Black magic emo-electro by the dark lord. Follow the path of the left-hand. Limited to 200 copies, silk-screened sleeve.
001.Features
Black Merlin – Phase One [PBD005]
Pinkman stoke the furnaces of despair, fuelling them with Black Merlin. Conveyor belts grunt out resentment, cold chords curl, synthlines sneer and pallid percussion punctuates. Noise echoes above, hammered clanks exploding into shards. Below the work continues, sweat smeared stains and hissing airless gasps. In the end, all is swallowed; gulped into the gaping assembly line.
Arkitect – Dither EP [PS002]
First record from the co-founder of Private Selection Records. Mixture of heavy chicago house percussion and distorted wave techno.
2AM/FM / JTC – Dope Jams NYC Vol 1: 2005-2012 Addendum #1 [DJ581]
Two floor-smashing highlights from the gnarliest corner of the Spectral Sound library get a welcome reissue on the first limited addendum 12” to the Dope Jams NYC Volume 1: 2005-2012 compilation. Tripping back to 2005/4 on a raw, machine funk flex, Dope Jams track back over Todd Mullinix’s earlier chapters with two immense slabs of future tech. First up, his 2AM/FM project with D’Marc Cantu with “Poison Dart” a gritty late night Berlin lazer-fest. It’s followed by the wily, unpredictable data charges on “Bizarre Carnival” on which you can almost hear the machines hissing in meltdown. This is what flashbacks were invented for.
Radius – Portal To Canis [MATH098]
On ”Portal To Canis”, Chicago’s Radius aka Ramon Norwood serves up 4 tracks of House with a downtempo/electro sensibility. ”A Dash Of Acid” and ”Seperated” kick off the A side, ”Women Are The Gateways…” continues the party on the flip.
Lake People – Break The Pattern [UV041]
Lake People, the man with a knack for aural subtleties, is spot-on with his first EP for Uncanny Valley. Over the course of four tracks he showcases a quiet different approach compared to the sophisticated House music the Leipzig based artist released on labels like Permanent Vacation or Connaisseur Recordings. On “Break the Pattern” he relies heavily on the good old Boom Tschak-paradigm of Electro, without completely giving up his trademark sound. “Level Msk” combines staccato-type chords with a stuttering beat that stick in your mind. The acidic “September Futuristic” with its stoic drumming has almost a Krautrock feel to it. On the flipside, the playful “Chords In Chorus” feels like an early contender for this year’s summer anthem with chords and acid lines from heaven. The EP closes with “Pull Off”, a perfect example for Lake People’s ability to compose tracks with an emotional depth.
Minimal Violence – Rapids: The 2015 Sessions [JG004]
Jungle Gym Records presents ‘Rapids: The 2015 Sessions’, the official label debut of Vancouver’s Minimal Violence. Minimal Violence expand their fiercely independent strain of live and improvised techno into more romantic territory. As we experience the power of the rapids for ourselves, the confidence we once felt in youth and beauty fades, hopeless in the face of nature. An event both tragic and glamorous, JG04 narrates the existential coming of age, a beautiful realisation that nothing lasts forever.
Massimiliano Pagliara – Time And Again [OTON101]
Massimiliano Pagliara debuts on Ostgut Ton with his new EP, Time And Again. Heavily influenced by classic Chicago House, Electro and early Disco music Massi’s new EP serves as a cross-section of his musical interest as a producer and sonic palette as a selector. Working with vintage studio gear, analogue synthesizers and classic drum machines, his Time And Again EP is as warm and soulful as it’s lush and bursting with strength.
Rick Wade – People Of Earth 006 [POEM006]
Rick Wade delivers 3 excellent tracks for People of Earth’s sixth release. Escapism is warm, distorted & moody. Dark strings, chords & a thick kick with low end that gives subwoofers a work out.
Rings Around Saturn – Erosion Part 2 [AAR008]
Continuing a geological Journey, Rings Around Saturn (AKA Dan White) returns with part 2 of his Erosion series. Dreamy pads and arpeggiated synth patterns weave throughout hypnotic rhythms. 3 tracks spanning from Ambient to Techno.
Artefakt – Kinship [122DSR]
Dutch live-act and DJ duo Artefakt release their atmospheric debut album on renowned techno imprint Delsin. Known separately as Robin Koek and Nick Lapien, the pair first appeared on Field Records before follow up releases on Prologue, Delsin and Konstrukt. Kinship portrays a compelling narrative in a body of work that will undoubtedly keep listeners engaged from start to finish.
Mr. G & K15 – A Learning Curve [LO156]
Navigate’ is instantly recognisable as the work of its creator, armed and ready to bring the dance floor to hypnotic heights. With its rough and gritty sound, driving kick & synth stabs, and hauntingly majestic keys, we are thrown into peak of the night. On the flip, ‘The Guilt Within’ takes a turn to more ominous terri- tories, crafting an atmosphere on the other end of the spectrum to ‘Navigate’. A beautiful and delicate journey carried along by light skipping percussion, immersive sweeping pads and a puls- ing sub which all come together to take the listener deep inside themselves.
Mystic Bill – The Lost Casette Trax Vol.1 [COTF012]
Chicago house legend Mystic Bill joins Crimes Of The Future with two straight up jacking house tracks with bonus instrumental and a mind bending remix by Scott Fraser. The A cut Frequency 9 is a rolling jacker with rattling percussion and dark synth stabs to dement the warehouse dancefloor and very much in the line of Bill’s trademark style. A2 see’s Fraser return the remix favour delivering a massive floor bumping remix adding all new drums, 303 and huge bassline giving a nod to the classic sound of those Sex Trax/ Power Music 12’s from the 1990’s with his 11 minute mind control remix…. The frequency cannot be controlled! Side B has both the original and a bonus intrumental of The Ship Is Sinking, a dark slice of jacking house complete with real tension and total mastery of the sampler for those able to spot it.
De-Bons-en-Pierre – Crepes EP [DE139]
De-Bons-en-Pierre is a project from Beau Wanzer & Maoupa Mazzocchetti. While Beau was visiting Brussels he stopped by Maoupa’s house to jam for a bit. All songs were recorded on April 4, 2016 between 11:00am and 11:00pm, as single live takes.“Crepes” is a 6-track EP, titled so because they ate crepes the majority of the session. Beau says, ”There was a bit of a language barrier. We’d mostly just laugh and nod when something sounded cool to us.” The equipment set up included a Roland TR-808, TR-606, SH-101, CR-78, CR-8000, two Syncussions and effects. Over 23 minutes of garbles, sludgy synths and leviathan rhythms. Surfing the slippery slope between industrial and electro, but never quite falling in, just a dip of your pinky toe to to test the temperature.
Inga Mauer – Shtum 012 [SHTUM012]
Shtum is very happy to welcome Inga Mauer to the family. The Russian born but constantly travelling artist delivers the goods in form of four dust-dry and psychedelic Techno tracks that celebrate the obscurities. Starting with “Dno” she sets the tone with an anthem for dark skies and basements. “Silences” is captivating with its dysfunctional sounds. After the whirling dance of “My Flights Without You” you can’t help but feel a little dizzy. And “Dystopia” feels like hypnotic Techno with a punk attitude.
DVS1 – Hush 20 [HUSH004]
Intensely deadly, ace, outstanding showcase of DVS1’s uniquely swinging Techno groove science.
KGIV – Mockingbird [TEETH004]
On this record we find Kit Geary & Israel Vines (here as KGIV) exploring the subtleties of slow change within a techno track with the outstanding heady Mockingbird’ and through the rocker From Fragments’. The B Side features an unsung hero of American techno – Borrowed Language veteran Jeff Pietro – with the sonic masterpiece of his hypnotic Mockingbird’ remix.
Khidja – Impossible Holiday [HVN039]
Flore and Rusu met in high school. Growing together through various musical phases, they ended up channeling their love for outlandish dance music into one of the most exciting projects to emerge from the bubbling Eastern Europe underground scene. In their Hivern debut, they keep pushing the boundaries of their sound to forge some of their boldest productions to date. In all four tracks of Impossible Holiday, we find distinctive elements of the Khidja palette recomposed under a new (and darker) light.
Mike Collins – Lost Tapes 1983-1989 [MIC001]
New label MIC launches with some previously unreleased and unheard material from UK DIY jazz funk maverick, Mike Collins, better known as the brains behind the spacey Loft classic, Sun Palace – ‘Rude Movements’. MIC presents a small archive of Collins’ material (recorded around the time of ‘Rude Movements’) and reveals the more experimental side of Collins’ production. Five tracks that explore early, proto-house music, electro, and fascinating drum machine observation.
Plustwo – Mad Radio / New Sensation [PLUS002.2]
Mothball Record returns with a lesser known, but no less brilliant, double-sided disco bomb from Plustwo. Lighthearted and infectious melodies on both sides are matched with superb production and unmistakably beautiful vocals: this is no fast food but elegant music to enjoy for years to come. For years a favorite in the Mothball Record offices, yet strangely unknown by many, “Mad Radio” and “New Sensation” will put some unexpected spark in your next disco set.
