acid house
Mantra – The Abyss EP [PFS011]
Mantra makes an entry to Finnish ProForm Series with his raw and uncompromised four track acid EP called ‘The Abyss’. Craig Stainton delivers four tracks of jackin’ pure acid techno madness in the veins of true underground. Starting with ‘Next Culture’ is a good introduction to pumping beats and a moaning 303 while ‘Beat Methods’ takes a rougher and tougher angle to acid. Just imagine yourself in a warehouse party in the morning jammin’ to some acid. On the B-side ‘The Abyss’ leads us to the deep end of the 303 or even to the bottom of the acid sea. ‘Singularity’ ends this package with great 303 lines definitely burning up the house.
Roger Van Lunteren – Rosa Dos Ventos [SOHASO017]
Dutch-born German-raised Roger van Lunteren makes his debut on SoHaSo. Rosa Dos Ventos EP is a four-track story that oozes retro vibes and nostalgia for a past that never seems to have existed. Utilizing raw 80’s analog synths and humanoid acid lines he sets atmospheres that remind of Lynchian dreamscapes. It comes with a remix from Aroy Dee.
Too Smooth Christ – With You In Mind [SGR006]
The French producer Too Smooth Christ returns to Supergenius Records and widens his singular approach to introspective dance music to new musical horizons. ‘Infinite Fall DMZ’ is a slow house jam built around a hypnotic and endless FM pattern and a strong chorus bass, emphasized by a myriad of shiny bittersweet 101 sparks. ‘PHEQS125’, originally made for TSC current live act, triggered such keen reactions in clubs that we decided to cut it down. It’s an acidish banger, elaborated around a 303 pattern, a rave detuned bassline and a b-more breakbeat, tickled by synthetic voices. With its rainforest chords and melodies and its muffled breakbeat, the eponymous track ‘With You In mind’ is a love declaration between balearic house and old-school Jungle / IDM. ‘Etoile’ closes the EP with its UK bass vibe, a combination of tribal drum patterns and a grime beat and narrative bassline which will attract you in some mysterious caverns where the magic monsters hide.
Low Tape – Walking The Streets [OP008]
Of Paradise join forces with rising Russian talent, Low Tape, for an EP of deftly crafted and explorative house & electro. Comprising of four slices of soaring electronic music that collectively showcase a new and hybrid sound.
Bill Converse – Converse EP [FIT-020]
Acidic powerhouse Bill Converse makes his debut on Fit Sound. His sound is a refreshing perspective informed by the midwest warehouse parties of which he was schooled mutated into his own blend. Treading the line between melody and brutality, while never being heavy handed, Converse has proved himself once again to be a true original lurking in the underground today.
Jerome Hill – WOD004 [WOD004]
Jerome Hill with his stomping acid monster Mole Hole Acid plus an insane remix from Auto Sound City land on the fourth release from Weapons Of Desire.
Stellar Om Source – Burning / Dirty [INZA1307]
Annette – Dream 17 [MC019]
Mint Condition is a reissue label focused on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. Unreleased mixes, classics and overlooked gems mined from the last 20+ of contemporary dance music are the order of the day. 1988, the second ‘summer of love’, the UK is in the grip of acid house fever, warehouses, sports halls, basements and nightclubs are reverberating to the new dance sounds emanating from Chicago and Detroit. Annette was built around vocalist Annette Dos Reis and it this was a veritable all-star group featuring Mike Pickering, A guy called Gerald, Simon Topping and Ritchie Close. ‘Dream 17’ was the group’s first outing on the newly minted DeConstruction label in 1988. Obviously it made perfect sense to draft in Detroit’s Derrick May to craft a stellar remix.
Sharif Laffrey – Tangier b/w Everything Is Nice [ESP079]
Sharif Laffrey can charm the snake out of any basket. This is his first offering for the ESP Institute. Side A’s Tangier is a long drawn-out exercise, an endurance test of the highest order. Over the span of some thirteen minutes, elements bob and weave intermittently and layers overlap haphazardly—the type of exciting dynamic that’s born out of restriction—as if putting down a live jam without enough hands to work the console, yet Sharif perseveres. As touch and go as this arrangement may be, there is something that undoubtedly glues it all in place; the combination of his massive rolling 16th-note bassline and his tough-as-nails drumkit is so good that, upon first listen, we spat out our tea and insisted on its release. On side B, Everything Is Nice carries on with loose arrangement, dirty production and layers of inexplicable spoken- word samples (a Sharif calling card by now) but this time we’re lead to a melancholy place, the blue comedown to Side A’s antagonistic trial. With his ESP Institute debut, Sharif leaves you mentally unhinged, as if you’ve smoked something interesting and arrived bewildered in some Saharan labyrinth. These two songs will guide you through the medina to score the black meat.
ADSX with Hanoben – Phone Sex [DISCO15]
Two Berlin underdogs and a Detroit ravemaster. ADSX aka Andre Fischer might sound new to many but has been an active part of the underground electronic movement for the last 30 years. Benji DF aka Hanoben is no newbie to the scene either and might have soundtracked your night if you were to be found at clubs like Tresor or Snax in the late 90s. Together they recorded an ode to aural sex, its acid counterpart, and a genius sketch of a club banger. When label honcho Capablanca heard the latter had little doubts about commissioning an extended mix to Motor City’s Special Forces Gen. Sharif Laffrey delivers an unstoppable 12 minute dancefloor annihilator.
Quadratschulz – Not a Number [NN011]
Mark Forshaw – I Love Acid Nineteen [ILA019]
Liverpool based producer Mark Forshaw, aka Casio Royale and member of the Phantom Planet Outlaws, has built up a solid back catalogue of releases with the likes of Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, Computer Controlled, Mathematics, Unknown to the Unknown and more. He makes the transition from playing at I Love Acid’s parties to featuring on the label. Four more tracks of acid bassline music to jack to.
Lokier & The Machine – Lokier & The Machine [SPTS01]
Danny McLewin (Psychemagik) and Jamie Cruisey have a new label of original signed artists called SPIRITS. The first release is from Mexican hotness ‘Lokier’ of She Made Monster and ‘Jason Greer’ aka ‘The Machine’, one of the Californian undergrounds best kept secrets. They met in 2015 at a festival in London and after spending a few days together, became musically obsessed with each other. That summer, as Jason bounced around Europe, he stayed with Lokier in Barcelona for some weeks and after long night walks, some tapas and absinthe bars they came up with their first EP together.
Jordan Zawideh – Acid Series Vol. 3 [IT-40]
The Acid Series celebrates over 10 years of No Way Back, with music that directly references that experience. Jordan Zawideh’s music perfectly reflects his personal migration from Detroit to Chicago. It somehow combines the raw elegance of a Larry Heard demo (listen to the demos of ”A Path” or ”Acid Dreams” and cry) with Detroit Techno and an unconscious take on the sonic exploration of Drexciya, showcased in songs like ”Magellanic Cloud” and ”Trails of Sophia”. In Jordan’s sound, the raw power of the cassette era of Chicago House combines with a Detroit Acid Dream. Gay Marvine and BMG complete the package with two edits.
Casey Tucker – Alternative Faction [LVNO15]
Casey Tucker is up to bat once again for Love Notes from Brooklyn. This time, though, it’s a more complete three track artist EP on offer. The music, of course, encapsulates everything that’s great about Casey’s sound: the lush pads, the crispy percussion, the emotional strings, and the dance-floor destroying basslines. Alternative Faction utilizes one such dancefloor destroying bassline to create a real fist pumping moment in the title track; That Time of Year uses a wriggly acid synth line over the aforementioned emotional strings, and to great effect; and New Mission ends the EP in a unwavering fashion; with heartstring-tugging, terk jerking, emotional pads over an acid line in signature Casey Tucker fashion.
Reptant – Illusory [SALT008]
Reptant joins Salt Mines for their second record, Illusory. A tech-ed out step into the sewers of acid, break-beat & deep house.
DMX Krew – Traditions 07 [TRAD07]
Olivia – K-Hole Mixtape 06
The Hipodrome Of Music 