VA – Nightfall & Other Stories [RS025]

March 3, 2017September 12, 2023 hipodromedetroit house, reggie dokes, release sustain, simoncino, techno, vakula, vincent floydLeave a comment

London/Lisbon label Release/Sustain start the year as they mean to go on. Presenting a 4 track various artists 12” titled “Nightfall & Other Stories”. Opening proceedings on A1 is Vakula, a regular at the Release/Sustain ‘Conclave’ parties and part of the RS family. His offering, “809”, is a percussive drum tool trip of a track, with sporadic raw percussion shooting shining across a positively minimalist backing. For A2, we see Italian stalwart of underground dance music Simoncino. Obscure sample work, and a repeating line ‘I can use a friend’, twist and turn over rugged, thumping, functional drums and bass. Furthering the quality of this standout 12” is Chicago house music pioneer Vincent Floyd. Rich in melody and familiar classic house sounds, Reggie’s soft jacking house sound bring a silky smooth, North American touch to a previously rugged, European 12 slab of wax.

John Heckle – Aggro EP [CHIWAX025]

March 3, 2017April 19, 2023 hipodromeacid house, chiwax, john heckle, rawax, technoLeave a comment

DJ/Producer from Merseyside UK, John Heckle has produced records for Mathematics Recordings, Tabernacle Records, Crème Organization, Lunar Disko and more. His releases include two full length studio albums, The Second Son and Desolate Figures (as well as The Last Magic Maker mini-album), plus multiple singles, remixes and EPs. Now he makes his debut on Chiwax with some more machine jacking house tracks.

Villa Åbo – Duophonic Mind EP [MOW002]

March 3, 2017July 9, 2024 hipodromedaniel wendler, estrato aurora, jan svensson, memories on wax, techno, villa aboLeave a comment

The second Memories On Wax release comes from Jan Svenson AKA VILLA ÅBO, one of the members of Frak, and the man behind Börft records and other projects such as Zwarre. Duophonic Mind is a 4 track release with 3 slow and heavy analog techno and a powerful remix by the emerging talent, Estrato Aurora.

Beranek – Sound Of Danger [DE147]

March 2, 2017July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, beranek, dark entries records, electro, espen beranek holm, minimal synthLeave a comment

Espen Beranek Holm is a Norwegian musician and comedian, born 1960 and began his music career as a clarinetist. Inspired by early synthesizer bands Kraftwerk and The Residents, he began making experimental pop music. His debut single Dra te’ hælvete’ was released in 1981 and was immediately banned by national TV/radio channel NRK due to explicit lyrics. This gave the young artist tons of publicity, helping the single spend almost 6 months on the national charts. Beranek returned to the Starholm Studios in Oslo from June – September 1981 to record nine new compositions. His debut album, Sound of Danger’, was released on Mind Expanding Records in November 1981. Nowhere near as accessible as the previous single, the album fared poorly commercially. Withdrawing from the single’s fun, kitsch pop, the album is cool and static, driven by thin rhythm boxes, cold synths, and glacial guitars. Taking heavy cues from David Bowie, all of the songs are sung in a nasally English accent, a rare occurrence in Norway at the time. The lyrics are melancholic, but tinged with paranoia. There are also upbeat tracks that evoke a prog or glam sensibility a la King Crimson, Alan Parsons, or Roxy Music.

VA – Electro: A Personal Selection Of Electro Classics [ZEDD040]

March 2, 2017December 8, 2021 hipodromecompilation, electro, joey negro, new beat, z recordsLeave a comment

NEGRO, Joey/VARIOUS - Joey Negro Presents Electro

Z Records are back in the funk hot-seat, but this time Joey Negro presents a snapshot of the edgier, robotic sounds of the emerging early 80s electro scene. From stone-cold classics such as Hashim’s Al Naafiysh (The Soul), Tyrone Brunson’s ‘The Smurf’ and Key-Matic’s ‘Breakin’ In Space’ to revered party anthem’s such as Aleem’s ‘Release Yourself (Dub)’, Two Sisters ‘High Noon (Part 2)’ and Dwayne Omarr’s ‘This Party’s Jam Packed’ to electro oddities like Paul Hardcastle’s ‘Rain Forest’ and The Packman’s ‘I’m The Packman’ we get a genuine labour of love and a timely reminder of the raw drum machine sounds that were soon to define the beginning of the house and techno scenes we have today.

Metamatics – Bodypop EP [SHIP048]

March 2, 2017December 14, 2022 hipodromeelectro, lee norris, metamatics, neo ouija, shipwrec recordsLeave a comment

It seemed like Neo Ouija, a Norfolk based IDM imprint, had closed up shop. Four years of silence suggested that founder Lee Norris, aka Metamatics, had decided to call it a day. But looks can be deceiving. 2016 saw the boss release a CD album of fluid acid, squelching electro and heartfelt electronics. Shipwrec are now bringing four choice cuts from Bodypop to the vinyl faithful. Proudly sitting on the “difficult to define” shelf, Norris seamlessly shifts from frigid winter moods to warming autumnal sunshine. Old-school sounds are rewired, softened by delicate keys and steady beats. Machine music morphs into organic matter. Acid coils, echoed bleeps and clicks grow and blossom into vivid audio vistas with Metamatics, once again, proving his musical mastery.

VA – Limited Series 04 [BPLS004]

March 1, 2017February 14, 2018 hipodromebanoffee pies records, disco, dj ok & rasputin, house, hysteric, ny ak & ian blevins, watsonLeave a comment

The 4th edition to the Limited Series drops on Banoffee Pies Records. More mixed taste loving for your record bag. Italo feelings on Safari from FYI Chris’ own Watson leading the charge on 80’s mode along with a chugged out creeper from Hysteric. Plenty of acquarium breaks from DJ Ok and Rasputin and more bongos in between from Ny*Ak and Ian Blevins on K Dance.

Oluko Imo – Praise Jah [ICE012]

March 1, 2017February 27, 2017 hipodromedisco, funk, invisible city editions, oluko imo, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

Wicked 12″, very much needed reissue of this sought after tune.

Leon x Leon – My Solar Brass [RL022]

March 1, 2017March 30, 2022 hipodromeal dente, disco, electro, house, kid machine, leon x leon, red laser recordsLeave a comment

After dropping several tracks for the collectable Red Laser EPs Leon x Leon exports four monster jams melding metallic disco with slo-mo italo & breezy electro-funk.

V – Faux Pas EP [NR003]

March 1, 2017July 19, 2019 hipodromedisco, house, nautilus rising, v, vidisLeave a comment

Epic building tracks full of tension by V. V the anti-SEO one-character pseudonym of someone previously known. Powered by percussion and basslines for the club, yet with their strings, cinematic instrumentation and scale, there’s a sombre dance to be done to these 3 French-titled electronic tracks.

VA – Internal Affairs: The Remixes [777-10]

February 28, 2017July 12, 2022 hipodrome777 recordings, brighton, glyn, house, leaves, orson wells, pablo mateo, roger 23, technoLeave a comment

Ron Wilson’s 777 serves up more raw and rusty house jams on a new various artists sampler entitled Internal Affairs: this is serious! On the A side is newcomer Brighton with “Tesla” (Leaves Remix), while Frankfurt’s Orson Wells gives us “Ratio” where Saarbruckens finest: Roger 23 gets on the remix and delivers a lush deep acid rendition this side of Tin Man. On the flip, Leaves returns with the impressive “Third Floor” getting an awesome remix by Pablo Mateo; working those drum computers to impressive effect as always. Finally, Orson Wells stays on too; working the nightshift on his remix for Glyn’s “Kevin Lomax” and giving it a lo-fi, neon lit makeover that will appeal to retroverts dancing well into the morning at Robert Johnson next Sunday morning.

Deviere – Baptism By Water Fire & Spirit EP [NLRN005]

February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 hipodromedeep house, deviere, house, royer, unlearnLeave a comment

American artist Deviere is back on Parisian label Unlearn. Lobster Theremin artist and Unlearn affiliate Royer is on remix duty. Water Drums (A1), a deep and spacey cut for a moody and introspective club experience. Strong yet subtle in the low end, this one is for the big sound systems. Royer’s Demi-Monde remix comes up as a more housy interpretation, mixing dubby inspirations with lo-fi aesthetics. Rising (B1) is an upfront dancefloor track suited for peak time euphoria. Speak Into Existence (B2) is probably the most accessible track of the EP, oscillating between acid-yet-warm feelings and solemn preacher-preachin’ vibes.

Dona – The V.G.P. Sessions [CR1293]

February 28, 2017February 19, 2025 hipodromecreme organization, dj plant texture, dona, electro, house, technoLeave a comment

After an EP on Creme Organization off-shoot Jericho One as DJ Plant Texture, Dona Basile now assumes his Dona alias for a new EP on the main label. Entitled The V.G.P Sessions, it features four new cuts from the Italian. Up first is a live cut version of ‘Energia’, a bristling electro track with globular bass and coarse hits. Turbulent but full of synth based serenity, it is a fine start. ‘Cigarettes’ is rugged and broken, with glossy IDM synths and corrugated drums all loosely arranged into something prickly and unsettling. ‘The Deads At Twelve’ then gets even more fucked up, with rusty synths and blown out drums making for a dystopian house groove that will likely soundtrack the apocalypse. Last but not least, ‘Nr. 13’ mixes up Detroit synths, wild acid, heavenly chords and chopped up, buried deep vocal samples into something that will fire every synapse in your body. This is outlier stuff from Dona that sounds like little else.

Unfinished Portraits – Memory Lake [LT031]

February 28, 2017December 25, 2017 hipodromeelectro, house, lobster theremin, techno, unfinished portraitsLeave a comment

Lobster Theremin is back and rolling and bringing more snappy electro through the Theremin caverns with this indelible EP from Unfinished Portraits.

Timothy J. Fairplay – Where Is The Champion? [CHAR-LP01]

February 27, 2017November 24, 2023 hipodromealbum, charlois records, disco, electro, house, pinkman records, techno, timothy j fairplayLeave a comment

Charlois present “Where is the Champion?”, Timothy J. Fairplay’s first full length solo album. Twelve shifting, shuffling and shimmering tracks make up this debut. Cruising the highways and byways between proto-techno, horror disco and forlorn wave, Fairplay conjures up his creations from metal and smoke. Saturated snares, clipped claps and warbling chords are dusted with distortion. And this idea of distortion, manipulation and the blurred line is omnipresent. Innocent and sinister, cruel and playful, accepted boundaries are brazenly ignored as engines growl and synthlines soar.

Steinzeit – Wahrheit [MRT008]

February 27, 2017December 22, 2023 hipodromeacid, bjorn magnusson, electro, hansruedi schnüriger, house, lux rec, mrt, steinzeit, technoLeave a comment

STEINZEIT - Wahrheit

Steinzeit concludes the MRT grey series. The duo is comprised of Hansruedi Schnriger, one half of Echo 106, and Bjorn Magnusson. They recorded these three tracks in a weekend’s time inside Magnusson studio, which is an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere, in Switzerland, using bare concrete walls as an echo chamber. The pace is slow, atmosphere is bleak, tone is melancholic, drums are evil. It reflects how Switzerland feels in winter. Lonely, and this is true, like the name of the tracks.

Matrixxman – Sector II: Acid [DKMNTL045]

February 27, 2017February 7, 2018 hipodromeacid house, charles duff, dekmantel records, matrixxman, technoLeave a comment

Matrixxman has been a Dekmantel regular for a couple of years now. The San Francisco producer continues to impress with a new triptych for Dekmantel Records. Over the course of three EP’s (Rhythm, Acid, Polyphony), Charles McCloud Duff displays his versatile and original take on house and techno. The concept of the triptych is to explore the range within the confines of a particular limitation.

Expropriation – #005 [VNL005]

February 27, 2017May 16, 2018 hipodromeexpropriation, techno, vanilaLeave a comment

For the fifth release Vanila goes Vanilla, this time with the debut EP from the Athenian artist Expropriation. ”Expropriate While U Can” and ”Poza Putana” are two long and slow trips, that perfectly fit in the current filthy mood of the greek capital.

Top Romanian Producers of 2016

February 26, 2017December 20, 2018 hipodromeandrew red hand, barac, borusiade, camil, cosmin trg, șerb, fizic, hipodrome, khidja, listen2me, p-balans, raw tools, romanian, romansoff, sportiv, the hipodrome of music, the holy fix4 Comments

In the last years more and more Romanian artists are making their voice heard across the electronic music palette.

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Romania is well known for the minimal/micro-house/Romanian-techno and tech-house music, but now we have artist that experiment and dive into other sounds, the kind of sounds we love at the Hipodrome of Music.

Continue reading “Top Romanian Producers of 2016” →

VA – 10.VI [SEM010VI]

February 25, 2017March 13, 2023 hipodromeandreas tilliander, eduardo de la calle, iori, semantica records, svreca, techno, vrilLeave a comment

Sixth installment on the 10 years series featuring tracks by Vril, Iori, Eduardo de la Calle and a special collaboration from Andreas Tilliander and Svreca.