‘Fog’ is one of most obscure and dark italo instrumental works done in 1984 late at night in Riccardo Cioni’s garage/studio by his trusty Stephen Head experimenting on PPG Wave 2.2, Linn 9000 and Phophet 5. Mondo Groove release this 12″ 45rpm involving 4 key figures of analog electro: Morgan Geist, Tiger & Woods, N.O.I.A. and Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi.
Guadalajara’s My Boy Roy returns to Wrong Era with an anthemic edit of Boytronic’s ‘Hold on’ for the A UFO free edit series. He gives the original a respectful, powerful re-arrangement and layers on his percussion his signature lift.
Olivia returns with her debut album to Budapest’s finest Dalmata Daniel. The unique-sounding Krakow-based producer with ‘Sen’ gives us a glimpse into her enigmatic and obscure world, where the boundaries between reality and the abyss blur. Embrace the darkness as pulsating beats collide with haunting melodies, propelling you through an enigmatic underworld. This new full length album is another testament to Olivia’s unrivaled artistry and her ability to traverse the boundaries, how she uses it, turn it upside down and mutated electro, techno, industrial and EBM genres in her own way.
E.L.I. debuts on the Pinkman Broken Dreams series. Prepare to be entranced by the mesmerizing hardware jams that reverberate through your consciousness. As the shadows lengthen and the night embraces you, immerse yourself in ‘Built to Thrill,’ where darkness and euphoria collide in a symphony of madness.
#Coldroom103 is a Barcelona social media private club composed of truly fanatics of the dark sounds in all its subgenres. They’re the responsible for the curation / selection of the new edition of the acclaimed Aleatory Chaos series. You could expect a mix of different styles, from post-punk to industrial and from modern techno new beat to electro. It comes presented in double gatefold format in a one-off truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid black vinyl.
Oráculo Records long time partner in crime Carlos Grabstein rules Berlin based Miseria records. Started as a DIY cassette and digital label back in 2021, the imprint is clearly focused and specialized in ultra-rare synth based darkwave compilations. Now in 2023 Miseria joins forces with Oráculo Records to present a selection of his best releases to date in vinyl format for the very first time, presented in double gatefold format in a one-off truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid black vinyl.
Unknown Artist, unknown label, unknown everything, the only thing we know is that unknown weapons always releases killer tunes.
Sound Metaphors and Transmigration take another dig at the CATT Records catalogue with another EP comprised of two cuts that have been part of the secret weapon arsenals of many seasoned DJs and collectors. A side investigates what might come across as a British response to the Belgian New Beat contingent that had been brewing for a while at the time, serious bass lines and synthetic Gregorian chants echoed over solid four on the floor action. B side unfolds the rhythm in half beat with a breaky electro/freestyle indulgence with Led Zeppelin samples unexpectedly sprinkled about.
Minimal Wave presents the first vinyl reissue of French legends Martin Dupont’s seminal album from 1987, ‘Hot Paradox’. Martin Dupont was originally founded by Alain Seghir in Marseille in 1980. He enlisted numerous collaborators throughout the years, including Beverley Jane Crew, Brigitte Balian, and Catherine Loy. Martin Dupont was immensely talented with a rare dynamic between its varying members that was likely inspired by a combination of their magnetic personalities, creative vision, and the home studio where they recorded. Their music was colorful, enthusiastic, delicate, melancholy, and mysterious. A mixture of hot and cold, light and dark. They created electronic music that incorporated guitars, clarinets, and saxophones and is described by many as New Wave yet truly transcended genres. The ‘Hot Paradox’ album hasn’t been available on vinyl since 1987. It is one of Martin Dupont’s most exquisite albums, illustrating the band’s mastery of synthesizer work, drum programming, and vocal duets. The album is vibrant and emotive, simultaneously somber and bright, theatrical and danceable. It is an essential album in the French cold wave, new wave, and minimal synth scenes, and in recent years, has finally received the recognition it deserves beyond any musical categorization.
Cititrax present a new album by Cosmetics, a Vancouver-based synth wave duo formed by Nic Emm and Aja Emma in 2008. Cosmetics reappeared in 2022 after having been relatively quiet since its very memorable releases on Captured Tracks in 2010. In 2023, the band returns with a phenomenal full-length LP entitled ‘Baby’. Their music is sultry, minimalist, and atmospheric, backed by lush analog synths and sparse drum machines. Aja’s seductive vocals cut through the perfectly crafted dark synthpop forming a filmlike narrative that draws us in. The ‘Baby’ LP will have you listening on repeat and the single featuring alternate versions of two songs from the album will bring you from your bedroom listening to the dance floor. Cosmetics continue the lineage of Minimal Wave into the present day.
Plague Pits is a collective from Bern, Switzerland. Inspired by the DIY electronic tape underground of yore, they play disco dirges for the Anthropocene – cold wave for a heating planet. After a string of DIY releases on their bandcamp page, on Transnecropolitan and Young And Cold Records, the band released their first full length album “Creatures“ on DIY label Transnecropolitan, from Bern. “Creatures” was conceived and recorded over a span of six months in early 2022 and contains eight songs that are just as inspired by the clattering electro-industrial rhythms of the mid-eighties as by early electronic post-punk and its krautrock forbears. The record lyrically centers around all manners of exploitation – of human beings, other living creatures, and our planets resources.
Schicksal is the alias of Rudi Huybrechts from Belgium. Heavily inspired by Front 242 first album “Geography”, DAF’s elektronische körpermusik “Alles Ist Gut” and of course Kraftwerk’s “Man Machine” and “Computer World”, Rudi bought his first Roland SH-101 synthesizer and started in 1982 with Schicksal to experiment with synths and drum computers. He spent lot of hours programming and composing on his bedroom and recording everything on a tape recorder. A selection of these old tracks are included on this album. You can definitely feel the vibe of this period and the place where the songs were created: the old industrial town of Hoboken, the culmination of the cold war and the aim of a young musician to combine melody and harmony into minimal electronic music.
Schicksal is the alias of Rudi Huybrechts coming from Hoboken, a small town near Antwerp. He started experimenting with synths and drum computers in 1982. Heavily inspired by Front 242 first album “Geography”, DAF’s elektronische körpermusik “Alles Ist Gut” and Kraftwerk’s “Man Machine” and “Computer World”, Rudi spent lot of hours programming and composing at home with just some gear and a tape recorder. Some of these tracks appeared on local compilations but it was not until the hype of New Beat in Belgium that Schicksal gained a real attention. In 1988 Rudi persuaded Marc Grouls, the resident DJ of discotheque Prestige in Antwerp, to play the track “24 hours”. All the people on the dancefloor just got wild and the next day Schicksal signed a contract with Maurice Engelen for the release of a maxi-single on Subway Records.
Max & Intro was a short-lived duo formed by Vincent Max and Intro Johnnie in Belgrade. In 1984 they composed “Ostavi Sve” (in English: “Leave Everything”), probably the greatest ex-Yugoslavian minimal synth song of all times with heavy rotation on radio and even TV appearances. It was a tribute to Fairlight synthesizers, in that time non affordable for these young musicians and became an obsession, especially for Max. In 1985 was published their first and only release “We Design The Future” including “Ostavi Sve” and the B-side “Beogradska Devojka”, another synth gem.
Northern Nightmares returns for a third instalment. Alongside the usual suspects, Up North welcomes some new blood to the party. NN III also has the honour of lifting the veil from Parrish Smith’s latest project, METAL! From Antonio’s blistering basselines to Eindkrak’s twisted rhythms, this intoxicating compilation will shatter speakers and clench fists.
The fourth chapter of the Kri discography was conceived in the cold northern parts of Europe by a well-seasoned electro producer and Gravitational Waves label owner, Dj Nephil. Sharp electro-minimalism on the Horizon Rising EP is ranging from hypnotic and subtle to a punkish kick in the arse. Lush textures, bitter-sweet acid, and thick bass lines are looking past trends to create a lasting record. Adding extra weight to this polar electro voyage are remixes by two among our favorite producers, Alonzo and Univac.
For its 48th release, Dame-Music welcomes back Meshes to the label, this time for his first full solo EP showcasing his fresh take on the modern EBM sound. Israel based producer Meshes marks his return to the label with his Always Against EP, including a remix from the label boss Bloody Mary. Full dose of heavy analogue bass, powerful percussion and punkish vocals across all 4 tracks.
It’s been a quiet couple of years for Posthuman’s I Love Acid series, but it’s back with the first of three 12”s to see out 2023. ILA027 comes from Australian hardware wizard Dylab. Three tracks of 3am heads-down-in-the-haze chugging acid DJ tools, with a remix from Vault Wax label head Beyun.
Tales of self-prophecy. Civilizations born from ancient technology. The architects of the future. Transformation of the world. A Childhood Intelligence project by Dan Piu & Venus News Network.
Lipelis makes a welcome return to L.I.E.S. with his TMO project and lines up a huge release with this four track ep, housed in a killer picture sleeve. Massive anthem alerts here as Lipelis teams up with keyboardist Eugene Piankov with epic results. From the absolutely soaring and melodic 303+909 driven opener, to the pensive mid tempo “Bright Jam” Everything comes to a head with the B1. cut that is a huge piano house anthem, this will save the party or bring it to the next level… solos, chord progressions, 303’s, phased claps….everything going exactly how it should be…clean as a whistle, rockin the floor like mad. Absolutely recommended for connoisseurs of real dance music.
The Hipodrome Of Music 