Patrick Cowley – Muscle Up [DE106]

November 11, 2015August 9, 2021 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, disco, experimental, honey soundsystem, italo-disco, patrick cowleyLeave a comment

COWLEY, Patrick - Muscle Up

Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up again to release another volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the canon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, ”The San Francisco Sound.” Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco at the age of 21. He studied at the City College of San Francisco where he founded the Electronic Music Lab. During this time, Patrick, along with his classmates Maurice Tani and Art Adcock, would create radio jingles and electronic pieces using the school’s equipment: first a Putney, then an E-MU System, and finally a Serge synthesizer. He would make experimental soundtracks by blending various types of music and adapting them to the synthesizer.

Floating Points – Elaenia [PLUTO001]

November 8, 2015July 29, 2016 hipodromealbum, ambient, deep house, floating points, jazz, pluto, sam shepherdLeave a comment

For the past ten years, all roads Shepherd has followed have been slowly leading to ‘Elaenia’ – an album with roots deep in his formative years, and one that draws upon everything Shepherd has done so far. An album that provides context to the music that Shepherd has been making to date. Every DJ set he’s performed, every talent he has produced, every composition he has written are thought of as precursors to ‘Elaenia’ – a dazzling score which puts Shepherd in the spotlight as a composer who has produced an album that bridges the gap between his rapturous dance music and formative classical roots. Drawing inspiration from classical, jazz, electronic music, soul and even Brazilian popular music, ‘Elaenia’ – named after the bird of the same name – is the epitome of the forward-thinking Floating Points vision in 2015.

Varg – Story Of K [NE023]

November 8, 2015June 8, 2023 hipodromealbum, ambient, drone, experimental, jonas ronnberg, northern electronics, vargLeave a comment

Jonas Ronnberg aka Varg with a mini album themed around dominance and glamour. This is the statement of Penthouse Electronics.

Celldöd – Mekaniskt Gränsland [SUCTION033]

November 7, 2015June 28, 2022 hipodromealbum, anders karlsson, celldöd, electro, suction records, technoLeave a comment

Suction Records is pleased to present “Mekaniskt Gränsland,” the debut full-length release by Sweden’s Celldöd. Celldöd’s Anders Karlsson is a seasoned EBM musician and fanatic, a member of bands including The Pain Machinery and Bunkersex. “Mekaniskt Gränsland” (translation: Mechanical Twilight) is dirty, electronic dance floor music, hardware driven, mostly instrumental, and stripped to the bare bone. The album was made during long, late-night sessions, working with semi-functioning gear from the past (analogue synths and drum machines, cassette decks, old tape delays and spring reverbs) as well as new, small and inexpensive machines. Karlsson’s modus operandi for Celldöd is to keep the grit and the rough edges in the production, submitting to the beauty and power of imperfection.

October – Black Body Radiation [SKUDGEWLP002]

November 6, 2015November 1, 2024 hipodromealbum, julian smith, october, skudge records, technoLeave a comment

Bristol based Julian Smith aka October returns to Skudge Records with the full length Black Body Radiation. Sounding like the soundtrack for a long lost dystopic Anime movie. Action packed, intense, fast-moving. Body music from the future.

Legowelt – Dark Days 1992-1997 [BAKKDD001]

November 6, 2015April 3, 2024 hipodromeacid house, album, bakk records, danny wolfers, legowelt, strange life records, technoLeave a comment

Those familiar with the Strange Life label operated by Danny Wolfers will know it’s rife with CDr material worthy of the vinyl format. Whilst our personal favourite (the bizarre Portopia by Wolfers alias Satomi Taniyama) remains looked over by labels, Berceuse Heroique were responsible for a quite sumptuous double LP edition of Smackos album The Age Of Candy Candy earlier this year. Now local Den Haag crew BAKK have got their hands on 2004 Strange Life album Dark Days for an equally classy triple LP edition. Wolfers fans not familiar with this album will immediately fall in love with Dark Days, thanks to the signature blend of goofy track titles (“Lego Resistance”, “An Obnoxious Affair On Tape”) and music that veers from soaring, synth vistas to grotty techno via cold, primitive electronics and more.

Ø [Phase] – Alone in Time? [TOKEN057LP]

October 30, 2015December 13, 2023 hipodromealbum, ashley burchett, Ø phase, techno, tokenLeave a comment

It’s some 15 years since Ashley Burchett first donned the Ø [Phase] moniker to lay down some surging London techno for Cosmic Records. A decade and a half on, he continues to impress with the moodiness and atmospheric intent of his hypnotic dancefloor concoctions. There’s much to enjoy on this second full-length – his debut album, Frames Of Reference, dropped in 2013 – from the intergalactic electronics and Drexciyan beats of “Remote”, and the looped marimba melodies and sludgy pulse of the title track, to the bleak, ghostly hypnotism of “Increment”, and hustling broken techno of “Nep-Tune”. This is proper techno for the dancefloor, with enough subtle variations and neat ideas to please all but the pickiest of listeners.

Endlec – Theories and Subjects of Substance EP [MORD022]

October 30, 2015February 5, 2026 hipodromealbum, endlec, mord records, technoLeave a comment

Late 90’s style looped techno on the reliable Mord Records. Frantic and pounding tracks.

Saab Knutson – Electronic Music From The Faroe Islands 1993 [NW005]

October 24, 2015March 25, 2019 hipodromealbum, ambient, cassette, danny wolfers, experimental, nightwind records, saab knutsonLeave a comment

The second tape on Legowelt’s Nightwind Records Cassette series. Through his remote viewing powers Danny Wolfers channeled the music of Saab Knutson of Faroe Islands circa 1993. 60 Minutes of Nordic Ambient with a disturbing undertone of dark melancholia with vague notions of distant happiness. Saab Knutson is a man with many issues, but on the Faroe Islands there is no time for issues. To stay of sound mind, Saab plays his synthesizers in the few spare hours he manages to find, unmistakenly influenced by Faroe’s spellbinding landscapes and grim climate. Though Danny has never been to the Islands he has a definite puzzling calling to them, a ‘luring’ force, so to speak. Hopefully he will sell enough Saab Knutson albums so he can fund an expedition and find out more about this mysterious destiny… Played on Yamaha DX100, Roland JX3P, Alpha Juno 2, EMU 16 bit digital sampling keyboard. Ruby metallic cassette tape in luxurious faux plastic case.

Giorgio Gigli – The Right Place Where Not To Be [EDLX045LP]

October 24, 2015December 8, 2021 hipodromealbum, ambient techno, drone, electric deluxe, experimental, giorgio gigliLeave a comment

GIGLI, Giorgio - The Right Place Where Not To Be

“The Right Place Where Not to Be” is the title of Giorgio Gigli’s first full-length “sonic movie”, a work emerging from the depth of his soul and which properly filters every musical input he’s developed over the years. The album takes its outset in a scenario where all human and animal life-forms have perished and only plants and minerals have survived. Giorgio performs that concept writing an ultra-detailed soundtrack to an imaginary movie, using rich textures that reveal new acoustics, enhanced by alienating atmospheres that captivate the listener. The album is focused on obsessive rhythmics cut on low frequencies, a persistent motion, and a stable tremor. The world is justifying its life-forms in detail. The sky is darkened by laden clouds and stratified sonics that electrify the sound of space. Blooming sensations that cover a wide spectrum, alternate from a feverish tension to the lightness of faith. Confines are rejected, techno meets ambient, purging our body of consciousness. A sonic bubble from a faraway era, a timeless atmosphere that describes a vision that seems to answer to the most important question: why? The task of creating an album is brilliantly managed in a manner that cinematically depicts a surreal concept without the loss tension. The experience of the music is enhanced by the intricate artwork with an evocative artwork that expresses Giorgio’s concept: The sequence of mountains dominated by clouds on a clear sky and the depths of flowers are tinged with the memory of a wonderful past.

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Abdulla Rashim – A Shell of Speed [NE024]

October 24, 2015June 8, 2023 hipodromeabdulla rashim, album, ambient techno, industrial, northern electronicsLeave a comment

Last year, Abdulla Rashim took time out to develop his alternative Lundin Oil project, delivering two EPs of in-your-face noise and industrial techno textures for Northern Electrics. Here, he switches back to his main creative name for a second Abdulla Rashim set that joins the dots between intense, beatless ambience and modular techno box jams. Despite the general bleakness of his sounds and method, A Shell of Speed is surprisingly picturesque and melodious in parts, with the brilliant “Crossing Qalandiya” delivering the kind of trippy, delay-laden electronic soundscapes that recall the halcyon days of IDM and ambient. Even so, it’s his more surging, rhythmically intense compositions – see “Red Pool” and “Ador Tracers” – that arguably stand out.

Jamal Moss ‎- 4 This Is My Gherkin Life Vol. 3 [GHERKINCD003]

October 21, 2015November 2, 2022 hipodromeacid, album, chicago, gherkin tracks, jamal moss, mathematics recordings, technoLeave a comment

While Larry Heard only ever produced two 12″ singles under the Gherkin Jerks alias, the ragged acid tracks featured in those EPs have been hugely influential. Certainly, they made a lasting impression on Jamal Moss, who earlier this year decided to record a bunch of tracks inspired by Heard’s infamous blend of rugged drum machine rhythms, twisted acid lines, and heart-aching deep house touches. 4 This Is My Gherkin Life Volume 3 continues where installments one and two left off, delivering eight more killer machine jams which temper Moss’s usual balls-out approach to Chicagoan acid with a few melancholic, melodious touches. The result is another impressive set of analogue box jams, from the bass-heavy bounce of the intoxicating “Track 8”, to the spacey electronics and Detroit drums of “Track 5”.

Ron Morelli – A Gathering Together [HOS447]

October 20, 2015October 9, 2017 hipodromealbum, drone, experimental, hospital productions, industrial, ron morelliLeave a comment

A Gathering Together is Ron Morelli’s second full-length for Hospital Productions: a ‘techno’ cacophony brought to its granular detail and reduced to its most elemental tonal depths. A cohesive fusion of surreal and feverish deja vu loops, brittle noise, fucked rhythms, scrap metal percussions, pro-one metal synths, and an injection of near-buried, Drano vocal samples, it’s a fearsome celebration of brokenness, of amplified surroundings. Stereo-shifting drones and driving rhythms that tell the stories of those now gone, more a soundtrack for a wake than 4/4 crafted for the dancefloor. There’s a naked anxiety at work that doesn’t turn away from loss, but runs with an excited melancholy that looks to a future that won’t exist. The boldness of the gestures are not to be confused with exuberance. With this effort Morelli has shown remarkable restraint and patience most notably highlighted on title track ‘A Gathering Together.’ An intense cut born from rapid-paced dead-end urban environments that force people together. It’s a calling to do more, include more, and celebrate the many forms within those inconspicuous places. Upon numerous listens, it’s clear the sound design is a reflection of heavy compositional themes that suggest a greater whole. This is hard, dirty techno–humid, reduced, bare bones, yet dense and dissolved to its electronic soil. Heavy without being oppressive, it is the culmination of many elements pulled from all spheres of modern electronics, eaten, digested, and spit back out.

Red Ferish – A Derangement Of Synapses [MR054]

October 19, 2015February 18, 2019 hipodromealbum, electro, medical records llc, mike richardson, minimal synth, neale james potts, red fetish, synth waveLeave a comment

Medical Records presents a hand-picked selection of home recorded demos from Stoke, UK’s Red Fetish. Armed with a Korg 770, Yamaha CS10, Korg Rhythm 55, a guitar here and there and a Teac 244 four track recorder, the band consisted of Neale James Potts and Mike Richardson. These tracks were recorded in 1982-83 and all culled from various cassettes that the band recorded. The songs are built from very minimal and sparse synth lines yet the overall feel is interestingly dense and warm. Standout tracks include the playful and futuristic “Modern Age” and “The Last Man”. A few of these tracks were previously released (different version) on a 7″ on Anna Logue (Germany) but most have been largely unheard until now. Sprinkled in amongst the catchy vocal pop songs are quite a few very warm and synth heavy instrumentals as well such as “The Immortals” and “Blaze”. This collection will absolutely be another piece of the highly intriguing and ever-deep well of minimal synth acts such as other contemporaries Oppenheimer Analysis, Twilight Ritual, Iron Curtain, and the like. Certainly fans of early Human League (especially The Future), early cassette culture wave and similar will enjoy this collection immensely.

ADMX-71 – Coherent Abstractions [LIES067]

October 18, 2015July 31, 2019 hipodromeadam mitchell, adam x, admx-71, album, ambient, ambient techno, experimental, industrial, l.i.e.s., long island electrical systemsLeave a comment

Adam X is back with his third album release under his industrial guise, ADMX-71. Adam returns to the L.I.E.S. front with Coherent Abstractions, a brand new album of singular experiments that pull from every corner of electronic music’s landscape into a comprehensive and propulsive full-length. Coherent Abstractions pulsates with fractured rhythms, vacillating melodies and mesmerizing compositions that showcase Adam’s impressive history working in all aspects of the underbelly of electronic music. Noise and industrial elements seep into the album’s 11 songs, churning the cold and abrasive into feverish new territory. Though Coherent Abstractions operates primarily in sounds of solitude, guest vocalist Janina joins Bound and Broken for a rare vocal collaboration on an ADMX-71 track.

Refracted – Through The Spirit Realm [SSV008]

October 18, 2015February 16, 2022 hipodromealbum, ambient, ambient techno, refracted, silent seasonLeave a comment

REFRACTED - Through The Spirit Realm

Through The Spirit Realm is Refracted’s first LP to date, and it comes Canada’s excellent Silent Season. “Enter The Jungle” quickly gives a picture of what’s to come thanks to the track’s abstract blend of animal sounds, a myriad of noises which is swallowed up the warm and dubby swings of “The Jungle Is Thick”. The whole LP follows a similar string of thought, one that binds stripped back techno together with deep ambience and slow-moving plates of drone; “The Ritual Begins” is simply hypnotic and we could keep it on for hours on loop. It’s tribalism at its most cutting-edge, and an altogether fantastic debut performance from this growing techno personality.

Deep Space Orchestra – Memory LP [UOWLP001]

October 15, 2015October 14, 2015 hipodromealbum, chris barker, deep house, deep space orchestra, simon murray, use of weaponsLeave a comment

Deep Space Orchestra is Chris Barker and Simon Murray, a pair of mature music lovers who have been DJing and making music for years. When together they conjure up emotive soundscapes full of lithe and rubbery bass, rich synth patterns and authentic real world textures. Never repeating the same trick twice, they conjure up original moods and grooves that don’t rely on trends of the day nor obvious sample pack sounds. ‘Memory’ is a complete piece of work that has been cooked up over the last three years and has largely been born from a collection of gear they bought with a view to starting to play live. As such it finds them experiment with all manner of new sounds and techniques, and the results are triumphant indeed.

Toby Tobias – Rising Son [DOGLP005]

October 15, 2015January 31, 2024 hipodromealbum, be atwell, deep house, delusions of grandeur, toby tobiasLeave a comment

Toby Tobias is ready to drop his second album. Clearly a labour of love, Rising Son touches on many of his now-familiar influences – the futurist synth sounds of Detroit techno, deep house, Chicago jack, Balearica, leftfield boogie, Italo-disco – whilst focusing on a predominantly hardware-based sound that allows his lovingly produced melodies and gorgeous chords due room to breathe. As a result, the album sparkles, with highlights – both dancefloor-focused, such as recent single “Wonder”, and more downtempo – cropping up on each of the double-album’s four sides. It’s actually the more atmospheric downbeat moments, such as the brilliant “Sending Signals” and IDM weird-out “Broken Computer” – that really shine.

I.B.M. – From The Land Of Rape & Honey (The Suppressed Tapes ) 1995-2005 [IT035]

October 12, 2015April 24, 2024 hipodromeacid, album, chicago, experimental, i.b.m., industrial, insane black man, interdimensional transmissions, jamal mossLeave a comment

Jamal Moss (aka I.B.M. – Insane Black Man) is a lost warrior of sonic truth. Digging through shoe boxes of cassettes, video tapes, and mini discs, we have collected the secret tapes of one Insane Black Man. This is an archive of the impetus of his genius, containing perhaps the holy grail of all Jamal Moss tunes The Land of Rape and Honey and Tribal Retribution. Artists on labels like LIES are still searching for these originals. We have taken them from their dusty and damaged condition and painfully & meticulously restored them. Now we can present these fragile raw and pure visions with the greatest level of quality. Finally the full impact of these ideas can be felt.

Vakula – Dedicated To Jim Morrison [LELEKA007]

October 11, 2015May 13, 2025 hipodromealbum, leleka, psych rock, psychedelic, vakulaLeave a comment

Ukranian lo-fi genius Vakula is back and if audaciously tackling Steve Reich wasn’t enough, he’s taking on possibly his most ambitious project yet with “Dedicated to Jim Morrison”. The title says it all really, in this brazen tribute to the sixties rock legend. On the first side you’ve got “For Jim” with its bluesy, boozy, typically sixties rock, while “The Canyon Road” is definitely the track on here to really channel the sound of The Doors. Then the acoustic country twang of “Mississippi Delta” carries off a southern charm. On the flip you’ve got “The Human Abstract” which is one truly hazy affair and features some of William Blake’s’ spoken word poetry recited by friend Andrei Dubinin. “Airolg” sounds like, well, Van Morrison’s “Gloria” (once famously covered by The Doors) and “Tien Beach” features sublime tremoloed slide guitar, sounding like riding off into a sunset. This album is Vakula’s thoughts in time and out of season dedicated to Morrison, the poet, the musician, the soft mad child, the great man. ‘Enter again the sweet forest, enter the hot dream, come with us. Everything is broken up and dances’.