From the Going Good camp. The drums smack. The bass is too loud. Liberia, Ghana, all the way across to Uganda. 1970’s tinpot dictatorships birth colourful sounds. Magnetic tape, Linn drums and Bucket Brigade delay units confuse the mix. Sub-cultural colonialism to destroy the dance. Still, it sounds good. And it looks nice as well!
Falling Ethics label owner P.E.A.R.L. comes up with the 7th instalment in the Falling Ethics series. This time, the slice of vinyl comes packed with 3 mechanic Techno cuts + one atmospheric bit to close things down. Trees of Eternity is a worthy addition to the series which continues to showcase P.E.A.R.L’s visions of modern day techno.
Stark minimalism adherent to the the groove – submerged industrial rhythms and flexing, dubbed-out basslines – shimmering leads and beautiful melody by Novel Sound man Levon Vincent.
The final, 10th, release on the Tanstaafl Planets series from John Osborn & Tallmen785. Machine grooves crafted with trippy, pulsating bass lines, alien synth leads, whipping jungle snares, and skipping high hats that sound as though they have all been produced by an alien lizard race from the constellation Draco.
Romania’s Snejl Black teams up with Qindek for its 4th release. What we get are 3 tracks, carefully sculpted, ultra-pure visions of techno. Each is thoroughly uncluttered, and given just enough color to be compelling. Simple kick drum, undulating sounds that provide something distantly related to melody, and very subtle backdrops that pair a soothing hiss and quiet drones. Nothing is superfluous, everything is essential.
DLBM. is a new record label formed by the duo Beat Movement and D-Leria. The aim is to spread the techno born in the 90’s, adapted to minimal sounds, full of groove and dynamic, with an eye and an ear toward the future. Simplicity is the word used for the composition of this split.
Another compilation for Andreas Gehm. All proceeds go to Andreas to aid in a time of bad health. Features artists like Cosmic Force, Morphology, Faceless Mind, Iconic Black Suit, PL_anet, Resting Cell, Myoptik, DJ Kenny Mulligan, Sheffield Bleep, Pleb Acid Crew, Si Moore, Achim.Bloch., Juliane Wolf, Scott Robinson, Healthmaster Gehm, Mr. Myoplast Weakmassive, Qima Inudstries, Knights of The Acid Table, Cubistic Lockian, Lectromagnetique, Captain Gascid, hautille, Rusuden, OpziO, Thomas Ueber, Black Catcher, Mike Volt, T/Error, AL355|0, Robertiano Filigrano, D-Omen, Z1, Lectromagnetique, and g13ck.
Sheffield’s Central Processing Unit has been one of the most prolific electro and techno labels over the last few years. Their fifth release of 2016 comes from up-and-coming producer Rhys “Microlith” Celeste, who made his debut on the imprint a few months back. As debut albums go, Dance With Me is a fine effort. Sitting somewhere between the underwater intensity of Drexciya, the melodiousness of Artificial Intelligence-era Warp releases, and the spacey sound of vintage British intelligence techno, the album bristles with gentle acid lines, ambient chords, punchy rhythms and Motor City inspired melodies.
London Modular Alliance is the raw and unpredictable music project from the UK’s best known, dedicated modular synth shop London Modular. Its members Simon Lynch, Phil Ventre and Gavin Pykerman met through a shared passion in modular synthesisers. Impromptu gatherings and jams soon turned into live performances at clubs, festivals and museums. They create an intense live show with a huge setup of self-assembled modular gear. Every set starts with one small looping beginning – a patch – and is expanded into a deep sonic landscape. With the use of cables they build unexpected circuits and explore the power of pure electronic sounds without the use of a digital software infrastructure. No laptops, no button pushing, everything is created on the spot using modular synthesizers and is based on live improvisations. Overall LMA tries to keep its live sets in the dark: unrecorded, off the internet and only for those who are present in the moment. A clear break with the capture-all mentality of the internet age.
The return of DJ Technician in company with his long time friend DJ Overdose. From The Hague to Rotterdam, a true westcoast electro affair.
Mosaique is an electronic music label based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, founded by Moralez and Murzin. MSQ 001 mysteriously divided into bright and dark sides of the universe. On the A-side (the bright one) you will find intergalactic jack groove represented by Contra Communem Opionem aka CCO (Zurich) and made acid trip together with the cosmic rider Andreas Gehm (Cologne). the dark B-side accepts the challenge from imperfect planet’s chastener Umwelt (Lyon) and a major black hole instigator Moralez (St. Petersburg).
Four tracks which move from sinister corners of life to heavy concrete walls, impossible to surmounts. Blooded fists. Grey skies. And everything else MRT can be. Mitchell Goor is someone not keen on public appearance. He works in the dark, piecing together relentless drum patterns and brooding melodies. Picturing fragments of decay. The self destructive, The space in between, The tourists have lost their minds, The unfortunate, four particular moments in his life, things that changed him, for better or worse.
Gravitational Waves forges ahead in what promises to be distinct form with the second release by the labels founder, the shadowy DJ Nephil. The EP features four moody stompers by this underground stalwart, with a remix from the phenomenally talented JASSS. All are for the roughest of venues, a foray into ominous soundscapes.
Anunnaki Cartel is up next with another release from label co-owner Chris Mitchell. This is his follow up to the Din Gir Dialectic EP that was released last year. “Remnants” is a more introspective outing with a sobering feel. These are heady selections for a darker floor, and will satisfy those DJ’s who want to inject this into their sets.
The first compilation on the Dresden based label shtum unites three label regulars and one newbie with four tracks suitable for rampant basements. “Motorcity Racers” has been on rotation for quite some time amongst the label heads and is the first sign from Poland’s Chino on shtum. It floats somewhere between dirty Detroit and the rough corners of the Netherlands. Leibniz delivers the “Real Life”, a relatively straight follow-up to his latest EP, while Jaures hit their drum machines like there is no tomorrow. Perm’s cut is all loopy and succeeds in creating an irresistible atmosphere with just a few elements.
Michael Ferragosto is back on Italy’s own Dog in the Night label with four new twisted psychedelic house cuts. As usual we hear the artist taking the traditional blueprints of Chicago House and putting his own signature chops to it resulting in a bizzare mix up of jacking madness that will get the floor going wild.
Credit 00 strikes back with four cuts between Jungle Funk and sublime Party bombs. “Tribal Rhythm Machine” starts off with subtle but effective drumming that works on the dance floor as much as it could be the soundtrack to your road trip to Utopia. Then there is “Curse Of The Medusa”, a pretty rumbling track that takes full advantage of its super-funky vocal samples and almost explosive percussion action. “Voodoo Soup” fishes in muddy waters with Credit 00’s distinctive drum work and tribal sounds from outer space. The final track “Snake Charmer” is building things up nice and steady. But when the hypnotizing synth melody breaks ground neither serpents nor dancers can resist. The artwork was created by Alexander Dorn a.k.a. Credit 00 himself.
Raw Tools label boss and Bucharest based producer Romansoff is making his debut on Creme Organization in 2016. His Wrath of Zeus EP features four tracks of the sort of frayed and authentic house music that the label is known for around the world. Romansoff mostly releases on his own label but has also served up plenty of rawness on Machine Records, Mork and Bitter Moon. Bundle of Acid is the opener and is a heavy but mystic track with grainy claps and plodding drums undermining bubbling synths. It’s crunchy and spooky and really comes alive with some squiggly acid lines. The title track is more stripped back and trippy, with corrugated drums and nervy chords trapping you in a suspenseful groove before Who You Gunna Call is another rough hewn analogue monster that manges to take you down into some cavernous underworld at the same time as offering up some angelic emotions. Lastly, She Owns The Game is the most melodic of the lot, with a far sighted ripple of keys, spaced out atmospheres and muttered vocal lines all making for something that is truly from another world.
Matteo Pepe aka Uabos returns to Bitter Moon. Building on his first outing, A Point of View opens with the warming 303 grooves of “A Point of View.” Clean beats and lush notes weave in this playful house encounter. Those same crisp rhythms are present in the funk filled “Groove Is A Mystery” before slow burning beauty of “Piano Fights”, a track that will simply ignite anything it comes in contact with. Bright and energetic, “Semen Without Touch” ends the EP, shimmering bars and playful twists wind together for a colourful close.
The Hipodrome Of Music 