DEMENT3D welcomes Valentino Mora on board, and share with us a part of his spiritual journey. Slow Hyper-controlled Motion has been inspired by Butoh moves, but also is a homage to early New York spiritual house. In creating this record he also took field recordings in the forests of Japan. The concept of Slow Hyper-controlled Motion is to recreate this 90’s spiritual house vibe, but in a more experimental way.
Now Analog Africa returns to put the record straight. Pop-Makossa shines a light on a glorious but largely overlooked period in the story of Cameroonian makossa, when local musicians began to replace funk and highlife influences with the rubbery bass of classic disco and the sparkling synth flourishes and drum machines of electrofunk. The resultant compilation, which apparently took eight years to produce, is packed full of brilliant cuts, from the heavily-electronic jauntiness of Pasteur Lappe’s “Sanaga Calypso” and horn-totin’ Highlife-disco of Emmaniel Kahe and Jeanette Kemogne’s “Ye Medjuie”, to the dense, organ-laden wig out that is Clement Djimogne’s “Africa”.
The Pop Makossa adventure started in 2009, when Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb first travelled to Cameroon to make an initial assessment of the country’s musical situation. He returned with enough tracks for an explosive compilation highlighting the period when funk and disco sounds began to infiltrate the Makossa style popular throughout Cameroon.
Correspondant’s annual compilation dispatches have become calendar essentials for all connoisseurs of the barbed, darker, leftfield side of the dancefloor. This summer they hit ‘Correspondent Compilation 5’ with another future-bound 15 track opus from their label family and friends. This inaugural vinyl samplers is turbo-charged by some of the label’s newest friends as Khidja, Marvin & Guy and Kempes all make their Correspondant compilation debuts alongside established affiliate Jonathan Kusuma. Each artist drawing out some deliciously mystic sci-fi aesthetics to the collection, it’s a remarkable introduction to what is arguably one of the Jennifer Cardini’s label’s most comprehensive and explorative various artist albums to date.
The 04AM A-side contains two South-African 80’s Bubblegum tracks, revamped by young DJ and producer Perdu. He provided the tracks with delicate intros and rearranged them with new percussion, synths and deeper basslines. On the flip Afrobot delivers two kind of New Beat cuts, making the originals more abstract by some heavy chopping, reducing the amount of samples used, and adding disco breaks to the track Jungle.
Emotional Rescue’s killer Bob Chance 7″ makes a welcome return sporting some new blue artwork. Two versions are included: the original 7″ version, driven along by a razor-sharp guitar riff and sweetly lamenting lyrics, topped off with weird cosmic synths and galloping rhythm. However, the real gem is the edit entitled “Wild It’s Broken” which sharpens the focus of the guitar and adds some serious kick to the drums to create a beefy counterpart to the new age original.
Philippe Krootchey was a musician, DJ, radio and television host born in Versailles, France in 1954. In 1984 Krootchey released his debut single Qu’est c’qu’il a (d’plus que moi ce négro là)’ on disco label Casablanca Records. Subsequently the single was re-released the same year but sung in English as Whatazzy’. For this release he teamed up with former Love International bandmate Fred Versailles, who shared his love for Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra as well as glam rock and 70’s black American soul music. Fred remembers, The idea was to send a message about racism against black people with a humorous tone. The French title translates to What has this nigger got, that I do not have’ Reversing the racial scales, Philippe (who is black) would get the girls and the fame, making white people jealous. It was Philippe’s tactful way to joke about racism he had experienced and overcame.’ The result is a slick synthetic funk and electro boogie reminiscent of Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambata. Philippe rap and subverting racism at the same time. On the B-side is Voodoo’ a slowed down instrumental dub version that stretches out the original to over 7-minutes. Sadly on September 2, 2004 Philippe Krootchey died of a cerebral aneurysm, just short of celebrating his 50th birthday.
Dead Wax Records presents “Distant Waves II”, a follow up of the well received 2014 compilation. This was compiled in three whole years (and a lot of research work) and is a collection of songs that share some common factors: they all were made in the 80s, they all feature synths and they all are extremely sought after, rare as hell or just previously unreleased. There are obvious style variations as each band here is unique but “Distant Waves II” is quite more homogeneous than its predecessor. We have the upbeat, danceable minimalism of Standing Ovation, Boris Dzaneck, Störung, Doppler Effect and Factoría Ribbentrop. The cold, moody melancholy of Broken Tables and La Valse. Virtually unknown acts like The Sixth Sense, Seeing Red and Almost Anyone, heavily underrated new wave giants like Grey Parade and Puppets Of Mankind. An unreleased synth pop masterpiece from Almost Alone here, an unheard 7” rendition of a worldwide dancefloor smasher by Nightmoves there. A total of 14 amazing tracks, all ‘instant classics’
Frigio Records is going back in time for its latest release, some 38 years into the past. Back then a young Newcastle man was experimenting with early electronic instruments and synths. Mick Clarke is his name and nearly forty years later he is still at it. Two tracks have been borrowed from Clarke’s seminal Games LP, each given a bit of modern boot polish from MinimalRome’s Heinrich Dressel and Frigio father Juanpablo. “Walls of the Night” is a blissed out work of ambient prog rock abstraction. Think rumbling horror score and soaring guitar strings. Heinrich Dressel offers a giallo dipped remix. The building bars of the original are maintained, beats added for ballast and darkened organ keys for a remake etched with murderous intent. The flip is introduced by the dreamy “Time Is Now.” Slender synthlines intertwine with gentle strings in a cerebral work. Juanpablo tweaks the 1979 material. Syrupy acid lines swim in meandering currents, a thick beat keeping time in murky waters of modulations and undulations.
Shoc Corridor was the London post-punk quartet of Paul O’Carroll (Voice, Synth), Andy Garnham (Synth, Drum), Chris Davis (Guitar, Bass, E-Bow) and Nogi Prass (Synth) named after the Sam Fuller film from 1963. The group recorded a 4-song demo during 1981 in a tiny flat Chris shared with Nogi in Notting Hill. As their collection of instruments grew they set up studio a few blocks away in Andy’s flat at 20 All Saints Road. There they re-recorded Sargasso Sea’ along with On Reflexion’ on a TEAC reel-to-reel 4-track machine. In the summer of ’82, the band was booked into Decibel Studios in Stoke Newington for two and a half days with Mark Easton of Shout Records, where they reworked the two songs. The group usually worked through studio experimentation rather than constructing their songs in a conventional way. Their equipment list included a Korg MS-20, Wasp, Pro-One, Roland TR-808, WEM Copicat, guitars, bass, e-bow and an assortment of effects pedals. On Reflexion’ began as a Blancmange backing track, since Stephen Luscombe would sometimes use Andy’s 4-track, Korg MS-20 and drum machine. Chris has memories of Paul disappearing from time to time to the neighboring graveyard for inspiration, where they had to procure him from to lay down vocals. Their debut 3-song 12′ single, A Blind Sign’, was released in October 1982 on Shout Records. For this re-issue we’ve included the original skeletal Sargasso Sea’ 4-track demo from 1981. Evocative and dreamy, the music escorts you on a tour of icy landscapes, with Paul’s rich vocals guiding the way.
The legendary Moscow club Propaganda celebrates its 20th Anniversary in April 2017 and launches a brand new record label. The label will cover different styles of intelligent electronic music, focusing on techno in the first year. At the beginning there will be released music by great artists who had performances at Propaganda club in past. More artists will be involved and more excellent music will be released over time.
The argentinian Alderaan makes his debut on Warm-Up Recordings. He offers three slices of modern techno, heavy percussive based but whit a lot of intelligent elements inside. Oscar Mulero remixes one track, getting rid of the textures and focusing in rhythm and repetition in a minimalistic remake.
With no track names, minimalist artwork and a matter-or-fact EP title (simply the record’s catalogue number), it would be fair to assume that Johannes Heil’s latest EP is a forthright, no-nonsense affair. Predictably, it is, with the long serving German producer dishing up a quartet of throbbing techno box jams. While each track is a loopy, rhythm-based trip, there’s still variety across the EP. Contrast, for example, the fluttering, alien-sounding synth loops and crunchy snare hits of “Track 2” with the buzzing, industrial-tinged intensity of “Track 3”. Or, for that matter, the jacking drum machine percussion and heavy bass of “Track 4”, and the clandestine creepiness of standout cut “Track 1”.
‘Atmosfear’ Glenn Underground’s debut album was originally released in 1996 and set the standard for sophisticated dance music. Dreamy melodies, heavy basslines and acid grooves blend beautifully with jazz vibes and Detroit techno. Glenn Underground is the founding member of the Strictly Jaz Unit. He was raised on disco classics and freeform jazz in Chicago’s Southside, the place where house music was born. Taking inspiration from Chicago’s original pioneers, Larry Heard, Ron Hardy, Lil’ Louis, and the like, Glenn has produced many sought after house gems for some of the most well respected deep house labels such as Prescription and Guidance.
Plaza’s first physical release features 4 tracks from an all local lineup of Atripat, Consulate, Lanngman and Mike Midnight. This one comes from a special place, a place where raw electronic excursions go head to head with heavy machine fuelled jams. Conceived in the North Western Coast and commemorated from the depths of the City.
Roel Dijcks, better known as Ekman, is no stranger to Shipwrec. Following his Heimwee EP and Synaptic Feedback Loops comes a two tracker of serious proportions. “Sturm un Drang” gets the ball rolling. A rasping beat cuts into thick bass. A pool of liquified notes shimmers as an isolated world unfolds, a tactile world of arcing strings and clean complexity. If “Sturm un Drang” is a glimpse into an alien realm, “First Mover” is surely the beast that inhabits it. Bulbous bars trudge through a swamp of static, distortion drips from cymbals leaving melodies buried in the marshland.
BT19 welcomes XY0815 for his solo debut, where the Leipzig based producer showcases the range of his sounds – machine incantations halfway between understated electro and brooding electronica.
“Dilla” by Abstract Orchestra has been generating a buzz since it’s inception in 2016 and subsequent UK tour, during which the album was presented to the public in its live form. Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra seeks to reflect the diversity of music sampled by Hip-Hop producers by presenting music that has the complexity of jazz, framed within the simpler structures of Hip-Hop. Complex harmonies are framed within simple loops and complex bar structures and time signatures can pass by unnoticed. “I selected the tracks on the album with very much the live performance in mind” says band-leader and arranger Rob Mitchell “So the album is a reflection of the tour and the music we performed”. Inspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel-Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures.The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England’s jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse. “Dilla” by Abstract Orchestra is a tribute to the work of the highly acclaimed and influential producer.
Ian Finkelstein is a jazz pianist and producer. He has been an active member of the Detroit jazz community since the age of 14. A student of Geri Allen, he performed with Marcus Belgrave from 2010 until Belgrave’s death in 2015. He currently performs with the Robert Hurst Quintet, and is a founding member of Detroit music collective Video7. Ian self-released his first album of house music It’s Time in 2016. His keyboard work can be heard on tracks by Scott Grooves, Omar-S and Shigeto among others. He is a regular member of Scott Grooves’ Overdubs. Middle Birth EP highlights Ian’s dual talents as a producer and instrumentalist. Side A features two electronic cuts, Middle Birth’ and Mort Crim’ with Ian playing live drums and bass on the latter. SIDE B showcases Ian’s jazz quartet, he is joined by several of Detroit’s most talented young musicians: Marcus Elliot on sax, Ben Rolston on bass and Alex White on drums.
Berceuse Heroique pluck four percivals from Dutch disco DJ supremo, Loud-E’s Loudiefied [2008] album of edits, plonking them on one fine 12” for DJ use and exercise. You get four choice picks, a symphonic strut, a belting Afro-psych bit, some electrified rutting gear and a killer slow-mo stroke to close.
The Hipodrome Of Music 