Connwax returns with another offering of bold and original techno. For this release, they have enlisted the help of a rising young talent in Berlin’s underground scene: Akme. The producer and resident DJ of renowned club ://about blank demonstrates his uncommon technical precision and emotional depth with this debut EP, drawing on his vast array of influences and experiences across all genres.
Brendon Moeller finds himself entangled in the Plan B matrix for his next release which includes remixes from Spider & Phil Moffa.
New York collective Sheik ‘N’ Beik follow up a slew of lauded 12’s with the richly emotive return of Voiski. 5th Dolphin Transmission’ kicks things off with a tense sequence tumbling through granular drums and a staggered, luminescent synth line. ‘Let Down Disco’ then dims the lights slightly with soft, buoyant melodies and flickering high frequencies that round off a nicely varied release and another solid addition to the Sheik N Beik catalogue.
Berghain residents Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann link back to Ostgut Ton’s label launch in 2006 with their first studio collaboration in ten years and the extended Phantom Studies, on occasion of the one hundredth O-TON 12″ EP release. With Phantom Studies Dettmann / Klock channel their first joined releases Dawning (2006) and Scenario (2007) from over a decade ago with their first co-production in ten years. On this extended, 40-minute 2×12″ EP Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock parlay their deep personal alliance and musical repertoire through emphasis on new functional Techno as much as hypnotic, melodic and soulful music by thinking outside the box. The seven new, original tracks reflect these attributions by communicating to the needs and expectations of both DJs and home audio listeners, but not neglecting one over the other.
Tadeo first released on Token in 2015 with the instant classic Terra Incognita, reminiscent of the kind of techno-futurism usually employed by some of the Detroit greats. If Terra Incognita was an interpretation of outer space, The Pit comes from deep in the ground. This is electronic programme music; bookended in distinctive Tadeo style with a modal string section that places the record firmly in the avant-garde, The Pit guides us through the moods and associations of a classic science fiction narrative. The record is consistent in its instrumental palette, with a subdued but powerful low-end to set the pace, disorienting semitone meanderings and organic percussion in the mid, and massive, crashing hats that lift statement sections beyond comprehension.
Straight white label with no more info. New mysterious side project of one of the most innovative and known techno acts. The Echelon is conceived in total secrecy. Embedded deep in the contemporary landscape, its sole purpose is to function as an anonymous observer, translating its findings into music and movement. Looped minimal techno in the best Mills tradition.
The Experience is a project by Andrea Benedetti and Eugenio Vatta released back in 1992. The track ”Madcap” was realized during the period of the collaboration of the duo with Lory D’S Sounds Never Seen period and it’s an experiment that mix techno, breakbeat and sample extravaganza at its best. The main track ”Tubes” was a deep techno monster presented in two versions. One has been recoreded live with Andrea Benedetti managing drum machine and bass, Eugenio Vatta sampling, chords and effects and Paolo Dieni on percussion. The second one has more emphasis on melodies and effects with different equalizations and volumes concerning percussion and drum machine.
Fundamental Records present a vinyl edition of the previously digital only album Cosmos by Cygnus, composed out of eleven tracks (plus two bonus cuts on the 7″). Perfectly bridging the gap between street-smart electro DJ tools and more home-listening techno, Cygnus perfectly updates this sound.
BT17 The Glowing brings together an array of fresh up and coming producers. Morah has cut his chops as a producer with releases already under his belt on Helena Hauff’s Return to Disorder, Berceuse Heroique and Lux Rec. One Conversation with a Funny Demon is pure grimy power electronics for the freaks. Solid Blake from the Copenhagen based Apeiron Crew makes her production debut with the creeping Burns. On the flip, Ivna Ji’s celestial beauty of Oscillating Universe opens up proceedings before Vertical67’s Distortion takes us deep into the rabbit hole to finish.
Cultivated Electronics celebrates 10 years as a label and the closing of CE’s collaboration series. For this EP Sync 24 has teamed up with 4 electronic heavy hitters to deliver 4 tasty electro cuts.
Emile Facey aka Plant43 is back on terra Shipwrec. On skeletal rhythm supports strings and bass intertwine, link and disappear. Facey performs audio alchemy, transforming cold chords into organic warmth, transfiguring electrical impulses into palpable emotion. Frigid currents flow through bright bars, ephemeral percussion snap at heels of soaring keys as Plant 43 draws you deeper and deeper into the bare and beautiful brilliance of Grid Connection.
Dark Entries is proud to release “Helden Platz”, a long out of print 12” maxi single from seminal Italian electronic act Kirlian Camera. Keyboardist/vocalist Angelo Bergamini founded the project in Parma in 1979 and named it after an electronic device that photographs the electromagnetic halo around objects and living beings. By 1980, Angelo had recruited singer Simona Buja, keyboardist Fabrizio Chiari, and bassist Mauro Montacchini. Their demo cassette, “Dawn”, attracted the attention of Italian Records, a popular independent label. Over the next few years the band would release their first mini-LP, “Kirlian Camera”, the full length “ It Doesn’t Matter, Now”, and the singles “Communicate,” “Edges,” and “Blue Room”. The latter was a significant hit, eventually landing them a deal with Virgin Records. By 1987 the line up consisted of Angelo Bergamini on all instruments, Charlie Mallozzi on electronic drums and Simona Buja on vocals. Virgin wanted the band to provide another hit single in order to exploit the success of “Blue Room”, refusing to release the band’s less commercial material. In 1987 the band went Lark Studio at Carimate Castle, Italy to record with Italo disco producer Oderso Rubini. Thanks to the insistence of Bergamini, the label agreed to release “Helden Platz”, German for “Heroes’ Square,” in 1987. The song features Kirlian Camera’s brand of dark wave, marked by haunting melodies, slow moving synth washes, and orchestral strings. The song features the stark, dramatic vocals of Simona Buja, who sings about the “Blue blood of Winter” in a tale of Germany and Austria during World War II. Included here is the extended 12” mix, the 7” edit, plus the original B-side “Burial”, an instrumental that evokes a funeral procession soundtrack.
Further unreleased jams from the great Tolouse Low Trax. The producer’s distinctive musical voice – wayward, dystopian, and fearlessly experimental – seems particularly fitting given recent political events. Opener “Calirough”, all sustained horror chords, distorted percussion and ghostly samples, is particularly potent, though the warped, metallic chug of “Hiroglyph” is not far behind. He returns to 4/4 pastures with the post-truth throb of “Wooden Words”, before imagining a bleak future on the intense hum of “Monia”, a typically dark and crunchy workout that’s as chilling as a Donald Trump presidency.
Late night phone-calls, lonely connections & aviating trance. straight from our isle to your alley.
New label hailing from Tbilisi with the first release coming from a prolific melancholic Italian producer Giorgio Luceri under his 6D22 moniker with a mysterious acidic approach.
Idle Hands presents the first 12″ of 2017 from Lerosa, a four-tracker beamed across the Irish Sea to Bristol. The ‘Subcouture’ EP sees the esteemed producer operating at the intersection of dubby electro and deep house, taking in the sub-heavy frequencies Bristol is known for, whilst retaining an agile and sleek simplicity. ‘Maryelen’ is a tight, yet pastoral electro track where dreamy pads contrast against tough, cutting drum programming. ‘Line Bass’ is a tumbling and bouncy number, that doffs its cap to reggae disco and features vibrant synths peppering the mix. ‘Scruffy’ takes on a slower and more playful mood, featuring light licks of acid and off kilter keys. ‘Subcouture’ is a subtle dubbed out house cut with a hint of shuffle.
The latest offering from US-based imprint Secret Studio Records will arrive courtesy of Circling Vultures, a project fronted by Chicago natives Justin Long (Hugo Ball), and Ken Zawacki (Dar Embarks). Circling Vultures’ sound is rooted in the hedonistic Midwestern rave scene of the ’90s, formed over a long history traversing the hedonistic spaces of that time—it’s a hardware-driven sound with a DIY punk ethos.
Seven years after his last release as Smackos, music making machine Legowelt surprises us all with ‘A Vampire Goes West,’ a brand new and ever-experimental ambient album. It comes on his own Nightwind label and was made in total isolation on the North Sea coast last Christmas. As for the music, it is smudgy and cosmic; an “all out amateur spacejazz spiritual ambient eruption on smudgey cassettetape” that will take you far away from reality across 14 absorbing and atmospheric cuts. It includes some extra fun treats too: a fridge magnet and microzine with a map in ASCII art that has a quest attached to it which, if decoded, reveals a password that unlocks some secret and special prizes.
The Hipodrome Of Music 