Nuel – Hyperboreal [FUR100LP]

Italian DJ and producer Manuel Fogliata hasn’t released a lot of records over the last ten years, but the few he has put out have always been worth tracking down. Perhaps best known for his work alongside Donato Dozzy in creating the much sought-after Aquaplano records at the tail end of the last decade, Nuel’s solo outings have been just as consistent and just as impressive. Whether taking on metallic electro or syrupy, bass-heavy ambience, Nuel’s attention to detail and his keen ear for a groove has made each release something to treasure.

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Nuel – Hyperboreal [FUR100LP]

Blair French – Through The Blinds [DSR/D2]

Michigan’s ambient and soundtrack specialist John Beltran introduces a new LP that will be co-released by Delsin and his digital only label Dado Records. Blair French aka Dial.81 is an experimental producer and visual artist who won an award for his score of Detropia–a documentary about his home city of Detroit–and now makes his ambient debut. As you would expect of such a project, it boasts suspensory and near spiritual pieces of ambient music with angelic chords and glassy textures. There are also more frosty cuts that sound like a chilly Autumn walk, tracks that feature emotive neo-classical piano pieces and suggestively rhythmic compositions that sooth your mind. The second half of the record touches on church like passages of synth heavy sounds, strikingly sad violins and lo-fi arrangements that sound, one hopes, a little like what you might hear as you pass from this life to the next.

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Blair French – Through The Blinds [DSR/D2]

DECA – Synthetic Lips LP [DECA001]

DECA - Synthetic Lips (remastered)

Mothball Record starts its 2016 release schedule with a bang by releasing their first LP. Originally produced in a tiny edition of only 100 copies back in ’87, this dark masterpiece from prolific Italian artist DECA finally appears as an official reissue on Mothball (in collaboration with Bordello A Parigi) remastered from the original tapes. “Synthetic Lips” is an absolutely diverse album spanning industrial, synth-pop, ambient and even elements of new age…some tracks will hit immediately and others will reward repeated listening.

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DECA – Synthetic Lips LP [DECA001]

Mat 101 – Archives 1999-2001 [CYBERDANCE019]

Italian arcade electro superstars Mat 101 are back with this LP of lost recordings from the vaults on Cyber Dance Records. Back in the late 90s when electro was first being resurrected and transformed into a more European dark psychedelic style Mat 101 were at the forefront of the revolution, taking inspiration from the pure electro sounds of the arcade games of their youth and representing the classic Italian sound in new and unexpectedly brilliant ways. Their legacy was immense, spawning Jollymusic, Pigna People, Raiders Of The Lost Arp and Francisco (among many other projects) and inspiring subsequent generations of electro wannabes with how to do it properly ever since. This LP brings together their lost recordings, some intended for a second LP that never was, along with live cuts and rarities as well as other unreleased material. However the album is in no way merely a random collection of lost bits and pieces – what is surprising is how fresh, finished and naturally flowing the record sounds, so much so that it really would have made a worthy follow up to their classic 1999 ‘Goodbye Mum!’ first album. The breadth of sound on the records, from the gently hypnotising strains of ‘Marble Madness’ and the blissful climax of ‘Gloria Gloria’ to the intense electro jamming of ‘Commando’ and the progressive rave monster ‘Toys Around’, is truly stunning. And with dancefloor anthems like ‘Falling Down Suite’ and ‘Musicadambiente’ thrown into the mix too the release is essential ammunition for both DJ activists and armchair-listeners alike.

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Mat 101 – Archives 1999-2001 [CYBERDANCE019]

Danny Wolfers – Swan Song Of The Skunkape Original Soundtrack [NW008]

The soundtrack for Brad Abrahams documentary on South Florida’s strangest bipedal resident, as told by the rare few who claim they’ve encountered the creature. At over 1.5 million acres, the ‘Glades are the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi, with thousands of acres untouched by man. If indeed something this strange could exist, it would surely be here. Cassetape comes in faux leather luxurious plastic case and with a micro-zine included.

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Danny Wolfers – Swan Song Of The Skunkape Original Soundtrack [NW008]

Sova Stroj – Silent Earth LP [TTTB008]

Sova Stroj is the nom de plume of Luxembourg-based producer Michel Flammant. With a history in black metal, rock and synth pop bands, he has now ventured out on his own, delving into experimental and electronic music. Sova Stroj’s debut album ‘Silent Earth’ explores feelings of willful desertion through forty minutes of highly concentrated and almost teleologically dark ambient patterns. Musically the album is centered around an abstracted industrial music influence paired with precise and evocative melodic and harmonic explorations.

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Sova Stroj – Silent Earth LP [TTTB008]

The Exaltics – The Girl & The Chameleon [SHIPLP004]

“The Girl and the Chameleon” will probably fall under the genre tags of acid, electro and techno but it is so much more. Robert Witschkowski has been responsible for exemplary electronics throughout his career and this latest is undeniably some of his best. The album sees The Exaltics don a dust mask. Warehouse parties, strobe lights and fog machines and the 90s underground acid scene are definite influences. But there’s more. Across thirteen tracks and two slabs of wax the Jena artist takes you on a journey into his world. Gnarled and clinical grooves, caustic 303 encounters, depraved dancefloor destroyers and soothing machine music. A sonic trek through tough and taut textures with touches of tenderness. An album that shows a depth of ability, an enviable talent and a knowledge of how to break floorboards.

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The Exaltics – The Girl & The Chameleon [SHIPLP004]

Abstract Division – Contemporary Spaces [DREF028]

ABSTRACT DIVISION - Contemporary Spaces

Reflection is beginning 2016 with the long awaited return of Abstract Division to their native imprint, by the release of their first ever double EP: Contemporary Spaces. Not set out to be an album, but certainly being more than just an EP, Contemporary Spaces explores the current state of techno, providing the listener with wayward and timeless pieces drawing their inspiration from the broad spectrum of electronic music. Yet, while each individual track stands in its own place and time within this spectrum, the EP as a whole compliments the diversity of past, present and future influences and styles. Contemporary Spaces is one of their most extensive and widely aimed projects to date and solely consists of original material.

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Abstract Division – Contemporary Spaces [DREF028]

Nico Motte – Life Goes On If You Are Lucky [ATN024]

Nico Motte, the man behind the visual identity of the Parisian imprint Antinote, makes an impressive come-back on the label’s catalogue with Life Goes On If You Are Lucky. Each song seems to be the result of a long session of orchestration by Nico Motte, composer, arranger and conductor, who has been attributing to each electronic component a specific role to play in these 7 little instrumental suites, disturbed from time to time by human elements – a saxophone on Terra d’Amore, the voicefrom Syracuse’s Isabelle on Tacotac – only to reminds us that Life Goes On If You Are Lucky is above all about human fragility.

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Nico Motte – Life Goes On If You Are Lucky [ATN024]

The Analog Roland Orchestra – Roden Crater Vision [ORN038]

A collection of tracks, skits and moods for James Turrell´s visionary Roden Crater project by The Analog Roland Orchestra.

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The Analog Roland Orchestra – Roden Crater Vision [ORN038]

Antoni Maiovvi & Umberto ‎– Law Unit [DWO1RD]

Death Waltz Recording Company are proud to bring you an all-new aural experience via the latest installment of the Death Waltz Originals imprint. Law Unit is a brand new creation by maestros Umberto and Antoni Maiovvi, an original concept that in the composers’ own words ”moves past the retro-futurist works of their individual solo releases to explore a world of early industrial and experimental music”. The resulting album is made up of ten dangerously cool and evocative cuts, the kind of tracks that put you in the mood for LA circa 2019, or the Detroit of 1987.

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Antoni Maiovvi & Umberto ‎– Law Unit [DWO1RD]

Palais Des Bauzards – In The Grassfield [OS028]

Palais Des Bauzards pursued an industrial and electronic variant of the sound that swept into vogue during the first half of the ’80s. This compilation digs into the original material provided by the band and offers an amazing selection from start to finish. The sometimes rudimentary though gripping tracks tracks on the first side are emblematic for their early period, for example “Money” a song driven by a screeching rhythm box, distant guitar lines and a nonchalant voice. Cabaret Voltaire comes to mind. They’re not afraid to experiment and to explore new horizons (the track “Lies”). The second side shows a more developed dark wave sound with In The Grassfield and Knowing Too Much both produced by legendary Belgian producer Ludo Camberlin. On top of this there are two dark goth rock stomper hidden in the selection, they hide by the names My Life Is A Sin & Eat Out Of My Hands. Overall it’s a broad selection of tracks which show the capability of the band to do something different with the new wave genre. Initially the group was formed in 1983 in the Belgian city of Leuven by Danny Jacobs, Dirk Van Regenmortel, Chris Serré (+2006), Frank De Wit and Rudy Stuyckens. In 1983 they released two tracks on the Mask Live LP together with Front 242. In the three following years many of their home recorded tracks were published on a bunch of cassette labels.

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Palais Des Bauzards – In The Grassfield [OS028]

CN – The Derelict [WEME313.18/WR057]

Norwegian producer Stian Gjevik returns with his third full length album as CN with The Derelict. The sequel to his 2011 concept album The Expedition Beyond (Wil-Ru Records), The Derelict unravels a new chapter in the story of a space traveller wandering the galaxy in his starship only to crash-land on a foreign planet and encounter new lifeforms. The shuffle of crisp airy high hats and punchy robotic rhythms lay down the framework for CN’s signature cosmic sound. Beautiful hardware based electronic sounds paint a colorful soundscape with blissful arpeggios and soothing washed out synth pads over groovy moving bass-lines, creating lush atmospheric listen that is as chill as it is suitable for the dance foor. Ten new tracks of highly melodic motivating braindance music to get utterly lost in.

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CN – The Derelict [WEME313.18/WR057]

Black Patterns – Black Patterns Vol.1 [LT020]

Black Patterns is a new alias from Lobster Theremin regular Snow Bone, launched to allow him to explore more obviously experimental techno pastures. In truth, Black Patterns Volume 1 is thoroughly in keeping with the fuzzy, distorted and generally bleak material that the hyped label has been putting out of late. Variously creepy, unsettling and freakishly intense, it’s a collection that rarely steps back from the dusty darkness of the crumbling warehouses and basement spaces most readily associated with this style of balls-out techno. As a collection of club tracks, it can’t be faulted. Given that it’s DJs that will be most interested in its’ throbbing charms, it would seem churlish to criticise.

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Black Patterns – Black Patterns Vol.1 [LT020]

Linear Movement – The Linear Way [MW059]

LINEAR MOVEMENT - The Linear Way

Minimal Wave label announce a second release by Belgian Linear Movement. The collection entitled “The Linear Way” marks our 59th release on Minimal Wave and continues the celebration of 10 years as a label. The album is a collection of warm melodic electronic pop songs that have for the most part remained unreleased until now. Linear Movement is Belgian mastermind Peter Bonne (A Split-Second, Twilight Ritual, Autumn) joined by Peter Koutstaal, and Lieve Van Steerteghem contributing vocals on the final track. The songs “The Linear Way” and “Don’t Try To Trick Me” appeared on the exquisite Pulse Music cassette (released by the Micrart Group in 1983) while the rest were never officially released.

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Linear Movement – The Linear Way [MW059]

Nomad Ninja – Avond Sluimer [NW006]

Fourth in the Nightwind Records Cassettetape series. Dozing snuggy amateur synth jazz for the serious psychonaut. Oozing cloudy Rhodes electric pianos and saturated trip synthesizers. Comes in the usual luxurious vintage c64/zxspectrum style microVHS video game box . Also includes free professional dome sticker and “Nomad Ninja” Microzine/map.

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Nomad Ninja – Avond Sluimer [NW006]

Teeth Of The Sea – Highly Deadly Black Tarantula [LAUNCH084]

In the last decade, this iconoclastic four-pronged force has traversed from its origins in pub gigs and basement rehearsal rooms to far-flung locales aplenty. Yet this band has never lost sight of its original vision – to reconcile a fearless experimental drive with a primal lust for noise, and this is manifest on this fourth effort. Machine-driven yet melodically abundant, the widescreen industrial expanses of this album combine the influence of long-time band favourites like Aphex Twin, Angelo Badalamenti and Throbbing Gristle with new inspiration that spans from Chicago footwork to black metal. Yet this a fearsomely coherent assault of post-everything dementia sounds like no-one but Teeth Of The Sea.

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Teeth Of The Sea – Highly Deadly Black Tarantula [LAUNCH084]

Max Graef Band – Dog [MSLP001]

Five guys jamming together, each throwing in funk-nuggets from a finely honed appreciation & a shared love of the good groove. This studio project was compiled from a free-wheeling desire to just team up and play together, see what happens.

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Max Graef Band – Dog [MSLP001]

Ashra – Blackouts [SPALAX14759]

Blackouts is a solo album by German musician Manuel Göttsching, released in 1978. It was originally released as an Ash Ra Tempel album, but the 2011 reissue of the album is credited solely to Göttsching. The album was written and performed entirely by Göttsching on electric guitar, keyboards.

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Ashra – Blackouts [SPALAX14759]