Venom Vampires is a dark beat band from Texas, US. Front-man Tohm Thicken started as a Darkwave DJ in 1999. The line-up also includes Russell Dove and Adrian Ortega. “Luxury In Deceit” is their debut album on Detriti Records.
Known for his work on Transient Force, Gigolo, and of course as a contributor for Fundamental’s Time Capsule a.k.a. 808 Box project, -=UHU=-‘s album is a selection of his best unreleased tracks. Compiled from an old folder full of tracks that have that twenty years old spirit in each of them, that futurist funk that -=UHU=- can deliver so well. ”Ezzential Electro” is the biggest project Electro Records has done so far. It consists of 36 vinyl records produced by artists they consider essential for the current underground electro movement.
“Every 4,044 years comet Calanhi enters the inner solar system, returning from its long and silent voyage through the Oort cloud. As it approaches perihelion, billions on Earth gaze into the night sky, transfixed by the celestial spectacle of their lifetime. While solar winds tear at the comet’s surface, deep inside the glowing ball of ice, ancient machinery springs to life…” Over the past five years Daniel Lodig and Martin Sovinz aka /DL/MS/ have been continually commuting through the electro singularity, constructing their unique brand of fragile bass music from extradimensional sound salvage, and spreading their frequency patterns via the subspace channels of Frustrated Funk, Pomelo, and TRUST. ‘Calanhi’ is the Viennese duo’s debut album – 12 tracks that combine the eternally fresh aesthetics of Detroit-style electro with a relentless curiosity for rhythmic and harmonic experimentation. Seismic club thumpers like ‘Invisible Bits’, ‘Mountains’, and ‘Trusted Funk’ alternate with moody ambient interludes, boldly constructed beat inventions, and blissfully melodic acid breaks. Two collaborations further switch up the flow: Nigerian artist G.Rizo (Hezekina Pollutina, Deejay Gigolo) drops her cryptic rhymes on ‘Divide & Conquer’, and Spanish singer Xx Isis xX provides vocals for ‘Accelerated Frequency’.
Emerging as one of the most vital producers from South America to Europe, Filmmaker is back on Veyl with the new album, Fictional Portrayals. Recorded in his home country in Envigado, Colombia, the release delivers 8 tracks of raw, body pursuits proving yet again that he remains at the forefront of EBM, industrial, wave and beyond. While always carrying the producer’s soundtrack influenced sound, the LP kicks off with the haunting ‘All About That Pyramid’ moving next to the title track’s driving energy while then shifting to the more cerebral programming of ‘Possession’ ft. Bad Faith Actor. Things are just picking up with club decimators like ‘Splitter’ and ‘Immune to Propaganda’ while also switching moods with the more sinister ‘Orphic Eggs’ and the mesmerizing ‘Continuity’. Rounding out the release is the cold, emotional ride of ‘Far From Prospect’, leaving us with a sense of dread while simultaneously questioning just what is fact and what is fiction – something we never quite know in today’s multi-dimensional existence.
UK techno legend Mark Broom returns to Radio Slave’s imprint Rekids for his latest full length, ‘100% Juice’. Title track ‘100% Juice’ leads the charge, barreling forward with phased hats and trippy bleeps, before ‘Slush’ carries the rest of the A-side with dense synths and stereo trickery. ‘Rainbow’ bridge sees muted chords drifting in and out of focus alongside rattling drum programming before ‘Reverse’ mutates dub techno inspired elements with swathes of spacious FX and pitch-perfect processing. Opening the second disc is the aptly titled ‘Wonky Workout’, which sees hard-hitting kicks meeting freaked out leads, followed by the fast-paced ‘I Want’, which brings crunchy, shuffling percussion and effected vocal samples together to devastating effect. The final side of vinyl is the one-two punch of ‘Boxed In’ and ‘Wiggle Me This’, with the former bringing sharp keys, rumbling low end and glistening pads, while the latter closes out the LP with warped acid lines and crisp drums.
Italo Moderni presents “A Dauntless Sprite Descends” the new album of The Hague’s electronic music producer Dim Garden aka Sara Vollmond. This is a musical jewel and each tracks is a part of the astral journey in the enchanted forest of Dim Garden in The Hague. Giant mushrooms and animals running alongside us while they wink at us, so that we can continue to enter the forest while some magicians with giant long beards are playing synthesizers in the treetops in the light of the Moon. When we believe that we have completed the entire forest, a giant light appears from the bottom of the forest and all the animals go towards it, to pay their respect. One of the Forest Gods of Dim Garden appeared… the white wizzard named ”Legowelt” with a super magic remix and his fast paced take on the track ”Visions of Love” and all his synths around him. The housekeeper of the Forest is Jentlemen with her Remix of ”Na Mata”. Without realizing it, you have already been absorbed by the essence and atmosphere of Dim Garden… Open your eyes… or was it just a dream?
Transpac’s new album could be his best work to date. All sounds, sequences and beats are created with heavy analog machinery, including the classic EMS AKS. Highly addictive album! ”Ezzential Electro” is the biggest project Electro Records has done so far. It consists of 36 vinyl records produced by artists they consider essential for the current underground electro movement. The first six parts of the series come in beautiful white silkscreen printed sleeves on recycled cardboard and include a real puzzle piece on the front cover, indicating which part of the series you have in your hands.
Childhood Intelligence 15th release presents ‘The Return Of Intelligence’ by UK duo ‘Interlect 3000’. Far ahead of its time, the two artists composed these futuristic timeless pieces, unknowingly, for generations to come. The album pays homage to the early days, fusing aspects of Techno, Trance, House, Electro, Ambient. Truly a hypnotic journey from beginning till end, live recorded & dedicated to the journey itself. Traxx which were written and recorded at Spare Room Studios, Essex and Phantasm Studios, London, between 1992 -1996 have now been rediscovered and released in 2022. Interlect 3000 as the architects of their own world are driven by passion and dedication for electronic music. A testament of skill and imagination only known to masters of their art.
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.
The Hipodrome Of Music 