Kingpin of the Dog in the Night label, Robert Crash is back with his third ep for the label this year. More smoking hot beat tracks and club ammo for the workin’ disk jocks out there. Uniquely deranged yet rooted in the classics, you won’t wanna miss this.
For their next trick, the anonymous R-Zone crew turn out three darkly engaging cuts that once again look back to a ravey heyday for their inspiration, but at the same time conjure up some refreshing contemporary ideas that will no doubt have dancefloors in raptures. EP opener ‘Onefourone’ is an epic end of the night track with big drums, melancholic chords and a sombre sense of finality that makes you think the world could end anytime. ‘Gravity’ sounds like an invasion from space, with falling synth lines, buried deep drums and clattering percussion all making for a foreboding atmosphere. ‘Stolen Birds’ fills up the flip side with a groaning and darkwave synth line and cooing birdcalls. As big hi hats come in and glassy tinkles fill in the airwaves, it turns into a stormy affair that is both dancey and cerebral at the same time. As always with R-Zone, this is compelling, creative music that bristles and brims with all sorts of occult charm.
3 weirdo ones on the Cult of Properness… Proper’s Cult, the label launched by Amsterdam’s San Proper, present their second release, the debut of a jazz-fusion drummer who goes by the name of ”D.”, hailing from Katwijk (NL)… Three deep and mesmerizing house workouts veering into techno territories, with an acid glitch to them. Yes, they come with a lot of question marks and exclamation points…
Emotional Rescue takes a look towards the dancefloor sounds of Britain underground 80s electronic synth-pop scene for their next release. From Dallas’ infamous ecstacy fueled Starck club to the Le Palace in Paris, it was such music that while not gaining wider pop recognition, become classics of their time and the secret finds for today’s DJs.
For the latest edition of the intriguing Dessert Islands Discs re-edit series, the label has called upon the well-renowned scalpel talents of German-in-Amsterdam Marcel Vogel, AKA Em Vee. The Double Denim-sporting eccentric drops another gem in the shape of “White Heat Shake It Out (Edit)”, a bouncy and seductive disco chop-job that makes great use of the source material’s bustling groove and steamy, spoken word vocals. On the flip, lesser-known re-edit heads Papi Del Pancake and Claude Von Reefer take up the challenge. Their “Gimme What You Got” has a little more deep house shuffle, but retains the key instrumentation and feel of a sumptuous disco-soul jam.
Spacey electronic disco from 1977… Not only was this ahead of its time, but it features the works of two of disco’s most respected, revered studio artists; Tom Moulton and Patrick Cowley. Long-since sought after, West End have done us the good service of reissuing it in all its glory. Cowley’s mega mix is linear, dubbed out and naked in vibe, which gives it a really neat timeless groove sensation. The disco mix is a little more frenetic and of its time thanks to the big drums, overlayed guitars and Michele’s sensuous vocals.
Dark Entries is proud to release Uno, a collection of early recordings from seminal Italian electronic act Kirlian Camera. Keyboardist/vocalist Angelo Bergamini founded the project in Parma in 1979, initially naming it Suicide Commando, before discovering another project using the same name. 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. The following year, Mauro left the band and was replaced by Giorgio Vecchi, and the band recorded their first mini-LP, Kirlian Camera. Uno compiles the 4 songs from the mini-LP on Side A and the 6 songs from the demo cassette on Side B. Also included is the bonus track Minitech, originally released in 1981 on flexi-disc. Kirlian Cameras clean, minimalist new wave is marked by strong haunting melodies, slow moving synth washes, and stark, dramatic vocals.
Blimey, Light Sounds Dark really went to town on this new compilation of curios, obscurities and delights that’s spread across three 12″s. If you’ve indulged in previous slabs of LSD curated obscurity then you should have an idea of what is waiting for you within the rather tempting mirrored, triple-gatefold sleeve; namely a smorgasbord of industrial, proto rhythms and early wave sounds. Unlike previous Light Sounds Dark transmissions, there is no identifying information of any sort.
Compilation of old and new (mostly) Belgian & Dutch minimal synth tracks for the first time ever on vinyl.
impLOG was the solo project of Don Christensen after leaving New York No Wave group The Contortions in 1979. He began making music using found sounds, a Univox drum machine, guitar stomp boxes, Casio keyboards and percussion instruments. Holland Tunnel Dive is a monotone lament, with a narrator reciting a list of all that is missing in his life along to a sparse, mechanical beat. A variable speed Milwaukee drill creeps its way into the song, eventually reaching cacophonous levels. After four minutes of industrial motorik, an upbeat saxophone riff breaks out unexpectedly, unsettling the listener even further. On the B-side is a deranged version of the Lieber and Stoller show tune On Broadway, featuring lead guitar by Jody Harris of the Contortions. The record perfectly captures the dark and seedy vibe of downtown New York in the early 80’s.
Void Vision is a Philadelphia based solo female Minimal Synth / Cold Wave project from Shari Wallin. Already included by Rough Trade in their seminal Synth Wave compilations, the single is anticipating her full lenght ‘Sub Rosa’, out for Mannequin Records later in 2014. Remix by Vanzetti & Sacco aka Jos Van Galen with Otto Kraanen, the boss of the acclaimed Bordello A Parigi from Rotterdam.
This is the recording of Dunkeltier’s aka SneakerDJ session at the pre-party for the STRCamp festival in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 2014.
Dunkeltier is going deep into obscure things (edits that will come on Macadam Mambo Edits Rec. and Rat Life Rec.), then turning into sweet uptempo synth tunes.
Deeper and advanced electronix on Valcrond Video, the label run by sound and image artist Luke Wyatt (Torn Hawk). Ari Russo is an NYC based multi-artist whose engagement with abandoned media finds an outlet in the video bursts he culls as OfficeFern. As a programmer, he’s produced innovative music generation tools such as the Diamond Arpeggiator. He returns to his own music with this collection of challenging and transporting structures
