Frankfurt’s Antonio aka Raw Ambassador debuts on Ortloff with a killer three track EP.
Mozaic Jazz Festival (Sibiu) 2017
The Colours That Rise – 2020 [BRKKR004]
The sound of ‘2020’ is new jazz and old funk with an electronic city pace, brought to you by duo The Colours That Rise. Made up of multi-instrumentalists and producers Simeon Jones and Nathanael Williams, their ‘2020’ EP is a confident guide through future sounds and past histories from a time yet to come. Created using analogue synths and acoustic instruments, the 4 track EP works as the score to a yet to be created animation. Nathanael’s background is creating soundtracks for films, while Simeon plays with UK jazz prophets Yussef Kamaal and featured on Henry Wu’s ‘Negotiate’ 12′. Providing groove for the dancer and hidden meanings for the listener, ‘2020’ is plugged in to the pulse of UK dancefloors and the resurgence of funk audiences. With their fusion sound, The Colours That Rise are another welcome addition to the new ‘UK Jazz invasion’ alongside their friends and colleagues Yussef Kamaal and The Comet is Coming. ‘2020’ is an experimental electronic voyage that emerges from the ambient and arrives on the dance floor.
Oscar Mulero – Grey Fades To Green – Disc 2 [WU026LPDISC2]
‘Grey Fades To Green’ is the first album Oscar Mulero has released under his own name, after two acclaimed LPs under the moniker Trolley Route. This is the second part of the album. ‘Road To Pleasure’ is in the same vein. Out of this world drum programming, scientific labours on the synths and again a complex and mutant arrangement for this floor filler. ’46 (re-work)’ and ‘Repeater’ are the soundtrack to a post Blade Runner futuristic city, where everything is hidden under the acid fumes and the sunlight has never been seen. The sound of asteroids falling on a deserted city. Pure techno from outer space.
TWR72 / Nocow – Figure Jams 003[FIGUREJAMS003]
Figure Jams is back with a another fresh and exciting pairing of artists. This time the record is a collection of pure analogue goodness, sparkling ripe with synthesizer magic. The A-side comes courtesy of duo TWR72, who happen to distill perfection through simplicity in their stripped-back productions. While ‚Polished’ is a pulsating bit of beatless yet captivating clean-cut loops, their other contribution shows their talent at crafting something lean, dry and punchy, which is still undeniably driving and hypnotic. Picking up on the synth-heavy theme of this release is St. Petersburg’s finest Aleksey Niktin aka Nocow. Inspired by the endless baltic winters, the producer packs his tracks with emotions that feel cold but not icy, engulfing the listener in winching waves of melancholic Electronica.
VA – ://aboutblank 002 [AB002]
Perm – Shtum 014 [SHTUM014]
Perm has turned just the right knobs to give you the perfect soundtrack for your personal journey into Techno wonderland. The Leipzig based wizard simply knows how to leave dancers both dizzy and beatific. When those strings in “03-VIII” come together to its climax you’re more than ready to embrace the night. The focus in “03-IV” is more heavy on the drum work with just the right amount of subtle tripping hazards. “03-III” builds and builds without ever bubbling over while the mighty “03-VIII” comes with a Boom-Tschak-Electro feel to it.
Unforeseen Aliance live @ Dekmantel Festival 05.08.2017
Technical Onslaught – The Calling [RJB001]
Rawax welcomes Mr. Joey Beltram to the Family, with a timeless masterpiece from 1990, Technical Onslaught “The Calling”.
J.C. – The Record for Keka [CBR009]
Sawlin – Motion Keeper [DSR/C11]
The Delsin c-series welcomes Sawlin for a new EP that finds him in a housier mood than you might expect. He has become known as a techno producer, but this proves he can do much more. Opener ‘Motion Keeper’ is a deep underground affair with swirling pads adding scale to the heavy, churning drums. It’s soaked in ethereal pads and will suck you right in when played on a large sound system. ‘Easiness Supplier’ gets a little more trippy, with mastery synth droplets dancing about above busted, frazzled drum loops. It’s edgy and tense builds to a seriously weighty groove over time. Last of all, ‘Wired Evening’ is a dark, gritty dubbed out house cut with snaking hi hats, gurgling synths and menace in the air. This is shadowy and physical house music at its finest.
Tolga Fidan – Lone[VA071]
DMX Krew – Generic Wizard [SHIP050]
Shipwrec is 50 releases old. No mean feat and to celebrate the dutch label is returning to one of its stalwarts, Ed Upton aka DMX Krew. For this very special 12″ the veteran audio alchemist conjures up five tracks of machine music magic. Squirming, acid soaked electro forms and melts in “Bush Baby Bug Eyes” before the shapeshifting “EQShift Trak.” “Language Reponse” goes up a gear, rhythms zipping along on a highway of bright bars as synth lines beam warmth. The flip skids into the corners for the chiptune freshness of “Irrational Momentum” before the wave funk wizardry of the title piece. Ed Upton cracking open the champagne for this Shipwrec milestone and once again proving his undeniable prowess behind the machines.
Igors Vorobjovs / Dmitry Distant – In The Dark Again 08 [DARK008]
In The Dark Again welcomes back two old friends: Dmitry Distant and Igors Vorobjovs. They’ve come up with an EP, featuring 6 tracks. You’ll find Igors delivers some intergalactic Electro, and Dmitry lets the melancholy of a gloomy Wave sound rise.
Morphology / Silicon Scally – In-between [INNERSPACE001]
Classic late 90’s hi-tech electro tracks from Morphology and Silicon Scally aka Carl Finlow on the new Croatian Innerspace label.
Luxus Varta – Aquamarine Puzzle [SHIP049]
Aquamarine Puzzle marks a new step in the sound of Luxus Varta. Six paths are etched for this journey into time, space and the machine. A spectrum of sound is allowed to roam, to wander into strange worlds of galvanised synthlines, serrating snares and soulful strings. The 12″ is perfectly balanced, astral melodies countered by crisp and precise rhythms, distant harmonies tethered to absorbing bass. A renewed partnership with machinist in arms Paris The Black FU of Detroit Grand Pubahs is formed for the mechanical dreamscape that is “Globb.” A complex and utterly compelling encounter with the Luxus Varta nebula.
Ross 154 – Fragments [ART-EL1]
Originally released on Stefan Robbers’ Eevo-Lute label in 1993, Ross 154 aka Jochem Peteri – now best known for his productions as Newworldaquarium – released four tracks of deep, dark, mysterious hybrid techno interspersed with four delicate ambient interludes.
VA – Texas Instrumentals [TRU003]
Texas Recordings Underground presents Texas Intrumentals EP, featuring deep techno from 4 well-respected producers from the Lone Star State. The A-side features classic techno from 2 well-respected producers in Brooks Mosher and Convextion, the brainchild of Dallas producer Gerard Hanson. Magic Hat and Summer Indoors harken back to late 80s Detroit, filled with strings and harmony that exude the type of emotion you often heard in early Transmat records. Ill76 opens the B-side with the aptly-titled New Years Night, a peak hour techno banger produced by Dallas producer Lacy Lawson, a figure on the Dallas techno scene for 2 decades. Submersible Machines rounds out the EP with the deep techno cut If You Know How I Feel.
Gavin Guthrie – Into The Box EP [COTB001]
Welcome to the all new Children Of The Box, a label heavily inspired by the edgier side of Chicago’s legendary club, the “Music Box”. We’re getting things rolling with a whirlwind of raw Analog recordings by Gavin Guthrie, aka TX Connect. First up is “Dripping”, which carries a vintage (yet modern) Gherkin Jerks sound. The song continuously builds throughout the track, ending in a frenzy of synthesizer’s & 707 drum patterns. The title track “Into the Box” takes you on a hypnotic journey through the mind of Hellraiser’s very own Pinhead. A melodic interlude gives the listener a slight break, but only to return with a vengeance. “Not Forever” brings a “back to the future” vibe, equally stacked with both vintage & modern elements. The song comes complete with an overpowering low synth line & 707 drums.
Closing things out is “Destinies”, a track inspired by the deeper side of the Windy City. A more than perfect ending to a stellar release.
The Disciples Of Jovan Blade – Take Me Away [MU004]
Next on Mojuba’s new Underground series is The Disciples Of Jovan Blade: a less known alias of the legendary Terrence Parker that spawned two releases between 1994-95. “Take Me Away” is smooth, soulful and emotive deep house that only peeps from Detroit were capable of at the time. The flip side features a handy instrumental version for those of you not so keen on those sweetly seductive vocals.
The Hipodrome Of Music 