The third from Farbwechsel and the first one from Route 8 is back on vinyl. ‘Mental Murder’ EP is a lo-fi jack gem with four original tracks and a remix from the Houston-based house wizard Miguel Flaco. ‘Mental Murder’ is a fateful stab wound with a blunt, rusty knife straight to your brain, which causes a kind of lobotomy happiness.
Veteran Lyonnais producer, Umwelt, has a new album to launch the LP focused sub-label of Killekill – Boidae. “Days Of Dissent” is a polished 8-tracker loaded with bold electro stabs, acid riffs, epic, subtle melodies, drama and funk. “It is emotional, it tells a story, it is easily recognizable and it is not interchangeable”. The talented producer is one of a kind as he produces without computers in a single take, without any edits or mixing and cut to dubplates directly in his home which he uses to play out during his sets, conjuring up a insanely vast backlog of productions. Umwelt predominantly releases on his own imprints, however recently made appearances on legendary electro label Shipwrec and Helena Hauff’s Return to Disorder imprint.
UK wave funk veteran DMX Krew returns to Abstract Forms with his latest double album project. Escape-MCP features 13 tracks of synth drenched electro and elastic techno grooves drawing inspiration from a 1983 computer game where the player is trapped inside a computer by a rogue processor. Fortunately DMX Krew isn’t trapped inside a computer and is still with us making killer grooves.
Alpha 606 is Hialeah born, Miami dwelling Armando Martinez, who offers an intoxicating concoction in the form of his unique take on electro. Taking the genre’s classic sci-fi synthetic aesthetics and coding them with his own Cuban musical heritage, there’s a real funk and spirit in Armando’s machines. The carnivalian drum frenzy of “Afriba”, the tipped humanized elements of “Shake”, the hypnotic house headnods of “Black Mermaid” the roomy reverberations and lean make-up of “Whale Memory” and plenty more comprise a unique melting pot that references all points past and future.
Dynarec is one of those who is capable to impress each and every time that he delivers a release. Dynarec improves on even the most advanced experimental electro as no one did before, giving it depth, awareness and knowledge, making it more rigid and linear. A journey into those post Drexciya atmospheres which reach some of the highest moments in a new. Romantic and complex, rich in detail and unlikely to be imitated or surpassed by others on the contemporary new electro scene. Drexciyan kind of Electro with The Exaltics and Voiski on remix duty.
mgch comes through with a dexterous debut 12” for listen2me. This 4-track EP explores lush pulses and shadowy rhythms, balancing both introspection and evocation. Label mate and long time collaborator Serb flips the title track on its head, delivering an ever evolving and explosive remix.
”In a time of peace and prosperity on Phantom Planet, three unwanted heroes arrive home to seek justice where there is none to be sought. Shunned by modern society, Forsh gets a job at the electricity board, Red Defender snoozes through work at the local news and booze, and Bin Man finally finds his dream job… as a postman. With no evil to lay waste to, they put their dinner money together to create the world’s greatest record label, BOSS TRACKS. Using broken dustpans and Dance Ejay ’98, they create what will go down in history as the most seminal and brilliant piece of musical forgery known to Merseyside. 4 tracks packed full of pure dance floor steroids for your love-pump; this is interstellar muscle music at its finest, let it reach out grab you by the tenderloins! Thank you Phantom Planet Outlaws. Once again the world has been changed forever, for the better.”
Four tracks showcasing a wide range of production styles, each effective in their own right. From side-chained jack to peak red drum work outs to computer based minimalist bit destruction this ep proves to be a crushing statement from an artist coming into his own. US import price.
This is the first volume in a series of release showcasing the analog hardware experiments of Michigan-raised, New Jersey raised Michael Alan Rogers aka Personator. Running the gamut from raw, springy machine rhythms propelling the snarls of modular synths to softly pulsating white noise adorned with lullaby-like melodies, two of the tracks were recordded straight to DAT in the artists studio, while a third was recorded live at a late night loft party in Chinatown.
The Chicago based Perpetual Rhythms label head honchos, Chicagodeep & Taelue, present their personal works here on a 2×12″ gatefold release comprised of two solo EPs from each. They bring to the forefront their brand of house, techno, and electronic music with Metaphoric Expressions.
Paolo Iocca debuts with two crafty and iridescent House anthems plus two superb remixes by Nick Anthony Simoncino.
Hailing from Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Miskotom appears on Pleasure Unit for a debut appearance that should appeal to all lovers of delicate, pop flecked house with a smooth 80s veneer. The production is perfect for the mood of the music, with the dusty groove of the title track embellished with Eastern flute motifs and Larry Heard chords of the sweetest melancholy. ”Downtown” meanwhile revels in slap bass finery, and ”Tempelhof Kite” gets a rubbery Moog tone in the low end that offsets the woozy pads beautifully. Kito Jempere comes on board for a remix that dubs ”Tempelhof Kite” down into a warm and sexy house cut of the highest order.
Betonkust and Palmbomen II are back with their second collaborative effort. This time on the Dutch Pinkman label. Six brand new tracks that seem a lot darker than their previous work. Somewhere between Belgian new beat from 1988 and the West Coast Sound Of Holland. A lo-fi nightmare that turns out to be reality. Pounding drums, paranoid acid patterns and angsty out of control synth choirs.
Brussels Based young producer LostSoundBytes develops an haptic music, diving sometimes into cryptic and anxious foggy areas through analog materials experimentations. Drum machines dives into the mud, acid lifts, synthetiseur flying over the swamp and gusts of claps . He gives a slice of weird acid-industrial-house and makes no compromises on Activities Records.
Much love from the man from Down Under! Hysteric with 5 tracks on the forth release from Violette Szabo.
Andrea Pellegrinelli and Davide Brugola are two men born and bred in the traditions of italo and electro disco. The duo, as Forklift & Saw, release their debut 12″, Regression, as they melt past influences into the present. Meandering hooks, emotion soaked keys and snapping rhythms are at the centre of this Milan partnership’s music. Across four tracks the pair delivers crashing snares, starlit synths and rumbling arpeggiators. Infectious full bodied funk oozes from this fledgling outfit, crisp percussion supporting their night gazing melodies.
Giallo Disco returns from hiding all summer, taking comfort in the encroaching darkness with a very special EP from Ali Renault. ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys’ includes three tracks of cosmified aphex bliss, where pan pipes are the sound of death whistles and hats scatter like falling shells. The sky is falling and it sounds amazing. Closing up the EP is a italo-tech remix by Antoni Maiovvi.
Continue reading “Ali Renault – Keeper Of The Seven Keys [GD019]”
Ahead of his third release for Rush Hour’s ‘No Label’ and following his Alien Jam’s ‘International Journey of Synthetic Emotion’, Design A Wave’s debut on Subsubtropics ‘International Journey of Applied Music’ conveys another lush excursion into his ever colourful and deep-seated sonic realms.
The Hipodrome Of Music 