The notorious Jordan GCZ is back on his own label. This time he switches the arpeggiators to ‘Body’ and it’s all go… for a while. Two more tool type versions on the flip..for the DJs.
Africaine 808 – Basar [CHANNEL055CD ]
DJ Nomad and Dirk Leyers’ Africaine 808 project has been responsible for some of the most inventive and enjoyable music of the last few years. It’s little surprise, then, to find that the Berlin-based outfit’s debut album, Basar, is rather special. Built around their now famous polyrhythmic, Afro and Latin influenced drum machine programming, it begins with a touch of snaking jazz, and climaxes with a dense, rising, uplifting Afro-gospel workout that should leave listeners thrilled and breathless. In between, you’ll find 21st century broken beat, delicious downtempo torch songs about break-ups, Juke-influenced Cajun blies bangers, and hard-to-define – but thoroughly engaging – dancefloor wig-outs.
VA – RDY #28 (Ron Hardy Edits) [RDY028]
Three monstruous tracks straight from the basement featuring one of the original house music creator Ron Hardy. Tullio de Piscopo – Stop Bajon, Eberhard Schoener – Why Don’t You Answer and John Forde – dDon’t You Know Who Did It.
Benedek & Noble – Ocean Side [SE1007]
Rekid – Tuesday Bluesday [POM005]
Matt Edwards’ Pyramids of Mars label is ready to unleash a fifth release, this time featuring three subtle but high impact slo-disco tracks from the boss himself under his Rekid moniker. The title cut opens things up in playful, mid tempo fashion. It has heavyweight, fat bottomed drums trudging below, booty shaking hits in the middle and a subtly funky guitar riff rolling over and over up top: all the necessary parts to tease dance floors into raptures, then. The brilliant ‘Mars’ is even slower, and has a mischievous feel to the low slung bass, the filtered vocal cries and jazzy hats. It’s a cut that is full of Detroit beatdown vibes and will surely percolate through any crowd and leave them desperate for more. Sublime last cut ‘Wave’ is a mechanical, grinding groove that slowly sweeps you up with its raw hits, slapping drums and cacophony of distant vocals.
VA – Time To Set The Night On Fire [01AM]
01AM is the perfect time to start a party and it is the first release of a new label by Afrobot related to his Afrobotic Musicology blog. The record contains 4 edits of music from different corners of the globe: to begin with an epic electro pop nugget from Greece and a heavily cut up Bollywood track on the A side, to finish the journey in Africa on the flip side with a percussive acid jam and a Zulu cult song that screamed for a rework. Limited edition / hand stamped artwork by Frank Koedood on the sleeve.
Transport – Emotions [NMP001]
Produced in June 1985, under the lead of Panagiotis Papachatzis, the rare LP “Just A Dream” featured several italo disco stylistic songs and became legend for its unique touch and excellent synth lines. Now No More Pop teamed up with the former band lead P. Papachatzis to make it possible to officially rerelease their hit single “Emotions”. This release features also remixes by Flemming Dalum, Steen Gjerulff and Murphy Jax.
Odessa – Private Disco Show [BAP056]
Montreal. 1983. In the studio, Denis and Denyse LePage once again marry their musical ability to produce a romance streaked electro disco gem. Fast forward three decades and the husband-wife partnership of Lime may be forgotten by some, but not by all. Odessa pays homage and treats you to a Private Disco Show. Synth lines are buffed and allowed to shine once again. Vocals take a back seat as glittering notes are given centre stage. Bright beaming bars, cascading chords and heady harmonies bob and weave in this refreshing of a true classic.
Surf Dancer – Rainbow Man [BAP067]
The frosts of Finland are blasted away by the radiate synthesizer sunlight of Surf Dancer. Rich analogue textures are supported by Surf Dancer’s love of the vocoder, computer-spoken lyrics twirling amidst addictive melodies and clean-cut beats. Sweet notes and even sweeter words swirl in this world of ray guns, unicorns and of course rainbows. Strings soar skyward in the elation of “Rainbow Man” before the sleek funk of “Rocket in my Pocket”. Joy pours from the needle drop, instant happiness and body moving music from start to finish, the end coming in the xylophonic goodness of Future in the Night”.
Dario Dall Aere – Eagles In The Night [TUONO04/DE119]
Another one of the many aliases and side-projects from pioneering group Fockewulf 190, Dario Dell’Aere’s “Eagles In The Night” is a truly iconic Italo disco record. Coated with gutsy vocals from Fred Ventura, it’s kitsch without being too theatrical and rolls with such a hook and detailed melody that you’ll be hooked beyond the big, stadium-filling yearns. Naturally the instrumental is also included for those who find the croons a touch too much.
Inhalants – Deep Florida [LIES070]
New Yorkers Matt Morandi (Jahiliyya Fields) and Max Ravitz (Patricia) take the buyout, cash in their 401k’s, and opt for early retirement down to ”Deep Florida” on their debut LP for L.I.E.S. Titles like Humid Widow, Dark Duties, and Chasing the Dream set the tone for what can only be called a tropical storm of synthesizer chaos atop dusted drum programming and hazy vibes.
Dorisburg – Irrbloss [HVN034]
One half of Genius Of Time, Alexander Berg makes his debut on Hivern as Dorisburg. Irrbloss features nearly an hour of Dorisburg new music. Eight cuts in which Berg unleashes several incarnations of his sound and delves into his most melodic and mystical facet. Tracks such as Irrbloss and Votiv exude a highly spiritual feeling, connecting the majesty of archaic folk music with state of the art electronic production. Gloson and Gripen, in contrast, are much more dancefloor oriented eorts, showing Berg’s most cerebral and somber side. Kassiopeia and Cirkla are two slices of sinuous cosmic techno that demonstrate once again Berg’s ability to blend evocative landscapes with club eciency. Finally, Insvept and Sagofabrik conde a more meditative and adventurous approach. In other words: a gripping journey with a kind of inspirational energy not easily found in today’s dance music.
VA – Dub Masters Series I EP [ARTSTRANSPARENT006]
ARTS Transparent shaped his form in many different ways into electronic music, giving clear directions to any other label out there, emotionally and technically. This time the label will focus on the first Dub Master Series, a collective of the best Dub Techno Artists we have around the globe. Zoltan Solomon / Grad_U / IXM aka Kaelan / Hydergine.
B12 – Transient Life [ASGDE009]
B12, one of the UK’s first wave of pure techno acts, are back again to take you above and beyond with their trademark deep space techno and electro soundscapes. After appearing on the ‘5 Years De:tuned’ album with the track ‘Let Me Free’, B12 return to De:tuned with more transient music for the mind.
Oscar Mulero – Second Skin EP [POLEGROUP037]
Slow paced beats and dubby chords by Oscar Mulero that mutate and run around the arrangement. Remixes by Architectural and Tensal.
Kerridge – Fatal Light Attraction [DNSKER002]
Kerridge’s 3rd long player marks a more fluid, or effluent, refinement of his sound, blurring the boundaries between organic audio sources and custom-constructed synths to flooding the senses with waves of bristling, oxidising industrial tones and coruscating texturhythm seemingly intent on separating flesh from bone. It’s evil stuff, all seven tracks of it, forming a closed feedback system of guttural, choking frequencies and cardiac arrhythymatics.
The Transhumans – Beast Like State EP [MORD025]
Snakes are Poor Denizens of Hell
Have come surreptitioning
Through the tall grass
To face the pool of clear frogs
Positive Centre – Vorticist [SNTS008]
SNTS Records expands its reach with solo Positive Centre, who has released on Our Circula Sound and Stroboscopic Artefacts. This EP, with the intriguing title of Vorticist, shows the artist’s most visceral and raw side.
Phase Fatale – Jealous God 10 [JEL010]
Jealous God arrive at their tenth issue and it’s yet another label debut, with Berlin-based New Yorker Hayden Payne getting his most high profile release to date under the Phase Fatale name. Once heavily involved in New York’s cold wave scene, Payne’s move to Berlin and the adoption of Phase Fatale has seen him develop an EBM flavoured style of techno that is eminently suited to the Jealous God cause. Lead cut “Steel” sounds like Silent Servant hocked up on steroids, contrasting nicely with the stealthier pump of “SOL740”. On the flip, the rhythmic construction of “Cut” is reminiscent of Jam City reworking Front 242, whilst “Castor” is pure sonic brutality.
Mr. Fingers – Mr. Fingers 2016 [ML2231]
Alleviated Records present the new Mr. Fingers EP. After many years of the moniker being dormant and a long journey trying to get back into a creative mindset, we have a new offering. First up, “Outer Acid” delivers up a Minimal-Space-Acid flavor. Next, “Qwazars” continues the Space motif with a Minimal-Tech touch. “Nodyahed” moves toward a Dark Club Bounce with a dash of Tribal flavor. “Aether” offers up a more late-night Ambient-Space-House flavor.
The Hipodrome Of Music 