Ness – A Personal Voyage EP [MMV004]

A Personal Voyage Ep These walls have made us the beings we are. They have listened and echoed, our words, our creed, our hate. These walls have tied down the souls of us; they made us insane, hysterics, in observing defenceless, uncredulous that there was not, any reaction. We can only halt us, after having used up our nails, over these walls now rough because of our shouts, our burned hopes, by our passions damned; by our minds, dinned. None could ever help us, because as slaves we feel and now we are, of these cursed walls and of these walls damned that, however still give a sense, to our cold life.

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Ness – A Personal Voyage EP [MMV004]

VA – Sleep Not Found [TRP008]

Nina Kraviz’ TRIP label knows how to put out conceptual releases featuring some high calibre music canvassing a wide spectrum of artists. “This Sleep Not Found” edition sees the label tap into some minimal sounds thanks to cuts from Roma Zuckerman, a TRIP upstart, Perlon’s Maayan Nidam (“Justice For Some” is damn funky!) and label faithful Exos. His “Dub Jazz” track helps bridge the gap between minimal and techno, with heavier cuts coming from Bbbbbb, A_000 and Deniro’s Skudge-like “G”.

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VA – Sleep Not Found [TRP008]

Bleak – Relics EP [NR004]

Naura Records presents the third release of the Bleak series. ‘Relics’ is a full oriented dance floor track, twisted and static in all directions.’Black Ice’ reveals itself as a cataclysmic and intelligent analog tool with pulsating baselines and profound deepness.

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Bleak – Relics EP [NR004]

Artefakt – The Final Theory [FIELD021]

The excellent Field label embarks on a new mini trilogy of EPs that will “present a magical journey through modern-day trance.” First up in the series is Artefakt with their three track effort The Final Theory. Dutch producers Robin Koek and Nick Lapien make up Artefakt, and between them they excel at moody voodoo music on labels like Delsin. They open this latest EP with the title track, a deep, spacious house roller with subtle pads and gentle acid that perform slow motion acrobatics for nearly ten minutes. It is suspensory, dreamy music that works on the head as well as the heel. Moving Horizon is then less doleful and introspective but just as deep, with sweeping pads add a sense of scale, busy drums bring the dynamism and icy percussive sounds adding a sense of urgency. Last but not least, Solaris is a fatter, more physical groove with claps and gloopy bass, acid flashes and trancey pads all fleshing out a lush and deep electro workout. This is heavenly stuff that cannot fail to get inside your head and heart.

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Artefakt – The Final Theory [FIELD021]

Marcel Fengler – Kyu EP [IMF007]

Strength lies in calmness – and vice versa. Marcel Fengler returns on IMF and offers three new inspirited musical pieces that protrude from the club context just as well as cater for your home stereo, picking up on the diverse musical moods defined by his debut album Fokus (Ostgut Ton, 2013) while concentrating on intertwining sound aesthetics.

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Marcel Fengler – Kyu EP [IMF007]

Jared Wilson – Ghost Miners Remixes [7777011]

“For the 11th release 7777 presents the Ghost Miners Remixes. For these remixes I offered each producer samples from different songs from the 2 Ghost Miners records. Instead of doing straight forward remixes of a single song, I put forth the proposal for each artist to make their own version of a Ghost Miners song from scratch or using any samples they feel like. Contributors include 3 of my favorite producers. 2 in demand artists; FIT Siegel and Andreas Gehm and one new comer; Brian Thrash. Andreas Gehm’s version is a standard acid Gehm gem. Calling in the chords from the originals mixed with standard Gehm acid brilliance. In FIT Siegel’s version you’ll find the perfect pure underground dance sound. Featuring Ray-7 on hand drums FIT constructs a remix that combines elements of classic Detroit and Chicago sound while keeping the attitude and acid aesthetic of the original material. On the B side Brian Thrash, controlling his analogue arsenal, takes you on an epic acid journey traversing through the underground and space.” Jared Wilson

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Jared Wilson – Ghost Miners Remixes [7777011]

Africans With Mainframes – Faces of Africa [MATH090]

Noleian Reusse and Jamal Moss team up again as Africans With Mainframes for ”Faces Of Africa EP”. Think early Ibadan or Smile records B-sides of murky excursions in Tribal and Techno.

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Africans With Mainframes – Faces of Africa [MATH090]

Faces of Drums – Popping Off [MATH089]

Returning for another spastic floor beating with jack tracks and Gherkin acid experiments from Steve Poindexter and Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being, this 3rd Faces of Drums EP on Mathematics does not disappoint.

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Faces of Drums – Popping Off [MATH089]

Jamal Moss – The Digital Afterlife EP [RHD030JAMAL]

“The Digital Afterlife” is a live workout recorded in Amsterdam, early 2016. The second track is a tribute to the beautiful Northen French town of Arras. “Akashic Energie” prime Gherkins straight out the Hieroglyphic pickle jar.

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Jamal Moss – The Digital Afterlife EP [RHD030JAMAL]

John Heckle – Tributes To A Sun God [BDN010]

John Heckle is remarkably prolific, but still manages to maintain an impressively high quality threshold. On Tributes To A Sun God, he’s in a remarkably melodious mood. While opener “Alexandria” comes blessed with his usual tough analogue beats – not to mention the hissing cymbals of Detroit techno – its’ most endearing features are the drowsy pads and undulating melody lines. A similar approach can be found on the more acid-centric “Mesopatamia”, which pops and spits with dancefloor intent. A fine package is completed by handclap-heavy drum workout “Track 4”, and the Ambient House era electronics and sparse drum hits of “Track 2”.

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John Heckle – Tributes To A Sun God [BDN010]

Space Dimension Controller – Orange Melamine [ZEN231]

While Jack Hamill’s Space Dimension Controller project is best known for mixing colourful electrofunk synths with intergalactic ambient, techno and hypnotic house influences, his earliest musical output trod a slightly different path. His long forgotten, digital-only debut album, 2009’s Unidentified Flying Oscillator, explored IDM and woozy electronica, and it’s these styles that come to the fore on Orange Melamine. Like that debut album, this set – his first for Ninja Tune – was recorded in his bedroom, aged 18, with a collection of “cheap, lo-fi” and “battered” kit. It largely takes its’ cues from the likes of Boards of Canada and ambient-era Aphex Twin, but retains that distinctive vibe and attention to detail that’s always marked out Hamill’s work. vinyl / CD
Space Dimension Controller – Orange Melamine [ZEN231]

Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo – Mastership [LER1005]

STARSHIP COMMANDER WOOOOO WOOOOO - Mastership

Left Ear Records went back to Coleman’s original master tapes for their vinyl reissue of the Commander’s 1981 private press album Mastership, a lost electronic funk classic. Truly nuts and really kind of essential. Check the instrumental cut, Mastership – a head nod synth voyage of the highest order.

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Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo – Mastership [LER1005]

Big Mean Sound Machine – Blank Slate 014 [BS014]

Big Mean Sound Machine is a twelve-piece Afrobeat band native to Ithaca, New York. They tour 150 days a year and have a large and dedicated following up and down the East coast. Still, it is a crime that Big Mean Sound Machine is not well known elsewhere. The band’s tremendous sound combines a big band aesthetic while channeling a global sense of musicality. Their shows leave fans drenched in sweat from dancing as audiences absorb the West African, Caribbean, Jazz and Funk traditions that Big Mean Sound Machine carries forward.

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Big Mean Sound Machine – Blank Slate 014 [BS014]

Floating Points – Kuiper [FP002]

Sam Shepherd drops a surprise 12” still riding the wave of his impeccable, all-conquering 2015 LP, Elaenia. ‘Kuiper’ that was written after the producer started touring with his live band (Leo Taylor, Alex Reeve and Susumu Mukai), and is “completely different” each time it’s played. Here we have a new version, a riotous, stargazing 18-minute version recorded by the band at 8am. Flipside the B, ‘For Marmish Part II’, meanwhile, is an early demo version of the same track on Elaenia that includes Shepherd flexing his vocals.

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Floating Points – Kuiper [FP002]

Jonny 5 – BAH030 [BAH030]

After taking the helm for the label’s inaugural release, Jonny 5 returns to Bahnsteig with more genre-fluid stylings for the leftfield dancefloor freaks. “Deja Vu” opens the set with a space age textures, stadium slap bass and cinematic guitar licks, firing up the wind machine for some coiffured coastal romance. With the linen suit needing the dry cleaners, Jonny 5 steps aboard the “Last Train” for some oddball NDW rock and roll. Imagine if the B52s if their cartoon was redrawn by Frank Miller – dark and deranged machine music. B-side opener “Miami Slice” continues the lunacy but with added wow and future, taking us on a tape mangled tour of post punk history. The grand finale comes in the form of “Slow Bodies”, a 100bpm cosmic bopper retrofitted with Linn percussion, hypnotic arps and the best in zero gravity delay.

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Jonny 5 – BAH030 [BAH030]

Delphi / Marco & Val – Unleashed Tapes Vol. 1 [RBTW004]

DELPHI/MARCO & VAL - Unleashed Tapes Vol 1 EP

A special treat from the Tiger’s lair with a different and darker twist, that seeks out the darker and more dodgy discotheques on the side streets and in the backyards, where the trough has no flush and the mirror balls have never been cleaned. Automatic rhythms and electronic dancing sound made years after the future.

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Delphi / Marco & Val – Unleashed Tapes Vol. 1 [RBTW004]

Secret Squirrel – Secret Squirrels #11 [SS011]

The Secret Squirrels continue to assault the dance floor and make you want to you to dance with two more deadly reworks. On this 11th episode they continue to disrespect boundaries as they criss-cross from Disco to Italo to House music in order to do their dirty deeds.

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Secret Squirrel – Secret Squirrels #11 [SS011]

Francisco & Cosmo – Lineabeat Vol. 3 [SLOMO026]

Third time out for Francisco on Slow Motion’s strictly retro-dance-floor series – Linea Beat. Joined by partner in crime Cosmo, ‘System 3’ and ‘Get In’ are classic Slow Motion laser jams. Phasers set to stun and energy levels turned up to 11, the latest in the 12″ dance programme comes with a jacking bonus beat remix from Dephi of Tiger & Woods. Throbbing, electronic dance music for your mind, body, this is Italian dance music of the past, present and the future.

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Francisco & Cosmo – Lineabeat Vol. 3 [SLOMO026]

B. Loda – Obscure Cuts III: Italian Electronic Dance [OSCI003]

The third release of the ”Obscure Cuts” series, curated by the Italian disco pioneer Beppe Loda, represents the electronic dance movement that formed in the late 70s – early 80’s in Italy. It features a few obscure productions that were inspired by Giorgio Moroder and other European electronic music of the time.

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B. Loda – Obscure Cuts III: Italian Electronic Dance [OSCI003]