Pater Noster unleash their first 12”. Overdriven hardware excursions sprinkled with a dose of distortion and red lining their way to completion. An incredibly mature first release composed of five tracks from separate artists, all seamlessly channeling the same curiously destructive vibe.
This is the second release of the ‘Obscure Cuts’ series, curated by Berlin’s Oscillator party resident Beppe Loda. This EP sets us off on a magic carpet ride of Middle-Eastern-influenced Italian obscure disco gems from the 70’s. This release is a great ambassador for the Oscillator parties from which the label originates.
Solar One Music presents the follow up to The Exaltics retrospective “The Truth 2008 – 2013” released early this year. Five of The Exaltics best tracks are revisit by ERP, Gosub, Dopplereffekt, Objekt, and Ultradyne. On the A side, E.R.P. aka Convextion turns the opener “My Language” into an emotive electro rework where sweet drums combine to soft synth layers. Followed by Ultradyne’s disturbing “Compressed Thoughts” remix, expect experimental electro beats and distorted modulations straight from Detroit. On the flipside, a SOM regular signature, Gosub injects on “IMOEH” a serious dose of electrofunk vibes. His classy remix gives a breath of fresh air while “Journey To Jupiter” reworked by Objekt propels you in orbit after an epic trip though space. Merging electro beats to groovy lines and contemporary synths colors, Dopplereffekt keeps the pressure: “Instinct” signs here a masterly conclusion to the EP.
Third release from Diffuse Arc on Caustica Waveform, excellent synth-heavy electro, real singular sound from the Madrid-based label and superb artwork as always.
New label Odio emerge with a real statement of intent for their debut release which finds Diffuse Arc and Arcanoid sharing sides on a 12″ with some excellent sleeve art. Diffuse Arc handles the A side with eleven minute modular epic “Acto 1 Origen” which swells from its initial almost-silence into a far sighted monster that will have you pulling the needle back time and time again. Semantica and Tabernacle affiliate Arcanoid provides two tracks with “Acto 2 Esencia Del Drama” a classicist take on Drexciyan electro complemented by the more abstract sounds of “Acto 3 Conclusion”.
If you are going to do Acid it better be a uncompromising slab of raw Acid House. Four jackers from Japan’s duo Takeshi Kouzuki & Mituo Shiomi.
Chicago’s Marcus Mixx return to Unknown to the Unknown. The salaciously named Rub It Don’t Go Fast is a welcome return, and the producer’s unhinged urges remain wonderfully undimmed as the title track attests. It’s dark acid house with redlining bass, a monstrous kick drum and a clear sense of perverse humour. “Rub it in French…” On the flip, Mixx lays down two swerving takes on breakbeat house flex out “Do U Luv 2 Dance”.
Music For Dreams continues to roll out the Balearic goodies with this superb new mini album from Golden Ivy. Golden Ivy aka Ivar Lantz is a Malm based composer, producer and founder (along with Prins Emanuel and Gucci Jehova) of esteemed Swedish record label Fasaan.
French duo Unouzbeck & Venturi make their vinyl debut with a pair of psychedelic disco groovers for the Östra Discos imprint.
Synthesizer enthusiast Bezier drops a surprise 12″ for the affiliated Honey Soundsystem. As usual, her has his sights set on mining the past for inspiration. “Mina (Everyone)” begins in typical fashion – all spacey synthesizers and twinkling melodies – before morphing into a relentless chunk of dirty, Italo-and-EBM inspired house. The pleasingly sunny “Serengeti Drive” is more of a stripped-back Italo-disco bubbler (admittedly with dream-wave flourishes), while “Mysteries of the Deep” offers an intergalactic romp through cold-wave pastures with only cheap old synths and drum machines for company.
Next on Delsin’s deep and house leaning series of releases is Artefakt with a new three track affair entitled The Fifth Planet EP. The Dutch duo are experts at conjuring up atmospheric grooves that seduce your soul. Opener ‘Transit’ is a thick, heavy and heady track with rubbery kicks tunnelling deep. Above it, smeared, sombre synths gets stretched and skewed into trippy forms and the whole thing has you as a slave to the groove. ‘From Our Minds To Yours’ is quicker and more overkill, but is again rooted in rolling rubbery kicks. Hypnotic once again, the synths here are lighter, more airy and more uplifting and induce trance like states of mind. Lastly, ‘The Fifth Planet’ steps it up another gear, with celestial melodic patterns, heavy synth daubs and spine tingling pads all expanding around a ticking techno groove. This is expertly crafted, serene and supple stuff that will sound perfect in the dead of night on some intimate and spaced out dancefloor.
Upon.You’s rough ‘n’ raw underground white-label UYX Series delivers the Leo Dance EP by French DJ producer Farid Boudinar aka F.E.X. who was responsible for the first UYX Series release in 2013. “Leo Dance” features hard-hitting snare-rolls; fast-paced drums; brooding, big-room basslines; and deep yet uplifting synths. The minimal tech-house of “Overdeus” builds into a beautiful sequential arrangement of climax after climax after climax. “Puretec” enters darker, sci-fi influenced realms with undulating strings and a perfect synth sequence that pays homage to the masters of Detroit techno – perfect for basements immersed in fog and strobe lights.
This is the inaugural release from the Berlin based Sandhu. The ‘Undefined Revolution’ vinyl series will solely feature compositions created with hardware, recorded live and unedited. Volume 1 comprises the first four of these very organically produced tracks. Ranging from experimental electronica through to a tougher Techno palette, the EP’s A-side starts with the fluid ‘Girtab’ with its laid-back break and sci-fi edge, before ‘Lesath’ heads into deeper realms with ominous sounding synthwork and an infectious groove. The B-side shows the tougher Techno face of Sandhu. ‘Shaula’ is a perfect DJ tool with heaps of energy for those restless dancefloors, while ‘Sargas’ completes the quartet with its choppy beats and latin-tinged rhythms.
For the 13th release on Chaval Records, Victor Santana presents ‘Live’, a new 4-track EP to coincide with the release of his Live video.
The mysterious Hodini takes the wheel on this, the third outing on Money $ex. Another triumphant tapestry of sample sources, reinvented and ramped up into an effortlessly effective extended player, taking dusty MPC sample sessions through a variety of moods from head-nod bumpers to wayward House numbers – Swing set to stun all the way and another top quality outing on this label Collaborating with the very best of Germany’s new school.
”Back in 2009, DJ Harvey came knockin’ at PBRC HQ to deliver a special project he had in mind. Having a long and healthy relationship with the dudes at Pacific Beach, Harv essentially produced a couple of edits that could’ve well been next in line on his revered Black Cock label. Eventually released in 2010, the 12” cuts caused a stir as some will recall. Doc Severinsen is an accomplished American jazz/pop trumpet player, and as a band leader gained considerable notoriety on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Like most musicians in the 70’s, Doc took his shot at the disco and funk sounds of the time, gathered stellar musicians, and released impeccably sounding works. Two of these cuts, ‘Be With You’ and ‘Shine On Me’ are featured on this release. Harvey’s unfailing magic touch has yielded two DJ-friendly edits with a lot of punch and galactic energy, yet with a velvet undertone. Staying true to the mission, the label took great care throughout the production process in order to preserve the quality of the original recordings. Proprietary equipment was created to transfer the original cuts from the source. The mastering was conducted at Bernie Grundman in Hollywood, CA, known for its work on the greatest albums of all time, such as Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’. The 2015 edition is noticeably different on the exterior. The cover art, having been designed by Harvey back in 2009 for the original release, commands attention. At the time, however, the prevailing design had been already put into play leaving these amazing creative elements put aside for a later time – and so here we are.”
The Hipodrome Of Music 