Hard Corps – Rarities [MW051LP]

November 5, 2013June 29, 2019 hipodromealbum, hard corps, minimal synth, minimal wave records, regine fetet, synth popLeave a comment

We are pleased to announce a strictly limited edition release of rare tracks by UK legends Hard Corps. Hard Corps were true innovators of the 1980s UK synthpop scene. Hard Corps gained some notoriety for their unique and uncompromising live shows throughout the 1980s. It was the juxtaposition between their hard edged industrial sound and the fragile and enigmatic vocals of French front woman Regine Fetet that created an unusual dichotomy, lending to their strength of character as a band and thus allowing them to stand out from the rest. By 1985 Hard Corps had signed with major label giants Polydor. This enabled the band to work with a couple of their favoured and respected producers, Martin Rushent (known mostly for his exceptional work with the Human League) and Depeche Mode producer and Mute Records supremo, Daniel Miller. These sessions provided the public with just one single due to the labels non-promotion, Je Suis Passée, a sweeping arrangement of breathtaking beauty, combining pumping sequences and sheer power of emotion of Regine’s voice. The band went on a major tour with The Cure in 1985 and Depeche Mode in 1988, before finally disintegrating. As a follow up to Clean Tables Have To Be Burnt (2012), Rarities compiles the outtakes and demos that were left behind. Tracks that truly never saw the light of day.

Shadowlust – Trust In Pain [LIES035]

November 4, 2013August 11, 2017 hipodrome51717, album, experimental, l.i.e.s., lili schulder, long island electrical systems, marquis cooper, shadowlust, shoegaze, svengalisghostLeave a comment

A collaborative effort between Marquis Cooper (Svengalisghost) and Lili Schulder (51717), this project was born in the winter of 2013. What can best be described as non-stop electronic erotic cabaret, the duo played a series of improvised performances which served as a structural backbone prior to the recording of this album. Finished in merely two weeks, this 8 song double LP acts as a complete listening experience, engrossed in the down beat primitive electronics of the past whilst pushing further into the self-created anti-beat world of today. Pulsing tones, off beat drums, melancholic vocals, and overall dark vibes characterize, but do not solely define what it is to truly trust in pain.

Five Times Of Dust – Smile With The Eyes [MW048]

November 4, 2013February 13, 2026 hipodromealbum, electro, five times of dust, krautrock, mark phillips, minimal wave records, robert lawrence, synth waveLeave a comment

Minimal Wave present Smile With The Eyes: a double LP of selections of unreleased material from the prolific outsider duo Five Times Of Dust. Formed in 1980 in Bristol, Mark Phillips (MAP) and Robert Lawrence came together with a shared passion for Krautrock, Industrial Electronics and the burgeoning DIY tape scene, as well as being influence by the Dadaist movement and the works of Burroughs and Ballard. Unconventional, quirky and at times melancholic and romantic, their music acted as the perfect escape from the urban decay of early 80s Bristol and Cardiff, the two cities they travelled between on weekends to record. Although unashamedly electronic, the sound of Five Time Of Dust is far harder to pin down, perhaps in part due to their location. Both Phillips and Lawrence produced music that owed little to any scene happening in London, Manchester or Sheffield at the time. As a result, the majority of their output are perfectly formed electronic curiosities. The material on Smile With The Eyes spans recordings Lawrence and Phillips made between 1982-1986. As a follow up to The Dadacomputer, their debut cassette release as a duo which we reissued earlier this year, Smile With The Eyes remains lo-fi but is musically more complex. The recordings are catchy, curious and emotionally rich. Whereas The Dadacomputer could be compared with the early output of Robert Rental, Smile With The Eyes is a collection of works that stands all on its own.

Charles Cohen – Music For Dance And Theater [DOSER021LP]

November 4, 2013August 8, 2019 hipodromealbum, charles cohen, experimental, minimal synth, morphine records, synth waveLeave a comment

Final part in the Charles Cohen trilogy on Morphine Records. Featuring various works made for Dance & Theatre productions between 1976 & 1988. Eleven tracks in total – lovingly spread over double LP and featuring some of the most beautiful material of the series. Another essential purchase.

Orlando Voorn – La Cliqa [VF003]

November 3, 2013September 29, 2020 hipodromealbum, cypher, hip-hop, mohs de rapper, monice, mr phillips, orlando voorn, psychonavigation, vital forceLeave a comment

VOORN, Orlando - Presents La Cliqa

Vital Force is proud to present the new album from the legendary producer Orlando Voorn. A hip hop fan since the 80’s, Orlando used his unique scratching skills to win the Dutch DMC DJ championship in 1986. It was clear he always had a true love for all things Hip-Hop. Orlando has also traveled the globe as a Techno DJ during which time he regularly hooked up with many talented MC’s. Voorn began to compile the music created in these sessions which started way back in 2000. The various collaborations resulted in the album La Cliqa. The album represents the best in fluid, clever lyricism and a production style which sounds fresh and contemporary while giving an unashamed nod to the hip-hop golden age of the early noughties. In his career which began almost three decades ago, Voorn has used many different aliases and produced an abundant amount of styles of music but it’s his Detroit Techno/House productions that have gained him the admiration of the electronic music scene. With the release of ‘La Cliqa’ Orlando hopes to introduce his sound to a whole new audience.

William Onyeabor – World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who is William Onyeabor [9900791]

November 3, 2013August 30, 2023 hipodromeafrican, afrobeat, album, disco, funk, luaka bop, outernational, william onyeaborLeave a comment

In the early 21st century, a shadowy figure rose from the dust that settled atop forgotten record collections throughout Africa, leaving behind a trail of clues in what seemed like a wild good chase, but in October 2013, Luaka Bop will unmask a phantom: the great William Onyeabor. 13 tracks from Nigerian electro-funk originator, a mystery man of epic proportions, and an elusive master of synth & good vibes.

Hieroglyphic Being – Seer Of Cosmic Visions [Free Album]

November 2, 2013November 2, 2013 hipodromealbum, chicago, free download, free tracks, hieroglyphic being, jamal moss, mathematics recordings, the wireLeave a comment

Hieroglyphic Being’s Seer Of Cosmic Visions album, of original jams and reworkings of previously released tracks, exclusive to The Wire.

Inspired by Sun Ra, Chicago based House experimentalist, noise maker and Afro-Futurist, Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal Moss has released an ever expanding cosmos of music since the 1990s. Operating under different monikers including Africans With Mainframes (with Noleian Reusse) and Insane Black Men (IBM), Moss started out selling cassettes of his music outside Chicago nightclubs, then started up his own label, Mathematics Recordings, and sub-labels Music From Mathematics and +++.

Even though Moss started out under the wing of first wave House producers Adonis and Steve Pointdexter, he’s consistently made work on the fringes of Chicago’s electronic music scene: “I never really set out to make sounds for the club or the DJ, I make them for all ears that will listen and maybe be inspired by it for positive purposes. Or hate on it for negative purposes. Either they make me better at what I do, or go out and make it how they think it should sound. Believe me, I got a lot of haters out there letting me know how it should be done, and I have a lot of lovers of what I do modify and apply my sound. It makes it to the dance by three degrees of separation regardless.”

download / listen

Crystal Maze – Enter the Maze LP [ADEPTH010]

November 1, 2013December 14, 2021 hipodromeadepth audio, album, crystal maze, g string, gijs poortman, house, marco antonio spaventi, technoLeave a comment

CRYSTAL MAZE - Enter The Maze

Formed of Italian producer Ma Spaventi and Dutchman G-String aka Gijs Poortman, whose releases for the likes of M>O>S and Echovolt have provided some of Holland’s most interesting deep techno output, Crystal Maze arrive on aDepth Audio with their debut album, Enter The Maze. With only two 12? releases to their name, a full album of Crsytal Maze material is an ambitious statement from the pair, but one that sees Spaventi and Poortman continue to develop the Crystal Maze sound which has been characterised a decidedly dark edged manipulation of analogue techno. Across ten tracks the duo display a wide variety of sounds and influences; “Slow Swirl” sounds like Drexciya taken down to a lumbering, mid-tempo groove, “Indian Tape” combines rubbery, ghetto house textures with swelling deep house chords, “Mirrors Chamber” comes across like the sub aquatic dub techno of Porter Ricks, while “Dr Claw” creates a low slung, warped vision of Detroit techno’s first wave. An ambitious album, yes – but one that more than succeeds.

Charles Cohen – The Middle Distance [DOSER019LP]

October 31, 2013August 8, 2019 hipodromealbum, charles cohen, experimental, minimal synth, morphine records, synth waveLeave a comment

Morphosis’ Morphine records boldly step into the archives of one of Philadelphia’s best kept underground secrets: synth composer, Charles Cohen. This excellent release beholds seven key tracks (recorded between 1979 & 1988) that go into uncharted polyrhythmic / ambient / cosmic territory. The label say ” First chapter in the trilogy of Charles Cohen retrospective works, featuring some of his early works from the Philadelphia’s “No Man’s Land” Art Installment, the “University Of Texas in El Paso” and “The Painted Bride” Art Center performances. This release also features the track, Dance Of The Spiritcatchers, which previously appeared on the Music From No Man’s Land EP by Ghostwriters, a split record with Jeff Cain, originally issued in 1980 on Zero Records.”

Leæther Strip – Teenage Demos LP [DE050]

October 31, 2013February 28, 2022 hipodromealbum, claus larsen, dark entries records, leæther strip, synth pop, synth waveLeave a comment

Dark Entries is celebrating its 50th release with Leæther Strip “Teenage Demos”. Leæther Strip is the solo-project of Danish electronic industrial artist Claus Larsen. “Teenage Demos” is a collection of Claus Larsen’s earliest recordings. Nine demo songs recorded between 1982 and 1986 never before released on vinyl. Influenced by Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode and Jean Michel Jarre, Claus began creating synth-pop melodies at age 14. Though the melodies were catchy and upbeat they had a hidden melancholy because Claus knew that he was different than others. “Dreaming” was his first attempt to “come out” to himself as a queer kid. Lyrically the songs reflected what was going on in his head: youth, hope and dreams. Claus used a simple set up: Moog Prodigy, Yamaha drum machine, delay pedal and spring reverb. He would record the bass and drums on a double cassette recorder, without midi, sequencers or preset sounds. By 1985, Claus composed instrumental songs as the final three tracks on this album illustrate. listen

KWC 92 – Dream Of The Walled City O.S.T. [LIES027]

October 27, 2013August 11, 2017 hipodromealbum, ambient, deep techno, kwc 92, l.i.e.s., long island electrical systems, max stenerudh, samo dj, samo forsbergLeave a comment

L.I.E.S. present a conceptual O.S.T. LP about Kowloon City, Hong Kong produced by Samo DJ and Max Stenerudh.

Maarten van der Vleuten – Systematically Declassified 2 [SIGNDIG1202]

October 26, 2013November 25, 2013 hipodromealbum, detroit techno, maarten van der vleuten, signum recordingsLeave a comment

Second album in a series of previously unreleased material from the Signum Recordings archive. Maarten van der Vleuten recordings dates are from 1991 – 1998.

Tom Trago – The Light Fantastic [RHM006LP]

October 25, 2013June 18, 2024 hipodromealbum, house, rush hour, tom tragoLeave a comment

There are many ways to move forward as an artist. You can reinvent yourself, keep track of fashions, or try bold new things. Tom Trago has spent the best part of 10 years pushing his sound in impressive new directions. Yet on his new album, the well-regarded Amsterdam-based producer has done things slightly differently. This time round, his influences come from much closer to home, and he has admitted to being inspired by the dancefloor-focused style with which he made his name. The Light Fantastic is a dancefloor orientated club album with a range of influences like – deep house, vintage synthesizers, classic boogie, disco, Chicago jack, acid house, and even a dash of full-throttle rave revivalism.

Kid Machine – First Contact [CYBERDANCE015]

October 16, 2013October 3, 2022 hipodromealbum, cyber dance records, disco, electro, italo-disco, kid machine, mark wilkinsonLeave a comment

Cyber Dance Records return with a full-length double-vinyl album from Manchester’s Kid Machine (aka Mark Wilkinson) following a string of instantly sold-out EPs for Viewlexx, Red Laser and Flight Recorder. A long-time collaborator of world-famous Italo Disco DJ Flemming Dalum, it’s no surprise that many of the tracks have that hallmark space sound reminiscent of the likes of Cyber People and Koto, but Mark stamps his own distinct identity on the genre by slowing down the BPM’s and incorporating many other influences throughout so that this is no retro affair but a distinctly fresh and modern take on the genre. No mere collection of dance tracks, this is a proper album in the truest sense of the word. From the dark and powerful strains of the opening ‘This Is My Universe’ to the rousing emotional closing track ‘Golden Triangle’ Mark takes us on an epic synthesised journey that is as comfortable on the home stereo or night-drives in the car as it is on the dancefloor. Effortlessly incorporating elements and themes ranging from the cosmic (‘Forever In The Stars’, ‘Leaving Space’, ‘Astromance’, ‘Starbreaker’, ‘Galaxia’) to the militant (‘We Are At War’) to subconscious fear (‘Nightmares’), everything flows with an ease far beyond the short time that he’s been releasing music so far and revealing why his rise has been such a lightning phenomenon.

Monuments – Age [MNQ040]

October 15, 2013July 17, 2019 hipodromealbum, andrea costa, mannequin records, mauro tavella, minimal synth, monuments, synth popLeave a comment

Mannequin are pleased to present a crown jewel from the early 80s Italian Minimal Synth scene. The Monuments came into being in January 1981 in Turin when Mauro Tavella (keyboards, programming) and Andrea Costa (keyboards, voice) pooled their artistic experiences. From the outset they produced exclusively synthesised music, following the natural evolution in electronic music from the early days with monophonic synthesisers to the latest virtual sounds generated with the aid of computers.

Reeko / Architectural – The Blue Album [POLEGROUP018]

October 13, 2013October 10, 2024 hipodromealbum, architectural, dub techno, juan rico, pole group, reekoLeave a comment

The Blue Album is Spanish producer Juan Rico’s new album. He is the mind behind Reeko and Architectural, two projects that on this occasion melt into one offering a wide perspective of the nuances of his sounds. Here you can find all the aspects of techno sound, from ambient landscapes, to dubby and liquid textures or pulsating abstract techno exercises. “Blue” starts the trip with dubbed echoes, floating textures and fat spaced out chords: the best way to switch on the ignition and prepare for the upcoming sonic voyage.

Huerco S. – Colonial Patterns [SFT0371]

October 13, 2013January 9, 2019 hipodromealbum, ambient techno, deep techno, huerco s, software recordingsLeave a comment

On “Colonial Patterns”, Brian Leeds (Huerco S) treats his Kansas City region as a universe worthy of its own electronic music. To that end, Leeds deconstructs Midwestern techno and house tropes. The pieces are corrugated, rough, and decompositional. Working cheaply, Leeds conscientiously uses low-end software, synths and cassettes so as to subvert the gloss of so much urban dance music, giving tracks an impressionistic, emotive feel.

Gherkin Jerks – Alleviated presents The Gherkin Jerks [ML9016CD]

October 9, 2013September 13, 2021 hipodromeacid house, album, alleviated records, chicago house, gherkin jerks, gherkin records, larry heard, reissueLeave a comment

GHERKIN JERKS - The Gherkin Jerks Compilation

The original 12” vinyl releases of Stomp The Beat and 1990 were two “Holy Grail” releases of Chicago House as they were only available for a short time before Gherkin Records went into inactive status in around 1991. At the time Larry Heard chose to not disclose the fact that he was the producer behind the Gherkin Jerks EPs. The two releases were a concept of experiments where he dove deeper into the equipment and do some creatively different tracks from his Mr. Fingers sound. These two legendary EPs have been heavily influential on other artists to this day. Often sampled or referenced they are true house classics and still amaze 25 years after their creation. Also on this album three bonus tracks, which are from the same Gherkin Jerks sessions but never released as such. Psychotic Fantasy was on the Dance 2000 pt. 2 album and Ecstasy is the full original take which makes its first appearance here. Reznaytor is an exclusive track for this release, never available before.

Tropic of Cancer – Restless Idylls [BLACKESTLP005]

October 8, 2013December 5, 2019 hipodromeabstract, album, blackest ever black, camella lobo, cold wave, dark wave, post punk, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

Restless Idylls is the first full length album from Tropic of Cancer, the solo project of Los Angeles-based Camella Lobo. Lobo debuted in 2009 with ‘The Dull Age’/’Victims’, a 10” single on Downwards and the first of three collaborations with Juan Mendez (Silent Servant). Two years later came a second Downwards release (‘Be Brave’, remixed by Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H. Kirk), followed soon after by The Sorrow Of Two Blooms on Blackest Ever Black – the label’s third release and one if its most cherished. Since then there have been 12” releases on Mannequin, Sleeperhold Publications, Ghostly International (a Part Times Punks Sessions live split with HTRK) and a limited edition compilation, The End of All Things, compiling singles and unreleased recordings. Restless Idylls marks ToC’s return to BEB and consists of eight new recordings written in Los Angeles, with additional production from Karl O’Connor (Regis) in New York and London. Its themes? The usual: romance, devotion, pain and helplessness. Mixed up mortals struggling against the brute mechanics of fate, and proving unequal to the task. A forced retreat into private, precious idylls of longing, faith, mystery, even misery. The urgent motorik of lead single ‘More Alone’ is perhaps a misleading foretaste of the full-length, which is more lush, languid and extravagantly despondent than previous TOC material. Troubled hymns from an empty room, in a drowned world. A sensual and sepulchral psychedelia.

Factory Floor – Factory Floor [DFA2392]

October 8, 2013September 16, 2024 hipodromealbum, cold wave, dfa records, dominic butler, electro, factory floor, gabe gurnsey, nikki colk, synth pop, synth waveLeave a comment

The band drop their highly anticipated album debut on NYC post-punk stalwart DFA. Tracks from both of their singles appear alongside a slew previously unheard synth-wave / EBM gems. A vivid snapshot of a progressive band, still in the ascendant, smashing through yet another ceiling.