Matt Edwards’ reissue label R-Time Records presents ‘After Dark’ with three tracks from Mark The 909 King. ‘After Dark’ set the tone of the package with a piercing drum groove, airy arpeggios and a funky bassline, before cosmic synths and crunchy snares work alongside scintillating chords in ‘Into Space.’ Concluding the package, ‘The Loft’ begins with a hooky bass sequence and filtered effects before soothing melodies come into play.
Distant Worlds present their fourth transmission from the multi-talented, Perseus Traxx. He delivers four deep, warm and fuzzy takes of analogue goodness that fit the Distant Worlds aesthetic perfectly.
The French producer Too Smooth Christ returns to Supergenius Records and widens his singular approach to introspective dance music to new musical horizons. ‘Infinite Fall DMZ’ is a slow house jam built around a hypnotic and endless FM pattern and a strong chorus bass, emphasized by a myriad of shiny bittersweet 101 sparks. ‘PHEQS125’, originally made for TSC current live act, triggered such keen reactions in clubs that we decided to cut it down. It’s an acidish banger, elaborated around a 303 pattern, a rave detuned bassline and a b-more breakbeat, tickled by synthetic voices. With its rainforest chords and melodies and its muffled breakbeat, the eponymous track ‘With You In mind’ is a love declaration between balearic house and old-school Jungle / IDM. ‘Etoile’ closes the EP with its UK bass vibe, a combination of tribal drum patterns and a grime beat and narrative bassline which will attract you in some mysterious caverns where the magic monsters hide.
Australian producers Jensen Interceptor and Assembler Code team up with The Hacker to deliver another powerful electro release on Mechatronica. Vapour Waves is blasted open by the effective, bumping sunray anthem Random Pain, followed by the darker soundscapes and wonky bassline of HRL6. On the flip, The Hacker’s stingy, metallic rework of Drive Shift plunges straight into the deep, following the cold groove and hypnotic design of the original version.
Modular synthesis wizard Eddie Symons, aka Nullptr [null pointer], lands on CPU with some fine laid back analogue electro. After his debut LP ‘Optical’ on Detroit Underground, Symons has firmly established himself as a class act to follow. Expect spacey wavetable pads, step sequencer conversations and killer modular bass.
George Thompson aka Black Merlin is joining the family of Mannequin Records with this insane EP for the Death of the Machines, the series dedicated to new artists ready to smash the dancefloor. 3-tracks strongly permeated by drones’n’noises, EBM basslines and a 4/4 straight tecnoish kick drum.
Italian reissue experts Groovin continue to explore the vast vaults of outspoken Chicago house veteran Glenn Underground. The two tracks here are, naturally, both sought-after and obscure. On the A-side you’ll find “Escuchame”, a cut that originally appeared on a DJ Deep mix back in 2010. It’s something of a driving, body-rocking beast, with the Windy City stalwart wrapping a jazzy electric piano riff (slightly reminiscent of Black Science Orchestra’s “Save Us” and Lil’ Louis’ “French Kiss”) and spacey synth flourishes around a thrusting drum machine rhythm and booming bass. Turn to the flip for the melodious and spacey deep house classic that is “Hi-Tech Soul”, a previously digital-only track first released way back in 2008.
‘Multiverse’ is a word used to describe an infinite group of disparate universes including the ones currently inhabited by humans. A myriad of realms that sit side by side, undetected by our senses, surround us at any given moment. The multiverse theory was first confirmed by tracking leakage of electromagnetic waves filtering from one dimension into the next. When these waves were transposed to fit into frequencies audible by the human ear, the recordings were studied by a team of scientists, who found that they contained rhythmic elements that resembled a speech pattern of an alien language.
Stephen Lopkin is back on M>O>S Deep with a great double pack of that gleaming sound. The Scottish artist has been making prickly house and techno for almost a decade. His style is serene and slick, and across the 10 tracks here he manages to conjure tracks that work in the club but that come with plenty of cerebral qualities. He never made a secret he takes a lot of influence from early Detroit Techno, even Several track titles pay direct homage to his musical heroes like Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig and also the track New Euro Politique is made in memory of the late UK producer Matt Cogger aka Neuropolitique.
Dusty grooves from the dunes of Scheveningen. Inspired by myth, legend and scifi; Legowelt conjures up four ancient mysticism and space odyssey themed tracks that will take you on another journey through psychedelic space and paranormal rituals.
Of Paradise join forces with rising Russian talent, Low Tape, for an EP of deftly crafted and explorative house & electro. Comprising of four slices of soaring electronic music that collectively showcase a new and hybrid sound.
Dark Entries presents the first ever vinyl issue of Jon Krocker’s debut album ‘Monolog’ originally released on cassette in 1983. Jon is from Winnipeg, Canada and got his start as half of the synth noise duo Dialog. In 1981-82, while studying for a BA in Film Studies, he would go to the studio and practice. No writing or patch memories, composing on the fly. His set up consisted of a Minimoog, Oberheim Two Voice, Roland RS-202, Roland Space Echo, EML 400, Roland DR 55, Roland System 100 mixer. After playing some of the songs to Impulse Records store owner Roman Panchyshsyn, he agreed release the album on cassette on Contagious Records. Primarily influenced by the German school typified by artists such as Conrad Schnitzler and Kraftwerk, Jon’s music exhibits the cold machine ethic of the neumusik. The 12 instrumental tracks are stark and minimal, at times anxious but overall space orientated and flexible.
Chem Clubs fourth EP titled Normal Condition by Brooklyn based duo SEER. Melds the atmospheric and distorted into a perfectly twisted mind bender of a release.
Digging deep into the Chicago Rave vaults to re-issue the debut EP from Billy Nightmare aka “Mystic Bill” Torres. Growing up in Miami, Bill was involved in various parts of the music industry, from working at Flamingo Record Pool, to playing guitar for the band Life In Sodom (80’s Synth/Goth band). His interest in both House & Industrial music inspired him to make his move to the Windy City. Bill quickly became involved in the night scene with residencies at clubs like Shelter, Crobar, & Smart Bar. ‘Reality Check’ was released in 1996 on Woody McBride’s label Sounds. Originally the project was to be titled ” Billy’s Nightmare”, but to avoid being jinxed for life, Torres decided to switch it to Billy Nightmare. He put the Mystic Bill alias aside, got a hair cut, changed his sound and became this new persona. ‘Reality Check’ consists of 4 tracks, recorded at Mirage Studios in Chicago in 1996. Two tracks on the A-side are dark thumpers and will haunt your head for days. Side B has 2 versions of the same song, lighter and funkier in mood both show the diversity Mystic Bill is capable of producing.
Dark Entries presents a 4-track EP from Austin, Texas analogue hardware enthusiast Bill Converse. Immersed in the early days of the 90s midwest rave scene, Bill began DJing at a young age in Lansing, Michigan. Techno, noise, ambient and tape processing are all part of his uncanny sound palette. ‘Hulled’ is a 25 minute journey spread across 4 tracks of glacial abandon. All tracks were recorded directly to tape with no overdubs, made at Converse’s home studio. Bill says these tracks represent “ocean waves in stormy conditions, dark grey blue water, or more generally speaking something ominous and beautiful.” The songs on this release reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, IDM, and Acid. Built around vintage synthesizer lines and gritty drum machine percussion, the tracks ebb and flow like the effect of sun shimmering on water, woozy, gauzy and ephemeral.
Acidic powerhouse Bill Converse makes his debut on Fit Sound. His sound is a refreshing perspective informed by the midwest warehouse parties of which he was schooled mutated into his own blend. Treading the line between melody and brutality, while never being heavy handed, Converse has proved himself once again to be a true original lurking in the underground today.
Emotional Rescue presents French 80s electronic band Takenoko and their unique and quirky euro synth-pop, here as collected works from 1982 to 1988. The compilation includes their 3 singles plus a number of unreleased songs heard for the first time. Formed in 1981 when Bruno Aujard, Jean Louis Simonet and Jean Michel Louisor met in Bordeaux, France, the trio took their admiration of post punk bands like Talking Heads and Gang Of Four and mixed it with the pioneering sound of Kraftwerk and the new wave of UK electronic bands and set about composing songs with the simple aim to make people dance. Encompassing their interest in Japanese culture, Takenoko, meaning young bamboo shoot – a metaphor for teenager in Japan – was born.
Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Takenoko, the Bordeaux based synth-pop project from 1982-1988, to follow their LP collection L’Amour Est Mon Arme (ERC062), with an EP of remixes from Dresden’s cult-like producer, Sneaker DJ.
A new Italo Disco production based on an old musical sketch by Fred Ventura. Rediscovered on a cassette from 1984.
After last years excellent discoveries from Volume 1, another batch of ‘lost’ and unreleased Dutch (cassette) material is coming back to the future. For this sequel we dug deep into the Dutch lowlands and again found some independent music that’s still relevant today. In the process we met even more amazing musicians and heard great stories from a distant-not-so-distant past. Expect a wide palette of DIY and experimental sounds by artists from Groningen, Zwolle, Arnhem, The Hague, Rotterdam, Tilburg and Deurne.
The Hipodrome Of Music 