Boris Divider presents a new album on Drivecom. A 2xLP of new tracks recovered and rearrenged around 2022-23. No doubt the legacy of the past works are represented. Some arpeggios and melody lines will remember us to sonic landscapes from the “La Hora de las Máquinas” or “The Source” albums by Boris Divider but with a new and refreshed production sound, for sure this will be a must item for all the electro community and fans of the label.
Neuma launches its catalog with a full EP by CT Kidobó. Four electro cuts with highly emotional content.
Dark Entries celebrates its 15th anniversary by returning to where it all started, the initial darkest entry: Eleven Pond’s masterpiece ‘Bas Relief’, an ultra-obscure album from 1986 that would become a definitive dark pop holy grail. Eleven Pond was James Tabbi (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jeff Gallea (drum machine, synthesizer, vocals), Jack Schaeffer (guitar) and Dan Brumley (synthesizer, samples, vocoder, melodica). They met in Rochester, NY, while attending art school, brought together by their shared love of 4AD and Factory Records. Taking cues from acts like Joy Division, Fad Gadget, and For Against, Eleven Pond’s infectious basslines, churning guitar riffs, and atmospheric synths will charm all fans of moody music. But what really makes Bas Relief shine is the timeless songwriting on classics like “Tear and Cinnamon”, “Portugal”, and the anthemic “Watching Trees.” With only 500 copies in it’s initial release, ‘Bas Relief’ resurfaces with a fresh remaster that corrects a pitch shift from previous reissues. ‘Bas Relief’ is a true lost relic of the cold 80’s and an essential piece Dark Entries history.
Javier Revilla and Chris Demere, both from Hanover and inspired by electronic music of Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre, started to experiment with sounds since the late 70’s. The arrival of New Wave with bands like Heaven 17, The Human League, Soft Cell and Depeche Mode influenced these teenagers to began Cetu Javu in 1984 with Javier on vocals, Chris on synths, guitar, programming, Torsten Engelke on keyboards and Stefen Engelke on bass. Like their compatriots Camouflage, Cetu Javu were unapologetically Depeche Mode-like in their sound, but with a fairly original twist on their synth pop formula. The band signed a contract with Records and released their debut album “Southern Lands” in 1990. “Southern Lands” is re-released including all original songs plus some extended versions, remixes and bonus tracks from the accompanying singles “Situations”, “Have in Mind” and “So Strange”.
Unrealistic Expectations are back with Alan Harman’s “Friendly Fire”, an excellent minimal synth jam from Montreal, bringing light to the city with one of the more prolific new minds. Dive into the underground side of the 80’s on a cosmic trip with almost psychedelic arps, crispy drums and deep meaningful vocals. Timothy J. Fairplay’s interpretation is just as amazing. The experienced producer keeps the quality while driving a more club and kick driven interpretation of “Friendly Fire”.
Filmmaker returns with a new album called “Grim Encoders”. The album includes 9 tracks recorded at Medellin, Colombia in 2024.
L.F.T (Love, Fist, Tears), aka Johannes Haas, returns to Osàre! Editions for another scorching release. As ever, the German producer’s sonic palette is immediately recognisable as he manoeuvres through 1980s-inspired wave and raw, rugged electro. Equal parts dancefloor elixir and cerebral wonderment, Minecrawler showcases Haas’ flair for freewheeling, chemical artistry, and experimentation. Divided into heavy, vocal numbers on one side and potent, club-orientated material on the other, the EP is unified overall by the frigid crackle of drum machines, primal synths, and goth aesthetics.
Sosilly is back and they’ve brought some local aussie legends to join them on a cosmic outback bush boogie with 4 x epic dub-olicious, psych rock, Afro disco jams.
Sultry and slow moody house/acid jams from Anatolian Weapons on the second release by Croatian label Third World.
Next up in the quiet details series is the producer and live performer of everything from the deepest ambience to true dance-floor electro, Emile Facey, otherwise known as Plant43. ‘The Unfading Spark’ shows this immense and honest experience realised to stunning effect. An instant post-club classic, his innate melodic and textural understanding mixes perfectly with a sense of build and release, the album moving through its own indelible world of space-time to completely immerse the listener in its expanding beauty.
Distant Worlds welcomes back Sound Synthesis for a second outing of warm, melodic electro. Fine attention to detail, crisp sonics and deep bass complete the package for an exploration of harmony across all 4 tracks.
Mannequin Records present the official reissue of Caroline K’s outstanding 1987 album, “Now Wait For Last Year.” This haunting, wistful work of post-industrial synthesizer music sees the late Nocturnal Emissions co-founder only solo record. The music on “Now Wait For Last Year” seems to exist firmly outside of it. Tags like industrial, minimal synth or proto-techno can’t really do justice to the richly cinematic sound-world that Caroline K describes: from the sustained ambient tension of sidelong opener “The Happening World” to the future-primitive rhythms and stately piano flourishes “Animal Lattice”, and the melancholic, deep-frozen synth sequences of “Cheart”.”
Doppler Effect is the brain child of singer and songwriter James Straight. Started in Boston in 1981, the band explores what Straight calls the encyclopedia of electronic music. Since its inception the band has explored and incorporated almost all styles of electronica from Ambient to Industrial, Techno, Synth Pop, EBM, House, Dark Wave, Acid and Disco, with a touch of Punk and Funk around the edges. It all depends on the song as Straight sees his work as mini films he’s Directing, a sort of seeing with your ears. Utilising the whole paint box to achieve the desired effect, his only rule is it must work for the song. “Genesis: Studio Recordings” compiles a selection of songs recorded between 1981 and 1985. Including lot of unreleased songs and early versions ranging from synth-punk and new wave to minimal wave and synth-pop.
Plague Pits is a Swiss synth collective from Bern Inspired by the D.I.Y. electronic tape underground of yore, they play disco dirges for the Anthropocene – cold wave for a heating planet. ‘Bukolik’ is their new cassette release on Transnecropolitan.
Antoni Maiovvi channels the enigmatic facets of disco, synthesizer-driven beats, and the captivating allure of italo-disco, creating a sound steeped in vintage analog essence. His latest EP on Skylax sub-label Cosmic Club represents a masterful fusion of diverse influences.
Tyrel & C.l.a.w.s. present a 4 track collaborative EP. Recorded in San Francisco. Mastered and cut by Dietrich Shoenemann. Pressed at Archer Detroit. “Take Away The Flesh, He Said” dedicated to Barrett Clark and Phil Western.
Discognosis’ Hardware Edits Vol. 1 offers a whirlwind of disco-infused energy across its four tracks. 4 wacked-out, psychedelic disco reworks with added hardware drum machine and analog synthesis for maximum dance floor impact. From the minds behind New Orleans’ most cosmic, coked-up disco party Discognosis.
From the deep confines of the universe, we receive emissions of HC Records’ 21st release – Those Dark Whims by UHF, the production duo and Gladio Operations label heads José Castillo and David Aragón. An exciting digital LP from which a selection of tracks have been extracted for vinyl along with remixes by two label regulars, Estrato Aurora and The Lost Boys.
The Hipodrome Of Music 