Piper Loi is the solo moniker of Francesco Leoci, founder of Alley Version and part of FLML.
Junkbox consists of four primitive house and techno tracks recorded on a multitrack cassette recorder with reduced instrumentation, an half damaged Casio RZ-1 and little else.
The second chapter on Studiomaster unveils five tracks that showcase the multifaceted dancefloor approach of Marco Passarani. Always aimed at movement yet rich in contrast, the journey begins with the raw, untamed energy of Night Walker, flowing into the intimate, nocturnal vision of The Empty Temple. The twisted, decadent pulse of Rotten Disco echoes with a nostalgic haze, leading seamlessly into the gritty, unsteady groove of Dirty Hands and Cheater’s Smile.
The TRUST XY recombination series continues with DJ Di’jital, Microthol, Alex Cortex and Luxus Varta assuming lab duties. once more each artist has selected a classic track from the TRUST catalogue to remix in their unique electro style. Detroit electro master DJ Di’jital breaks down DJ Glow’s ‘Whoami’ in his unmistakable MPC warfare fashion. Vienna’s Microthol remake J/V/N Machine’s ‘Somewhere Tonight’ in what may well be their final ever transmission. Minimal electronics pioneer Alex Cortex strips down ‘Honokida’ by /DL/MS/ to its bare-bones emotional core. French electro virtuoso Luxus Varta brings out the sentimental funk of Populist’s ‘Psychometric Profiling’ in his subtle rework.
Following the first installment, Parallax Effect PT.2 finds Versalife shifting gears, distilling his unmistakable rhythmic instincts into something even more elastic and unpredictable.Smeared low-end and restless sequences coil around a framework of percussive movement, flickering between restraint and momentum. There’s an underlying tension–one moment held in suspense, the next unfolding into fluid motion. The machine logic remains intact, but with an organic pulse running through it, shaping each track in real time.
Tony Johnson is the electrifying new alter ego of multi-talented artist Toon Janssens. Under this moniker, he delves deep into the world of acid and electronic soundscapes, capturing the raw energy of the early days. Get ready to be transported into a hypnotic realm of cosmic atmospheres.
After five years, Ekman returns to Shipwrec with ‘Elixers’. Throbs of bass and rasping snares shear a path for smoother tones in ‘Alruin Met Cranberry’. Injecting the ever-present sense of unease, a menacing melody stalks the constricting recesses as paranoia takes hold. These inner alcoves are further explored in the disturbing ‘Doornappel Met Peer’. Spectral synth-lines don a thin shimmering veil, warbling notes tremble while beats offer little relief in this unstable outing. Aquatic undercurrents introduce the flip, a sharp drum slicing through the burbling bass of ‘Codeine En Rozemarijn’. From this murky soup, a string ascends as Ekman toys with contrasting tones to produce a piece of acid dipped elegance. Shattered drums pierce the ambient fog of the finale. ‘Alsem Met Anijs blends’ intricate percussion with soulful strings to produce a hauntingly beautiful dreamscape to finish Ekman’s heady brew
Belgian label Music Man Records presents Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, a new compilation offering a fresh perspective on the legacy of the iconic Belgian club Boccaccio – often associated with the short-lived New Beat movement. The 38-track compilation highlights the raw and futuristic early house and techno sounds that were heard in the pioneering club. Located in rural Destelbergen (Belgium), just a stone’s throw from Ghent, Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venues like Paradise Garage in New York and The Hacçinda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond. Sundays at Boccaccio were unlike anywhere else—offering sounds you couldn’t hear anywhere else. Boccaccio Life 1987-1993 is carefully curated by resident DJ Olivier Pieters and club regular Stefaan Vandenberghe, standing as the ultimate testament to a club that was more than just a venue. For those who experienced it, it was a community — a way of life. Hence the club’s full name: Boccaccio Life.
Dan Piu and Grant’s Theory of Movement project has served up gold for lovers of heady tech and minimal. After something of a hiatus, it is now back on When The Morning Comes with more of the sort of tuneage that is going to quickly sell out and soon become the ID request du jour at your favourite underground parties. These are of course sophisticated sounds from the silky house bumps of ‘Now & Then’ with its seductive vocal allure to the throwback 90s sounds of ‘Over Time’ (Acid Mix). ‘Basis’ (Foundation mix) is another immediately classic house sound with analogue and dusty drums and zippy melodies next to more smooth chords. ‘Motion Of Objects’ shuts down with a more zoned-out vibe and widescreen melodic architecture for late nights.
Something that was in the pipeline for a while is finally happening: the first collaborative release between Mother Tongue and Neroli. And right in time to celebrate Neroli’s 25th anniversary. To make it even more exciting the two Verona based labels worked together to curate a full 4 track EP from Chicago’s very own Glenn Underground. A very special selection of obscure and diverse gems from the deep vaults of the legendary producer touching the boogie, the jazzy and even the acid sounds, that will please the most demanding music lovers.
Chicago born, Detroit-raised Delano Smith is one of the foundational artists of the contemporary house scenes. In 2023, he revealed he was suffering with a rare form of cancer but as this new EP title suggests, he is still here and still crafting high-grade sounds. ‘When I Was Young’ kicks off with his signature smoky drum loops and train travel sense of hypnosis. ‘The Rush’ is another heads down jam, this time marbled with eerie pads and wet clicks and claps that oil the groove while ‘Rewired’ shuts down with real late night delicacy and evocative minimalism.
Since emerging from Thessaloniki’s underbelly in the mid-2010s, Endlec has carved out a reputation for punishing, no-frills techno rooted in the discipline of the 90s. Self-released on his Renegade Methodz imprint, this debut album spans a full decade of experience, pulling together tracks made between late 2023 and October 2024.
Dallas based producer Decoder lands on Delsin with four versatile techno interpretations. From deep and immersive techno hypnotica to emotive electro bliss. It’s a well rounded EP with some type of elegance from a young producer who seems to have been doing this for decades. Decoder’s sound palette is warm and forceful, very direct yet still sensitive.
Continuing his exploration of intricate techno systems, their effect, and the direct perimeter of action, Peter van Hoesen turns in his newest four-track piece, ‘Prime Directive’: a fascinating dive into the artist’s shape-shifting headspace and inner creative chaos.
Derailed Records and Planet Rhythm team up for an exciting vinyl series, kicking off with Rotterdam’s own ARKVS. Enjoy 4 deep hypnotic cuts pressed on Black Cloud vinyl, ready to captivate your senses.
‘Four Seasons in Kyoto’ marks the final chapter of The Kyoto Connection’s Ambient Japanese trilogy, following Postcards (2018) and The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain (2022). Like its predecessors, this album pays homage to the pioneering ambient and environmental music movements of 1980s and 1990s Japan. The album unfolds as the imagined soundtrack to life in a quiet rural village, where nature and tradition shape the rhythm of everyday existence. Across 15 evocative compositions, The Kyoto Connection captures the essence of Japan’s ever-changing seasons, weaving together delicate melodies and immersive soundscapes. With contributions from friends and fans in Japan, Four Seasons in Kyoto is both a tribute and a transportive listening experience from producer Facundo Arena, the composer and producer behind The Kyoto Connection.
‘Tornamented Walls’ is the first result of a collaboration that began in 2022. The album is a freeze-frame of emergence: personal preparations prior and minor aside, the album was live and improvised. Rosa Anschütz sings, speaks, plays harmonium, and utilizes a looper as an instrument in itself. Her symbolic prose is at the heart of the music, emotionally direct yet haunted by a translucent potential of meaning. In lockstep with the voice, Tennota dissolve the dense rhythmic complexity of their recent work into a creeping mantra, the material interrogated until the patina of the sound is the music itself. ‘Tornamented Walls’ floats on top of a wave of slow-motion techno influences, a deepened ambient and experimental perspective, and a feel of subtle and subdued lyricism not strictly limited to its vocal parts. It is a record of darkly ambient and abstracted techno pop, listening music to be played loud. More disenchanted than dark, it is confrontational through its fearless incorporation of a widely varying set of different states of mind.
Moving Pressure 03 lands as Rene Wises third release on his imprint. With a refined approach to rhythm and restraint, the artist once again distills techno to its purest form: hypnotic, percussive, and propulsive.
Roseen joins the a.r.t.less label family. His debut on the Mojuba sublabel brings four uncompromising, club-ready belters in the finest Detroit Techno manner – relentlessly kicking, timelessly grooving, and delivering minimalistic sci-fi techno escapism of the highest order.
The Hipodrome Of Music 