variety of contemporary wave. Artists in order of appearance: Mala Herba, Exhausted Modern, Pluto Junkies, NGLY, Fade Accompli, Bianco Negativo, Radiation30376, Mchy i Porosty, Fallbeil, Dyktando, Retrograde Youth, Joshua Cordova ft. Zoya Zerkalski, Astma.
The Hipodrome Of Music 