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.
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…
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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 “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 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.
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 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.
Mannequin Records is proud to present the 12” reissue of one of the rarest minimal synth singles ever released in UK, cradle of DIY post-punk and minimal synth bands.
Past midnight. Empty streets. From an ill lit doorway a sound. A woman. Shadow. A scent. Drawn into one. Smoke and synthesizer music swirls. Bionda E Lupo. Crossing the threshold, tripping into twilight. Analogue emotion, styles twirled like garlands. Nervous shuffles and the touch of fingertips. Weaving, bodies twirl as morning shoulders into night. The realisation. The edge of eyes. Curl of lip. The click of heels with creak of floor. Feeling flows, ebbs, cascades and floods. Lipstick and heavy perfume. Two forms swimming in currents, bending to one another in the warm glow of aging speakers. Breath and pulse quicken. Electricity spiked with passion. The final embrace. Whispered promises. A kiss.
Italian arcade electro superstars Mat 101 are back with this LP of lost recordings from the vaults on Cyber Dance Records. Back in the late 90s when electro was first being resurrected and transformed into a more European dark psychedelic style Mat 101 were at the forefront of the revolution, taking inspiration from the pure electro sounds of the arcade games of their youth and representing the classic Italian sound in new and unexpectedly brilliant ways. Their legacy was immense, spawning Jollymusic, Pigna People, Raiders Of The Lost Arp and Francisco (among many other projects) and inspiring subsequent generations of electro wannabes with how to do it properly ever since. This LP brings together their lost recordings, some intended for a second LP that never was, along with live cuts and rarities as well as other unreleased material. However the album is in no way merely a random collection of lost bits and pieces – what is surprising is how fresh, finished and naturally flowing the record sounds, so much so that it really would have made a worthy follow up to their classic 1999 ‘Goodbye Mum!’ first album. The breadth of sound on the records, from the gently hypnotising strains of ‘Marble Madness’ and the blissful climax of ‘Gloria Gloria’ to the intense electro jamming of ‘Commando’ and the progressive rave monster ‘Toys Around’, is truly stunning. And with dancefloor anthems like ‘Falling Down Suite’ and ‘Musicadambiente’ thrown into the mix too the release is essential ammunition for both DJ activists and armchair-listeners alike.
Haron comes home with his District Iron EP including some heavy remix work by Jeremiah R. This platter is loaded with low, an ace dance floor destroyer, yet smooth and playful. Sparks start flying and neurons start frying.
Lunar Disko returns with the third installment of the limited LDRX series. Dublin based artist Cignol debuts on Lunar Disko with four retro futuristic electro trax. Limited to 100 copies, screen printed and hand numbered sleeves.
In the grayness by concrete of the Amsterdam suburbs we find Pascal Pinkert (Dollkraut) working on his darker wave salvation, going by the moniker of De Ambassade. DIY in sound and design, the arrangement of De Ambassade catalogue blend perfectly on Knekelhuis Records. This debut EP forming an alliance between the past and the present deliver one take recordings, drowned in reverb, using preferably older recording methods. The result are poppy wave tracks that shiver your spine and let you chant along to lyrics from the dutch lowlands.
Awaiting VoX LoW EP finally out on Astro Lab Recordings, 3 originals tracks came with a Remix by Ivan Smagghe on the B side.
Crystal Soda Cream will release their second studio-album Work and Velocity in April 2016 via Totally Wired Records. Rationale Arbeitsschritte is the album’s first single released as a 7“ on KIM Records.
