Fred Ventura – Future Unknown – The Lost House Trax 1988-1992 [MNQ101]

January 17, 2018December 24, 2018 hipodromealbum, fred ventura, house, mannequin recordsLeave a comment

Conceived along the space of a few years and part of a big collection of unfinished experiments stored on cassette tapes, this eight tracks selection well represents Fred Ventura’s late 80s and early 90s infatuation with Chicago House, Detroit Techno, early Warp records and even a secret passion for EBM. Using a basic set up made of Roland Juno 106, Roland JX-8p, Oberheim DX, Roland TR909 and an Akai sampler, these tracks were never officially mixed and meant to be released until today. Minimal and hypnotic, dry and direct, both sides of the record show an instinctive approach to rhythms and basslines, typical of those days where computer didn’t have a predominant role in the creative process.

Pasteur Lappe – We, The People [ASVN027]

January 14, 2018February 15, 2018 hipodromeafrica seven records, african, album, disco, funk, outernational, pasteur lappe, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

Following the extremely well received re-press of Pasteur Lappe’s second album “Na Man Pass Man”, Africa Seven are heading back to the beginning with Pasteur. It is a another fine repress. The debut album “We, The People”. The story begins in the 60’s with a charming 19 year old Nicolas “Pasteur” Lappe becoming a sensation on Radio Adele in Douala, Cameroun. He goes on to become the editor of the Douala Gazette newspaper and become friends with other African music stars such as Tala AM, J Moboule and Fela Kuti. He also works tirelessly promoting new and upcoming local Cameroonian talent. After moving to Paris, a stint in journalism school and publishing a book of poems “Chansons Negres” he finally settles into a new life of music in Paris. Pasteur’s first album was recorded in 1979 with the backing band and production collective called the Zulu Gang, which include Douglas Mbida (who went on to release several top flight albums himself) and Jacob Desvariaux (who went on to form Kassav). The album is full of diverse sounds, from driving funk, sweeping disco grooves, syrupy ballads, reggae, Jackson-five-esque pop to finger-lickin’ soul. At its core though is the custom “Sekele” groove… a movement to encompass the dance, grooves and vibes from his native Douala. The nostalgic poet, with Africa at his essence Pasteur Lappe.

Eindkrak – Brullend Staal [PRECEPT012]

January 11, 2018January 10, 2018 hipodromealbum, boris post, eindkrak, electro, experimental, industrial, new wave, unknown precept recordsLeave a comment

Amsterdam’s worst kept secret makes it back to Unknown Precept with his long-awaited album and first solo output since the acclaimed ‘Divine Bovine’ tape mini-album. Inspired by an evening spent in a restaurant next to a car demolition site, Eindkrak’s long player debut echoes the distant sound of steel being crushed and cars pressed into cubes. All this noise, in combination with the taste of good Italian food, lead to the eleven tracks making up for the aptly titled ‘Brullend Staal’ — loosely translated to weeping steel. A leisurely stroll on crumpled metal sheets, the acidic hints of oxidized metal and the smell of gasoline. Inaudible and distorted vocals as if smothered by the clatter and smokestacks of steel factories. Eindkrak’s first full-length is all about this disquietude made of melted and straightened scrap metal. A resounding and tumultuous din. Try to eat some nice gnocchis while listening to this album, and you’ll see what it is all about.

Benoit B – Japonaiserie [BH044]

January 7, 2018January 4, 2018 hipodromealbum, benoit b, berceuse heroique, experimentalLeave a comment

“Japonaiserie was the term the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh used to express the influence of Japanese art. Artists including Manet, Degas and Monet, followed by Van Gogh, began to collect the cheap colour wood-block prints called ukiyo-e prints” A mini LP by Benoit B, the boss of Banlieue Records , on which he creates a futuristic environment influenced by the Japanese electronics of the ’80s. A musical “Japanaiserie” that can melt your cold cold heart.

Tentakel – Twoface [ZEONLIGHTSKIVA005]

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 hipodromealbum, experimental, lehnberg, pontus torstensson, sebastian mcmurphy, techno, tentakel, zeon light skivaLeave a comment

Gothenburg-based Tentakel is a dystopian and John Carpenter-influenced solar project signed by Pontus Torstensson that presents scary and fantastic images.

John Maus – Screen Memories [RBN072LP]

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 hipodromealbum, john maus, ribbon music, synth pop, synth wave2 Comments

It’s been a long time between drinks for John Maus. “Screen Memories” is the producer’s first new album since 2011, and glistens from start to finish. After opening with the grandiose synthesizer soundscapes of ”Combine”, Maus delivers a range of atmospheric instrumental and vocal synth-pop gems dripping with Italo-disco style arpeggio lines, John Carpenter flourishes and decidedly cheap, lo-fi drum machine rhythms. “Screen Memories” was written, recorded, and engineered by Maus over the last few years in his home in Minnesota. It’s a solitary place situated in the sub-zero winter temperatures creep into the songs as do the buzzing wasps of summer.

Tapan – Europe LP [MTLP002]

December 31, 2017February 3, 2020 hipodromealbum, arabic, jazz, malka tuti, outernational, tapanLeave a comment

This 2XLP album, Europa, is dedicated to and inspired by events in 2015 & 2016, which saw the spectre of global crisis come knocking at Europe’s doorstep. During this time, more than a million migrants and refugees fled their homes in the Middle East, Northern Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and other conflict ravaged areas in search of a better life. For many, hopes of a future for themselves and their families lay in continental Europe. One of the most well- trodden paths on this journey was the Balkan route, a trail leading through Turkey, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. This route was not without its dangers, and the dreams of thousands upon thousands were dashed by impassible security fences and discordant EU politics, as one by one they were turned away at borders, or worse, forcibly returned to their countries of origin. Europa was recorded during long jam sessions in Belgrade as the media spotlight started to dim. The city became the purgatorial destination for a large number of migrants, whose journeys had been cut short. This double LP reflects the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty about the future, which descended on the Serbian capital. Dark and melancholic saxophone playing on top of heavy kicks and Mediterranean percussions dominate the epic 17 minutes title track. The collaboration with Jerusalem in My heart continues the melancholic atmosphere, adding to it JIMH signature delayed baglama sounds, to create a 12 minute emotional journey, tearing away abstract concepts of ‘longing’ and ‘home’ with ever growing tension and magnitude. Genre-less, illusive and not easy to categorize, Tapan’s debut album on Malka Tuti is an original soundtrack of a fragment in time and space, capturing a moment and transcending it musically for the rest of the world to experience.

Piero Umiliani aka M. Zalla – Africa / Continente Nero [RED312-13]

December 31, 2017December 29, 2017 hipodromeafrican, album, dagored, experimental, m. zalla, outernational, piero umiliani, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

Along with Moggi, Rovi or Tusco, M Zalla was one of Piero Umiliani’s most revered monikers from his early period. Starting off in the early 70s, the legendary Italian electronic wizard began to release weird and wonderful shapes of kinetic electronics, often inspired by the anthropology of Africa, the Mother continent. Africa itself is one of his works from ’72, released just before the iconic Problemi D’Oggi, and it has clearly inspired whole generations of different sorts of musicians. It’s polyrhythmic waves of euphoria rarely tire of cease to provoke wonder, and this whole piece of work is a treasure chest that will simply not stop giving. For some, it’s a source for samples and inspiration, while for others it’s the perfect tool to add life to DJ sets, whether at the beginning, in between tracks, or at the end.

Lab Rat XL – Mice or Cyborg [CAL011/C#31LP]

December 29, 2017April 19, 2023 hipodromealbum, clone records, detroit, drexciya, electro, gerald donald, james stinson, lab rat xlLeave a comment

For those not schooled in Drexciyan history, Lab Rat XL was a short-lived alternative alias of the legendary Motor City electro duo. Mice or Cyborg, the project’s only release, originally appeared on Clone in 2003, just months after member James Stinson passed away. It remains a superb example of timeless, otherworldly electro and techno fusion, with Stinson’s penchant for ethereal melodies, atmospheric chords and fizzing drum machine rhythms – such a regular feature of his work with both Drexciya and the Other People Place – rightfully coming to the fore. Naturally, the inherent positivity of some of the tracks is counter-balanced by clandestine creepiness in others, making Mice or Cyborg a brilliantly balanced and hugely entertaining collection of cuts.

Sonar Base – Sonar Bases 4-10 [DPTX-009]

December 25, 2017December 22, 2017 hipodromealbum, deeptrax records, detroit techno, electro, frank de groodt, re-release, reissue, sonar base, u-traxLeave a comment

Twenty years after the Sonar Base 4 – 10 release on the legendary Dutch record label U-Trax, it is now time for an official high quality remastered vinyl re-issue on Deeptrax Records. The rare original was very hard to find and is considered as one of the highlights of Dutch electro and techno. The Dutchman Frank de Groodt a.k.a Sonar Base is hitting hard with a perfect blend of 70 minutes of aquasonic electro, intergalactic boogie and deep techno. This bass oriented, mind bending album is considered one of The Netherlands best kept secrets and has been a fave amongst connaisseurs, selectors and DJs around the globe for many years. A real post apocalyptic gem from Utrecht that is as fresh and sharp as it was originally released 20 years ago. The tracks are full bodied, muscular pieces of electro and techno with hidden melodies and savage beats upon clever bass lines. This is just the first one of a series by Sonar Base released on Deeptrax Records.

Trisomie 21 – Chapters IV [DE195]

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, hervé lomprez, minimal synth, phillipe lomprez, post punk, re-release, reissue, synth wave, trisomie 21Leave a comment

Trisomie 21 is a post punk band formed in 1981 by Phillipe Lomprez (vocals, drums) and Hervé Lomprez (guitar, electronics), two brothers from Abscon, in the North of France. They began composing songs at the age of 16 while studying at school. Their music consists of lush soundscapes that do not easily fit into any one category. Lyrics are sung in English because in the north of France the duo sought to contradict the trend at the time for everything to be sung in French. Since 1983 they’ve recorded 15 albums and appeared on numerous compilations and remain active to this day. For their fourth album the Lomprez brothers spent September and October of 1985 recording nine new compositions. In January 1986 ‘Chapter IV, Le Je-ne-sais quoi et le presque-rien’ was released by PIAS sub-label Scarface. The title came from a 1957 book by French philosopher and musicologist Vladimir Jankélévitch. The songs on the album, including the emblematic The Last Song’, were captivating, original and without concession. This record further opened the door to new opportunities, and the band’s music spread further internationally. Sadly some of the songs had phase related problems and caused partial cancelation playing back monophonically, so the band remixed and re-recorded the songs and reissued them on CD only in 1987.

Powell – New Beta Vol 2 [DIAG041]

December 21, 2017August 2, 2018 hipodromealbum, diagonal records, electronics, experimental, powell, synth waveLeave a comment

Powell loosens up and reaches out on the 2nd New Beta playground – a place to explore his more reflexive, emotive urges – with seven curious permutations that swerve from Æ-style abstraction to pointillist electro-acid and a brace of mutant diskotheek breakers. As with the first volume, he’s clearly still gassed off his new hardware, resulting in a nerve-jumping fizz and crack that sounds like he’s jamming with fingers directly in the jack ports, channelling his thoughts and feels practically unimpeded.

Trisomie 21 – Wait & Dance LP [DE194]

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, hervé lomprez, phillipe lomprez, post punk, re-release, reissue, synth wave, trisomie 21Leave a comment

Trisomie 21 is a post punk band formed in 1981 by Phillipe Lomprez (vocals, drums) and Hervé Lomprez (guitar, electronics), two brothers from Abscon, in the North of France. They began composing songs at the age of 16 while studying at school. Their music consists of lush soundscapes that do not easily fit into any one category. Lyrics are sung in English because in the north of France the duo sought to contradict the trend at the time for everything to be sung in French. Since 1983 they’ve recorded 15 albums and appeared on numerous compilations and remain active to this day.In Spring 1985 the group went back into the studio to record a new batch of songs. Trisomie 21’s notoriety had increased following two concerts in Belgium and the Brussels recording label Play It Again Sam decided to sign them. In September 1985 the 5-song mini-LP ‘Wait & Dance’ was released by PIAS sub-label Scarface. It contained the band’s first female guest vocals on two of the tracks. Sadly some of the songs had phase related problems and caused partial cancelation playing back monophonically, so the band remixed the songs and reissued them on CD only in 1987. We have added the 5 remixes as bonus tracks here presented for the first time ever on vinyl.

Trisomie 21 – Passions Divisées [DE193]

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, hervé lomprez, phillipe lomprez, post punk, re-release, reissue, synth wave, trisomie 21Leave a comment

Trisomie 21 is a post punk band formed in 1981 by Phillipe Lomprez (vocals, drums) and Hervé Lomprez (guitar, electronics), two brothers from Abscon, in the North of France. They began composing songs at the age of 16 while studying at school. Their music consists of lush soundscapes that do not easily fit into any one category. Lyrics are sung in English because in the north of France the duo sought to contradict the trend at the time for everything to be sung in French. Since 1983 they’ve recorded 15 albums and appeared on numerous compilations and remain active to this day. After the success of the debut mini-LP the band returned to the studio and spent October 1983 to March 1984 recording their sophomore album. ‘Passions divisées’ was released by Stechak Products in October 1984. Pascal Tison was replaced by Laurent Dagnicourt on bass guitar. Featuring eight cold wave compositions including the instrumental funeral waltz La fête triste’. Songs cross genres, moving from post-punk to synthetic electronics.

Damon Wild – Cosmic Path [INF024]

December 18, 2017December 17, 2017 hipodromealbum, damon wild, function, infrastructure new york, minimal technoLeave a comment

Damon Wild and David Sumner (aka Function’s) relationship dates back to 1991 at Lord Michael’s Future Shock, Limelight, New York City – when Damon was running Experimental Records via Northcott Productions. At the time, he first saw something in Dave and added him to Brand X, a record pool run by Moneypenny. But their bond is based around a period 5 years later when Dave had an apartment above Rogue Music at 251 West 30th Street in Midtown, Manhattan. It was during this time Damon developed him as a Synewave artist and released his first EP as Function in the Fall of 1996 – catalog number; SW-24. Falling in and out of contact over the years, across continents, the two have somehow remained on the same cosmic path. So it’s not a coincidence that now Damon has turned to Dave to release his first album in 13 years. This is where those paths cross again…21 years later, this Fall, Dave will release Cosmic Path on Infrastructure. The cosmic connection.

Mohlao – Landforms [SSV012]

December 16, 2017December 15, 2017 hipodromealbum, ambient techno, drone, mohlao, samuel van dijk, silent seasonLeave a comment

Samuel van Dijk is an electronic music producer, sound designer and media artist from the Netherlands releasing deep electronic music as VC-118A, Mohlao, and Multicast Dynamics. Drawing inspiration from technology, nature, film, and fiction, his productions and live sets embody a dynamic musical framework. Since the Dutchman surfaced as Mohlao for labels like Meanwhile, Field and Other Heights at the turn of the decade, van Dijks music has found a firm position; the ethereal electro VC-118A project, deep ambient techno as Mohlao, and subterranean ambient as Multicast Dynamics.

Isorinne – Speechless Malison [NE47]

December 16, 2017December 15, 2017 hipodromealbum, ambient, isorinne, michael isorinne, northern electronicsLeave a comment

There is an intricate sorrow to Isorinne’s new album, ‘Speechless Malison.’ Though broadly melodic, it feels exhausted rather than restrained; though rippling with a pulse, the rhythmic passages are sparse, their measured source a great distance away. Building on last year’s cassette, ‘Echoic Memoir,’ ‘Speechless Malison’ takes greater and emotive strides, however brittle the path.

Santiago Salazar – Aspirations For Young Xol [REKIDS111]

December 14, 2017December 13, 2017 hipodromealbum, detroit techno, rekids, santiago salazarLeave a comment

Legendary Los Hermanos member Santiago Salazar’s album ‘Aspirations For Young Xol’ is given a vinyl release courtesy of Rekids. A heartfelt dedication to his son Isaias, ‘Aspirations for Young Xol’ takes us through the life of a pillar in the electronic music community – Santiago Salazar. From his formative years spent in California to his connection with Detroit and the passing of a childhood friend, the long-player’s tracks signpost the musician’s significant experiences, both positive and negative. This meaningful body of work now gets a full release on wax.

Fallbeil – Macht Macht Zement [BOIDAE003]

December 11, 2017September 5, 2018 hipodromealbum, boidae, electro, fallbeil, kluentah, techno, wostoLeave a comment

‘Macht Macht Zement’—what does it mean? 80s drums, synths and vocals, almost without context. Fallbeil, two soon-to-be men (aka boys), finish tracks at the rate of butchers kneading meatballs. Due to laziness and a lack of technique, everything gets recorded on one track and immediately thrown into the frier. Nothing is planned. First up, school detention followed by rough LoFi rap. The album contains a wide variety of themes; from mailmen to warthogs, from latecomers to sensible conversation, every track is created out of spontaneity. Two very short tracks on this album date back to 1999, when the boys performed as ‘Funky Granatos’ in the local youth centers. Sadly, their performances weren’t successful. Nobody wanted to listen to them and almost every concert ended in mass brawls. The track ‘Postman’ comes from the duo’s side project Grand Malheur and was recorded in 2015 in Bronxfeld. More output from this project will appear on various EPs in the near future.

Grotto – Wait… No Hurry [LIVST004]

December 10, 2017January 10, 2025 hipodromeafrican, album, disco, funk, grotto, odion livingstone, re-release, reissue, temitope kogbe, uchenna ikkoneLeave a comment

First official reissue of Nigerian Boogie Disco Grail LP produced by Grotto for EMI Nigeria and originally released in 1978. Contains dance classic’Bad city Girl’. Liner notes by Nigerian Music expert Uchenna Ikkone, include previously unpublished photos and extensive interviews by Temitope Kogbe. It contains more examples of disco-era dancefloor heat, with the band utilizing Moog synthesizers alongside their usual instrumentation. While naturally rooted in Afro-funk, the set contains some of the earliest examples of Afro-boogie while also touching on jazz-funk, psychedelic funk and undulating Afrobeat/Afro-disco fusion.