Launched in late 2017, The Melting Point concept sees label founder Bloody Mary invite a selection of her favourite and most respected producers to offer up an exclusive cut that represents their own take on the acid sound. Dame-Music now presents Volume 4 of the V/A acid series, as she welcomes four new guests including Fear-E, dyLAB, Freddy Fresh and UMWELT to share the record with her this December, to mark the imprint’s 46th release.
J. Mono twists our sense of time again, coming up with the third installment of his ‘Redate’ series: an elegant selection of uncut tracks, roaming in the fields of electro, acid, IDM and EBM. Redate III in its digital format presents tracks that were written and recorded between 2014 and 2015. As the cassette version, it includes not only Redate III (as side A), but a collection of J. Mono’s various other tracks created between 2017 and 2021, that appeared beforehand on various compilation albums (as side B). In other words, with this fresh new tape you’re all set with 8 years of J. Mono experience.
Distrito 91 presents the first installment of its Various Artists compilation series; ‘Our Own Algorithm’ VOL.1. Four tracks from Sound Synthesis, Dark Vektor, TR 9009 and UHF.
Eight years after Cuthead’s “Give’n’Take”, it’s Sneaker’s turn to put together four of his favorite tracks for Uncanny Valley’s compilation series. Besides L.B. BaD’s wonderful “Late In The Evening (Music’s Seeping Thru)” you’ll get three absolute bangers on top. The Optimistic Misanthropes are Mystic Bill, VeXaTioN and Sneaker himself. One of the most influential Chicago House DJs, true to the underground for over three decades now, and once part of the Trax Records roster… Mystic Bill. VeXaTioN already got to know him back in the days but is currently hailing from Mexico City. His track was born in Los Angeles and remixed by Sneaker in Berlin. Also, Left Unknown’s “Maedchen” got the jacking Midas touch from Sneaker, a touch you’ve come to recognize. Behind the one-off project is Saxonian Gnista aka DJ Detox and somebody who wants to remain incognito. Jacob Korn however is well-known since the early days of Uncanny Valley and is above all Sneaker’s best buddy at TailOut Studio, Dresden.
The second release of Flight Mode has landed with four artists from four different countries. On the A-side, Dawl delivers ‘Microbe’, a sleek acid slow burning that truly stalks the listener, before Kiddmisha ups the speed and the eerie moodiness with ‘Anxiety’. Acid Charlie’s ‘Por La Paz’ has the most old school favour of the quartet – even before sirens hit – underpinned by a thunderous drum machine. Then the mysterious producer SPAC closes the single with more cunningly employed acid shenanigans.
German DJ Helena Hauff and ‘Return to Disorder’ label owner was the first female to be named BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix of the year in 2017. Helena’s focus has always been on productions and DJing making her characteristic gnashing electro, acidic techno and chugging EBM tunes and sets her focus ahead of the limelight and fame that so many court. Hauff’s background comes from fine art, maths, physics and acoustics meaning her creative flair is perfectly expressed through the coaxing of weighty club sounds from her machines. With ‘Living With Ladybirds’ Hauff lays down four EBM-infused tracks recorded in her method of using strictly analogue equipment. There’s the eccentric electro of ‘Jonas’, the travelling melody behind ‘Your Turn To Fly’, the stripped down pulsing techno of ‘Touching Plastic’ and the rich rolling acid techno of ‘Pinch’.
Lubree revisits the original motif of Hypress with luminous calculation, launching a series of new releases in the near future. Thus, the first release features electro ballads dipped in gentle rawness along with disco bangers and EBM-styled acid house. The original tracks are produced by “Volta Cab” and the remixes by Rotterdam’s DJ Overdose and Venezuelan-born and Barcelona-based DJ/producer Cardopusher.
The next Undersound chapter is curated by Israeli artist Gal Perez under his PRZ moniker. While the producer has been known for his rougher outings, here he delights us with a mix of italo-inspired 4/4 jams and electro and break tracks composed in his hardware-laden studio.
SOUR’s analog gear takes control on this dancefloor-oriented release. An indispensable collection of stripped and highly effective acid techno tracks, bundled into one massive double LP release.
Following up on last year’s first EP by Chris Mitchell, Feral Colony continues to bring grimey cuts. 5 tracks of gutter realness for adventurous DJs only.
Underground hero Bill Converse returns to Dark Entries with Take Parts, perhaps his most muscular and floor-focused work to date. Converse has honed his analog craft since the early days of the Midwest rave scene, absorbing lessons from luminaries like Claude Young and Traxx. His skill as a producer has been established with releases on labels such as Dark Entries, Fit Sound, and Obsolete Futures, and his prowess as a DJ has been witnessed on floors the world over. On Take Parts, Converse peels away the layers of acidic gauze that have characterized much of his work, revealing his sharp grasp of dancefloor dynamics and DJ functionality. While the 808’s, 909’s, and 303’s are on full display, Converse does not indulge in retro-fetishism; he channels the future forward impulse of the originary rave ethos.
LA-based Ole Mic Odd makes a return to Source Material for second dose of booty acid beauty. The four tracks here have heaps of gnarly acid attitude and speed-wise are set to maximum twerk. All highly likely to keep your 3AM crowd rooted to the spot and away from any thoughts of heading off for the night bus or taxi rank, sure, but there’s another layer to this release beyond such functionalities.
PHXS24 is coming from Irish producer Erik Eviston. The release named Sickness is a mix of raw contemporary uncoversional industrial, EBM and Chicago acid house unleashing blasts of noise, expressing the sound beyond merely jacking your body.
The Hipodrome Of Music 