Best Effort Records jumps out of the box with their inaugural release ‘Number One’, a selection of tracks that celebrate friends making music together.
001.Features
Wbeeza – The OD [TT001]
South London label and party series Troy Town presents the first release in 3 years from Warren Brown aka Wbeeza. Low slung, heavy-on-groove and atmospheric house/techno.
Alex Cortex – ñ [HOV007]
VA – Prophecy & Progress: UK Electronics 1978-1990 [PM24]
Peripheral Minimal presents ‘Prophecy + Progress: UK Electronics 1978 – 1990 LP’, a thirteen-track compilation that represents the burgeoning Electronic music scene in the UK. This isn’t simply another synth pop compilation, or some nostalgic frippery, but an eclectic mix of acts that were experimenting with newly available technology at a time when the punk scene had imploded and the music press was busy coining new genres as an attempt to continue its legacy. In the bubbling underground were a myriad of experimenters recording in relative secrecy in Industrial cities like Sheffield or post-war London, at a time when the Tories came back into power and utterly altered the political landscape, and produced a generation of, ‘Thatcher’s Children’ (selfish, arrogant and materialistic). The antidote seemed to be quiet rebellion in the shape of dark and alienating soundscapes by acts that are now considered ‘pioneers’, or achieving cult status, in a new era of throwaway pop and trite ‘new wave’ impersonators. This compilation is an attempt to rekindle those heady days of experimentation and to encourage new generations to rebel and forgo the fashionable posturing that comes with anything vaguely ‘interesting’.
Max Vincent – Beograd [DCM006]
One of the biggest sampling innovators and the pioneer of electronic music in Eastern Europe, Max Vincent initially played in Belgrade’s Max & Intro band. “Beograd” is a lost LP album which consists of 8 previously unreleased tracks made in period 1986-1999 which Max wanted to use in a single concept album. This is ultimately an intriguing album, dark, cloudy, with unpredictable solutions and transitions between rhythm, paths, synth textures, vocals and other layers. One of the records that every fan of the 80s electronic must have.
Jensen Interceptor – Delayed Response [PS006]
Native Cruise – Calypso [FM003]
Fruit Merchant is back, offering up some fresh talent from Stoke on Trent, in the form of Native Cruise. This marks his first full length foray onto wax. Wavy, groove-laden vibes all the way through.
E. Myers – I Am Alive / Dreamland [ESTY005]
E. Myers returns just in time for the summer, with two heaters of contrasting styles. ‘I Am Alive’ is a celebration, cooked up from heavy drums, percussion and bass synth, coming together with pads and arpeggiated synths for full blown elation. ‘Dreamland’ keeps its poker face on throughout it’s entire 9 minutes. Threatening to break out but staying cool with its restrained bump, it’s equally at home in basements as it is on beaches.
Knight Action – Single Girl / D-rail [LDR071]
Ultra-rare proto-house vibes from Chicago courtesy of Still Music. This one’s long been coveted by followers of the jacking beat, the apostles of WBMX. Produced by Mike Macharello & Duane Thamm Jr this is a truly unique record and one that is very hard to obtain. If you dig the earliest grooves from the Windy City, or you have a passing interest in Italo or Freestyle then this is for you. A fully legit 12″ reissue, taken from Still Music’s recent, comprehensive overview of the ‘Let’s Dance’ label this is unmissable.
Raffaele Fiume presents Fancy – Null Null [RAF001]
During the eighties it was possible to observe an Italian fascination with the mysterious Far East. This can be found across art, design and music in Italy during this time, in subtle or obvious ways. Specifically there are Italo-disco records that proudly show this influence, some of the best known being: Fun Fun – ‘Living In Japan’, Koto – ‘Chinese Revenge’ and City-O’ – ‘Rose of Tokyo’. Following in this theme is Fancy – ‘Null Null’, a one-off project from Italo-disco icon Raffaele Fiume. Adding to the original tracks of the 1982 release is a totally ecstatic and powerful remix from Betonkust: one of the most talented and exciting Dutch producers of recent years. Also included is an instrumental edit from Hysteric, for those who find the unique vocals challenging.
Gavin Guthrie – The Totality [MR082]
Medical Records present the 2nd full length album by Gavin Guthrie AKA TX Connect. Influenced by a diverse background of Italo, acid, horror soundtracks, industrial and EBM, Gavin crafts dance floor stompers using analog tools and tape. These 10 tracks could just as easily be the soundtrack to your next cerebral vacation.
Patricia Kokett – Diabel [KH017]
Patricia Kokett’s sound is shrouded in a veil of mysticism. The brainchild of Lithuanian Gediminas Jakubka, Diabel’s metallic heartbeat underlies a magical superstructure that evokes some kind of DMT infused trip. Or possibly even some kind of ancient ritual, where one is intoxicated by serpents blood. Guided by repetitive drum patterns, it creates a slow joint dance that opens the path towards transcendence.
Imre Kiss & Norwell – Ad Astra [CRISIS001]
Hungarian producer Imre Kiss inaugurates his new Crisis imprint. The tracks presented here on the Ad Astra EP are in collaboration with homeboy Norwell who has a mutual sonic interest: sci-fi narratives and analogue dedication – combined to reinterpret and evolve the blueprint of electro that it draws influence from. There are expressions in brooding, gothic/noir-ish electro like the title track and “Density Waves”, while “Motor City Dreams” or “Alpha Hertz” go for typically bass heavy and dystopian themes from a 313 state of mind.
747 – Paleo [AQR010]
747’s Paleo is an essential acid collection of eight diverse tracks. Aquaregia’s first long playing release weaves through the different faces of acid on a time travelling trip through geological history. The journey begins with warm pads enveloping lush landscapes fringing the shallow. prehistoric seas where swarms of trilobites frenetically scurry. seeking to survive and evolve. Roiling subaquatic vulcanism rules the B side. a seeding ground for exotic crystals whose hexagonal points vie for space as the magma cools and the minerals speciate. We’re then taken further into the depths. where planispiral ammonoids swim in the pseudo-antigravity of the saline seas. And finally. closing out the excursion. we’re transported from ages past. through the fleeting present into the future. to a warming ocean with disrupted ecosystems and unpredictable currents. the effect of a morphing climate.
Mattia Trani – Collider [UNCAGE008]
Uncage presents Collider an EP by PushMaster Discs founder Mattia Trani. Three diverse cuts ranging from raw melodic sound to acid techno. Backed up by a wonderful remix from the one and only Donato Dozzy.
Dan Curtin – The Silicon Dawn [PF018]
Reissue of the legendary debut album “The Silicon Dawn” by the US producer Dan Curtin, which appeared in 1994 on Peacefrog. In the best Detroit-style, Curtin managed to set melodies and harmonic levels over complex percussion, which at that time in an innovative way broke the usual techno standard.
Derek Carr – Alpha Base EP [FER311]
Derek Carr on Russ Gabriel’s Ferox label with four trips through sublime machine soul. If you’ve listened to previous Derek Carr releases then you know what to expect – the beats flutter with thoughtful programming and the synths cartwheel through expressive patterns that speak to the same sci-fi fantasies that made B12 so iconic in the early 90s. There’s also space for a little subtle electro, as on the haunting ”Time Out,” bringing a touch of versatility to the record without breaking that shimmering vintage techno haze.
Derek Carr – Pioneers EP [CKNOWEP10]
In true Craigie Knowes spirit, Derek Carr has been drawn off of the beaten path to supply a wider variety of sounds than you would usually expect to hear from the Irish producer. Acid, Techno and Detroit Electro tinged sounds throughout.
Jayson Wynters – Latitude EP [ORN026]
Ornate Music welcomes Birmingham talent Jayson Wynters. Wynters serves two original tracks that further shape out his deeply hypnotic approach to house music. Alongside the immersive allure of Wynters’ originals, rising talent Caldera offers up a stripped back, meditative broken beat remix of “Ancient Tones”. The Latitude EP is a natural fit for Ornate, giving Wynters and Caldera free reign to show off their uniquely mesmerizing styles of contemporary house and techno.
VA – Solidarity Forever Vol. 3 [COMEME046]
‘Solidarity Forever Vol. III’ is the last chapter of this series, in which Cómeme introduces new artwork, a new logotype and three Various Artists EPs. ‘Solidarity Forever’ is Cómeme’s commitment to the reconstruction of underground culture. This last EP features music by Rizu X, Ana Helder, Aye Aye, Christian S and Katerina. You will be able to hear texmex hardcore industrial, new german hot wave, psychedelic seaside dub, motivating rebel techno and highly sensitive low tech jazz.
The Hipodrome Of Music 