A tri-continental modern funk teamup with Tug Boatmen joining Megadon to rerub 2 of his deepest cuts. The A-side is a funky boogie classic with a Cylon-esque robotic vocal. B/w ”Don’t Ask” a floor filling modern disco knockout-one of TZ’s personal secret weapons.
Peripheral Minimal presents Beyond the Zero, the debut album by Brooklyn-based duo Spatial Relation. The eight songs that make up Beyond the Zero were produced, recorded, and mixed in the band’s home studio from 2012 to 2014. With influences ranging from 1980s minimal synth to Skam-styled IDM, Spatial Relation’s music draws equally from the early pop work of Depeche Mode and the later electro sounds of Dopplereffekt. Emphasizing hard beats, thick basslines, and hypnotic arpeggios, the minimalist arrangements onBeyond the Zero are geared for maximum effect. Created with a carefully chosen selection of analog electronic instruments, the album pairs the overtly synthetic sounds of hardware with human vocal experimentation.
After years of silence, the ”Petit Enfant” series which focuses on all things synth pop is back. Europ Europ never sounded so rhythmic before, but their typical (post)-industrial style is also there of course, resulting in two tracks of weird post-industrial disco.
A lost relic from the 80’s Detroit underground. This ”demo” recording is from a cassette found in a dusty box of donations left at a second hand shop. There is no info as to who, when or where this was recorded. What is it? Post Punk? Disco (Not) Disco? Sleaze Wave? or Mutant Surf? It doesn’t matter because its fucking incredible whatever you want to call it! A glimpse into what could/should have been a very important band had they gone further than this one track demo. 7” with original mix and an edit from FIT on the flip. Artwork by Stallone The Reducer. Made in collaboration with Lo and Behold Records in Hamtramck, MI. 200 copies for the world.
Crimes Of The Future rounds off the year in fine style with an absolutely essential EP from TWINS. Three moody US house cuts straught out of Atlanta and a sublime deep remix from label boss Scott Fraser.
After signing his album to the Amsterdam Dekmantel label, Basic Soul Unit still has more to offer. His first outing on the Skudge imprint shows four rugged dark techno jams.
Before his untimely death in 2002, Drexciya member James Stinson recorded a number of killer solo records. Hyperspace Soundlab, initially released in 1991 and credited to Clarence G, is undoubtedly one of his best. It’s long been something of an in-demand gem, with copies changing hands for several hundred pounds. Here, Clone have done us all a favour and given it a much-needed reissue via their Aqualung series dedicated to all things Drexciyan. As you’d perhaps expect, all four tracks explore the Detroit elecro sound Stinson did much to develop, with the producer adding his own rap vocals to the killer “Clarence G’s Club”, and the ghetto-influenced bounce of “Cause I Said It Right”. Elsewhere, “Turbine” is an exercise in industrial-tinged drum machine abuse, while “Data Transfer” sees Stinson doffing a cap to classic Chicago acid.
Spacey Detroit-inspired electro from new Maltese producer Microlith, aka Rhys Celeste. Certified braindance related Electro EP.
Last Trasmissions from Solaris was inspired by the Stanislav Lem’s novel Solaris, a journey into techno-soul emissions explored by the talent of passEnger. It combines a subdole sci-fi atmosphere with solid techno approach and scientific electro incarnation. Here you can find a direction if your soul needs an utopian vision of the future. The closest thing to Detroit we’ve been able to produce over the years.
Swedish techno producer and performer Ascorbite is launching his own imprint Corseque Records by releasing a solid four tracker on limited 12” vinyl.
MindTrip presents its 12th release, which sees two young Argentinian techno producers – Alderaan & Mental Resonance – joining forces to create the Man from Earth EP. This record features 3 outstanding, original tracks and an explosive remix from MindTrip’s fulcrum, Pfirter.
With their first release the team behind the Moscow clubbing institution has aimed to recreate the atmosphere that has made the club such an important part of the Russian techno movement. Featuring Oliver Deutschmann, Unbalance, Recid & Anastasia Kristensen.
Don’t Be Afraid imprint welcomes back DJ Bone under the Differ-Ent guise. It’s a sombre tone that sees the Detroit icon return too, with both these tracks produced by Bone in the immediate aftermath of his mother passing away after battling cancer. The 10-minute “M.O.M.” is something of a throbbing, pulsating techno delight, with the Detroit veteran adding colossal organ chords and mind-altering electronics to a stomping, brain-melting groove. Bone goes deeper on similarly epic “The Final Driver”, combining shuffling techno rhythms and alien electronics with warm, deep chords, and the melodic ethos of Omar-S style Detroit house.
Romanian minimal techno hero Petre Inspirescu releases a solo album on Japan’s Mule Musiq and what a moment in a brilliant career thus far. This guy is a true innovator and many are curious to hear what kind of journey into the deep and bizarre he can take us on. Starting out with the exotic bongo meditation of “Delir 1” and the breathtaking immersive ambience of “Delir 2” or the sinister and unsettling “Lumiere” things start to develop more movement later. Such as: on the deep hypnotic vibes of “Delir 4” or “Delir 6” which feature sombre string arrangements, emotive piano passages and some of the most expressive and restrained drums and percussion performances. All nine suspenseful compositions seduce with a deep melodic sensibility, harmonic adventures and an overall rhythmic ambiance of freshness and laidback enthusiasm. Together they represent a challenging auditory experience that will resonate in your mind long after the music has finished.
Given his prolific nature, fresh material from Rod Modell under the Deepchord guise is not news. There is, though, something rather special and extra-ordinary about Ultraviolet Music, an expansive, double-disc full length for Soma, which the Detroit-based producer has described as “hallucinogenic”. Taking dub techno as his blueprint, Modell delivers an impressive collection of hypnotic, out-there moments that also take influence from ambient, Detroit techno, deep house, and the kind of fuzzy, beguiling sonic textures guaranteed to flip your lid. While many of Modell’s albums feature epic, 20-minute plus workouts, here he quickly shuffles between shorter moments whilst retaining a deliciously dubby dancefloor pulse.
Finally available on wax, cv313’s classic ‘Lost Sequence’ culled from the celebrated Japan exclusive Live double CD album released back in 2009. On the B side there’s a rare live version performed by Intrusion at a Loft event put on by the good folks over @ Little White Earbuds. This rare recording was reduced and stripped down, core traces of the original swim inside oceanic bass, and modulating frequencies creating an atmosphere all of its own.
Stephan Laubner presents his new EP on Echocord “Message Of Sound”, containing original STL tracks and loops.
The Hipodrome Of Music 