Daniel Araya / Marcos Cabral – Split 02 [ENDILL011]

The second release in Endless Illusion’s series of Split EPs comes from Marcos Cabral & Daniel Araya and features two tracks from each artist. New York’s Cabral is known for his experimental IDM and techno on labels like L.I.E.S. while Daniel Araya has recently released an album of acid, techno and industrial on the Classicworks label. Araya’s ‘We Almost Lost Detroit’ is first and is a truly haunted deep techno cut with sparse acid undulations and a real sense of manic in the rasping synth lines. Softer pads in the background only add to the spooky nature of the track. ‘Ghost Bass’ is the other Araya cut and this one is more up on its toes, with mid tempo kicks down low and wonky chords up top. It’s a mind melting tune that trips deep into the night. ‘Live At The Egg’ is Cabral’s first effort and is a lonely and icy techno track that is supple and seductive in its long lines and paddy drums. After getting you into a state of hypnosis, some freaky vocal sounds only add to the unsettling nature of it all later on. ‘Cuts & Bruises’ rounds things out in squelchy and depraved techno territory. Muted acid stabs are off in the distance as swampy drums suck you in from the front. It’s a brilliantly odd tune that close out a fine EP.

listen

Daniel Araya / Marcos Cabral – Split 02 [ENDILL011]

Flesh World – Into The Shroud [DE182]

Flesh World is a dream punk group formed in the summer of 2012 in San Francisco. The quartet includes Scott Moore (Guitar, Synths), Jess Scott (Vocals, Guitar), Andrew Luttrell (Bass, Backing Vocals), Sam Lefebvre (Drums). Jess and Scott met while loitering around the Panhandle district, listening to records, gossiping, and playing live shows around town with their bands (Scott plays in hardcore group Limp Wrist and Jess played in the indie pop band Brilliant Colors). The pair immediately bonded over a shared love of The Velvets and The Mary Chain. They began writing songs in Scott’s lofted bedroom in the City and took their name from a XXX magazine. The fully formed band released their first self-titled 6-song EP in December 2013 for London punk imprint La Vida Es Un Mus Discos. Two 7” singles were followed by their debut album ‘The Wild Animals In My Life’ released in 2015 on Iron Lung Records. ‘Into The Shroud’ is Flesh World’s fifth release and sophomore album, and their first for Dark Entries Records. Each of these songs speak to a chaotic or sometimes eclectic period of influence of different books, ideas, drawings, saints, stories, and aims gathered in the two year writing process since the previous album. Themes of this record include writer, advice columnist, and Dreamland actress Cookie Mueller, the youth’s effect on the general political psychosis of nostalgia, icon Billy Fury, and the writings and drawings of Jean Cocteau as a hovering guide for living with less rules. The record is a topological map showing the cities of the Bay Area and Los Angeles in rapid change, looking to the books, records, and artists paid study to in order to create continuity in the constant flux of the city, the punk show, the gay world, and the rest of the environments Flesh World insulate themselves in for survival. The group’s dynamic has greatly solidified on this album with a brilliant new rhythm section.

listen

Flesh World – Into The Shroud [DE182]

DMX Krew – Strange Directions [HYPELP009]

23 years have passed since Edward Upton first donned the DMX Krew alias, but the prolific British producer shows no signs of slowing down. Astonishingly, Strange Directions is the electro stalwart’s 21st full-length excursion. Predictably, it’s rather good, with Upton delivering a set that effortlessly body-pops between vocoder-laced electro workouts, melodious IDM, bass-heavy intelligent techno, gnarled Drexciyan throbbers, Artificial Intelligence style home listening fare and even a dash of muscular, tongue-in-cheek Italo-disco (the deliciously sleazy “Soft Networks”). As usual, the distinctive, off-kilter swing of original analogue hardware is present throughout, as Upton showcases his full range of talents.

listen

DMX Krew – Strange Directions [HYPELP009]

YobKiss – Asexual EP [EE017RTM]

With the Asexual EP by YobKiss, Electronic Emergencies is back with a true electronic delight. YobKiss consists of Dutch instrumentalist and producer Paul Borchers, currently based in San Fransisco, and Tokyo resident Yuko Araki on vocals. Their music balances on the edge of avant-garde electronics and flirts with acid pop in dreamy soundscapes, with an analogue synth sound and beautiful vocals in Japanese and English. Or, in their own words, a pitch-dark, filth-ridden tour de force into the worlds of acid house and electro.

listen

YobKiss – Asexual EP [EE017RTM]

Fallbeil – Rolling Dutch [VV027]

FALLBEIL - Rolling Dutch

Here comes the the Hamburg based duo Fallbeil with two brilliantly aggressive tracks filling each side with mutated acid face melt. With numerous scary records on Return To Disorder, New York Haunted, and Mannequin, among other labels, these maniacs have been burning a path of over carnage the last two years and this release signals they have no intention of softening up. They aren’t going limp. They can go all night in hell, hell with a lower-case H.

listen

Fallbeil – Rolling Dutch [VV027]

Villa Åbo – Straight Forward Acid & Low Bit Swing [BORFT150]

“Feeling numb from all the electronic dancemusic coming out?, moaning about how its become a bit samey, or are you just tired of your shitster friends saying its not like in the 90’s anymore. This record will shut everyone in the room up. A1 is a deeply psychotic acid death march into confusion, so minimal and primitive (kick, snare, acidsquelch) it will challenge every beard and armpit and might even hypnotize the dj to the point he cannot mix in the next one. A2 is a straight up Commodore 64 SID track with mongoloid data elephants tooting over a wobbly and tarded electroish beat. B1 is a dystopic dreamy rave stomper, starting out kinda datacuddly but gets more and more serious, with choirs of fable mooers taking you into that virtual bad trip you need. b2 continues as expected with more c64 SID madness, so snary I cant even determine if its in 115 or 230bpm. But it leaves you with the feeling your ears and mind just been wrestled, smacked and poked at, and thats the point. This is no record for the safing chickenshit DJ.”

listen

 

Villa Åbo – Straight Forward Acid & Low Bit Swing [BORFT150]

Ksoul / Muteoscillator -12 Inches Of Sinergy EP [UZURI025]

Italian duo Ksoul & Muteoscillator are back on Uzuri with a 12” starting with a killer openings tune. They featured on a mini comp on Uzuri back in 2010 , titled ‘ From Chicago Turin Amsterdam & Dublin With Love EP’.

listen

Ksoul / Muteoscillator -12 Inches Of Sinergy EP [UZURI025]

Leo Anibaldi – Italian House [FFOR015]

Another piece of the story of the Italian scene of the 90’s inevitably returns to shine on Flash Forward. Leo Anibaldi was one of the pioneers of the sounds that so influenced and characterized those years. Deep, Techno and House blend to create unique atmospheres that will never die.

listen

Leo Anibaldi – Italian House [FFOR015]

Ursa’s Reef – The Ninth Gate [EYE007]

Ursa’s Reef is a late 80’s traveller and surfer wandering endlessly in the secluded raves of Goa, searching for his own soul while dancing in abandon to the proto-Trance journeys of Goa Gil. Brought up in Sintra, Portugal, by a family of uptight catholic hypocrites, UR goes rogue in his early 20’s, seduced by the esoteric teachings of Levi, Pessoa, Crowley and Israel Regardie while keeping an unhealthy obsession with Roxy Music. He is also a fictional, made up persona – a musical heteronym – of Lisbon-based DJ and producer Marco Rodrigues, mostly known for his work under the name Photonz. Together with his friend Jose Acid – a musical heteronym of Joao Ervedosa AKA Shcuro – he makes one last trip to Goa that could prove fatal.

listen

Ursa’s Reef – The Ninth Gate [EYE007]

Luis CL – Cran Town EP [STOWN017]

Slow Town’s 17th release from Melbournes Luis CL is an ode to analogue jams. The Cran town EP shows what Luis CL (one half of the Zanzibar Chanel duo and co-founder of Ruff Records) is know for: Dirty but groovy drum arrangements, analogue synths and dreamy melodies and his kind of Lo-fi and blurry mixdowns with definitely some Detroit influences. The three tracks were recorded in one take during his studio sessions.

listen

Luis CL – Cran Town EP [STOWN017]