Boris Bunnik with a Vernon Felicity debut album. “Days Of Leisure” is a very well produced warm and analogue sounding house album. Think Metro Area vs. Larry Heard and you are almost there.. This is the sound of the summer and a future classic in the making.
Larry McCormick’s Exzakt brings back that sleazy electro as well as unreleased material. Bringing back classics such as Speaker Breaka and Citi Of Bass, and a new remix by Jensen Interceptor. Putting Monotone Records back on the map.
On his new album for Artificial Dance, Tsampikos Fronas aka June takes a departure from his dance orientated earlier work. Recorded between 2018 and 2020, Window of Time sees the Berlin-based producer explore sparser arrangements than his previous releases. The record unravels like a dystopian cyberpunk novel, something akin to William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Both the title track and ‘Stratagem / Predator’ create an increasing tension that builds through repetitive sequences. The arpeggiated synths on ‘Year 2092’ evoke images of sprawling metropolitan city scapes, while the claustrophobic mood of ‘The Master of Electricity’, the first track written for the album, wouldn’t go amiss on a soundtrack to a sci-fi thriller like Blade Runner. Created using modular synthesizers, analog sequencers and analog polyphonic synths, Window of Time eschews melody in favour of cold, pulsating rhythms. Combined with haunting choral toplines and minimalistic flourishes, such as those on album closer ‘Elegy’, June invites the listener on a free dive into their subconscious; to navigate boundless, unexplored territories.
Electro Records have put together seven unique albums for their Sci-Fi Electro Series. Each release takes inspiration from a classic sci-fi film of the 20th century, 2001: A Space Odyssey, THX 1138, Blade Runner, The Thing, Akira, Terminator and Tron, produced by Scape One, Sound Synthesis, Kan3da, Nebenprodukt, N-Ter, Transpac and Alek Stark. Each artist has created a 15 minute track for each side of the record, taking you from pure electro tracks to very experimental compositions, sounds and atmospheres. Each side is divided in ”movements” in a continuous morphing process without any pause between different tracks.
Italian producer Joseph Tagliabue is back with a full-length album on Glasgow’s Invisible, Inc. With “Un’ Altra Forma Di Vibrazioni” Tagliabue continues to expand on the cosmic foundations laid by such pioneering experimental forefathers as Franco Battiato and his ground-breaking abstract ambient work of the ’70s and Klaus Schultze whose legendary Innovative Communications label birthed the “Berlin school” sound at the start of the ’80s, then tracing a path toward later luminaries like Boards of Canada and Plaid. There’s a personal, emotive and ethereal quality also present here conjuring feelings of 4AD’s glory years and the likes of This Mortal Coil and Dead Can Dance. However, backwards-looking music this is not. It’s fair to say the Milan-based producer is developing his very own distinct sound as he matures from one release to the next and regardless of his wide range of influences, it’s Tagliabue’s firm grasp of sound design and audio engineering that takes this album far beyond the realm of just “electronica” or “psychedelia” and plants it firmly into a distinctly forward-looking contemporary space of its very own that’s as much music for the heart as it is music for the head.
On Electro Records’ ”Sci Fi Electro” series, each artist has created a 15 minute track for each side of the record, taking you from pure electro tracks to very experimental compositions, sounds and atmospheres. Each side is divided in ”movements” in a continuous morphing process without any pause between different tracks. The series is a collection of seven releases inspired by the following films created in the 20th century: THX 1138, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Thing, Akira, Terminator and Tron. Cool colored vinyl pressing with silkscreened sleeves.
Passarani debuts on Aus with his sixth studio album, “The Wildlife Of The Quieter Ones”. Marco’s discography boasts releases on Libertine, Running Back, Peacefrog and Numbers, the diversity between each label show his versatility as as a producer, he’s seamlessly moved with the times and glides through each era with a zesty take on a timeless sound, his credentials speak for themselves and here you see a well seasoned producer at the top of his game.
DJ Stingray 313’s highly-praised F.T.N.W.O. LP returns to heed its sonic warnings and powerful messages on his own label, Micron Audio. Originally released on WeMe Records in 2012, F.T.N.W.O. displays the high-tempo, ever forward production DJ Stingray 313 is known world around for. DJ Stingray 313 says “FTNWO was conceptually centered on conspiracy theory, science, prepper doomsday preparation / survivalism and social commentary,” and the foreboding introduction of “Evil Agenda” sonically explains just what lies ahead for the listener. The stark warning leads into DJ Stingray 313’s stomping “Dark Arts”, beginning the FTNWO experience. “Room Clearance” gets straight to business with raw, gritty and true-to-the-art Detroit electro sounds, along with a heavy, quivering lead to piece the track together.
‘Other Dimensions LP’, Terrence Dixon’s latest work and the new adventure in 30D’s ExoPlanets sublabel, comes for the very first time released in full length format, split in two sides, showing Terrence’s two faces. As everyone knows, words can not describe the music of this Detroit visionary, but we’ll try. Futuristic, avant-garde-esque, mesmerizing, trippy and minimalistic / reduced techno funk as expected in A side, but highly emotional and evocative, as only he can do. On the flip side, Terrence redefines and takes to another level the concept of dark, experimental, abstract, atmospheric, alienated and dystopian music, a true musical trip (perhaps a nightmare) to dive into. An extremely personal and intimate album.
“I drive without emotion. I calculate each curve. I know that I will soon be the hero in the Grand Prix.” With Albert One’s lyrics ringing in their ears, steeling their nerves, a new generation of high-octane fuelled drivers fix their headphones and helmets. Formula One, the partnership of DJ Rocca and Aimes, rev their synth engines with the glinting ‘Digits’ and Racing 3000 is underway. The duo has some welcome surprises on-board, the spirited vocals of Fred Ventura for ‘Into My Life’ and the emotion-injected words of Hard Ton for ‘Step By Step’. Exhaust pipes flare and we’re cruising into the chicane of the title piece. Daring synthwork and lush notes are propelled forward by clean percussion as cheering faces flash by. An extended pit-stop is called. ‘Cocktail Time’. Caribbean cool and Latin rhythms are the tone set. Glasses clink and the barroom baritone gives voice to a world of electronic disco lounge. The tempo changes as darkness falls and Francesca Bono sings us a late-night love lament streaked in neon hope. No time for regret. Back behind the wheel and arpeggios rumble as ‘Turbo Slam’ glides from the city and back to the track. The chequered flag is in sight. Formula Uno are set for ‘Home’ as they shift into vocoders for a bright and free finish.
Following the warm reception afforded to their 2020 compilation album ‘Crossed Wires’, which exhumed unreleased music from the depths of an archive belonging to an unnamed producer, Light Sounds Dark presents ‘Crossed Wires II’. Responsible for clueing us up to more oddities than you can name, LSD are on their classic game here, cueing up 15 top shelf obscurities from the intersection of industrial, electro and no wave mutant disco. Another rewarding grab-bag of strange, experimental productions.
For his debut album on Dekmantel, Interstellar Funk has crafted a raw, yet simultaneously hauntingly beautiful and endlessly intricate record. Layers of blended harmonies and melodies form the basis for jettisons into leftfield experimentation, heavily processed drums and oscillating frequencies. The result is as infectious as it is pensive; a transcendental journey into a synth-laden landscape. “Into the Echo” is daringly eclectic, combining sung-spoken iterations with hypnotic samples and machinic industrial.
“These tracks were recorded in my Queens studio in 2019 after several live performances. Most notably the Microtones party in Ithaca, NY where I had the honor of playing the Forest City Lounge, which is the historic home of the Black Elks, a Black non-profit, fraternal order. I wanted to challenge myself with these performances by limiting the amount of effects I used as well as the amount of equipment, thus these tracks have a lot of space to breathe. These are also my most intricate tracks to date. Instead of tripping tracks out with fancy effects and modules, I instead focused on song structure, with each track telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end.”
The live set also tells an overarching story as well. The main storyline is about a fictitious satanic death cult that worships through sound (“The Frequency”). As they are preparing for their final ascent (/descent?), one of the members starts questioning everything (“Heaven and Hell”). It is seen by the group as a “Regression” and the cult is not happy about it (“I’ll Beat Your Ass / Til The Day That We Die”). The member is confronted and asked “Who Is your God?”
Boris Bunnik/Versalife here with a new album from his Hexagon alias. Information Paradox is a fine dark and timeless IDM/Electro sounding album into Science Fiction territory.
Sci-Fi leaning library music on this new album from Modula on Tartelet. Tapping into the seductive unease of the unexplained, Modula lands on Tartelet Archives with “Paranormal Phenomena – The Icelandic Expedition”, a nine-track album that evokes alien synth- electro and New Age soundscapes. During a trip to Iceland in February 2020, Naples native Filippo Colonna Romano (Modula) experienced the raw power of the island’s otherworldly natural forces. Inspired by his field recordings and a rekindled interest in sci-fi, Paranormal Phenomena – The Icelandic Expedition was born. Steeped in haunting LA synthesis and cinematic tension, the album is an imagined soundtrack to a supernatural thriller, cast in the icy tones of the Roland JD-800.
Gazing at the stars is looking at the past. The galaxies send you messages from thousands of light years away. That overwhelming feeling is present on Free Andromeda by Timothy J. Fairplay. An album grounded on earth while floating through eternity with a loose connection to the Milky way. This nine-track record is, as always with TJF a delicately balanced mix between dark and light, analogue and digital, vast space and tight basements. With an impressing collection of premium synthesizers and drum machines, TJF showcases some of the most exquisite electronically generated soundscapes heard on this side of 1984. His sound on Free Andromeda can be described as leftfield inspired by various John Carpenter- and Italian horror movie soundtracks together with some West German Kosmische Musik.
Best known for their participation in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, Belgian synth pop band Pas De Deux present their complete collection. These songs were made in 1982 and 1983, including the cult hits ‘Cardiocleptomanie’, ‘Mani Meme’ and various versions of ‘Rendez-Vous’. These songs were never together on one album. Some of them were only released as a single or on some special compilations made in Spain and Germany after their much discussed participation to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in 1983.
Libertine Industries 06 features the first long-player from the UK rising artist Phase O’Matic. Expect EBM, Acid, and Ravey dance floor bombs, plus some more experimental and complex beats.
Astonishingly, almost 14 years have passed since “hard, grooving” techno and house fusionist Olivier Ducreux released his debut album as Shonky, Time Zero. Now he is releasing his second album “On The Run” on Third Ear Recordings. Shonky has a signature hypnotic, hard grooving sound, characterised by punishing beats laced with detailed polyrhythms and elusive motifs.
The Hipodrome Of Music 