New from Nite Vision who are Nigel Rogers (Perseus Traxx, Northern Powerhouse) and Craig Stainton (Acid Phreex, Mantra, Monofonix, Myriadd) with a slamming techno track plus a wicked remix from Canadian mainman Rennie Foster, pressed on limited edition, hand stamped & numbered one-sided black vinyl housed in a white paper sleeve with a printed insert info sheet.
Multi-instrumentalist, musician, photographer and co-founder of groups such as Oiseaux-Tempête, Le Réveil des Tropiques, FOUDRE!, The Rustle Of The Stars and FareWell Poetry, Frédéric D. Oberland takes, as the starting point for his sophomore solo album, a vertiginous dive into George Bataille’s ‘Inner Experience’ and the cave of Dante’s ‘Inferno’. A condensed version of a sound and visual installation created in the basement of the contemporary art space Labanque in Béthune1, ‘Labyrinth’ invites us to bare witness to the loss of landmarks and to feel an immersive sense of trance. The point of departure, the opening note, is the A, the lowest of the piano, from which we slide, almost imperceptibly, snapped up by a wave of sounds, rich in their instrumentation, sometimes rough (electric guitars, console feedbacks, bursts of transformed drums and saxophone screams crackling in their dissonance) and at other moments delicate (hushed and scattered chords of piano, mellotron and distant synths in whispering voices). Accompanied by the drumming and spatial mixing by Jules Wysocki, the six connected stages/chapters of this immersive journey embrace expanse. In a continuous game of call and response between the intimate and the vast, ‘Labyrinth’ plays with the dynamics, the silence and the musical genres (ambient, free- jazz, electronics, acousmatic), kneading and pulling the form and structure of the tracks in ever changing attempts towards transfiguring the chaos. More radical in continuity and more outlandish than his first album ‘Peregrinus Ubique’ – ‘stranger / traveller everywhere’ – (VoxxoV, 2015), the ‘Labyrinth’ of Frédéric D. Oberland recalls in these almost orgiastic collages, the work of ”editing” provided for his nomadic Oiseaux-Tempête albums (Sub Rosa, 2012-2017), yet here in a more introverted territory, weaving a cocoon whose ascending and cyclical pulsations intoxicate us, as if under hypnosis.
Minimal Wave presents a reissue of Sympathy Nervous’ pioneering debut album originally released in 1980 on Vanity Records out of Japan. Sympathy Nervous was Yosihumi Niinuma’s lifelong project which he started in his Tokyo living room in 1979. Through Sympathy Nervous, Niinuma was able to channel his energy into what he loved – building his own synthesizers and speakers from scratch. Niinuma was inspired by German Krautrock and through his music created intense proto-techno soundscapes. Now finally available for the first time ever, remastered from the original tapes used for the 1980 release, is the timeless masterpiece in its entirety.
Waveform Transmission Vol.3 initially came out in 1994 on Tresor Records. The eight titles on the album marked a turning point for Jeff Mills. It indicates a transition from the straightforward sound he had created through the early 1990’s, into the different facets and sound pallet he will develop through the remainder of the decade. It is a significant piece within Jeff Mills’ masterwork.
Freerotation Records returns with another 12” featuring Freerotation residents and regulars. The theme for this release is live hardware techno and the A side features two cuts from Juju and Jordash’s live improvised set from Freerotation 2017, while the flip showcases two of Freerotation 2017’s live hardware acts, the evergreen Shawn Rudiman from Pittsburgh USA, and the recently revived North-Easterners Cubic Space Collective. Collectively these artists are some of the best live techno performers in the world today, with decades of experience behind them, and true dedication to their craft.
Ron Morelli has put together a 13 track album for his returning release on the American based label, Hospital Productions. The album digs deep into the punk roots of the L.I.E.S. boss as he touches upon everything from raw industrial techno to mind-bending electronics and sinisterly cold ambience. This is one not for the faint-hearted, get a little taste below. “Composed over the last two years in various foul states, the album is a fusion of base level hardware programming, open room mic recordings and extensive computer processing, all finalized in the Paris studio of Krikor Kouchian.”
Pivotal, peerless DJ/selector and Minimal Wave overse’er Veronica Vasicka serves her solo debut on Downwards. ‘From Here’, a dank industrial-pop workout recorded in 2004 and now issued for the first time, backed with sick remixes by Regis, Paul Kendall (Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb) and Robert Hampson (Loop, Main) in his lesser-spotted Chasm alias.
Ectomorph occupy a unique and strange place within Detroit Techno history. Founded in 1994, they released their first 12″ singles in 1995 as an attempt to make Detroit music for Detroit itself, rather than exclusively for export. The mystique of their early singles led to mythic status and a strong underground cult following, which they have continued to develop through releases on their own Interdimensional Transmissions label. Their live shows are legendary for their ability to fluidly incorporate improvisational techniques into synthesized music (and for the sheer amount of hardware that they bring to the stage). The Ectomorph show is all analog, no computers or samplers or even drum machines: all sounds come from the modulars and the mountains of Moogs. Ectomorph (now officially comprised of BMG & Erika) reconvened in 2016 to write new music, which led to a series of live shows where the new material was tested via performance and allowed to evolve in form. To capture the energy of these performances, the new material was recorded in the studio totally live, multitracked for further engineering, but with no editing whatsoever. The entire album was recorded live in one or two takes in the Interdimensional Laboratories in Detroit. This is the sound of the idea that is Ectomorph, presented in its natural and organic format, live and improvisational.
Showcasing Brazil with a split EP by new members Radioworkers (Benjamin Sallum, Pedro Zopelar & Henrique Martinelli) and 777 regular Seixlack (aka Innsyter).
Returning to Giallo Disco after a 2 year absence is the mighty Ketsueki Sakuru. Trademark arps and low-motion rhythms collide this time with the sleaze of a different era. Taking cues from the book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk the Snuff EP imagines itself as the video game remake directed by Hidetaka Suehiro. Carrying itself with the confidence of a gigalo, not even wearing a smile, the Snuff EP lurks in dark drones, distorted snares, new beat grime and retrosynth moods.
Lerosa’s 25th solo EP will be released on German label Eudemonia. Known for his deep-house sound, the Dublin based Italian producer showcases a different palette for this release. The four tracks gravitate somewhere between Electro, Italo, Synthwave and imaginary film themes. “Glider”, a fast electro track, opens the EP combining acid drops and dystopian sci-fi elements. “The Minister’ is much slower and serves as an emotional homage to those gone too soon. “Plateau Rosa” connects Italo and Detroit delivering a rolling bassline and glassy synth clouds for the delight of the afterhour-dancefloor. And if Lerosa had scored the soundtrack of a Michael Mann film in the 80’s, “Theme of Perception” would have been right at home, a fitting end for this EP.
Beyond the Pub is a collection of tracks for the after hours. From drunken treks to the filthy kebab shop to outer body experiences in the icy wonderlands, Cosmic Pint Glass tells the stories that happened after leaving the Social House. In Vol 1. Mark du Mosch adds tension, FRAK takes you on that boozy journey to the Kebab Shop, Julian G reflects on the beauty of a frozen wonderland and Lie of the Land takes you on a introspective acid journey.
High Scoring EP from one of the hardest working producers we know. The A side is a pacey affair – a multi-ball dancefloor battle against the Grand Lizard. The two equally neon treasures on the B side were recorded at the gear laden Worm studio, Rotterdam in 2017. This is another cracking solo outing from the Ju Ju & Jordash / Magic Mountain High linchpin.
This EP showcases a wider style than previous Myriadd EPs, and the tracks here are a mixture of dancefloor focused tracks and the more etherial, emotive style that listeners associate with this artist.
A selection of three acid-tinged cuts here, from Mantra, who has previously released on labels such as Bunker, Abstract Acid and Solar One Music. The EP’s title track, Exhale, is a flowing, hypnotic number with tripped out reverb washes and a mesmerising lead line that rises and falls for the duration of the track, putting the listener in a meditative state. Transmutation is more focused on the dancefloor, although at the same time more off-kilter, with shamanistic percussive rattles and and uneasy 303 line sitting over a pulsing bassline. Black Light is the toughest of these three cuts, with a creaking acid line combined with heavier percussion that gives a nod to the city that spawned the genre, and the originators of the sound.
Channeling the same slick electronic-funkiness of his DJ sets into four tracks of wildly different music for Wrong Era’s vinyl imprint, this is a record for all occasions that takes in dreamy cosmic-psychedelia, chugging dance-workouts and explosive peak-time bangers.
Berlin collective Mechatronica continues their limited, vinyl-only White series dedicated to sounds across synth, new wave, EBM, italo and electro, with a split EP by Danish producer Nixxon and Italian dance wave wizard Franz Scala. Nixxon’s gloomy, cosmic electro slow-roller opens Mechatronica White 2, followed by the heavier sounds of West, driven by razor-sharp synth stabs, voodoo percussion and a colossal bassline to boot. On the flip, Franz Scala meshes italo, acid and spacey synth grooves into two effective anthems for the floor, destined to move bodies and transport minds.
The Hipodrome Of Music 