Axis Records present the 8th chapter of Jeff Mills Sleeper Wakes series. After the previous release of the exotic expedition to The Jungle Planet, his continuing science fiction story makes a significant turn to a Parallel Universe.
album
SHXCXCHCXSH – Linear S Decoded [AVNLP002]
Rich sounding dark techno from this swedisch duo delivering their second album. Despite their impenetrable name and previous releases, SHXCXCHCXSH’s second album is strangely accessible. It seems that the Swedish duo has learnt the value of subtlety, but without losing their edge. From the eerie ambience of “Entering The S-Cloud” through the distorted, noisy electro of “Elo-cution”, the atmospheric techno sounds of “The Roots” and the snapping percussion and repetitive machine riffs of “Drain the Lord”, Linear S Decoded is one of 2014’s best techno albums.
Plant43 – Scars Of Intransigence [SHIPLP002]
Plant43 is releasing his next album, Scars Of Intransigence, on Shipwrec. He has a strong artistic vision and that plays out in this carefully crafted album, which has been written as a coherent story that unfolds from start-to-finish. Rather than being purely a collection of DJ tools, Scars Of Intransigence has also been made with the home listening experience in mind so that the album works in both contexts equally well.
Lab 80 – 7 Class A Songs [TAT011]
Originally to be released in 1985. Finally released in 2014. Straight from Das Dang on his excellent cassette series. Handmade covers and cassette labels, these are very limited edition items.
Guyer’s Connection – Portrait [MW056]
Minimal Wave presents a reissue of the seminal first album from Swiss Wavers, Guyer’s Connection. Tibor Csébits and Philippe Alioth formed Guyer’‘s Connection in Basel, Switzerland when they were only 14 and 15 years old. At the time they were in a new wave rock band called “Kurtzschluss” which they decided to break from in order to make purely electronic music. They began with two synthesizers, a drum machine, a 4-track tape recorder and a multitude of ideas. They channeled their unique and humorous vision into their first album, entitled Portrait which they produced themselves and self-released in 1983. Over the years, the album became a highly sought after minimal synth cult classic. It stands alone as one of the strongest examples of Swiss Minimal Wave, and probably the only one that is in Baseldytsch.
IKO – ’83 [MR038]
Medical Records is beyond elated to finally present to the world the first official reintroduction and reissue of the iconic IKO “83” LP. This coveted album by minimal synth aficionados around the globe has been out of print and very rare since it’s original release in 1982. Hailing from Montreal, Canada, IKO has always been shrouded in mystery. All 3 members come from an academic background (electroacoustic composition, etc), and they met at the University of Montreal in the music department. Taking from their collective influences of 60’s pop, prog and minimalist composers as well as early industrial, they played in a few early bands before solidifying the all-synth incarnation of IKO in it’s definitive lineup. The LP was originally released on Manhattan Formula.
Dar Embarks – Fleer [STILOVE4MUSIC043]
Hailing from Chicago’s South Side, the duo Dar Embarks lives in a world of underground techno and machines. Their debut album ‘Fleer’, was recorded live on hardwares, no keys were played, just the pressing of buttons and turning of knobs. Gathering its inspiration from records on the shelf, sci fi and comics, Dar Embarks remains steadfast in technotic efforts to interpret the future…our future.
Cuthead – Total Sellout [UVLP002]
Cuthead got known to the wider public via his releases on Uncanny Valley but his roots reach way back before the label’s start. There was a time when Cuthead and his brothers from another mother threw wild parties at abandoned industrial locations or in the woods around Dresden. The crew, which was known as Kunst:stoff Breakz, also established a label where Cuthead released two albums and one EP as free downloads between 2006 and 2010. Over the years the calls for vinyl versions of those early joints were getting louder and so Uncanny Valley decided to give the best tracks from that era a new life on physical sound carriers and start the ”Total Sellout”. Through refinement and rearrangement 51 tracks were boiled down to a selection of 18 and ended up as an album full of catchy bass lines, heavy beats and sampling excesses. Among the tracks are party starters like the strings-infiltrated ”Scissorhands”, ”The Poncho” or the ever devastating ”Iron Lung” which still kicks like Dubstep has never faded. Since Cuthead has always been heavily influenced by Rap music, there are of course lots of great Hip Hop beats on ”Total Sellout”. Either in the form of funky sample studies like ”Painquilizer” and ”VibraSkit” or in true fashion with Raps by crew member Alibi on ”Hidden Track”. Also included on the album are ”Rock My Soul” and ”All Night Long”, some early examples of Cuthead’s knack for well tempered and super catchy House tracks, while the double-bass driven ”Rythmus ’78” shows another jazzy side of him. Once again, the artwork was conceived and designed by Till Hohmann who already did a brilliant job on last year’s ”Everlasting Sunday”.
Hieroglyphic Being & The Configurative Or Modular Me Trio – The Seer Of Cosmic Visions [ZIQ349]
Crazy etherial collection of some previously released and some unreleased tracks presented in album form. The album is hugely varied within it’s basic drum machine and synths template; from the psychedelic blowout ‘The Seer Of Cosmic Visions’ and the distorted, ruptured crunch of ‘How Wet Is Ur Box’, to more delicate meditations like ‘Space Is The Place’ or ‘Letters From The Edge’. From the the shimmering rhythmic noise of ‘A Genre Sonique’ to the the woozy tribal funk of ‘134340 Pluto’ or the rough darting strings of the off-kilter ‘Calling Planet Earth’ and finishing on the relaxing gaseous drones of ‘Strange Signs In The Sky’, the album never fails to transport the listener to another state of mind.
Hesperius Draco – Cathar Rhytms LP [FRV016]
Few newcomers have created that stir that Italy’s Alessandro Parisi has caused. Following releases on Lux Rec, Minimal Rome and Flight Recorder this young producer has captivated audiences with his textured electronics and vivid soundscapes. It is to this bright talent that Frigio Records have turned to proudly introduce the label’s first full vinyl full length: Cathar Rhythms. Soundtracks have always been a focal point for Parisi, a core of his inspiration. This love of the analogue movie score permeates the six track album, fortified with a new toughened rhythmic edge.
Violet Poison – Force [HAR004]
Violet Poison is the dark, enigmatic and esoteric side-project of Francesco Baudazzi, already known as Obtane, co-owner with Giorgio Gigli of the defunct techno label Zooloft. The new project is focused on analogue proto-techno with influences from 70’s Italian progressive bands like Goblin or OST composers like Fabio Frizzi and earlier Downwards records from 1994-1995.
Herva – Instant Broadcast [DSR/E4]
Returning to Delsin after 2013’s What I Feel EP, Italian producer Herva aka Herve Atse Corti is now serving up a double EP offering, Instant Broadcast. Instant Broadcast, the 12 tracks to be released on 2 x vinyl, proves that in spades, combing as it does intricate electronic stylings with an off kilter sampling style, organic instrumentals and plenty of rough hewn charm. The album kicks off with ‘And The Crunch Goes On’, a fractured, sample heavy track with sensuous piano notes floating above barrelling techno drums. It evolves through many different forms across its 6-minute duration and from there the kaleidoscopic journey really begins. ‘Slam The Laptop’ is deep and lo fi techno, ‘Pitch Business’ is glistening IDM and ’01 (Edit)’ is scuzzy dystopian ambiance of the sort LIES has become famous for. Elsewhere there is blissful and heavenly ambiance, sketchy sound collages that put dusty old soul vocals next to trilling melodies and pounding broken beat that is awash with spring like rays of sunshine. Sometimes dark, sometimes beautiful, but always unpredictable, Instant Broadcast is a refreshingly original, sketchy album that shuns the usual Chicago and Detroit reference points and instead conjures up a truly idiosyncratic style that puts Herva in a class of his own.
Radio-Logg – Sports/Tools [WEME313.17]
Stian Gjevik (EOD,CN), passionate and curious about electronic music, found in a Trondheim thrift store a tape of the norwegian legendary project : the educational music “Sports/Tools”. He contacted one of the two composers called Dildrian Schrodinger. He has managed to negociate with him a deal for a vinyl license with WeMe records. We can find in this project ordered by the norwegian state all an experimentation work with electronic machines from the 1980’s. It is sometimes accompanied by a clumsy singing quite modern at that time.
Marko Furstenberg – Ghosts From The Past [ORN032LP]
Remarkably, it’s been 11 years since Leipzig-based minimal techno producer Marko Furstenberg released his debut album, Gesamtlaufzeit. While he’s been pottering away releasing singles ever since, Ghosts from the Past marks a welcome return to the full-length format. Like its’ predecessor, it delivers a range of smooth, warm, hypnotic and dub-influenced techno missives, high on tactile textures and low on crusty textures. The result is a set rippling with intoxicating grooves, soft-focus rhythms, fluttering chords and woozy late night electronics. Wisely, Furstenberg inserts a number of sublime downtempo interludes to break up the flow a little, with the beautiful “Piano” standing out.
Massimiliano Pagliara – With One Another [PLAYRJC032]
Massimiliano Pagliara’s second album on Live At Robert Johnson. This second full-length, ‘With One Another’, is mostly made up of collaborations with locally based producers. Norwegian exile Telephones lends a hand on the deliciously Balearic “Long Distance Call”, with one-time NYC resident Lee Douglas recalling his TBD work with Justin Vandervolgen on the murky acid assault that is “Fall Again”. Elsewhere, you’ll find a range of moods, ranging from the enveloping power house of “Native Tribes of Jupiter” (a hook-up with Credit 00), to the dreamy synth-pop of “With One Another”.
Kirlian Camera – Uno LP [DE073]
Dark Entries is proud to release Uno, a collection of early recordings from seminal Italian electronic act Kirlian Camera. Keyboardist/vocalist Angelo Bergamini founded the project in Parma in 1979, initially naming it Suicide Commando, before discovering another project using the same name. By 1980, Angelo had recruited singer Simona Buja, keyboardist Fabrizio Chiari and bassist Mauro Montacchini. Their demo cassette, Dawn, attracted the attention of Italian Records, a popular independent label. The following year, Mauro left the band and was replaced by Giorgio Vecchi, and the band recorded their first mini-LP, Kirlian Camera. Uno compiles the 4 songs from the mini-LP on Side A and the 6 songs from the demo cassette on Side B. Also included is the bonus track Minitech, originally released in 1981 on flexi-disc. Kirlian Cameras clean, minimalist new wave is marked by strong haunting melodies, slow moving synth washes, and stark, dramatic vocals.
Kazanchis + 1 – Dinkenesh [MG105]
Trio Kazanchis got together by coincidence in 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s musical hotspot while playing Jam Sessions in Melaku Belay’s Club Fendika and Mulatu Astatke’s own African- Jazz Club before touring Europe most underground venues and related festivals. The original line-up is Jeroen Visser (NL, Baritonsax & FarfisaOrgan), Mesele Asmamaw (ETH, Krar & Vox) and Fabien Duscombs (F, Drums). Endris Hassen (ETH, masinqo) joined the group in 2013 (he’s the +1). Kazanchis +1 plays songs with an Ethiopian origin, either modern or traditional, and an European 80’s touch combined with free energetic improvisation using highly-developed Ethiopian pentatonic scales for slow trance-like to up-tempo energetic moods. The band’s choice of instruments showed itself on European stages as very elastic, nicely melting together, as well as a challenging combination, all in all successful. Mesele Asmamaw, described as the Jimi Hendricks on his instrument the electric Krar (the 6-string Ethiopian Lyre), has become known as innovator & virtuose of his instrument in Ethiopia. Fabien Duscombs, the quicksilver drummer from Toulouse lays down the perfect grid for Mesele to play his syncopating accents. Jeroen Visser glues them two tightly together providing bass and chords with his Farfisa Organ/Synth, or challenges with his baritone sax. Since summer 2013 the amazing Masinqo-player (one stringed violin) Endris Hassen has become full member of the group, completing the sound and surprisingly even reinforcing the Trio-Feel.
Paul Zaza – Le Payback [MRW001]
Sought-after cosmic jazz funk album from 1977. Plastic disco in the style of Jean-Pierre Massiera! Check the title track “Le Payback”, a French sleazy disco rework of the James Brown classic.
Banda Black Rio – Maria Fumaça [331651]
Banda Black Rio is a Brazilian musical group from Rio de Janeiro that was formed in 1976. It has a repertoire based on funk but also including samba, jazz and Brazilian rhythms. Banda Black Rio developed a particular style of instrumental soul music fusing together elements from a number of genres. This is the official reissue of the instrumental album Maria Fumaça from 1977.
