Super secret Bergen/Stavanger/Oslo/Haugesund/Berlin based collab label GLUEUNTZ is back with another release, after the very successful Q&A 12″ two years ago.
Visonia – Opals Sunflowers [TRAJECTORYLP3]
The second Visonia album out now on Last Known Trajectory. Stunning cold-wave influenced techno and electronics, ‘Opal’s Sunflowers’ continues the new-wave/cold wave theme combined with inimitable romanticism. Coupling emotive elegance with eighties synth-pop influences and the result is quite simply splendid.
Stabat Stable – Ultrissima On The Junk’s Moon [CACHE014LP]
Incredible, idiosyncratic and obscure early 80s French futurist DIY project led by Jean-Luc Aime (Univers Zero) this feature-length album of elusive recordings marks the bone fide axis point where Zeuhl-Skool meets synth pop, dark ambient and early electro culled from rare vinyl and disparate cassette co-op releases for this first ever LP release.
The Frozen Autumn – Time Is Just A Memory [DE108]
The Frozen Autumn is an Italian darkwave band, formed in May 1993 in Turin, Italy. Originally the solo project of singer, keyboardist and synth programmer Diego Merletto, guitarist Claudio Brosio joined on during early studio sessions and live performances. Together they recorded and released two albums, “Pale Awakening” in 1995 and “Fragments of Memories” in 1997. In 1998, Claudio left the band and Diego recruited Arianna (aka Froxeanne) who sings, programs and composes. After 18 months of work, The Frozen Autumn’s third album, “Emotional Screening Device”, was released in April 2002. “Time Is Just A Memory” is a 6-track overview of songs from The Frozen Autumn’s first three albums. Characterized by a blend of melancholic vocals, atmospheric gothic-wave and 1980s-style electropop, the duo call their style ”frozen wave”. The Frozen Autumn have stated that labelmates Clan of Xymox have been their main source of inspiration over the years. Other influences include Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, The Sisters of Mercy, Xmal Deutschland, David Sylvian and Depeche Mode. These six tracks stand out for their rich melodies, from the guitar-laden early tracks “Dusk Is Like A Dagger”, “Wait For Nothing”, “There’s No Time To Recall”, and “This Time,” to the electronic sheen on later songs “Is Everything Real?” and “Silence Is Talking”.
Wolfsheim – The Sparrow And The Nightingales [DE107]
Wolfsheim are a synthpop duo from Hamburg, Germany consisting of Markus Reinhardt (music) and Peter Heppner (lyrics and vocals). The band was founded in 1987 by Markus Reinhardt and Pompejo Ricciardi and was named after Meyer Wolfsheim, a fictional character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’. Ricciardi soon left the band and was replaced by Peter Heppner, a childhood friend of Reinhardt’s. Together they produced their first demo tape, ‘Ken Manage’, in 1988. After making a second demo tape, ‘Any But Pretty’, in 1989, Wolfsheim applied at various labels until they caught the attention of independent record label Strange Ways Records. They are best known for their debut breakthrough single, ”The Sparrows and the Nightingales”, the first single to be released on Strange Ways in 1991. The band’s musical style takes cues from the 1980s New Romantics, new wave, synthpop, and darkwave. The track’s sombre synths were produced by Carlos Peron of Yello. Reinhardt says the lyric was inspired by ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘in the ‘onomatopoeic tension’ between predator and security.’ Over six minutes, the narrator describes being lost, unsure of where his life is heading, using highly metaphorical language. On the flip is a brand new remix by German producer Ancient Methods, a pseudonym of Michael ‘Trias’ Wollenhaupt, who provides a driving, EBM-leaning, amphetamine-laced club ready cut.
Hipodrome Romance #2 @ BURR (Sibiu) 27.02.2016
Kobosil – We Grow You Decline [OSTGUTLP021]
Berghain young gun Max Kobosil gives us his debut album. We Grow They Decline is surprisingly more restrained than you’d expect from Kobosil given his reputation as a DJ and of course those pretty fierce EPs he released previously on MDR and Unterton. Most tracks on here are slower, deeper and reflective takes on the techno sound and show a sense of maturity in this emerging talent’s studio prowess. Kobosil delves even deeper into Ambient and Industrial soundscapes. Drawing influences from Musique Concrète via Electronic Body Music towards present-day Techno, the tracks combine gritty textures with melodic hints and contrasting bleak off-beat rhythms with Drone passages.
Population One – Temporary Insanity EP [OUT018]
Detroit techno veteran Terrence Dixon marks another chapter of his long standing career signing for Italian imprint Out Electronic Recordings as Population One. Terrence Dixon is going to kick off the new year with two techno, retro-feeling original tracks capturing his typical production take. ‘Temporary Insanity’ rolls out the hard-driving, stomping old school side of the artist, featuring sharp melodic sound scapes and incisive percussive elements. Fat claps and bright hats animate the mood involving listeners through a simple, incisive rhythmic power combined with a bass static arpeggio sequence and pointed bleep textures together. ‘Multiple Choice’ differs from the previous cut by featuring a spacey atmospheric, heady synth lines and patterns, taking your mind to a more mysterious, introspective dimension with enchanting pads plus a energetic kick, bass and drum intersection.
FBK – Screaming Her Name [BAR006]
FBK aka Kevin Kennedy is a hardworking man, be it battling computers and machines when producing music or when going out there and getting job done. In either case, one things is certain – theres no messin’ around. He’s also one half of ‘The Fallen’ a duo performing live, showcasing their love for banging darker industrial/wave inspired techno. His pal James Johnson aka Plural, artist with release on legendary Metroplex label last year, provided great remix on this latest EP by Kevin under his FBK moniker for Barba Records. All three original tracks are long building, big room, grooving stompers with a lot of emotions that would fit in various sets pretty much at any time. To keep things entirely ‘D’ footed, the legend, the man of weird, beautiful, unique and reduced techno world – Terrence Dixon rounds things up with his hypnotic re-interpretation of title track.
Kaelan – The Silent Swordsman [SC002]
Kaelan joins the ranks of the squad of Shaw Cuts with the EP ‘The Silent Swordsman’. Equipped by his sharp stabbing weapon and a mysterious fighting technique taught by the head chief of the Sun Moon Sect Master Wu himself, Kaelan strikes out to hunt.
Maoupa Mazzocchetti – Laugh Tool [MNQ080]
Mannequin Records announce ‘Laugh Tool’, the debut full-lenght of Maoupa Mazzocchetti, pseudonym of Florent Mazzocchetti, young and talented French producer based in Brussels. Maoupa Mazzocchetti is finally bringing back to life the earlier days of electro-industrial, in a mixture that is very close to the late 70’s/early 80s period of Fad Gadget, Throbbing Gristle, Portion Control, Cabaret Voltaire and Front 242, crossed with the more fresh and innovative deep electronic experiments of Beau Wanzer and Charles Manier. Strongly addicted to a DIY ethic, and so to a punk ideology and anticonsumerism, most of Florent’s releases are recorded in his bedroom without any professional equipment, using analog synth and sequencers, modified drum machines, tape loops and a load of pedal effects. Florent started to experiment with the rhythm since his early age. Developing a passion for the drums at the age of 10 years, soon after he was moving to rock records and guitar, which became his instrument and one of the keystones of his perception of music. Florent approach with rhythm and drums was never traditional, making him feeling more a researcher than a musician. To an audience of contemporary electronic music consumers, who had only closely followed techno, electro and disco, the sounds of ‘Laugh Tool’ will appear unearthly, entirely unexpected, withering comets of strangeness. A 10 tracks album ready to change their minds…
Dust – Agony Planet [2MR010]
Fantasy Techno collective DUST – a trio comprised of audio engineer Michael Sherburn, DIY nightlife entrepreneur John Barclay and multi-disciplinary artist Greem Jellyfish – will release their nightmarish, alien horror narrative debut full length, Agony Planet, on Mike Simonetti’s new 2MR imprint. Immersed in Brooklyn’s DIY rave community, all three mem- bers held roles in the genesis of notable extinct venues 285 Kent and Trip House, and now Bossa Nova Civic Club. In 2012 Sherburn and Barclay joined forces to found DUST and were joined shortly thereafter by Jellyfish; the following year they released their first 12′, ‘Onset of Decimation,’ on Man- nequin. Between 2013 and 2015, they released several more 12’s, two on Mannequin, as well as one for Sci-Fi & Fantasy and one for 2MR. Over these years, with Sherburn at the helm, the framework and themes for Agony Planet began to be conceptualized. Twelve tracks, spanning in genre from digital hardcore, dun- geon techno, and celestial ambience, are all held together by a theme of extravagant extraterrestrial warfare. Club-savvy techno engineering accompanied by frontwoman Greem Jellyfish’s bizarre monologues and warped screams beckon listeners on a journey through the occult mysticism of the nightmarish and torturous deep ocean of an alien hell. Agony Planet is an unrelenting and bold debut from a trio not afraid to explore the dark caverns of the underground.
Gesetz Der Oktaven – Semen Contra EP [3EEP201510]
“It’s very direct, danceable club music, anchored stylistically between Electro, Techno and Industrial/NewWave, strongly influenced by ’80s acts Liaisons Dangereuses, CH BB, sporadically, DAF and the Consumed /Concept period of Richie Hawtin.” is how Hanno Leichtmann describes his new project Gesetz Der Oktaven. “The name ‘Gesetz Der Oktaven’ was chosen because I wanted something very German sounding, as we say ‘sperrig’, something technical, scientific. All the track titles are very old skool or obsolete studio/audio terms. “I wanted a completely new set-up, so I got a large Soundtracs desk from the 80s with 16 channels and, crucially 6 Aux Sends for effects.” He continues, “The large number of aux sends was essential for the project. I used a drum machine, a MiniMoog sequenced by a TB 303, a vintage Drum Synth and six 6 effect combinations for the delay / reverb tracks. All very old-skool and in real time with no plugins. It took months of trial and error but the result is a very beautiful high-quality vintage studio sound.”
Heartplay – 002 [HP002]
Energetic and raw lo-fi organ electronics. A simple and mean builder, then revealing the beauty of a beast. Harsh kicks and high notes on a crisp distortion flatline – all performed and recorded straight to cassette tape in on take.
Nuel – Hyperboreal [FUR100LP]
Italian DJ and producer Manuel Fogliata hasn’t released a lot of records over the last ten years, but the few he has put out have always been worth tracking down. Perhaps best known for his work alongside Donato Dozzy in creating the much sought-after Aquaplano records at the tail end of the last decade, Nuel’s solo outings have been just as consistent and just as impressive. Whether taking on metallic electro or syrupy, bass-heavy ambience, Nuel’s attention to detail and his keen ear for a groove has made each release something to treasure.
Blair French – Through The Blinds [DSR/D2]
Michigan’s ambient and soundtrack specialist John Beltran introduces a new LP that will be co-released by Delsin and his digital only label Dado Records. Blair French aka Dial.81 is an experimental producer and visual artist who won an award for his score of Detropia–a documentary about his home city of Detroit–and now makes his ambient debut. As you would expect of such a project, it boasts suspensory and near spiritual pieces of ambient music with angelic chords and glassy textures. There are also more frosty cuts that sound like a chilly Autumn walk, tracks that feature emotive neo-classical piano pieces and suggestively rhythmic compositions that sooth your mind. The second half of the record touches on church like passages of synth heavy sounds, strikingly sad violins and lo-fi arrangements that sound, one hopes, a little like what you might hear as you pass from this life to the next.
Jordan GCZ – Lushlife II [RHD024JGCZ]
Jordan “Jordash” Czamanski doesn’t put out many solo records, but when he does, they tend to be rather special. Certainly, that is the case with Lushlyfe II, the Rush Hour released collection of ambient and experimental downtempo. He begins with the drowsy ambience and watery sound effects of “Sweet Dreams” – a kind of experimental, instrumental lullaby – before capturing the weary confusion of early morning stumbles back from the party on the soothing, guitar-laden “Yetghua”. Even better is the oddly exotic, jazz-flecked fluidity of “Sus”, while closer “Bol” is little less than a mood-enhancing horizontal treat.
The Invariants – TI003 [TI003]
The Invariants are back with a new record in similar fashion. Synths to mess with the mind, hypnotising drums to stimulate the body. The A side features a jam in two parts supplemented by two acid filled cuts on the second side.
DECA – Synthetic Lips LP [DECA001]
Mothball Record starts its 2016 release schedule with a bang by releasing their first LP. Originally produced in a tiny edition of only 100 copies back in ’87, this dark masterpiece from prolific Italian artist DECA finally appears as an official reissue on Mothball (in collaboration with Bordello A Parigi) remastered from the original tapes. “Synthetic Lips” is an absolutely diverse album spanning industrial, synth-pop, ambient and even elements of new age…some tracks will hit immediately and others will reward repeated listening.
A Visitor From Another Meaning – Lost Encounters I [BAP062]
A Visitor From Another Meaning returns to earth, and vinyl. The Viewlexx veteran is back on our world with Lost Encounters I, four cuts from the vaults. Beamed in from a distant galaxy is the blazing brilliance of “Dance of the Happy Shadows.” Past film score greats immediately come to mind. Vangelis. Carpenter. Moroder. “I Rarely Talk to Strangers” pulses with crisp beats and rumbling arpeggios, cloudy skies ready to rain on a polluted L.A. in 2019. The blue dot is left behind for the elation of “J is for Jupiter.” The stars are the place to be. “J is for Jupiter II” drifts from cosmic currents before illuminating the heavens for the lead out into end credits.
The Hipodrome Of Music 