Another beauty on Simoncino’s label HotMix, signed by the mighty Luke Hess.
001.Features
A Civil Terror – S/T [BC09]
What beats an arpeggiated bass line over a teutonic 90 bpm kick and snare with eerie distorted vocals? I’ve been looking for years and I still don’t know if anything hits that sweet spot quite as well. John Carpenter esque Horror soundtrack synths creep along reverb drenched industrial drums, splattered with existential dread and spectral chants. Ryan is known for various monikers such as PC World / To Live & Die in Rayleigh (some of which are lined up for future Beat Concern drops) and his Club Mutante night which brings together the world of live techno, Industrial, EBM and noise. Punk ethics standing alongside dance floor machine funk. A Civil Terror.
Bourbonese Qualk – Preparing For Power [PLA033/MNQ113]
Mannequin and Platform 23 Records reissue what is considered to many the most complete album by perennial anarcho-outsiders Bourbonese Qualk. The last recorded album at their South London squat, The Ambulance Station on the Old Kent Road, and again released on their own Recloose Organisation, saw the band develop further beyond the limits of the post-punk / industrial scene where genres increasingly became redundant. Ethno, jazz, funk and EBM are all buried deep in the album as it seeks independence. The title, a critique of the Labour movements ineffective and limited call to arms against the prevailing Thatcherism of the mid-80s, encapsulates this wider oeuvre. From opening Return To Order, the acoustic gloom is offset by tight musicianship and countering melody. The switch of Outcry precedes psychedelic anthem, Boggy Creek, with its VU remembrance. Blighted pulses Confrontation, Xenophobia, Backlash and closer, Insurrection, sense the darkness, but the ground has shifted forwards with the legendary 1.51 minutes of man’n’ machine that is Lies, the enwrapping symphonic dub vocal of Born Left Hearted and incongruously pretty, Is It As It Was?
VA – Another Cold World 3 [CBR015]
Cold Beats Records announces the launch of series Another Cold World. This time with a 12″ EP the composed with 4 tracks including DILK, WLDV, Dernier Sex and Hanging Gardens, keeping the label’s philosophy, we have once again united groups and artists that stand out within the minimal/synth/coldwave scene.
Kinder Aus Asbest / Rosa Nebel – Split EP [LXRC42]
The first Lux Rec release after summer is a split EP that puts together two musicians from different regions, different backgrounds. On the A-side there’s an old acquaintance of the label, Kinder aus Asbest, with Life after Death and Washed Away. As hopeless as it gets. On the B-side there’s Rosa Nebel, and upcoming artist from Austria that matches perfectly, with his dystopian views on society, the core dissatisfaction for humankind that Lux Rec has.
VA – New Horizons: Young Stars of South African Jazz [AFS049]
New compilation of South Africa’s leading young jazz talent on Afrosynth Records, compiled by DJ Okapi and Shane Cooper. Featuring Thandi Ntuli, Kyle Shepherd, Mabuta, Yonela Mnana, Zoë Modiga, Benjamin Jephta, Siya Makuzeni, Lwanda Gogwana, Mandisi Dyantyis, Reza Khota, Bokani Dyer, Vuma Levin and a broader group of talented supporting musicians. From tight trios to expansive, cosmic collectives, this compilation highlights the best of what’s come out of the country in recent years.
Kibrom Birhane – Circles [FLYC101]
Ethiopian-born Jazz Musician Kibrom Birhane mixes Spiritual Jazz with Ethiopian Jazz motifs to create a unique and deep sound that resonates across many cultures and musical concepts. His understanding of Jazz and improvisation is unparalleled among Jazz artists in the world today. This understanding combined with a connection to the spirits creates a rich and diverse tapestry of sounds, ideas and discoveries. Kibrom is a member of Los Angeles based Ethio-Cali group, that has included Jazz luminaries Kamasi Washington, Dexter Story, Mark De-Clive Lowe and many others.
Beat Bronco Organ Trio – Missoula-Nairobi, Pt. 1 & 2 [ROC037]
Bridging the link between the drummer’s hometown in Montana and the love of African rhythms, Beat Bronco Organ Trio offer us this sublime, lilting instrumental full of precussive warmth and mid-tempo syncopations. Departing from the land of the shining mountains and heading across continents to the sound of the twangy, rolling guitar, parts 1 & 2 are a delightful yet raw aural journey carried out across a live, 4-track tape machine. Totally analog and fresh, as we often wish music could be.
Placebo – Polk / Balek [MSR022]
About four years after the label was founded in summer 2016, ”Matasuna Records” is about to drop its 25th release. To celebrate this anniversary, Matasuna has dug up another treat and is delighted to reissue two songs from the legendary LP ”1973” by Belgian jazz-funk group ”Placebo” of jazz legend Marc Moulin, who is rightly considered one of the rare groove Holy Grails. Both songs are available for the first time as official reissue on 7inch vinyl – the title song is even available on 45 for the first time ever.
Logic System – Unit / Clash [TD004]
Tempo Dischi is an Italian label created on a mission to discover and repress classics and rare Italian gems of the italo disco, afro and cosmic scene. With the support from all the main players who has made that era magic, we work to put back on records stores shelves a piece of art that may have been lost but it’s still timeless. The fourth release is a double A side release from the japanese electronic music pioneer Hideki Matsutake. Composer, arranger and programmer he is certainly known as member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra with Ryuichi Sakamoto from 1978 to 1982. In 1981 he launched his own project Logic System, producing essential songs like ‘Unit’ and ‘Clash’ that are included in the seminal album ‘Logic’.
Zero Call – Stellar Wind [OR81]
The italian project Zero Call produces pure Italo Disco with perfect brushes of EBM- infused retro synthwave. Punchy snares, pulsing basslines and dramatic synths behind monochromatic female spoken vocals. Including the main track “Stellar Wind” + 2 remixes by Technobeton and Arkademode + 2 recovered tracks from his past discography.
Beesmunt Soundsystem / Cooper Saver – HVN E/F [HVNEF]
The Hivern split series was born as a platform for club-ready tracks that don’t require a broader sonic context to express themselves. It’s also as a way of generating an unplanned dialogue between artists in the label’s orbit, connecting the dots amid them in spontaneous and almost unconscious ways. The third installment of the series brings together Beesmunt Soundsystem and Cooper Saver. Their two tracks share a similar approach, deconstructing ethereal sounds over dark rhythmic foundations to reach the same kind of narcotic transcendence.
East Coast Love Affair – Don’t Be Afraid [ATH087]
The Edinburgh band Athens Of The North are back as East Coast Love Affair and their soulful and emotive deep disco version “Don’t Be Afraid”, a version of a super rare Disco 45″ by Sky’s The Limit, followed by a low slung and minimalistic afro house workout titled “Taken For Granted” on the flip.
Theo Parrish – Wuddaji [SS079/80/81]
Specter – Dreamscape [ITDR006]
Chicago based Tetrode mastermind Specter takes up the torch with a (too) long awaited solo EP on Into The Deep records. As a true soldier of the underground, Andres has been designing his sound for two decades, bridging the gap between Chicago and Detroit. A spectacular EP exploring jazz, raw, deep and spacey territories from one master of the genre: that’s what Dreamscape is all about.
Elbee Bad / Kichi Kazuko – Super Sound Tool 5 [SST005]
Elbee Bad and Kichi Kazuko on a properly executed DJ tool Techno / House split EP on Super Sound Tool.
VA – The Dark Phase Experience [GO003]
Despite experiencing moments of some uncertainty across the planet, the Gladio Operations label nevertheless takes a gamble and launches its third EP titled “The Dark Phase Experience”, once again opting for an EP by several renowned artists.
Ole Mic Odd – ZMNT 004 [ZMNT004]
The next number on Zement is by Ole Mic Odd (aka Michael Padgett). He is a hardware operator and DJ from Los Angeles. He runs the label The New U.S. Government. Two slow gfunkish tracks for the slow people and two fast acid booty tracks that will blast your shoes off.
Adam X – Acid Archives 92-94 [LIES152]
Trends come and go as we have seen, unlike many, Brooklyn-born Adam X isn’t one to follow trends, but rather set them. Now entering his 30th year of DJing and 25th year running his Sonic Groove label much of the world of dance music has come full circle since Adam started back in 1990. With that said there was no better time to explore his vast back catalog then the present as it’s all the more relevant right now. As many younger contemporary techno djs have taken to the faster, harder, stronger route as of late, this was par for the course back in 1992, where this compilation begins. What we have here is a collection of formative psychedelic acid tracks specifically made for the raves that were happening all over the world at the time. Many of the tracks here had previously appeared on cutting edge labels such as Direct Drive, Drop Bass Network and Magnetic North, who were all spearheading the sound at the time, we also get two unreleased cuts from the vaults, plus a rare collab with Thomas Heckmann. Back then the goal was simple- to push the limits of this fresh sound, and see how far they could actually go with their 303s; this music now filling warehouses and clubs worldwide. The eleven tracks on this record undoubtedly take rave-extremity to new heights whilst keeping the integrity (and brutality) of the music intact and the crowd in a frenzy.
Lake Haze / Celldöd – Acid Avengers 016 [AAR016]
Acid Avengers return. On the A-side, Portuguese producer Lake Haze delivers three techno cuts for the floor, all composed with a brutal acid line. On the B-side, Swedish producer Celldöd returns with three electro and techno tunes for those who like the cold groove of northern Europe. Sometimes ravey, sometimes martial, sometimes funky, here is a new split EP with six raw bangers.
