The first new album from Les Filles de Illighadad in four years At Pioneer Works is the highly anticipated new album by the Tuareg Avant-rock group. Les Filles de Illighadad recorded the album in Brooklyn at the tail end of a two-year-long world tour. At Pioneer Works finds Les Filles at the height of their powers, creating a sound that transcends all known genres. This is a heavy and meditative set of music from one of the world’s most exciting bands.
The question ‘Who is DJ Steve?’ gets closer to being answered with the exciting release of his second EP on Klasse Wrecks. WRECKS036 brings more of the heat that DJ Steve is becoming known for. Direct lines are traced to back the formative years of UK Rave and Bleep music, production techniques are kept stripped back and faithful to the classic combinations of those numbers 808, 909, 303 and 101. ‘Secret Touch’ is a melting pot of acid lines, perfectly placed chord stabs and atmospherics that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Sheffield warehouse in 1992. The three original tracks are backed up with a hypnotic and perfectly grooved-out remix from Klasse Wrecks boss Luca Lozano.
Here we have the 3rd & final installment of Windy City (Feat. Moot Booxle) “Acid Funk” series. Once again, Moot lends his amazing keyboard skills to Windy City’s space disco excursions.
Gensi AKA András Genser deploys a trio of smooth and inspiriting cuts on the ‘Primavera 707’ EP. The title track gets the remix rub from British brothers Decius. ‘Primavera 707’ is tinged with a gloss and sheen, and a pop edge, that stays on the right side of classy. Heavenly melodies skit around an effervescent vocal, as Gensi distributes bubbly acid lines and expansive synths that elegantly crescendo.
Oráculo Records joins forces with Wrong Era to release the vinyl debut of the Lithuanian young act Ton Globiter. In between techno, ebm and new beat, his sound is fresh and overwhelming, ready to fire up any dance floor. It includes remixes by Kris Baha and Synths Versus Me to complete a ballistic weapon EP.
ABRAXAS is the activist techno side project of Damià Llorens , alma matter of We Are Not Brothers. Self-defined as “activism trough music, promoting social, political, economical and environmental changes in our fucking capitalist society towards a greater good”, his vinyl debut is about real punk attitude on the 21th century. Including collaborations by Nightcrawler, Univac and José Rodríguez”.
The debut album of the Greek one-man project HERE-X contains everything we could expect from a leading modern post-punk act. Cold wave ambiances fulfilled with sumptuous guitar riffs and beautiful synth lines surrounded by exuberant vocals.
For its sixth release, the Madrid-based label N2MU presents an eight-track Various Artists compilation featuring Ivna Ji, Teslasonic, and Larionov among others. A gathering of renowned artists able to convey a homogeneous music message without losing sight of their creative individual characters. As in the latest N2MU release, Xergio Córdoba (Eternal Midnight Mastering Studio) has been in charge of mastering duties, while the Galician visual artist, Plástica, has created the artwork for the project.
MSRG is back on Solar One Music’s Between Places sub label. Four funky spaced out electro tunes in the likes of The Other People Place. The mood over here is really positive, which is really refreshing. Bassline programming, melodies and beats fit perfectly together and give that special amazing vibe.
For the first time on vinyl, German label Electro Empire rereleases Polytron’s crispy analogue produced and 808-loaded Electro Empire theme song from 2003. The Finnish ElectroBass cruiser is accompanied by another classic, the Polytron 2003 remix of Pimeyden Jousi (Bow of Darkness) by legendary gothic rockers Two Witches from 1988. With vocoderized Finnish vocals and dark synth work, this remix is pure Electro-Disco magic.
Big flash sale on Juno Records. Check it out HERE!
The second release by the German underground label Panther Schallplatten, comes from the core artist Die Gestalten and Agent Winter.
Following in the tradition of artists like Detroit in Effect and DJ Di’jital, Kid Ginseng brings us another dose of classic, analog-driven electro with his newest EP, Twenty One. The EP features two versions of three hyper-catchy cuts, and both the remixed versions and originals are capable of holding their own.
The vinyl compilation “The Dark Side Of Italo Disco” is a contrast to the numerous happy and danceable Italo Disco titles, because this sampler contains deep, mystical and melancholic songs. Flemming Dalum has selected very special titles distinguished by hard and dark beats. Masterpieces like “Body Heat” by Fokewulf 190, “Eagles In The Night” by Dario Dell’Aere, “Blue Room” by Kirlian Camera show an interesting facet of Italo Disco music.
“Dimmi Bello” was written in 1986 and is re-printed today after 35 years with the very kind permission of two wonderful people who have dedicated their lives to music and love of neighbor, Francesco and Lucia Varanzano.
Covering various classics is not uncommon in Italo Disco. Hardly a song that has not been pressed through the synth mill and spit out again with its own charm. This is also the case with the premiere release from the label “Mattoni Pazzi” with the “Monomax Band”: As the song title already reveals, you will find a reference to the Led Zeppelin classic on side A. In full 80’s Italo fashion, this version is peppered with synth riffs, glittering arpeggios, a thundering DX-7 bassline and almost gothic-tinged vocals. Side B is a remake of the remake and drifts off into the cosmic at a much higher tempo. A hypnotic repetitive bassline is underpinned with loving, oriental-inspired, lead melodies and vibrating soundscapes.
For this third chapter of the Wamono series, Yoshizawa and Chintam unheart some of the best and rarest light mellow funk tunes and disco boogie bangers produced in Japan between 1978 and 1988. Put the needle on the record, turn up the volume and dig right now into the Wamono sound – the cream of the Japanese jazz, funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan.
The Hipodrome Of Music 