Zmatsutsi – Hookep Up [MMLP1001]

Discover the sex-appeal of Leeds with the trio Joe Gill, Heidi Armitage and Tim Hutton aka Zmatsutsi. They deliver on this mini-LP a mixture of s’mazing slow beats tracks, a bit like Rimini was meeting Dusseldorf in a Golf VR6. ‘Hooked Up’ is a hazy and psychedelic trip into druggy, slo-mo disco territory. Built around head-nodding drum machine rhythms, undulating arpeggio lines, trippy synthesizer motifs and breathy, poetic spoken word vocals, it’s a hugely atmospheric and enjoyable affair. There are occasional forays into more boogie-inspired territory, but even these outings tend towards the throbbing, pulsating and hypnotic. Of course, we expect little less from the inspired Macadam Mambo label, but we were still surprised by the dizzyingly high quality threshold throughout.

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Zmatsutsi – Hookep Up [MMLP1001]

Supreems – Close Your Eyes (And Feel) EP [LT051]

Supreems returns to Lobster Theremin with a hazy, dream-state inducing EP so do as the title says – close your eyes and feel the soaring pads, scattered breakbeats and percussive synths pulse right through you.

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Supreems – Close Your Eyes (And Feel) EP [LT051]

Third System – Third System EP [ROYAL043]

Clone Royal Oak 043 delivering fresh new cuts from the dutch west-coast. Adventurous psychedelic house tracks with colorful warm tones squeezed out of an artillery of warm and wooly sounding vintage synths creating futuristic vibes.

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Third System – Third System EP [ROYAL043]

Beta Evers & Alienata – Devotion EP [DATO03]

Discos Atónicos announce a rare split 12″ of the legendary queen of darkness, Beta Evers, and the founder of Discos Atónicos, Alienata. Beta Evers has landed on Side A with 2 special tracks perfect for dark electro lovers and obscure diggers alike. Alienata finds herself on side B featuring her 9 minute trip titled Memory. The track was composed and recorded in one take at the Nation Studios in Chicago in the winter of 2012.

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Beta Evers & Alienata – Devotion EP [DATO03]

Ultradyne – Ocular Animus [PGM012]

As with all Ultradyne works there is meaning in everything. Ocular Animus delves into the mindset of humanity and breaks away from the usual EP format – Three tracks – five songs. This release explores the terraforming of humanitity as seen through the eyes of the machinists as they look into the mirror at it’s underbelly. Solid rhythms, shifting beats, eerie synth lines splatter across the canvass of this new release feeding the beat hungry and philosopher alike. Fear. Uncertainty. Hate. A glimpse of the possible future or the deconstruction of a paradigm. You decide if you like what you see.

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Ultradyne – Ocular Animus [PGM012]

Exhausted Modern & Aliver – Hoax EP [ENDILLW002]

Having worked together as “Thrinax” in the past, Prague’s duo Exhausted Modern & Aliver collected their solo material for Endless Illusion’s second white label series. Their complimentary sonic languages speak in slow, percussive rhythms, sadistic, industrial sounds, and uptight bass lines transmitted through a chain of pedal effects. The track “Project Germs – Cuatone” is another one of Aliver’s collaborations.

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Exhausted Modern & Aliver – Hoax EP [ENDILLW002]

Nehuen – I Love Acid Eighteen [ILA018]

Making his debut on ‘I Love Acid’ is Argentinian-born, Barcelona resident Nehuen. Best known for co-running the Classicworks imprint with Cardopusher, the pair are also labelmates on Boys Noize, and have a similar approach of raw, machine funk – finding the sweet spot between acid, jacking techno and EBM. Heavy duty stuff for dark and sweaty dancefloors.

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Nehuen – I Love Acid Eighteen [ILA018]

VA – NDATL 10 Year Special Edition 2018 [NDATLSE2018]

NDATL celebrates ten years with a compilation featuring label boss Kai Alcé, Kyle Hall, Mike Huckaby, Omar-S and others.

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VA – NDATL 10 Year Special Edition 2018 [NDATLSE2018]

Quarion – Cobblestone EP [DPC069-1]

Quarion is back on Drumpoet with an enchanting new EP that leaves nothing to be desired. Cobblestone takes the dancer on a deep sensual journey, builds up continuously and subtly into a truly emotive peak. Sunday Night Pt. 2 tops it by captivating with rhythmic chords, which remind of the early 90ies. Jamaican Morse is a driven drum track, spiced with dubby sounds and a higly addictive beat. Once again, Quarion proves his outstanding quality.

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Quarion – Cobblestone EP [DPC069-1]

Gnork – Magic Arp [MAGIC014]

Dawn dissevers the earth and skies, Dragonflies twirl into the light of the sun’s world; No vapour dims the air, twinkling lightness buoys the eyes, During the night; I can see leaves flying on the tree branch and settle like tiny butterflies.

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Gnork – Magic Arp [MAGIC014]

ENA – Bridge [FIELD027]

Dutch label Field Records is back with another special album project, this time from Japanese producer ENA aka Yu Asaeda. Bridge is an introspective soundtrack for a documentary also called Bridge – out this Spring – which is about the Dejima bridge, a reconstructed symbol of the Dutch-Japanese trading history in Nagasaki, Japan. The album finds the producer stepping outside of his usual remit of dark ambient and experimental music, and instead comprises ten shorter tracks that touch on abstract and rhythmic sounds that define the essence of Japanese culture. Although he has worked with the director before, this is ENA’s first Original Sound Track and finds him freely inspired by the movie and heading in exciting and unknown directions. Hugely atmospheric throughout, there is hypnotic repetition of sounds, strange audio design and a mixture of melancholic moods with more dreamy synths. Sometimes gloopy rhythms gently ripple beneath soothing harmonies and at others times a micro-rhythm appears through the constantly shifting and evolving found sound loops. It’s a compelling and unusual album that seamlessly mixes human emotions with a mechanical sense of industry.

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ENA – Bridge [FIELD027]

Trux – Untitled [OFFICE13]

Trux’ second EP on Berlin based record label Office is a bow to the many outstanding moments in the history of Ambient music. Allusions to Brian Eno are just as recognisable as to the charming concepts of Pop Ambient or Clicks & Cuts. It’s between these poles that the four tracks on the a-side oscillate and manage to capture the listener with vibrant and diverse soundscapes. The flip side sees Trux drop a stunning melodic breakbeat tune besides remixes by Workshop’s premier Techno chef Lowtec as well as a freestyle Electronica version by O$VMV$M. The much loved Super Quiet tops the record artwork off with another remarkable example of his casual and airy black and white photography.

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Trux – Untitled [OFFICE13]

Marco Shuttle – Tropicalia [SPAZIO014]

Spazio Disponibile label is close friend and Italian producer Marco Shuttle. The Eerie label-boss is a regular on the label having put out his Systhema album here last year, as well as his Flauto Synthetico EP in 2016. His always meticulously crafted sound is rooted in dark, cavernous techno. He finds plenty of new ground in each new release, though, with some tracks being haunting ambient works and others more propulsive rhythms. This new EP features just that across four typically inventive and absorbing tracks that are as much for your head as they are for your heel.

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Marco Shuttle – Tropicalia [SPAZIO014]