Romanian producer and DJ Andrew Red Hand has carved a unique niche in the world of underground electronic music. His work stands as a tribute to the raw energy of Detroit techno and electro, yet it retains a deeply personal, emotional tone that gives it timeless depth. He returns to Time Passages with the four-track ‘This EP ‘For My Father’ EP, offering his most focused and expansive vision yet. Includes a remix from an icon of the scene, DJ Hell.
More or less in a chronological order this is the last part of our favorite tracks from 2024.
Four techno tracks by Andrew Red Hand from Romanian released on Diffuse Reality Records.
Time Passages celebrates their ten years of existence with a stellar line up of artists; this is the full LP to complement a shorter EP. The mood on this one is decidedly hellish yet, of course, for that very reason, tempting to cop; this being the characteristic of the flagrant provenance of DJ and producer Binh, whose brand of sinister minimal techno and electro always turns up scorched, hardened into granite, by the embered airs of hardcore. The Berlin outfit welcome The Model and DJ Hell on the A1 side, with the first opening up his own private bacchanal into the hungry streets with ‘Eat More House’ – a motto we can really chew on – while Hell’s ‘Alienation’ plays on similar themes, with a central acid riff and sniper clap pattern. Barnt and Bezier steer and slow the B-side to a canter, the latter especially on the low-slung, ominously new beat-inspired ‘Roter Faden’, while the likes of Z@p and DC Salas go on to encrust the ensuing sides with a haunted clog of synthpop and new wave judder-offs.
Classic west coast electro by Romanian dj and producer Andrew Red Hand who drops his final part of The Cemetery series on Rotterdam Electronix. The title track gets a stunning melodramatic remix by Electro overlord The Exaltics. Killer electro cuts for the dark & cold days that lie ahead.
Electro is fundamentally modern. The coldness of the machine laid bare, a human attempt to express through circuits and wiring. Despite adhering to specific codes and norms, it is a sound that refuses to be pigeonholed. It is with this in mind that Shipwrec has collected a wealth of international talent to showcase their own vision of this bracing style. Serge Geyzel incises from the needle drop, the acid blistered “Still There” is sliced and quartered by scissoring snares. Endfest changes the trajectory with the modular warmth of “La Chouffe” before the lines change and Manasyt delivers the darkened angles and punishing percussion of “Row Hammer.” Andrew Red Hand maintains the shadowy synthlines of his predecessor, industrial undertones bubbling to the surface in distortion-soaked aggression. The mood shifts with Alpha Visitor. Crystalline chords are punctured by crisp drum patterns, stabbing keys and broad arcs unveil a world of sci-fi inspirations. The finale comes from Jauzas the Shining. Broad sweeps introduce “Shemale” before dripping drums are countered by samples and icy blasts. Modern machine music from six masters.
Already in the second quarter of the year, the time it’s well passed to have a look back at what happened in terms of music production by Romanian artist in last year and what to expect in 2023.
2022 was pretty dry and chill year for the Romanian producers, with not many impressing achievements. We are still revolving around the same few figures, with very little coming forward besides the rominimal scene, but 2023 is looking more promising.
Andrew Red Hand is back on Chiwax with his 3rd release. Nostalgia EP is a very personal and intimate release for Andrew.
With a long overdue, we finally managed to find the time to compile this list, so with no further comments here is the best electronic music created by Romanian artists in 2021, according to our opinion.
Continue reading “Best Romanian Electronic Music in 2021”
Gladio Operations is back with a new release from the Spanish duo, UHF. The pack opens with the track “Fact Or Fiction?” and where UHF gifts us with a steamroller of a track, with vertiginous drops and well accompanied by a masterful remix by the Romanian producer Andrew Red Hand, which converts it into a more emotional piece and highly influenced by the Detroit sound. On the B side we encounter “Morning Glory”, a more atmospheric and enveloping cut, accompanied by a fantastic 303-scented bass line. This track comes with another great remix, this time by the French producer Jauzas The Shining, where he unveils a darker and deeper vision than the original cut. The EP ends with “Like Bad At Things” a theme similar to IDM style, with an effective mix of dark textures and melancholic melodies.
2020 was a tough year for almost everyone and definitely a year to forget for our scene. Events and gigs canceled, venues closed, artists lacking a way to earn a decent living and club culture facing a threat like never before. Without the interaction on the dancefloor all this seems pointless, but we have to stay resilient and hope for the better.
Looking at the local scene in Romania, during these times of hardship with movement restriction and curfew for almost the entire part of the year, with people fears and anxiety, there was almost to nothing happening in terms of events. But, the Romanian artists proved to be fairly active in the studio. We have here a summary of releases from Romanian artists that caught our attention in 2020 and a sneakpeek in what’s to come in the first part of 2021.
The last few years were quite good for the electronic music world and again in 2019 there was a lot a quality music coming out and revitalization of electro, broken beat, new beat and EBM continued. Looking at the situation locally, unfortunately 2019 feels like a step back for the Romanian scene after three years of growth and development. The three pillars of the Romanian electronic music are the same Borusiade, Cosmin TRG and Khidja and very little besides them.
2019 is coming to the end so it’s that time of the year when we look back and see what caught our attention the most. As the tradition is on our side, we look first at the preferences of our readers and this is a top 3 of the most appreciated albums, compilations, mixes and other stuff.
After a good 2017 in electronic music, the trend continued in 2018 with more electro, broken beat, new beat, industrial and EBM, with new artists jumping on this train, so I’m curious where this will go in 2019.
On the local scene, in Romania, things are evolving in a slightly slower pace, but still in a good direction.
The Hipodrome Of Music 