Inkblots Records presents their first release with tracks from Developer and Stanislav Tolkachev. On Side A, Developer focuses on sight and offers Observance and Brightly Dark, in order to make you look at daily things in a different way. On Side B, Stanislav Tolkachev hits your stomach with Raw1, like a butterfly fist into darkness. Raw2 punches your ears and brings your mind to pointed frequencies and a twisted mind trip.
Cassegrain´s brilliant Tiamat releases are back. After the amazing original tracks from Cassegrain, well known and respected Remixers like Svreca, Mike Parker, TM404 and Inland aka. Ed Davenport have designed 4 Tiamat tracks in order to provide a completely dedicated view on Cassegrain´s fantastic EP.
The penultimate Theory release is a highly limited double pack 7” of road tested club bangers, featuring 3 previously unreleased tracks from Ben and a collab with Paul Mac
The producer that keeps diggers guessing is back on Skylax with a double pack of refined house grooves named in honour of the label that has borne his music thus far. Wherever and whenever this music appeared, there’s no arguing with the simple beauty of a cut like “John Blue” with its tripped out organ line and globulous pad, or “Rawkicks 2” in all its lounged-out grooving glory. There’s a lot of space allowed for soul samples and loose-fit beatdown drums, moving this release away from a strictly dancefloor release into a wider headspace. With his delicate touch and unfussy delivery, Jason Grove will undoubtedly be worming his way into even more heads thanks to this LP.
Not a repress but juicy new productions. A highly respected international DJ and producer hailing from Brooklyn, Jovonn made his mark within the underground House scene with classics such as ‘I Can’t Make Up My Mind’, ‘Garage Shelter’, and the standout collaboration with DJ Deep ‘Back In the Dark’.
Steven Tang returns to Smallville Records for a follow up entitled Leaving The Physical World. Building on the masterful approach to deep house seen on Disconnect to Connect, the Hong Kong native delivers three nuanced productions that show the skills he’s been honing for many years. The percussive bump and complex chord arrangement of the title track are finely complemented by the searching shamanic house of “Mystic Ritual” and melancholic soundscape of “Reality We Make”.
Naoki entered the Soul People Music universe via Earth Tones 3 along with Joey Anderson and Leonid Nevermind. Naoki’s music is understated, yet effective & there is a quiet restraint that leaves the listener wanting more. Fred P’s Reshape delivers a laid back early morning remix.
Deep Space Orchestra return with a double-header of their patented blend of electronic house music. “Hipster Massacre” is the duo’s response to the bland, instagram-obsessed dancefloors of today. Bouncing along on a wave of droning synths, rhythmic vocal snippets and a floor slaying bassline the arrangement takes us through heavy drum machine sections through to sparse dancefloor ecstasy. “Smoking Bunt” goes on a trippy percussive tip, opening with some lush congas and seductive synth stabs before an arpeggiated melody comes rushing in, transporting us to open skies and huge oceanic landscapes.
Two brand new mutant acid house tracks on Mannequin Records. DUST is a contemporary ouroboros of acid house, combat techno, and late italo, headquartered at infamous psychedelic/art/techno mansion Trip House in the jungles of Deep Bushwick.
Three tracks of pickled, tripped techno-not-techno and crushed house from the Dubliners, backed with a wry remix from Tuff Sherm aka Dro Carey. Mastered by Helmut Erler at D&M, this is a vinyl-only release.
The tenth release on Acoustic Division is coming from Claire. “Perfume” is a techno that sucks the air out of the room and charges the void with an inescapable atmosphere of enchantment and control. Distilled from smoke and mirrors and spun from the hypnotist’s lyre, her machinery leaves its trace everywhere, as fragments of desire dissolve into the presence of total submission.
After more than a decade of releasing raw and emotional house music, Dutch producer and architect Aroy Dee is about to drop his debut album on his own M>O>S label. The man has established himself as someone who creates misty analogue music that nods to a Chicago heyday at the same time as coming imbued with plenty of its own deep emotions, mystic melodies and jacking beats. His M>O>S label has become a go-to outlet for fans of no nonsense house and that tradition continues on this full-length album. Incidentally, M>O>S stands for Muziek Over Steden – Dutch for ‘music about cities’ – because Dee has a close tie to buildings: during the day he works as an architect so has an unrivalled grasp of space, structure and urban environments that surely translates into his well built house music, and more specifically into this debut album. Made with the same hardware that defines the rest of his discography, including his first synth, the Poly 800, which he bought from his friend NWAQ, Sketches is a truly idiosyncratic project.
“For me, my musical output and development feels like an on going history of my life. In this perspective I worked steadily over the last two years on my first full-length album, Sketches. It’s a very personal document, not intended to make anybody happy but myself, which is why it has taken so long. It’s like a diary or ghost-script written about a part of my life and my fascinations, honoring my biggest musical inspirations.”
From the shores of the Great Lakes comes a 3 track floor filler from MI duo 2AM/FM aka JTC & D’Marc Cantu. Confronting the canons of Techno & House head on, this 12″ takes you beyond the dance. Best experienced loud though, preferably in a darkened smoke filled room.
Cyber Dance Records are back on the attack with a fresh release from Perseus Traxx aka Nigel Rogers, a 4-track EP entitled after recent scientific developments ‘An Apparent Horizon’. It’s a firmly machine-based and totally jam-packed affair reflecting diverse sounds from the UK’s own rich history of electronic dance music, with elements from the classic Warp “deep space sound” prominent as much as the more usual 303-jacking acid house grooves in the vein of Baby Ford or Bam Bam. ‘Lost Dreams’ opens the record with a floaty dream-like hipnosis from the depths of space and sets the tone in magnificent style, followed up on Side A with the irresistible roll of ‘Reverse The Trend’ that takes the groove harder, further and deeperstraight off to the beyond. Dark strings reminiscent of old LFO, B-12 or Autechre vinyls from the early 90s propel us into Side B on ‘Darkness Stalks’, and then we’re transported onto the concluding track on the EP, ‘Distances’; an epic closer that opens with beautiful reverbed claps and acid squelches before diving into an inky black void of timeless space-travelling and slow-building tension that could surely echo hauntingly around any M25 rave in the depths of a late 1980s night.
The French duet Acid Square Dance aka Nicolas Villebrun (Society Of Silence) and Hervé Carvalho (Acid Arab). Recorded during Jam sessions in Paris, here are 3 new killer Acid tracks, 2 raw and intense floor burner on the A side, and a kind of Deep Balearic ballade on the b side.
After two succesful EP releases on the label, Psyk aka Manuel Anós is back on Mote-Evolver inaugurating his first full-length album effort. “Time Foundation” proves to be an outstanding collection that shows the full spectrum of Psyk’s sound and the range of skills as he expands and explores different depths and moods. Keeping the energy level constant at the peak, there’s no downtime in “Time Foundation”. And while 10 sharp-cut tracks are all armed with clean, streamlined groove and impressive sound design therefore may soundincredibly slick and effortless, once you listened closely – and they will demand your attention – that kind of breezing through swift force is only the byproduct of Psyk’s high caliber production ability to map out meticulous structures with a great detail.
‘Fizic’ is the next natural step for accomplished techno producer Cosmin TRG. Having released on an influential array of labels in the last few years, the Romanian is now branching out on his own with an imprint that will serve as a further extension of himself, his sonic preferences and his interest in artistic imagery. Releasing esoteric techno aimed largely at the dancefloor and purely from his own studio, Fizic releases will come accompanied with Cosmin’s own photography as well as occasional videos. Coming in both vinyl and digital format, the label serves as a combination of a need for a more personal, dedicated approach, a desire for artistic freedom and is born from ‘a slightly egocentric tendency, with the sole purpose of creating unique, high quality audio-visual products.
Heavy pounding functional tracks balanced with some fresh adventurous techno tracks. The young and passionate French producer making his debut on Dj Deep’s Deeply Rooted.
Field Records is to release a 2CD compilation of music from the labels artists old and new entitled simply, Collection. The imprint keeps up the Dutch tradition of releasing deep, Detroit-inspired electronic music with high-class contributions from various artists. Built on minimalism and modesty, the boutique label has expanded into a consortium for quality since first emerging in 2008. Artists such as Conforce, Delta Funktionen, DJ Sprinkles, Steffi, Mark Du Mosch and many other assured talents have all appeared on the label before now with sounds that range from deep, classically include house to more rough edged and raw techno. It’s much the same case on this expansive new two CD release, which will also be offered up as 3 x vinyl sampler. Across both CDs, established artists rub shoulders with more recently emerging talents and plenty of coherent and creative ground is covered in the exclusive new tracks. Things start off with the grainy ambiance of Sons Of Melancholia’s ‘Theme From The Lake’ before the likes of Delsin’s Unbroken Dub serves up a crawling bit od dubbed out techno, Acronym explores finely planed techno minimalism and Polar Inertia gets all heady and industrial on their ‘Sonic Outlaws’ contribution. Disc 2 starts off with lumpy ambiance before evolving through broken beat pieces, streamlined and stripped back techno and frazzled acid workouts. As a listening experience from start to finish this compilation works perfectly, too, because it never repeats the same trick. Featuring an exquisite selection of tracks by talented artists as well as contemporary favourites, Collection functions as a blueprint of the sound of the Field records label, delving into new geographical and musical territory in style.
