Danny Wolfers striking another album at the Northsea Institute For The Overmind. This time is coming under the Smackos alias, providing a 11 track album free to download / name your price on his bandcamp.
Cygnus – Galactic Funk Podcast 018
Biochip – Crux Alley [CPU01011101]
Montreal duo Biochip return to Central Processing Unit with their new LP Crux Alley. The pair of Melissa Speirs and Julian Kochanowski turned plenty of heads when they first rocked up on the Sheffield label back in 2019 with debut drop Synthase. Synthase found Biochip twisting up Braindance, IDM and electro to their own ends, and Crux Alley is an album which hits similar sonic sweet-spots. Biochip continue to mark themselves out as one of contemporary electro’s most exciting new acts with the Crux Alley LP.
2020 Giveaways
2020 was a tough year for almost everyone and definitely a year to forget for our scene. Events and gigs canceled, venues closed, artists lacking a way to earn a decent living and club culture facing a threat like never before.
In the midst of these events were several people / organizations who tried to ease the pain, offering out some comfort by releasing music to people for free or by pay as you want download. This was always done, but this year I noticed that more and more artists are doing this.
Here is a selection of albums and compilations I came across this year and that I think is worth mentioning again.
Mick Wills – Radio Rituel 33
Visitor – Technofossil [BR//001]
Visitor, founded in 2017 is a two piece Canadian act comprised of Veronica Stefanuik and Philip Traikovski that seamlessly combines the best elements of old school EBM with new beat. The result is something out of time yet uniquely modern. Dark frantic beats and bass lines, Visitor will take over your body.
Franz Scala – Mondo Della Notte [SLOM046]
As head of Italian (centric) Slow Motion label (and international artist sister imprint, Wrong Era), and through his own productions and remixes, Franz Scala has been pioneering the retro-futuristic aesthetic of club culture weaving together elements of proto-house, wave and Italo for the nuovo contemporary dancefloor long before it’s current vogue. Now alongside Bordello A Parigi, and supported by Sameheads, Slow Motion presents Scala’s euphoric debut album Mondo Della Notte. A homage to the world of the night where Franz plies his trade. Solid production and understanding of the various references informing the contemporary dancefloor imbues this set with a quality of permanence. Each track clocks-in at around the seven minute mark accommodating all Scala’s retro influences providing the space for walls of sounds to expand and unfold along these infectious rhythm voyages.
System Olympia – Under my Eyes [SLOMODIGIT008]
System Olympia is back with another profound EP on the Italian imprint Slow Motion. Heartbreak, in between notes of resilience, fierceness, hidden strength, and ultimate love for life, shapes the four songs in “Under My Eyes”.
Dold / Blue Hour – ASR020 [ASR020]
Jeroen Search – Protocol Omega EP [FIGUREX23]
Dutch mainstay Jeroen Search is a true genius of building linear grooves, either subtly breathing or powerfully bouncing. Minimalistic, hypnotic loops simply introduce the varied 5-track EP, followed up some by some heavyweight acid-house punchlines. The flip makes its name, changing course again in order to head deeper for a more heads-down exploration of the bleep-space nebula. Sitting firmly nestled in the center of the record, Magnet Tapes is that endless loop suspended in time and space, slowly working its way into one’s consciousness with every repetition. Search cleverly captures this moment to introduce some sounds beyond the structure of track and loop, challenging our conception of music yet playfully igniting the mind’s imaginations.
DJ Hedoni$t – EP#2 [MYS009Y]
Exploring machine funk, DJ Hedoni$t returns with the second release on Mysticisms. Embrace the Mystery.
Omar S – Record Packer Soundtrack Part Two [AOS-2021]
Tracks from the mobile video game “Record Packer” scored by Omar S and released alongside his new Detroit based virtual and physical exhibition “Conant Gardens Party Store”.
Sun Ra Quartet – The Sky Is A Sea of Darkness When There is No Sun To Light The Way [ARTYARD45003]
Asolutely stellar jazz from Sun Ra alongside John Gilmore, Luqman Ali & Michael Ray. This quartet version of the title song appeared on 1978’s ‘New Steps’ LP. Over on the flip is the ‘Alien vocal version’ of Somewhere In Space, recorded in 1957. Two expertly plucked out (fully licensed) Sun Ra essentials, presented on a heavyweight (70gram) Art Yard styled 7″.
Transpac – Mondovision [ER007]
Transpac does not hide its love for Arpanet’s ”Wireless Internet” album in any way. ”Transpac is the name of one of the first computer networks. It enabled data exchange based on the X25 standard, the Minitel was one of the most famous applications of this network. This project pays tribute to the development of telecommunications in the 70’s and the creation of this network.”
Don’t DJ & NWAQ – Fashion [MEA033]
Ahead of the Meakusma Festival 2019, Don’t DJ and NWAQ did an artist residency developing new music together from scratch. Their resulting performance at the festival was a mesmerizing descent into the artistic perspectives of two singular artists active in off-kilter club music. Some of the eight tracks on this record were recorded live at the festival while others were recorded during the residency. All dwell in distorted and eccentric bliss and play around with rhythmic arrhythmic and post-rhythmic tension. There is happiness in dystopia although the subtle yet intense layering in the music hints at undercurrents that are far from bright. The joyousness of this record lies in the notable excitement Don’t DJ and NWAQ experience fusing their modi operandi coming up with a music that shines and distorts. As massive blocks of sound alternate with subtler disorienting parts repetitive vocals create an air of disparate acceptance. It uses club music’s template and pushes on.
Pedro Vian – The Dance Of The Trees [FREE DOWNLOAD]
Pedro Vian just shared a new five tracks EP on his Modern Obscure Music’s bandcamp. You can download the tracks for free or name your price.
DJ Surgeles – The Mutant EP [MU004]
The Dutch Sci-Fi Master DJ Surgeles is taking us for a space travel within this 4 tracks EP on Modular Underground.
Florence – The Vineyard [DSR/EEVO003]
Delsin presents two supplement EPs to the recently released retrospective compilations of Wladimir M. and Florence. This first Florence disc its a collection of rarities. The EP opens with Convextion’s remix of ‘The Vineyard’, never been released on vinyl before. Second track on side A is the original mix of ‘Exploration’ as featured on the very first Eevo Lute EP in 1991. Side B opens with Peter Ford aka Baby Ford’s remix of ‘The Vineyard’, originally released in 1996. The EP closes with the original instrumental version of ‘Disappointment’, to which the lyrics and vocals by Wladimir M. were added later on.
NNHMN – Deception Island [OR79/OR85]
Berlin duo NNHMN – Lee and Michal Laudarg – creates moody and evocative music infected with dark synth sounds, eerie ambiances and mysterious female volcals. They return to Oráculo Records with “Deception Island” where fresh cold beats meets hypnotic techno and avant-garde of a ferociously experimental nature. We find Lee’s sultry vocals over synthwave classical bass and rhythm structures, from dark Italo Disco with touches of light EBM to classic post punk.
Tester Housing – Over You [LER026]
Tester Housing was the short-lived band consisting of mates Bill Tolson and Ken Olver. The duo met during the early 1980s in the burgeoning Southside of Melbourne, St Kilda. Pitched along the bayside, St Kilda at the time was full of artists, painters, writers, poets and musicians. The suburb was the type of place where dwellers wore their hearts on their sleeves; the sort to be found sharing a jug at the pub after a fist fight. The St Kilda music scene during the late ‘70s and ‘80s was infamous, breeding bands such as the Primitive Calculators and The Boys Next Door.
The Hipodrome Of Music 