Varied EP of techno from Technoir label owner Shawn Rudiman, including an oddly cool wavey-pop cut! Lead track ‘Artificial Soul’ does the dubby Detroit thing with a sound recalling Mike Huckaby’s SYNTH productions, while ‘Skin On Skin’ goes a little harder and darker, followed by ‘We Are Electric’ casting a ear back to the wavey synth-pop influences of early Detroit.
Another edition of Soma’s annual compilation series, this time featuring previously unreleased contributions from Slam and Gary Beck, with further cuts from Let’s Go Outside, Funk D’Void, Sian and Joris Voorn. Quite unexpectedly, Autechre are involved too, supplying a remix of The Black Dog’s ‘Tunnels OV Set’. Getting first dibs, Itamar Sagi’s ‘One Million Oaks’ ushers in the album with a fine piece of tech-house production spurred on by driving chord stabs so restrained that they seem to imply a melody more than actually deliver one. Further into the sequence and Soma bosses Slam take on a solid remix of Samuel L. Session’s ‘Can You Relate’ with neatly evolving drum patterns underlined by flurrying synths and modulating, drone-like sustains. Other highlights include the minimal opus ‘Jelle’, by super-group Mihalis Safras, Mark Broom and Jelle Kuipers and Ripperton’s great remix of Silicone Soul’s ‘Dust Ballad II’, featuring haunting vocals, big Detroit-style strings and great, in-depth drum production. A good, strong selection all-round.
Remute’s definition of house on his own label, including Snuff Crew RMX.Taken from the forthcoming Remute album “The Orgy”.
Another effortlessly excavated and amended quartet of surefire, cone-rattling club cuts. All four tracks have been, as ever, lovingly reduced to their bare essence, ensuring they’re as indispensable as the Mangled label they’re on. Our tip is that last track!!! Ray has delivered yet again !!
Jared Wilson is keeping the acid alive in Detroit. ”Ghettoblaster” is Jared’s second release on his label 7777. ”This Love,” is a slower deep track with haunting 303 bassllines and a a voice chanting This Love. The title track, ”Ghettoblaster” is an jacking stomper for the floor. ”Last Two,” is a very nice Chicago influence acid beat track. Our favorite is the intens This Love with amazing 303 which sounds like Aphex Twin doing chicago house.
Having hit the ground running with his debut track as “Dirty” (one of our biggest tunes of 2009), Rufdug is back with some more music, this time under his edits moniker Ruf Kutz. This limited 12″ includes four storming cuts that have ‘essential’ written all over them. We kick off with “Sun After Rain”, an edit of a Salsoul Strings track that squeezes every ounce of vitamin D goodness onto the dancefloor. This is deep disco made for the sunrise. Another one that’ll go down a treat spun at 5am at a sun-bleached beach bar is “Solid Snake” – it’s a bongo-driven psychedelic guitar freak-out that just makes you want to take that hair out of the ponytail and shake it! The quality control keeps up high on the flipside as well, with the twisted beatdown bass antics of “Marvelous Nigz” – think ESG on tranqs! Last but definitely not least on this eclectic EP we have “Under The Hood” – another winner for hip hop heads. You might think the original has free jazz parentage, but you’d need to be looking in a krautrock direction to find the answer! ‘Downtempo dub-psyche headnod with extra echo’ says Ruf Kutz – and who are we to disagree! Essential with a big fat E!
Taken from last years ‘So Much Noise 2 Be Heard’ sessions, Jamal Moss delivers four tracks of killer idiosyncratic Chicago originals as only he can. The awesome ‘Ravished By The Truth’ is an essential, sounding like some proto-Millsian space expedition recorded onto VHS in 1988, followed by the spectral jazzjackin’ title track and the previously unreleased ‘Sacrifices Of The Heart’. This is Earth calling Jamal, keep up the good work, man!
Originally released on Aubrey’s defunct label Dark, this untitled track is an 8-minute trip into a deep Basic Channel-like atmosphere. Dubbed out techno, melancholically resounding deep chords all layered on reverberating throbbing beats. The release comes with 2 perfectly fitting remixes by Modern Love artists Pendle Coven and Geophone’s Mike Parker.
With five Beat Pharmacy albums and almost a dozen vinyl releases on Francois K’s Deep Space imprint, this dubby and eclectic project of Brendon Moeller needs no introduction. Chugging along at 120bpm, underpinned by a thick sub-dub bassline and a modulating Maurizio-style synth cord arpeggio, Pump is a hypnotic slap of deep smoky house with some memorable hooks to boot. Swirling rhodes keyboards and a slick piano riff serve as a lovely counterpoint to the swinging funk of the hi-hat groove. With remixes by Echospace head honcho, Stephen Hitchell under his Intrusion guise and London’s Bearweasel this proves to be a solid package.
The Return of Mr C! The man that brought us many nice releases on his Plink Plonk label in the 90’s. Some deep techno tracks with lush strings, pads & beautiful melodies and a 90’s Detroit atmosphere.
The beginning of a new stage on Exquisite Music, a time to explore different directions without forgetting the imprint’s deep foundations. Gilles Bineaux delivers a neo-detroit’ish masterpiece, whilst Bioground takes you on a tripped out journey, somewhere between micro house and deep techno.
Dirty raw house tracks from Detroit! On a dark dance floor you will be given a glimpse into the heart and mind of Marcellus Pittman. FIT SOUND, a new imprint from Detroit,debut with an EP from the talented Detroit producer Marcellus Pittman. Erase The Pain, is a mutated acid banger carefully arranged to be absolutely devastating when in the right hands. Twisted bass lines and synths travel together and divert over a fierce jacking beat. Sync is a night drive through the city streets, but this night is strange because the sky has become purple. Grey buildings turn into unrecognizable forms. People standing on street corners, now appear to be zombies lurking in the darkness. Is this a nightmare or is this for real? Illa 5 Ela brings it all back to the days when you first felt love for that special somebody. Early white labels copies have been tested in clubs worldwide and the results are unanimous: KILLER. Follow Theo Parrish’s advice, “Don’t Sleep….Serious rugged service right here!”
The Hebrew word “shalom” means peace but it’s also a greeting and sometimes a goodbye. For Roni Nachum, a young producer from Jerusalem, “Guest Service Shalom” is one hell of a hello. His vinyl debut, which so skillfully walks between deep house moods and techno’s edges, arrives care of the shrewd A&R work of Nitzan at Fine Art Recordings. It’s also backed by a superb, decompressing remix by Mark E.
Big groovy detroit influenced House from Azuni. Two tracks that bend and twist their way around your mind. ‘Here You Come’ has some breathy vocals a-la back in the day. Pumping grooves throb their way towards you from beat one. The flip sees ‘Believe’ a low down jacker that will suit most floors early in the night a solid outing that will not rest.
Stripped down drum rhythm tracks from the busy french house producer that slowly evolve in proper tracks with layers of strings and pulsating synths. Flip side has a more chicago vibe with bits of bleepy DBX basslines. Strong release and probably one of our recent Planet E favorites.
Tensnake with his first full Ep for Permanent Vacation, and what a better this 12 inch is: The title track “Coma Cat” already caused mayhems on dancefloors from Berlin to Sydney. “Get It Rtght” and “Need Your Lovin” are equally good and show the full spectrum of the Tensnake universe between boogie, house and disco.
