Credit 00 – Game Over [UVLP005]

March 20, 2017June 29, 2021 hipodromealbum, alexander dorn, credit 00, electro, house, techno, uncanny valleyLeave a comment

CREDIT 00 - Game Over

Credit 00 delivers his debut album “Game Over”. After four EPs for Uncanny Valley the Leipzig based musician is now ready to let loose his electronic visions on full length. As everybody can confirm who saw him playing live or DJing, the head behind Uncanny Valley’s sub label Rat Life is a slave to the rhythm on a full-time basis. Obsessed with sound, he can’t stop pushing the buttons of his synthesizers and drum machines like someone torturing the controls of an Arcade machine. “Game Over” is an electronic love letter to the romantic fantasy worlds of classic video games and their bleepy and clonky sounds which used to be common also in repetitive electronic dance music.

Collecting tracks from the last six years, “Game Over” is also a passion project that channels all his influences. You can get a glimpse of the ingredients that make up his record collection. Whether it is Hip Hop,Techno, Electro Boogie, New Beat, Italo, Jungle, Reggae, House or Chill Out. Though, all those different sounds and styles do not tear this album apart. It’s a bit of a miracle that it feels so flawless for what happens between the appetizing “Level One” and the final track “The Last March”. Those beats on “Game Over” can be brutally effective like the fatalities in Mortal Kombat while the overlying sounds can be smooth like the lemmings’ animations in the eponymous Amiga game. Just listen to the title track. Or the instant hip shaker “Breakers Revenge” that comes with a little help from friends like Sara Stammburg on vocals and Max Rademann on Rhodes.

Without losing sight on the dance floor Credit 00 creates an electronic wonderland that delights dancers and connoisseurs at the same time. To top things off the wonderful artwork was created by Alexander Dorn a.k.a. Credit 00 himself.

Frak – Altan Gathering [KM049]

March 20, 2017February 24, 2023 hipodromeacid, album, bjorn isgren, frak, house, jan svensson, johan sturesson, kontra musik, technoLeave a comment

“A long time ago, at a festival far, far away, the members of the legendary Borft trio Frak were just going to bed in their tent when something caught their attention. Now, this was well before Frak’s rise to international fame – in fact, this moment was Swedish music history in the making, because what they heard was someone playing a Frak tune. That someone turned out to be Kontra-Musik’s own Ulf Eriksson and once their paths had crossed, there was no turning back. Frak has since released five highly sought after records on Kontra-Musik and Kontra-Musik White Label. When it was time for a 10-year anniversary gathering in Ulf Eriksson’s private garden, Frak of course turned up together with other Kontra artists like TM404 and Rivet. For those present – we few, we happy few – this turned out to be one of the most magical summer nights in living memory. The Swedish word for porch is altan, and so, to honour this wonderful experience of the whole Kontra-Musik family coming together, Frak decided to name their brand new album Altan Gathering. Another great friend of Kontra, Henrik Jonsson aka Porn Sword Tobacco, made the album cover and we wouldn’t have it any other way. His aesthetic choice of tin foil is on point: Listening to Frak is a lot like biting into a fresh falafel wrap without first removing the aluminium foil holding the delicious mess together; it’s mouth-wateringly warm and moist but at the same time intensely harsh and tough to chew. This might seem like a far fetched analogy but if you’ve ever went partying in Kontra-Musik’s home town Malmo you’ll know the feeling. And if you’ve never been to Malmo, well do stop by someday. It seems, when the stars align, the gatherings here can be the stuff both legends and albums are made of.”

30drop – The Time Of Cruel Miracles [30DLP001]

March 18, 2017April 5, 2022 hipodrome30d records, 30drop, album, architectural, geistform, minimal techno, rivet, substance, zero massLeave a comment

30DROP - The Time Of Cruel Miracles

Since launching the project in 2014, Barcelona-based 30drop has been releasing on End of Dayz, Detroit Underground and of course the 30drop label which has also seen appearances by Der Zyklus, Population One, The Black Dog, Sterac and Trolley Route (Oscar Mulero). Now, the Spaniard announces his album “The Time of Cruel Miracles” which includes 12 original tracks and 4 remixes by Substance, Architectural, Rivet and Zero Mass (30drop + Geistform).

Din A Testbild – Programm 4 [MNQ093]

March 15, 2017July 17, 2019 hipodromealbum, din a testbild, electro, experimental, gudrun gut, innovative communication, mannequin records, mark eins, minimal synth, post punk, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

‘Programm 4′ is their fourth album. Mixed and auto-produced by Mark Eins near the Wall in West/Berlin in 1983, the album was rejected at the time by Innovative Communication, considered too much synth/punk/techno’, while the new label managers were looking more into new age stuff. In fact Schulze eventually sold the label in 1983, which started to release a plethora of acts loosely grouped around the NAM genre.

Din A Testbild – Programm 3 [MNQ092]

March 15, 2017July 17, 2019 hipodromealbum, din a testbild, electro, gudrun gut, innovative communication, mannequin records, mark eins, minimal synth, post punk, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

Early pioneers of the German New Wave music scene, Din A Testbild were formed in 1978 by Mark Eins and Gudrun Gut. Din A Testbild played a significant role in defining the avant-garde music of Berlin. Legendary is their partecipation at the Festival Genialer Dilletanten” in 1981. ‘Programm 3’ is their third album. Mixed and auto-produced by Mark Eins with help of Ziggy Schöning, it was released on Klaus Schulze’s record label Innovative Communication in 1983.

Rude 66 – From Reason To Ritual [BAP079]

March 14, 2017May 29, 2023 hipodromeacid, album, bordello a parigi, disco, electro, rude 66Leave a comment

Early 20th century. Barbarism on an industrial scale. After the final shots had rung out Europe was left a husk, a shell to be rebuilt. And she did rebuild. Slowly, but surely, normality returned. Different zones. Different ideologies. One Europe. Yet not everyone was happy. Within this struggling continent there were those who saw the hand of authoritarianism at the wheel, past criminals ruling and lands being led back to dictatorship. The solution: the sub machine gun. From Reason to Ritual is Rude 66´s most ambitious album to date. Amsterdam´s premier electronic musician maps the rise and fall of terrorism over two slabs of wax. Gruesome naivety, one that led to countless deaths, is given an electro beat on the first record, “Reason.” Warbling wave vocals from Ruud’s wife Shaunna tell a bitter tale of paranoia and looming violence. That violence is truly realised on the second record “Ritual.” Beats rain like shards of broken glass, constricted acid and echo as the enemy closes in for the final hollow defeat. An album that takes you from manifesto to death march.

Planetary Assault Systems – The Light Years Reworks [MOTELP003]

March 11, 2017June 8, 2023 hipodromealbum, compilation, function, kamikaze space programme, lucy, luke slater, marcel fengler, mote evolver, octave one, planetary assault systems, psyk, slam, steve bicknell, technoLeave a comment

Having already unleashed a considerable amount of collaborative magic with the ”Planetary Funk: 22 Light Years” series of remix EPs, Luke Slater has now upped the ante with six full sides’ worth of material,all of them injecting the spirit of classic P.A.S. into new sonic organisms. Behind the controls: Marcel Fengler, Function, Psyk,Octave One, Kamikaze Space Programme, Lucy, Slam and Steve Bicknell.

Dollkraut – Holy Ghost People [DA001LP]

March 10, 2017October 20, 2021 hipodromealbum, dischi autunno, dollkraut, minimal synth, pascal pinkert, synth popLeave a comment

DOLLKRAUT - Holy Ghost People

Amsterdam based artist Dollkraut (Pascal Pinkert) is back with his sophomore LP on Dischi Autunno – new label founded by Jennifer Cardini and Noura Labbani. “Holy Ghost People” sees Dollkraut delve deeper into his recognizable lo-fi and organic sound, inspired by old movie soundtracks, creating gritty atmospheres mixed with the purest of melodies. Album opens with instant hit “Bonnie Said”, where Pascal’s vocals magically merge with the darkest of bass lines. “Valium” continues the journey, increasing the tempo but confirming the feeling of being in a lost sci-fi movie soundtrack. On “Oblivian”, the rhythm slows down again, allowing us to dive even more in this twisted yet candid universe.

Silvia – Silvia LP [DE152]

March 10, 2017July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, minimal synth, re-release, reissue, schallmauer records, silvia, silvia nemanic, synth pop, tommi stumpffLeave a comment

Silvia is the name of a Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW ”New German Wave”) project created Tommi Stumpff and Silvia Nemanic. The pair met in Düsseldorf in the late 1970s and started dating when Tommi was the singer of punk band Der KFC. Silvia was absolutely inexperienced in musical things, she said, “I’ve played the recorder.” Tommi rented Klangwerkstatt studio for a few days in January 1982 to record his an album with his bandmate Ferdinand Mackenthun aka Käpt’n Nuss of Der KFC, but finished earlier than expected. With one extra day that was already paid for, they quickly wrote some more songs and recorded them. All they needed was a singer, so they asked Silvia. Simply titled “Silvia”, the record was released in mid-1982 on cult label Schallmauer Records, which had released many German punk, NDW, and New Wave records in the 80’s. Tommi and Käpt’n Nuss played all instruments and wrote the lyrics. Since Silvia had a very deep voice, Tommi slightly pitched up her vocals to sound higher on the recordings. The album displays Tommi’s transition from punk rock to cold electronics, EBM and eventually Techno. Tommi’s instrument set up was a Sequential Circuits Pro One and Moog Prodigy controlled by a Fricke sequencer and a Korg SQ-10 Analog Sequencer. Silvia urges the listener to save themselves and says “No miracle will happen You die tomorrow, young and guilty” evoking the urban Zeitgeist of the Cold War. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Housed in the original jacket featuring a full color of Silvia on the front with hand drawn magenta type. Each copy includes a replica insert of the original lyrics sheet in German and a postcard featuring a black and white photo of Tommi and Silvia. Sadly Silvia passed away in 2003 and this reissue is dedicated to her.

Teakwood – A Distant Star [MSLP9053]

March 5, 2017October 11, 2018 hipodromealbum, disco, funk, mo-soul records, soul, teakwood, tramp recordsLeave a comment

It is a rare occurrence, especially when you consider that we are writing this in the year 2017, that an unreleased soul/disco album from the 1970s surfaces after 40 years. The Tramp crew first heard about the album while discussing the re-release of Teakwood’s sole 45RPM single release “Can You Dig It” with former band leader and founding member of the group, Fred Forsh. It was in 1972 when two new Berry College freshmen met and realized that they were both music majors which led to an impromptu jam session in the lower level of the student center. This was the beginning of what would soon become Teakwood. “Those two original members, Ralph Moore on saxophone and me on piano, along with five others went into the studio in 1976 and recorded two songs for our first and only single”, remembers Fred Forsh. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, Moore and Forsh parted ways but Teakwood continued with four remaining members plus two new ones and with this new lineup, went into the studio in 1977 to record nine songs under the collective title “A Distant Star”. However, for some obscure reason the songs were never released but luckily the reel-to-reel master tapes survived. The tapes were sent to the head quarters of Tramp Records in early 2016. In the end it took several attempts at three different recording studios to transfer them successfully.

Claudio PRC – Volumi Dinamici [SEM087]

March 4, 2017January 12, 2023 hipodromealbum, ambient techno, blazej malinowski, claudio prc, dino sabatini, drone, minimal techno, semantica recordsLeave a comment

Volumi Dinamici is the second long player of Claudio PRC, a project that combines music and art inspired by the Futurist concepts of movement and dynamism and artistic currents such as Abstract Expressionism; the name itself is a tribute to a work of Italian artist and pioneer Luigi Russolo. Volumi Dinamici is a collection of 11 tracks accompanied by the same number of illustrations, different from each other but characterized by a common technical and compositional approach. The several shades of the atmospheres and the linear rhythm of the grooves come together to form a dense and mental musical dimension, a journey into the sounds and their intrinsic symbolic value. Depth, lights, shadows and noises are tangible elements of this work that mark the beginning of a new sound research based mainly on the instinctive use of machines and analogue instruments.

Beranek – Sound Of Danger [DE147]

March 2, 2017July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, beranek, dark entries records, electro, espen beranek holm, minimal synthLeave a comment

Espen Beranek Holm is a Norwegian musician and comedian, born 1960 and began his music career as a clarinetist. Inspired by early synthesizer bands Kraftwerk and The Residents, he began making experimental pop music. His debut single Dra te’ hælvete’ was released in 1981 and was immediately banned by national TV/radio channel NRK due to explicit lyrics. This gave the young artist tons of publicity, helping the single spend almost 6 months on the national charts. Beranek returned to the Starholm Studios in Oslo from June – September 1981 to record nine new compositions. His debut album, Sound of Danger’, was released on Mind Expanding Records in November 1981. Nowhere near as accessible as the previous single, the album fared poorly commercially. Withdrawing from the single’s fun, kitsch pop, the album is cool and static, driven by thin rhythm boxes, cold synths, and glacial guitars. Taking heavy cues from David Bowie, all of the songs are sung in a nasally English accent, a rare occurrence in Norway at the time. The lyrics are melancholic, but tinged with paranoia. There are also upbeat tracks that evoke a prog or glam sensibility a la King Crimson, Alan Parsons, or Roxy Music.

Timothy J. Fairplay – Where Is The Champion? [CHAR-LP01]

February 27, 2017November 24, 2023 hipodromealbum, charlois records, disco, electro, house, pinkman records, techno, timothy j fairplayLeave a comment

Charlois present “Where is the Champion?”, Timothy J. Fairplay’s first full length solo album. Twelve shifting, shuffling and shimmering tracks make up this debut. Cruising the highways and byways between proto-techno, horror disco and forlorn wave, Fairplay conjures up his creations from metal and smoke. Saturated snares, clipped claps and warbling chords are dusted with distortion. And this idea of distortion, manipulation and the blurred line is omnipresent. Innocent and sinister, cruel and playful, accepted boundaries are brazenly ignored as engines growl and synthlines soar.

Ian Martin – Sea Of Visions [RHYTHM019]

February 21, 2017May 10, 2023 hipodromealbum, bio rhythm recordings, electro, house, ian martin, technoLeave a comment

Black magic emo-electro by the dark lord. Follow the path of the left-hand. Limited to 200 copies, silk-screened sleeve.

Artefakt – Kinship [122DSR]

February 7, 2017October 12, 2023 hipodromeacid, album, artefakt, deep techno, delsin records, nick lapien, robin koek, technoLeave a comment

Dutch live-act and DJ duo Artefakt release their atmospheric debut album on renowned techno imprint Delsin. Known separately as Robin Koek and Nick Lapien, the pair first appeared on Field Records before follow up releases on Prologue, Delsin and Konstrukt. Kinship portrays a compelling narrative in a body of work that will undoubtedly keep listeners engaged from start to finish.

Aquarian Motion – Beyond The Pillars Of Hercules [VG002]

February 1, 2017September 20, 2017 hipodromealbum, aquarian motion, detroit, electro, jeremiah r., voodoo gold recordsLeave a comment

Next up on Voodoo Gold is the debut release by Aquarian Motion. ‘Beyond the Pillars of Hercules’ is a 9 track mixture of classic aquatic electro and deep mellow machine funk.

Jay Bliss – Vrăjitorul din Orz LP [SG004]

January 31, 2017September 16, 2021 hipodromealbum, deep house, deep techno, jay bliss, minimal house, romanian, stomping groundsLeave a comment

BLISS, Jay - Vrajitorul Din Orz

Debut longplayer by Romanian DJ and producer Jay Bliss. After a few years of releasing quite a bunch of EPs on various labels, Jay Bliss has pulled down the throttle for a while. This doesn’t mean that he took time off from the studio, on the contrary, he perfected his signature sounds. Spending time to bake his own imprints aswell, its only natural that his first LP will see the light of day on Stomping Grounds. Lush and organic pads, playful textures and attention to details are the building blocks of this introspective work, divided into 6 pieces.

DJ Jus-Ed – Transition [UQ067]

January 31, 2017May 8, 2023 hipodromealbum, deep house, deep techno, jus ed, underground qualityLeave a comment

Underground Quality boss Jus Ed is beginning 2017 in fine fettle, with Transition – his first album since 2014 – heading up a spate of vinyl releases. The triple-vinyl set is full of evocative, immaculately produced deep house treats, from the Alton Miller style intricacy of “The Loop 222 Bodin Strasse” and shuffling, yearning “The Day Prince Died”, to the rich bass and dancing drum machine hits of “Medellin My New Grooveland” (inspired, apparently, by a recent trip to Colombia), and the low-slung, Motor City grooves of “Sci-Fi Connection”. Best of all, though, is the rushing positivity of “Spring is Near”, where intertwining synth lines bubble away over a fizzing, techno-influenced rhythm track.

Aybee – The Odyssey [DBRV030]

January 30, 2017March 28, 2024 hipodromealbum, aybee, deep house, deepblak recordings, detroit technoLeave a comment

Deepblak’s Chief Alchemist Aybee come with his fourth full-length studio album, ‘The Odyssey’. As befitting its grand title, this newest long-player finds him concerned with personal journeys: both the personal one that has brought him to this point – living in Berlin, 15 years since founding Deepblak in his native Oakland – and the one that beckons for him personally and creatively in future: Aybee sees himself as being halfway up a mountain, looking back on where he has come from, and to where he will be headed next – both concepts play a profound role in the emotional textures of the album, which in true Deepblak fashion draws from jazz, deep house, techno, hip hop, blues, experimentation, cinema, space, time and infinity. ‘The Odyssey’ represents a change-up for AYBEE in several ways, forged from a desire to keep expectations at bay and throw something of a curveball for those who felt they had him pegged: “a good pitcher always keeps you off balance”. This newest work saw him deliberately limit his sound palette in a creative exercise that challenged him to create a full body of work from a small pre-selected library of sonic elements. While this was restricting in some aspects, the approach to – as he puts it – “throw the ingredients in a basket and cook with it later” gave him more freedom to focus on atmosphere and groove instead of putting hours into trying out different options – “otherwise I’d still be in the studio now trying to work out which hi-hat to use on the third track!”

Tropical Hi-Fi – Oceania [ERS028]

January 29, 2017March 30, 2023 hipodromealbum, ambient, drone, electro, emotional response, emotional response recordings, experimental, tropical hi-fiLeave a comment

Emotional Response starts 2017 with a mini-album of ambient-equatorial enlightenment by Australia’s mysterious Tropical Hi-Fi. The final record from an artist appearing on the label’s first SchleiBen series, this also points to the future. Based somewhere in the far flung Northern Territories, the music of Hi-Fi’s pre-incarnation Electric Egypt was first discovered via the note-worthy airwaves of L.A’s outstanding Dublab radio station. As the wonderfully diverse internet shows and project’s dense, hip-hop inspired collages came to fruition with 2012’s Exotica release, a dual awareness and sporadic contact was maintained whenever a signal could be established with Hi-Fi base camp. As the SchleiBen series was formed, the studio-DJ-cut-up-mix of Oceanic Mythology was warmly received as an inspired counterpoint to the dense offering from Don’t DJ. These first real solo recordings from the Hi-Fi crew – whoever he/she/they maybe – moves on from the cut’n’paste of Electric Egypt to seek a meditative vision. Ambient, drone and field recordings are all part of a drifting tropical flavour that encompasses the listener. Music truly inspired by it’s surroundings, this is not some music journal, flying in to sample a life and it’s sounds, but the real, living entity and it can be heard deep across the 8 short pieces. None is more typified than Tahiti Blue, where fellow traveler Mike Cooper layers his ubiquitous steel blues over simple, lilting drums. Mixed by Leaving Record’s Matthewdavid (with whom more to come on the label in 2017), photography by Native Finger and the ever-present encouragement of friend and neighbour, Ariel Kalma, this is conceptual album to lay back, drift off on undulating swells and simply, let go to.