Taken from the Clone Records Sonic Transmutations compilation the trippy ”Darkheart Energy” by Orlando Voorn in his Frequency guise comes in the original instrumental and 3 remixes from Marcal, the Lady Machine and Lenson. Three different heavyweight techno bunker interpretations, all worthy of the Repetitive Rhythm stamp.
Danish imprint Inherent Futurism returns with its second release in 2024, entitled ‘Merger’ and made up of a selection of cuts from the Copenhagen Electro Alliance. Inherent Futurism is the new label launched by Morten Kamper, an intrinsic member of the Copenhagen electronic music scene and the man behind the city’s 313vinyl_collective record store. Here he brings things closer to home and revisits an array of select compositions from the Copenhagen Electro Alliance, compiled together to make up the aptly titled ‘Merger’. The package is made up of twelve tracks across two twelve-inch vinyl from artists in the alliance, Nixxon, Brain Enterprise, Deimos Defender and Kruzh’em. As the name of the Copenhagen Electro Alliance collective would suggest, the aesthetic leans heavily towards experimental sounds and draws influence from the soul of Detroit electro, which paved the way for the future of the genre. The twelve-track collection explores all of the classic Electro tropes from punchy and crunch 808s, intricately intertwined synthesizer melodies, murky bass lines and dynamically unfolding, heavily modulated constructions, some leaning towards dance floor friendly while others lay more in the realm of sonic exploration of futuristic music.
The Spy returns with a set of devastating anthems built for floor deterioration. Watch your spine or risk relapse.
The 28th split of the series exudes a sweet perfume of raw energy and sweaty bodies banging in a feverished cellar. On the A-side, Switzerland-based duo Bound by Endogamy, coming from the punk scene, delivers three industrial-synth-rave-hardcore bombs that will definitely destroy your brain. On the B-side, italian producer Antonio Barbetta aka Raw Ambassador delivers two strong dark electroid cuts designed to heat up dancefloors around the globe.
L.F.T. lands on Pinkman with a 6-tracker aimed squarely at the dancefloor. Tough drums and raw basslines are the wire frames around which spectral vocals and percussive quirks breathe and coil. Bridging the gap between Dutch electro heritage and horror-movie soundtracks without sacrificing dancefloor functionality, Electric Vampire presents a synthetic super-highway in which the only thing more pervasive than the bright lights is the solid concrete underfoot. Daring excursions in dance music from an artist stepping out on his own, and relentlessly stalking the night.
Malka Tuti presents the solo debut EP by Andrei Rusu, one half of Khidja. Ahead of a full LP planned on MT for later this year, Rusu is presenting us with 2 fresh new tracks. The A-side is a 120bpm dirty and distorted super- trippy banger for the biggest floors and the darkest rooms. On the B-side Rusu collaborates with an artist known to the followers of the label – Decha, who contributes her signature expressive vocals on this half time industrial dub track. This time however, the vocals run through the hands of Rusu who soaks them with distortion and even more punk attitude. Comes with proper tripped out remixes from Philipp Otterbach and Black Merlin.
In 1994, UK ambient pioneers O Yuki Conjugate recorded their landmark Equator album. To mark the 30th anniversary of this musical milestone, many of the same personnel – Roger Horberry (co-founder of O Yuki Conjugate), Dan Mudford (ex-Sons of Silence and co-creator of the Shaun of the Dead soundtrack), Joe Lamb (ex-Sons of Silence) and Malcolm McGeorge – came together to make New Meridian, reflecting the range of influences they’ve picked up over the intervening years. Generously described as “almost like normal music”, the eight tracks of New Meridian feature instrumentation ranging from classic analogue to actual wooden logs. The result takes you on a rain-drenched, open-top ride from Electronica Avenue to the drone caverns of Uranus, with various Fourth World ambi-dub diversions along the way.
Viernulvier Records presents its new LP release ‘Quadric Surfaces’ by iconic electronic producer Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal R Moss. It collects the soundtracks Moss wrote for ‘Parallel Spheres’ & ‘Figures in Mynd’, two parts of an abstract animation film by visual artist Gabriela González Rondon. The film premiered in October 2023 during Videodroom / Film Festival Ghent.
Munich label Ilian Tape has another entry in its fine ITX Series here called ‘Biospore Farmers’ from Fields of Mist, describing it as “Sunrise Beams Through Orbital Mist.” In less abstract terms, it is a gorgeously hazy and lo-fi electro-exploration. The first two cuts are slow, doleful and reflective with grainy pads and deep space ambiance swirling around nice rough-edged broken beats. The B-side picks up the pace with the brilliantly kinetic bounce of ‘Astral Projection Spores’ and then the skittish and celestial trip that is ‘Orbital Mist’.
Sahrawi singer-songwriter activist Aziza Brahim’s fifth album Mawja (Wave in Hassaniya Arabic) is fashioned from a simple but powerful foundational palette: Saharan and Iberian percussion entwining with stately guitars and warm, enveloping bass. The album is co-produced by Brahim with long-time collaborator Guillem Aguilar.
The Debut Album “Latin Freaks” by Funkool Orchestra is finally out. Get ready for another dose of Neapolitan Funky Disco Boogie madness with a Latin touch. The Long Playing is a mixture of Rare Grooves, Napoli Sound, Disco Boogie, Latin Soul and Boogaloo, ideal for a trip to Nueva York and back to Naples just to say hello to your Puertorican uncle Manolito “Gennaro” Marròn.
Island style electronic dub from the Mad Professor. Originally released in 1985 on the same Ariwa imprint. True D.I.Y. business from this UK dub pioneer.
This Dutch music project was created in the late 1980s by two graphic designers, Edwin Van Der Laag and Huib Shippers, who were in love with electronic music. Their debut album is divided into two parts, the first with Edwin’s music and the second with Huib’s. Obviously Van Der Laag’s songs are inspired by Laserdance, for which Van Der Laag also designed album covers, however Shippers’ part is slightly different, less aggressive, trance-inducing. This is the first part of the album and is the first vinyl reissue of this album since its first appearance.
In addition to Eluard’s LP ‘Dirty Hall’ Slow Motion Label head, Fabrizio Mammarella and Napoli-based Altieri bring their revered sounds to remixes of ‘Comic Bad’ and ‘Phonemes’.
Another name-your-price disco edit from the Australian master Hysteric on his bandcamp page.
Klasse Wrecks continues its expedition through the wilderness of early 2024 with with a unique 4 tracker from Bufo Bufo. Distilling all styles and influences into one record, ‘Beelzebufo’ sees the producer capture rare species of electro, breakbeat and mangled rave together…resulting in a supernatural sonic hybrid. Play with caution…the sounds you hear maybe devastating to your ear.
Steve Bug reunites with frequent collaborator Cle for the three-track ‘It Just Happened EP’ on Nu Groove. ”It Just Happened” features breathy synths and acidic loops that harken back to an era of underground house, immediately nostalgic yet forward thinking in its technique.
The second part of Boo Williams’ double release on Sushitech’s sub label Pariter, ‘Day Rise’, is definitely more upbeat of the two but it’s a subtle distinction – it’s certainly not full of 4AM bangers designed to keep you awake until the busses start running again. ‘Talley Up’ is a very straight forward affair, circling around a two note synth riff and gradually building percussion. ‘The Take Over’ is similarly spritely, another builder with crashing cymbals, jazzy chords and drum machine tumbles steadily building an insurmountable wall of funkiness. Breezy, bumping closer ‘Teleport’ completes the set, meaning three ultra-handy, raw but sophisticated tunes that house and techno DJs alike will find slipping into their sets with a natural ease.
Chicago second generation house hero Boo Williams joining the roster with a two-part release for Sushitech’s sub label Pariter. The first part, ‘Night Fall’, features three tracks, all of which fit the mold of early evening classics. ‘Acid Matrix’ has an early Detroit feel to its raw machine handclap snares and panther-like, stalking bassline, while ‘Deep Tech’ might be geographically closer to late 80s, early 90s Yorkshire, a compulsive funkiness emerging from its bleepcentric soundscape. ‘Service Chamber’ is sleeker and more mellow, telephone dial tones spiralling off into the ether while tinkling, xylophone-sounded keys play hypnotically. Choice, quality material that will help any DJ to subtly pick the pace up as the sun falls.
The Hipodrome Of Music 