Life Notes returns with its 3rd transmission and presents the Mentality EP. After starting the label under his Motion Process moniker, Life Recorder is welcoming on board 2 of his favorite producers with the Birmingham UK based producer, Jayson Wynters and Taelue. Guided by a natural artistic and human being connection, the 3 producers and dj’s are sharing the wax here to present their vision of deep, meditative house/techno speaking to the mind and the dancefloor.
A fine slice of deep tech-house runnings from the turn of the millennium, Subfunk & Mac & Rudedog’s ‘Untitled’ EP is a thing of intensity! 4 cuts of that wiry machine funk that sounds like it dropped out of the sky only yesterday. It’s all here, for your ears, tripped out minimalism, dubbed out drum programming, lithe chord patterns and basslines to die for. There was certainly something in the water back then, records like this capture the era perfectly and that’s why they are so sought after. A rare record, the ‘Untitled’ EP manages to bridge the eras, and will undoubtedly find a place along your favorite UR / Motor-city records, they’re all forging out the same sonic territory.
The Amsterdam based booking agency, Voyage Select, is launching it’s label. The first release is a digital compilation released on bandcamp and includes 14 tracks by artists from the agency’s rooster. Cover photo by Interstellar Funk, graphic design by Dazion. 100% of the profit will be divided equally among the artists.
Compression and expansion, focus and surrender, tension and release – the elusive state of balance is less of an inert, perfect condition than it is an interaction or moderation over time between polarized points. Rarely is it defined nor clearly prescribed. Through careful examination of the factors and conditions involved can a possible pathway be uncovered, in any particular scenario. The attached transmission is not a declaration of balance, nor a prescription towards it. But rather, it is like a snapshot captured of an object in motion.
A new compilation called 606 carefully chosen by the Spanish Waste Editions label and once more intentionally made up of 4 artists who have in common personality and creativity. These four diverse tracks are full of catchy melodies, powerful arpeggios and danceable beats and also speak the same language. Doubtless, this compilation can show anyone no interest in trends and bet on music that the label loves and respects.
BAR05 by Italian MinimalRome affiliate Teslasonic. Stunning Electro cuts including a mesmerizing remix by Rotterdam favourites Animistic Beliefs.
Minimal Wave presents The Sound of Indifference, a rare cassette released in 1981 by Aural Indifference. Aural Indifference was a post-punk studio collective from Sydney, Australia. The two principal members were Brian Spencer Hall (the M Squared in house producer) and Kevin Purdy. The cassette album, The Sound of Indifference, was released in 1981, featuring tracks such as “Theme”, “Park, and “Man Am I Progressive”. Their sound ranges from minimal synth, to post-punk to quirky guitar-driven electronic folk music, some of it resembling John Maus. “Theme” appeared as the closing track on The Minimal Wave Tapes: Volume Two compilation and “The Park” appeared on The Bedroom Tapes compilation.
Co-founder and label custodian Zanias makes her debut on Fleisch with a journey through climate catastrophe. Composed in Berlin and mixed in Queensland with the smell of bushfire smoke in the air, she addresses the primary anxiety of our time with four tracks designed to draw the body into movement and the mind into action. Body music elements are wrought with mournful melodies and studded with samples recorded from the fast-disappearing natural world, while her voice guides the way through the darkness.
Throughout his career, Roger Semsroth has followed a deep intuition for experimentation in sound, wrapping club music around eerie microtonal motifs and industrial sensibilities. This new work for Tresor takes a step forward, as the first true techno album from Sleeparchive, where his previous LPs have exhibited themselves more conceptually, or under di erent names and his Nord Vest label. Semsroth has been active in electronic music since the late 90s. He received initial attention first for his electro productions under the alias Skanfrom and the 80s minimal synth inspired Television Set. These projects echoed his love for these sounds, which the East Berliner had steadily immersed himself with after the end of the GDR. Upon hearing the bleeps of Mika Vainio and Plastikman, he began to engage with his strain of techno. Over the last decade, he has focused on his Sleeparchive alias, which dates back to 2004. Alongside close friend DJ Pete, he performs live techno as TR-101. His relationship with Tresor began in 2011, first releasing the Ronan Point EP and following up with the crucial A Man Dies In The Street series in 2013. With this new album, Sleeparchive’s impact on the techno sound is ever more relevant. Awaking in constant locomotion, locked-in, unrelenting and dry. Sleeparchive’s churning loops etch visions of tight minimalism at times densely frenetic and others serenely galactic. This predilection continues throughout the four sides on the album, eschewing conventional arrangement styles with gradual probabilistic change. Tracks such as ‘Needle’ and ‘Peccant’ o er up precise, sinewy techno. ‘Leave’ recalls the Detroit sound of Terrence Dixon, with its cascading synth tones and droning atmospheres. The album closes with a di erent version of ‘Trust’ to that found on last year’s Revised Recordings EP released on Tresor, with its now-familiar nerve-inducing pizzicato strings even more at the fore with its mechanic delivery.
Two years after the drop of his latest solo effort, ‘Strangers’, Budapest cross-dimensional vibes trader Imre Kiss clocks in on Dalmata Daniel with the eagerly awaited followup to his widescreen, sci-fi ready sonic adventures. Here again, the Hungarian producer – who’s made a name for himself through discerning blends of kosmische-infused nostalgia and uplifting emotional apexes, takes us off to a world of sense-awakening wonders and hidden alien treasures, well supported in his quest by Den Haag’s legend Intergalactic Gary, up on the flip with a heat-seeking belter of a remix.
Mysterious producer Viper Patrol debuts on Nocturne with 3 cuts of psychedelic acid-tinged chug. Bizarre Feeling marks the first release on the label by a producer other than label boss, Jordan – setting out the stall for a year of steady output from the Belfast crew. Comes alongside with a remix from Jordan.
Andy Garvey brings machine funk, acid alchemy and tripped out sounds to Lobster UNDR with the excellent ‘Complex Clarity’ EP.
L/F/D/M aka Richard Smith, Brighton based producer who comes to Alley Version after several killer releases for labels like Cititrax/Minimal Wave, Optimo Trax and collaborations with Factory Floor’s Dominic Butler on Powell’s Diagonal Records. “Club Germs On My Clothes” is a 4 tracks EP in which are recognizable elements of ebm, minimal wave, industrial, jackin, shaped in experimental hardware-driven raw-techno forms.
Hamburg and Berlin coalesce as L.F.T. debuts on Mechatronica with a blood-soaked, club-ready blend of punked out electro, industrial, acid, techno and EBM cuts. Watch your spine.
Four tracks of robust drums, sharp melodies and acid doused bass is what Muzikalist brings to Chem Club’s seventh release to date. The title track, Bizarre Feeling, swirls with layered squelch while ample grit and build progress throughout. The A2, Polizei, is a paranoid acid number that opens up into multiple melodies and a muddled eurodance vocal that’ll leave you looking over your shoulder. The opening B side, Short Track for Sad Lovers, takes a more reflective approach combining a blinking lead with rich pads without resigning itself from being danceable. The final track, Marine, uses these persistent elements and ramps them up to close out the release with tense form.
It’s been 15 years since The Popular People’s Front’s series of EP’s found their way into the world’s best record crates. Now we get four more certified floor-fillers from the vaults. Constructed as club-ready reworks for their own sets, this pin sharp selection appears here as a one-off limited vinyl release. A 4-way of their most wanted secret weapons for the faithful, these re-tailored & timeless classics are the sonic manifesto for preserving those good ol’ Dirty Basements.
Three artists discover the wider field of dark electronic dance music. Although young, these producers already have a big understanding of sound. A sound which is past-oriented but every track has a certain twist which makes the music contemporary and timeless. On A1 – Dein Letztes Hemd – Nicola Toma from Berlin combines acid cuts with German Vocals (by Camila Strasdas) and a pushy bassline. Nothing else needed. Zurich’s Prioleau opens up a totally new world on A2. ‘Never Trust A Mirror’ is an energy driven tune without compromises. A dark new wave-y and kraut influenced masterpiece. On the b-side are two tracks produced by Hesychia369, a well-known producer from Zurich under a new alias. With ‘Dmbrisded’ and ‘Diffspherez’ he shows his love for acid basslines and fast rhythms.
Captain Mustache is a DJ and producer with some fifteen years as a label manager. He arrives on Bordello A Parigi with a unique blend of electro spiked disco. The Parisian lands with a four tracker guaranteed to leave bodies and speakers aching with joy. Teaming up with Paul Play on vocals, “Special Friend” is a purely nocturnal affair. Smokey words sail above crisp percussion as laser beam synthlines lance a haze of early morning light. “Rhythm 55” is built on bold beats, the Captain slowly unfurling a sparkling melody that glimmers and shines next to burbling acid-tinged bass. A generous introduction gives way to toms and snipping snares for “Jean-Michel”, a beautiful tribute to synthesizer master Jean-Michel Jarre. Bright and clean, the track is steeped in a future-gazing optimism that palpably echoes through its vocoder. “Space Jowblob” brings our odyssey with Captain Mustache to a close, astral chords and beaming bars washed in starlight.
The Hipodrome Of Music 