Two-tracker from Indonesian group Precious Bloom. ‘Flashlight’ on the A side is inspired by Euro disco with a touch of Indonesian city pop. The track ‘Mojo’ on the B-side explores a rhyme of witchery…
Precious Bloom – Flashlight [RHSTOREJAMS027]
Mr. G – Stronger Together [NDATL039]
Mr. G makes a return to NDATL Muzik. “Stronger Together” EP sounds like a journey through the depths of house music, with each track offering its own unique flavor and energy. Banger “One For Cath” sets the tone perfectly with its driving drums and nasty bassline, coupled with haunting vocals. “Twist” takes things even deeper with its low swinging chord-driven groove. “We All Feel Something” whips the dancefloor into a frenzy with its strong percussion while “Dub In The System” with its shimmering hi-hats drawing you in deeper and deeper is the perfect way to close out the EP.
Stefan Braatz – Outlaw EP [NG156]
Stefan Braatz returns to Nu Groove with a four-track EP showcasing his timeless sound. Opening the EP is the eponymous track ‘Outlaw’, featuring vocals from Chicago house pioneer Harry Dennis. As Braatz’s relentless synth energy powers through, Dennis’s unmistakeable free flow guides the composition with ease. What follows are three solo tracks that summarise the Berlin expert’s opposition to the genre restraints; ‘Conversation’ opens a dialogue between synth strings and piano that loops in ecstasy, while ‘Dingy Thoughts’ and ‘One More Dream’ are darker club cuts that bubble with intensity in the lower registers.
Dojo Zone – De La Isla EP [ESP101]
De La Isla EP marks a compelling debut for Espíritu Recordings, showcasing Dojo Zone’s versatile production prowess across five tracks. ‘Dream Body (Exotica Mix)’ kicks off with a potent blend of techno and progressive house, a dynamic journey through pulsating beats and twisted mood swings. ‘Houdini Hauz’ follows suit, infusing 80s-inspired sounds into a modern tech house, resulting in a groove-laden sonic landscape reminiscent of new wave aesthetics. The EP takes a detour with ‘Obscure Entrance,’ paying homage to Detroit’s rhythmic heritage with its bubbling acid lines and 808 state-esque sounds. ‘Bandu Bandu’ is another goodie, that ventures deeper into the realms of futurism, with its serious and contemplative tones layered over intricate textures, offering a profound listening experience.
Steve Moore – Eye of Horus [LIES209]
Synth wizard, soundtrack composer, and Zombi member, Steve Moore expands further on his stark and drama filled cosmic sound with a new six track lp. These tracks call to mind to his early-L.I.E.S. releases, where Moore focused on cold arppegations and basic beat constructions to fuel his epic productions which center around pristine soaring synthscapes. A master of the genre, Moore gives us an equal mix of explosive, creepy home at the end of a dark street floor fodder as well as slower tempo cosmic headcrushers, all capable of getting your head or niteclub in a frenzy.
Jamal Moss – It Is My Fault, My Fault Alone [LOVE133]
Modern Love’s 7” series returns with a 45 special from Chicago’s Sun God, delivering a pair of chrome-burn acid jak and cosmic house tear-outs fired to spangle the dance. Screwed, exceptional music for the club.
Redray & Satoshi Yamamura @ Lentekabinet 2024
Charmaine @ Lentekabinet 2024
Torai – Rapture EP [LOP17]
Nullptr – Distant Signals [FAN018]
Four dreamy exoplanetary electro cuts from Nullptr. With a melancholic orbit, the mood of this EP is wistful and lachrymose, as if the sonar-HUD on our spaceship’s cockpit is over-bleeping at rapidfire; we’ve flown too close to the celestial object we sought, and have nothing left to do but bask in the bittersweet antagonism of space-faring victory and revelatory disappointment. ‘Exolon’ portrays some leftover remnant of trekkers’ curiosity, suggesting we’re still driven – motivated – on our quest to grasp said strange attractor. Yet ‘Sytasol’ moves sadder, locking in a grooved stasis through a mixture of fidgeting melodic acid and clappage. ‘Alpha Grid’ and ‘Gekko7’ hear spirits revive for a no less dreamy revolution about the sun.
Acidulant – Sonic Expansion [GTD024]
The talents of Malta’s Neil Hales are on full display for this EP. This four-tracker showcases the different sides of Acidulant sound, with the A side ripper FunKT10n kicking things off with a heads-down party starter filled with acid stabs, before giving way to QuantumX, which is deeper but no less dancefloor in its intent, with an insistent bubbling bassline and dreamy keys. The B side brings out Acidulant’s melodic side, with the EP’s title track Sonic Expansion including possibly the most infectious 303 earworm you’ll have heard for some time, while Terrformatika rounds things off with a spaced-out acid machine jam.
VA – Ranges 10 Years LP [RANGES016]
Deep dubby techno on Ranges, who are celebrating their 10-year anniversary with this lovely compilation album. It features tracks by JS Zeiter, Merv., Federsen, Gradient, Submoon, Ohm & El Choop, Tm Shuffle and Ixm.
Atomic Moog – Biophile EP [APPIAN018]
French pair Atomic Moog are well versed in crafting effective club cuts with plenty of personality having done so on the likes of Lowless, Monument and Delsin. Now they land on the Appian Sounds label with some well crafted, warm and heady sounds laden with synth texture but of course with some hearty and heavy dub at their foundation. These are cuts for cultured floors and small back rooms that will surely prove to have timeless appeal. The brain fizzing pads and spangled rhythms of ‘Phased People’ make it our fave cut here.
Florian Kupfer – Way Home
Florian Kupfer presents a new Ambient mini LP caller Way Home. Kupfer says “Piercing thru the ever more present turmoil and dissonances in our daily life i am trying to find refuge in these sounds. This release offers a refined auditory experience, perfect for deep introspection and reflection.”
All proceeds from this mini LP will support Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah’s Children’s fund. The purpose of this Fund is to treat injured children, rebuild the destroyed medical infrastructure, and establish a sponsorship program for 20,000+ orphans from the conflict.
Ortrotasce – Dispatches From Solitude LP [DE324]
Ortrotasce comes to Dark Entries with Dispatches from Solitude, their latest LP. For over a decade, Nic Hamersly has been using the Ortotrasce (pronounced: or-tro-task) moniker to unleash brooding-yet-propulsive darkwave anthems upon the world. Hamersly’s work explores the intersection between industrial and synth pop, drawing a line from the sounds of the past to the present. Recorded during the Covid and post-Covid era, Dispatches from Solitude brings 8 tracks of tightly wrought synth-pop exploring grief, romance, and our strange world – which just keeps getting stranger.
RA.940 Man Power
Gene Hughes aka Bluemoon Productions – Track Show (Volume Two) [HM032]
HOTMIX RECORDS re-issues Bluemoon Productions aka Gene Hughes “Track Show (Volume Two)”. Formerly released on Code Blue Records in 1990.
Tom Carruthers – Cold World [RM001]
Risk Management Productions is new sub-label of L.I.E.S. Records, dedicated to preserve the integrity of dance music. The first release is a killer by Tom Carruthers with a four slamming old school Chicago style floor burner.
Poladroïd – Danse Macabre EP [mmd004]
Meta Moto presents the latest offering of Poladroïd. Drenched in dense, filtered atmospheres and infused with nostalgic echoes of a bygone era, ‘Danse Macabre’ exudes a dark and gritty ambiance, straddling the realms of retro-futurism and melancholic machine melodies. Drawing inspiration from a spectrum as wide as Holderlin’s ‘Hyperion’ and the poetic works of Robert Brasillach and Charles Baudelaire, ‘Danse Macabre’ showcases Poladroïd’s versatility in crafting diverse sonic landscapes while maintaining a signature sound.
Harlem Electronics – Cagey [MRG017]
Marguerite Records welcomes Northern Europe’s machine funk masters, Harlem Electronics, as the 17th label output. ‘Cagey’ is a punchy cocktail of sly bass hooks, raw machine grooves, and found sounds, all tied together by vocals that shape-shift from staccato statements to haunted murmurs and back again. Featuring six tracks including a remix by Colombian producer Filmmaker.
The Hipodrome Of Music 