The DeepLabs imprint releases it’s fourth record with a killer collaboration between label CEO Luke Hess & FXHE label boss Omar S. made specifically for the dance-floor! Automatic Night brings you a classic analog excursion – a perfect blend of Detroit Techno & Detroit House. Outerspace Drive reaches for space – sure to be played by all future space travelers who wish to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Its fairly safe to say that Jay Bliss is on fire at the moment. Now he takes time out from his recently launched “Stomping Grounds” imprint to follow up on his 2013 appearance with OCH on “The Remix EP”. Here the warm, punchy 9 minute A-side creates a highly seductive floor-tension. Flip the disc over for two modern take’s on minimalism, possibly paying homage to Studio One or Basic Channel with persistent rhythms, undertones of original dub, shaken and stirred with plenty off Jay Bliss magic.
Hinode is production name for emergent duo Matteo Chisari and Mario Resta, who’ve really hit their stride since making the move from Italy to Berlin, featuring on records with the likes of Patrice Scott, Eduardo De Calle and Amir Alexander. Launched earlier this year, Science Fiction Recordings is Hinode’s label and this second release features four untitled cuts that highlights Chisari and Resta’s ongoing development as Hinode. At times the music draws from the same deeply spiritual pool as the likes of Rick Wade, DJ Qu and Joey Anderson, while other parts sound like something that might come from the Restoration Records camp. A record for house DJs that like to get deep without the pretence.
D-Ribeiro on Finale Sessions with a split release between him and Lastmood. A side is a heavy bass kick techno stomper, where the flip side by D-Ribeiro comes up with a fine tune with a lighter more melodic almost euphoric feel.
youAND:THEMACHINES is the solo moniker of Martin Müller, one half of the Berlin based luminaries youANDme. A year after the release of his ‘Behind’ LP youAND:THEMACHINES presents ‘Behind’ LP Reshaped – an opulent collection of selected edits, interpretations and remixes courtesy of a prestigious roster of distinguished producers including Matthew Herbert, Steve Bug, XDB, Boo Williams, Sascha Dive, Legowelt, Marko Fürstenberg & Luke Hess and Basic Soul Unit amongst many more. ‘Behind Reshaped’ mines deep beneath the original’s surface and is a varied compound of textures, tones and atmospheres. From Steve Bug’s glacial ‘Raw and Reduced’ edit of ‘Drift’ to The Analog Roland Orchestra’s allaying take on ‘Desire’ and from XDB’s armoured and clap-heavy remix of Perception to Freund der Familie’s lucidly textural version of ‘Entrance Room’ the listener is ferried through a broad spectrum of feeling whilst a spectral and rueful current remains consistent.
The second instalment of Mora Music’s vinyl output finally arrives with two exquisite cuts from the emerging New Jersey talent Nicuri. The A-side’s Lucid Dreams offers refreshing take on some early progressive house vibes with deliciously warm pads that float delicately around a hypnotic and heavily dubbed bass line and thumping kick drum, chugging along as ideal warm up fodder. Moments, on the flip side is the EP’s battle weapon, exploding with a thunderous bass drum that pulsates underneath a plethora of scuttling tambourines, epic synth-pads and crisp claps; held together by a ravey hook that maintains the tension throughout. Both tracks are beautiful in their simplicity, yet wholly deserve the side each to themselves they’ve been given.
Anom Vitruv continues to go against the tide with his second Mini LP on Tabernacle Records. It’s been almost two years since anonymous producer Anom Vitruv first appeared on Tabernacle, with a self-titled debut 12″ that effortlessly joined the dots between a myriad of crusty, hardware-heavy house and techno styles. This second outing for the label – like the first, a kind of mini-album of untitled tracks – continues in a similar vein, variously exploring bleep-heavy dream techno (“Track 1”), distorted experimental textures (“Track 6”), intoxicating Arabic techno (“Track 5”), spooky but melodic futurism (“Track 4”) and distorted post-electro (the standout “Track 3”, which sees cascading, 8-bit melodies riding a hissing wave of fuzzy drum machine percussion).
Dial regular Efdemin returns with a third album of a respected career, with the autumnal theme of Decay inspired by the German producer’s three-month artist residency in Kyoto, Japan. Sollmann immersed himself in the local culture while in Kyoto, attending ceremonies with monks at temples and visiting local instrument makers. This results in a ten track set that canvasses the sort of poignant, introverted house music that’s characterized much of Phillip Sollmann’s work as Efdemin to date. There are however a few stylistic surprises along the way – the stripped back, jacking “Transducer” or the fusion of jazzy licks and noisy bursts of percussion that makes up the title track – but overall you’d be hard pushed to think of a better label to house Decay than Dial.
For the 10th release Sequencias presents a various artists release with works by Metropolis , Shawn O’Sullivan, Echo 106.
Vril debut LP on Giegling sublabel Forum. After appearances on other labels like Semantica and Delsin, Vril has now returned home to Giegling to release Torus, a surprise eleven-track LP with track titles that seemingly combine HTML-speak with Roman numerals. Vril’s productions combine elements of booming dub techno with murky reflections of rave with his own patented and progressive synth sound. Torus sees Vril deliver more of this, but he’s also extended the remit on this album to include other elements of dance music, with what sounds like Clone-inspired (west coast) electro, Chicago house and flashes of Adam X-industrialisms.
The JBLA outfit finally land on Desire with a supremely awaited EP that’s shimmering with gritty hardware flair and squelching noise trickery. The title track is a rampant, percussion-driven, post-punk tool and is hotly rewired by none other than LIES affiliates, Ron Morelli and Svengalisghost, who turn in a twisted, metallic version of the original – oscillating atmospherics and a minimalistic kick-hat form an alluring bundle of a groove. “Night With Potential” is a lo-fi kinda tune, with aqueous melodies and hazy landscapes. Our favourite LIES protege, Vereker goes in for the total kill on the remix, creating a nasty, cacophonous and industrial time-bomb for the end of days – this guys has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, apparently. A cop-on-site kinda EP, really…
ESHU Records with the seventh release. Debut by Dutch new techno act J&L including a great remix by Abdulla Rashim.
Mosaic Split Series kickstarts 2014 with three solid tracks of silky deepness that build upon the Mosaic sound of old whilst remaining firmly in the present. Track by a colab between label boss, Steve O’Sullivan and young German producer Kashawar, US techno veteran Titonton Duvante and Eric Cloutier.
‘Ortloff Zehn’ is a family getaway into the dark woods of Lindenau with four fantastic tracks by Jennifer Touch & PorkFour, John Barera & Chase Smith, Mod.Civil and QY
When the Aquaplano records were first released in 2008 and 2009 they were distinctly out of step with the way techno appeared to be heading. The minimal detour was reaching its logical endpoint, and producers were returning to the 1990s for inspiration, with Berghain and Sandwell District at the vanguard of a new techno movement. What the Aquaplano sessions shared in common were slower BPMs and finding inspiration in the 1990s, but there they parted ways. The influences these Italians were drawing on were rather different, returning to tribal rhythms and ambient textures to sketch out a much more heady, psychedelic form of techno. The results were a perfect balance of hypnotic beats and swirling atmosphere geared for a broken-in dancefloor or the hazy afterhours. Across these two records Dozzy and Nuel would go a long way towards creating the template for a brand of deep, atmospheric techno that has become much more prominent in the years since. And while many have sought to imitate this sound, few – if any – have matched what first emerged from the Aquaplano sessions. After only being available in a very limited run, it is fitting that the sonic blueprints provided by Dozzy and Nuel are now available again – and much more widely – at a time when their influence is as strong as it has ever been.
From the suburbs of Stockholm Korridor transmits three ultra deep and slowly progressing techno tracks, carefully crafted in a thin layer of ice cold atmospheres and twisted rhythms.
The ever-reliant Deepchord kicks off 2014 in his usual stylish way with two deep cuts in the Luxury EP. After last years jaunt into the ambient with 20 Electrostatic Soundfields, Rod Model return to the world of slick beats and even dreamier synths and atmospheres. Luxury 1 ebbs in majestically as beautifully crafted layers of synths glide across field recorded drops of water that instantly play with your senses. Pumping sub bass fills the rest of the spectrum as Rod does what he does best by creating an unending slick groove, pieced together by crisp percussion. Yet more atmospherics come into play in Luxury 2 as otherworldly field recordings are brought to life through the use of Rod’s unique processing and layers of dream state synths. A perfectly worked groove seems to come out of nowhere and glides gently under the atmosphere; again subtle percussion ties everything together seamlessly.
Hexagon Cloud RMXD 2.0“ celebrates even more of the diverse influences on Erika‘s debut solo release, the critically acclaimed „Hexagon Cloud“ 2xLP on Interdimensional Transmissions. Deep Space & Midwestern Underdog mixes by Donato Dozzy, Isreal Vines, Outer Space (Emeralds) & Patrick Russel.
Positive Centre (Mike Jefford) brings his unique submerged electronics to Sigha’s label for 007 with his ‘An Assembly’ EP, fusing detailed sound design and acute attention to spatial sonics with a throbbing low end. This release is a departure from the label’s usual tempo but the palate remains the same. One for fans of deep, immersive techno or those who just want to get lost in the dark…
