M. Rav – Common Purpose [LIES088]

August 16, 2016November 3, 2021 hipodromeacid, album, bookworms, cd, cloudface, electro, experimental, huerco s, jahiliyya fields, josephine, l.i.e.s., long island electrical systems, m. rav, max ravitz, ngly, patricia, techno, terekkeLeave a comment

M RAV - Common Purpose

Max Ravitz has made a name for himself with his hazed dance not dance productions over these last couple of years appearing on a handful of different labels under a handful of different monikers. Here on the 15 track, ”Common Purpose” cd we get Ravitz in all of his different forms as he teams up with numerous artists from his local Brooklyn scene and beyond, serving up unheard cuts from numerous recording sessions done over the last years. Through the record we hear the producer’s versatility from tripped out downtempo vibes, to mid-paced acid, to high bpm dust burners, as Ravitz and Co. explore almost all possible avenues while in the studio. Collaborators include Huerco S., Jahiliyya Fields, NGLY, Terekke, Bookworms, Cloudface, and Josephine.

VC-118A – Shift Register [TABR036]

August 14, 2016January 26, 2024 hipodromealbum, ambient, electro, experimental, samuel van dijk, tabernacle records, vc-118aLeave a comment

Over the last few years, Dutch electronic misfit VC-118A has delivered a number of killer EPs and 12″ singles, each packed with sharp-edged electro, spacey techno, and industrial-strength analogue house. Shift Regsiter is his second full-length excursion and offers an expansive and hugely atmospheric journey through his trademark sound. Naturally, there’s much to admire across the 14 tracks, from the woozy, spaced-out electro-dub of “Input Mode” and the sparkling IDM of “Serial Data Transmission”, to the ultra-deep throb of “Radiation Curve”, and the hard-wired dancefloor bounce of the Drexciya-like “Apex”.

Hieroglyphic Being – The Disco’s Of Imhotep [TCLR015]

August 11, 2016January 11, 2019 hipodromealbum, chicago, chicago house, experimental, hieroglyphic being, house, jamal moss, ninja tune, technicolour, technoLeave a comment

Seriously strong Jamal Moss LP under his Hieroglyphic Being moniker. “The Disco’s Of Imhotep is about creating Frequencies and Vibrations for the Listener that are conducive for him or her to Heal The Mind and Body and Enrich the Soul by creating Hemi-Synced Harmonies and music that contains embedded Binaural Beats. We have been made to believe that electronic sounds are just for Movement, Enlightenment, Primal Afflictions and Entertainment purposes, but it’s much more… It’s Sound Healing, but the ancestors would call it Frequency Medicine. Medicine is Healing and this project is dedicated to one of Earth’s first Healers: High Priest Imhotep. The One who comes in Peace, is with Peace.”

Jeremiah R. – The Outer Rings [KONDI016]

August 8, 2016September 20, 2017 hipodromealbum, electro, house, jeremiah r., kondi recordsLeave a comment

Copenhagen purveyor of melodic electro soul Kondi Records finally resurfaces after almost a decade with a new batch of tracks from man of the moment, Jeremiah R. Sleek nighttime electro in a deep but spacious melancholic vein of The Other People Place and Drexciya’s mellow aquatic dives. Includes an extended version of ‘The Outer Rings’, which appeared back in 2011 on the ultra limited ‘the 5th dimension’ album.

NHK yx Koyxen – Doom Steppy Reverb [DIAG034]

August 6, 2016December 21, 2017 hipodromealbum, diagonal records, experimental, kouhei matsunaga, nhk yx koyxen, technoLeave a comment

Japanese experimenter Kouhei Matsunaga has been quietly building an exceptional discography as NHK yx Koyxen and the numerous variances. With prior NHK yx Koyxen output on PAN, Skam and Raster Noton, Matsunaga’s growing alliance with Powell’s Diagonal label makes perfect sense. A fresh NHK yx Koyxen LP that expands on his fuzzy, texture-laden, leftfield techno blueprint. So, while there’s plenty of industrial-influenced darkness, claustrophobic tape hiss, and redlined rhythms, the Japanese artist also includes quietly beautiful textures and hazy, looped melodies. This is most evident on the foreboding, late night swing of “Y”, where the application of dub delays helps emphasize the skewed, doom-laden mood.

Folkvett – Tröskelvärk [PATER003]

August 4, 2016February 13, 2026 hipodromealbum, christian Åkerström, folkvett, industrial, pater noster, post punk, synth waveLeave a comment

Pater Noster introduce the debut LP from Swedish synth wizard Christian Åkerström. Produced under the alias Folkvett, ‘Tröskelvärk’ is a collection of ten infectious, hypnotic and cinematic frost-covered Nordic synth jams. Analogue and uncompromising melodic minimal synth, this is music for the ice-cold punks.

Ron Berry – Where Dark Forced Meet [VOD145.RB]

August 4, 2016January 23, 2024 hipodromealbum, experimental, flowmotion, ron berry, synth wave, vinyl on demand recordsLeave a comment

Born in Manchester, UK 1947 Ron Berry became interested in electronics as a child in the mid fifties making radios and other electronic projects. His first musical instrument was a home-made electric guitar made out of scrap wood with pickups fashioned from magnets and coils found in old headphones. He played in his first band at school 1962 and then in various groups as lead guitarist in and around Manchester during the Beatles led Mersey beat era. The “Where Dark Forced Meet” album was first released in 1982 on cassette by Flowmotion label.

Space Dimension Controller – Orange Melamine [ZEN231]

July 31, 2016March 17, 2022 hipodromealbum, ambient, electronics, experimental, jack hamill, ninja tune, space dimension controllerLeave a comment

While Jack Hamill’s Space Dimension Controller project is best known for mixing colourful electrofunk synths with intergalactic ambient, techno and hypnotic house influences, his earliest musical output trod a slightly different path. His long forgotten, digital-only debut album, 2009’s Unidentified Flying Oscillator, explored IDM and woozy electronica, and it’s these styles that come to the fore on Orange Melamine. Like that debut album, this set – his first for Ninja Tune – was recorded in his bedroom, aged 18, with a collection of “cheap, lo-fi” and “battered” kit. It largely takes its’ cues from the likes of Boards of Canada and ambient-era Aphex Twin, but retains that distinctive vibe and attention to detail that’s always marked out Hamill’s work. vinyl / CD

Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo – Mastership [LER1005]

July 31, 2016October 15, 2021 hipodromealbum, disco, funk, left ear records, omer coleman jr., re-release, reissue, starship commander wooooo woooooLeave a comment

STARSHIP COMMANDER WOOOOO WOOOOO - Mastership

Left Ear Records went back to Coleman’s original master tapes for their vinyl reissue of the Commander’s 1981 private press album Mastership, a lost electronic funk classic. Truly nuts and really kind of essential. Check the instrumental cut, Mastership – a head nod synth voyage of the highest order.

Frak – UH006 [UH006]

July 28, 2016October 24, 2024 hipodromeacid, album, bjorn isgren, frak, jan svensson, johan sturesson, techno, ultimate hitsLeave a comment

Since 1987, Frak have been everyone’s favourite, premier Swedish synthesizer-touching weirdos. Even if most people hadn’t heard of them until 4 years ago. And yet, world of Frak is as long as it is wide. As blue as it is black. As ominous as it is glorious. As dirty as it is hairdryer. Sweet it is as yellow paper As. All of the above is a perfect example of how trying to convey what Frak is in the crass form of words is ultimately fruitless. Here is a double 12” vinyl product from Ultimate Hits featuring eight audio recordings from Frak: three men who have known each other since at least 1987. The sleeve was lovingly hand screen-printed at the studio of House of Traps, and features the colours commonly known as pink and black.

Master C&J – The Legendary Master C & J Feat Liz Torres [TX5075]

July 27, 2016February 19, 2018 hipodromealbum, carl bias, chicago house, edward crosby, jessie jones, liz torres, master c&j, re-release, reissue, trax recordsLeave a comment

Killer, heavyweight double pack from the Chicago dons – Master C&J. Originally released in 2002 and featuring some unreleased and alternative mixes and versions of some classics and various projects they worked on this double LP is indispensable for any fans of vintage dance music. All of the hallmarks of Master C&J’s sound are here and we ca easily see what a huge influence their style was on everyone who came after them, this double LP serves as an essential collection and overview of some of their finest moments. Remastered in conjunction with Trax Records, fully legit, now is the time to revisit a cornerstone of classic Chicago House music, often imitated, never bettered.

Repeated Viewing – Street Force (Soundtrack) [GDLP005]

July 26, 2016March 15, 2018 hipodromealan sinclair, album, ambient, electro, giallo disco records, horror disco, minimal synth, repeated viewing, soundtrackLeave a comment

Repeated Viewing’s soundtrack to the “not totally sure if it’s real or not” film of the same name slinks out of your speakers as if Badalamenti and Goblin had made sweet regretful love one night and created a baby so dark and brooding, only the ‘Trv Synth Fr33ks’ would take it in and raise it like wolves. Following the story of one man’s revenge across 1982 New York, this is Death Wish if we lived in some kind of alternative universe where Lucio Fulci had directed it instead of Michael Winner. From Ballads to Disco to Minimal Synth, “Street Force” is a masterpiece of faux soundtrack bliss and definitely not to be missed.

Nagamatzu – Above This Noise [DE127]

July 26, 2016July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, andrew lagowski, dark entries records, minimal synth, nagamatzu, stephen jarvisLeave a comment

Nagamatzu were the British duo of Andrew Lagowski (SETI, Legion, Terror Against Terror) on synths, guitar, and programming and Stephen Jarvis (Pure Motorised Instinct, Terraform) on synths and bass. Formed in 1982 after messing around with old tape machines and drum boxes, making numerous contributions to international compilations and erratically releasing their own cassettes. Their name comes from a character in JG Ballard‘s “Atrocity Exhibition” and their music reflects his influence. Nagamatzu self-released their debut cassette “Shatter Days” in 1983 after messing around with old tape machines, drum boxes and effects. “Above This Noise” is a compilation of 9 songs recorded in the period between the release of ‘Sacred Islands of the Mad’ in 1986 and ‘Igniting the Corpse’ in 1991. It gathers tracks which surfaced on some of the international compilation cassette releases that the band were invited to contribute to in the 1980s as well as some previously unreleased songs. The band’s working method was for Andrew to first record a backing track, usually rhythm, sequence, samples. Then both members would layer more electronics, samples, guitar and bass over the top, recording the whole piece in one take. These instrumentals combine stuttering bass, guitar bursts and funeral keyboards draped over a dragging drum machine beat, calling to mind Clock DVA, early New Order or Cocteau Twins. Their sound is full of complex rhythm patterns and dark electronics.

All the Madman – Tape Recordings 1980-1983 [VOD145B1ATM]

July 26, 2016January 23, 2024 hipodromealbum, all the madman, christopher paul bailey, electro, mike richardson, minimal synth, neale james potts, post punk, richard roger weston-smith, synth pop, vinyl on demand recordsLeave a comment

All the Madmen were Neale James Potts, Michael William Richardson, Christopher Paul Bailey and Richard Roger Weston-Smith from Stoke-on-Trent, UK. They called themselves minimal synthesizer-punks. ATM started in 1980 as an Anti Rock group, believing that the way that music was played and produced should change forever. One track called ”Superior Life” made it onto the LP ”Cry Havoc”.

Stephen Cadman – Big Smith Stays in Bed [VOD145B1SC]

July 26, 2016January 23, 2024 hipodromealbum, electro, experimental, stephen cadman, synth wave, vinyl on demand recordsLeave a comment

Stephen Cadman is a synthesist from Leeds, GB now living in Australia. In late 1980 he produced and released a C60-Tape on his own Big Smith’s Nose Tapes-Label. His synth music and style in the vein of Tangerine Dream and other german electronica bands of the 70’s found interest to Ian Dobson and was then distributed via Ian and also (re)-released shortly after on the Flowmotion-Label.

Head Technician – Zones [E022LP]

July 19, 2016November 27, 2017 hipodromeacid, album, ecstatic recordings, martin jenkins, techno, the head technicianLeave a comment

Ecstatic label catch Martin Jenkins (Pye Corner Audio) in Head Technician garb for a slippery set of slow, plasmic acid workouts that were originally issued on a super-limited tape, and now sit heavy on wax. Over the years Jenkins has used the Head Technician alter ego as a sort of evil engineer Hyde analogous to his day-to-day Jekyll, a sort of hyperstitious studio partner in a time-honoured tradition of sleeve credits ghost chasing. Where Pye Corner Audio’s pieces may tend to be lustrous, optimistic, the Head Technician’s Zones LP hems to the shadows of the ‘floor with a furtive, noirish quality that works a treat in the right situations, whether soundtracking gaslamp-lit raves or midnight street patrols seeking out ne’erdowells and laudanum dealers.
Fired on a classic trinity of Roland TR-606 drum machine with an MC-202 (a beast to program, he admits) and TB-303 to sequence his baselines, it clearly makes explicit reference to the early days of Detroit techno and UK bleep ’n bass, but the vibe is more anachronistic, out-of-time, possibly thanks to his patented, lagging basslines and slowly unfolding arrangements, bridging that imaginary, dilated gap between fuzzy dancefloor head melt and curtains-drawn next day gouch out.

Vakula – Cyclicality Between Procyon And Gomeisa [DKMNTL040]

July 17, 2016May 13, 2025 hipodromealbum, ambient, dekmantel records, experimental, soundtrack, vakulaLeave a comment

Vakula has been a Dekmantel label member ever since the very early days. The Ukraine based producer now drops his album Cyclicality Between Procyon And Gomeisa on the label. ‘This album is about cycles, repetition and interaction’, says Vakula, whose Cyclicality between Procyon and Gomeisa is the third of a series of albums and reflects a dashing experimental record that evokes the endless and captivating potential of electronic music. It creates a mesmerizing journey through various music genres, exhibiting a singular sonic experience, whilst he works through a process of improvisation and refinement. Once again the mastermind proves to be capable of creating complex, yet diverse musical pieces beyond genres and trends. The result: an audio adaptation of his fascinating mind. ‘There are two parallel processes that come together in my work: me writing music and working on the sound I want to achieve, and the energy from outside that flows and transforms into thoughts, correlations, and actions.’ The track titles relate to the source of Vakula’s inspiration and connect the dots between his obsession for the vastness of our universe and electronic music. ”To wonder about the universe and to dig into mythology and scientific research discovering at least some of its secrets is what keeps me endlessly motivated as a producer.”

Fred P – Sound Destination [SPMBLP002]

July 17, 2016July 25, 2019 hipodromealbum, ambient, deep house, experimental, fred p, fred peterkin, soul people boards, soul people musicLeave a comment

Sound Destination is a project that crosses genre to find its own space. Soundscapes, downtempo, ambient, and house music all find a place in this aesthetically complete project. There’s a simmering, hovering quality about the whole album, as a pastoral ease settles over the listener. The record flows like a vague narrative, a non-specific sort-of journey album, a meditative jazz-house trip. Fred Peterkin shows yet another perspective of his expression. bursting out of the style-box, to draw you in to his own dimension.

Afrikan Sciences – Means & Ways [DBRV006LP]

July 16, 2016July 15, 2016 hipodromeafrikan sciences, album, deepblak recordings, eric douglas porter, experimental, house, jazzLeave a comment

Bursting out of Oakland into the ionosphere, a hot pocket of free jazz, house, blues, African & Latin rhythms, a fully shuffled deck of everything that might expand your head, all fed into the MPC, and hot-wired right into your heart. Some five years after it was released digitally, Aybee’s Deepblak label revisit the wonderful Afrikan Sciences LP Means &Ways to grant it a double LP vinyl edition. For those unfamiliar with the album, the 11-track set showed Eric Porter refusing to stand still, variously touching on polyrhythmic IDM, dusty jazz-hop, dense post-techno wonkiness, hard-to-pigeonhole madness (see “Alpha Male Syndrum”), sparkling aural experiments (“Ways & Means”), and pleasingly off-kilter dancefloor fare. Amongst this category you’ll find deliberately out-of-time deepness, slipped broken beat, and dense drum workouts (“NanoRock Skank”). As usual, Porter’s tunes are bizarre but brilliant.

Nat Birchall – Guiding Spirit [JMANLP089]

July 16, 2016October 7, 2020 hipodromealbum, gondwana records, jazz, jazzman records, nat birchallLeave a comment

Guiding Spirit was second album by Nat Birchall for the fledgling Manchester label Gondwana Records back in 2010. The follow-up to the remarkable debut of Akhenaten found him exploring different textures using percussion and instruments like the kora and the harp. It was also the first time Nat had recorded on the soprano saxophone, featured here on the songs Keep the Light Shining and Higher Regions. Nat reveals a concept on the instrument quite unlike most other contemporary players of the higher-pitched horn, his sound more akin to the keening tone of the Indian shenai master, Bismillah Khan, perfectly in keeping with the music’s more “Eastern” sounding leanings. The music here is firmly rooted in the modal jazz world of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and others who sought to expand upon the avenues of expression originally forged by John Coltrane in the heady days of the early 1960s. As has often been pointed out by commentators however, this is no pastiche or “re-make”. This is the real thing, played absolutely in the now, but played from and in the spirit of then. Originally released only in CD format, Jazzman Records are proud to make this music available on vinyl for the first time.