Experienced Dutch producer Tom Ruijg rightly won praise for his first 12” as Tracey, Skyfall, which surfaced on Voyage Direct in early 2017. Combining elements seemingly inspired by vintage Detroit futurism, ‘90s ambient techno and his own love of colourful synthesizer melodies, the EP saw Tracey set out his stall in impressive fashion.
Stephen Lopkin’s singular doses of electro-tinged house music have pretty much become Glasgow’s ‘finest”. While everyone else is out snoozing to some deep house and mild-mannered tech, this dude packs a punch each and every time he drops a new release onto our charts. Just in time for the year’s end, Lopkin drops Southside Engineering on the sublime Bokhari imprint, and these five metallic dance bombs are enough to make any serious Drexcyia fan think that, yes, there might be a way forwards after all! Full of adrenaline and electrifying swing, you can count on this gear to keep you up and running all night long – even the Ikpathua remix of “Light From Light” has its own particular way of expressing energy and a solid groove.
Twenty years after the Sonar Base 4 – 10 release on the legendary Dutch record label U-Trax, it is now time for an official high quality remastered vinyl re-issue on Deeptrax Records. The rare original was very hard to find and is considered as one of the highlights of Dutch electro and techno. The Dutchman Frank de Groodt a.k.a Sonar Base is hitting hard with a perfect blend of 70 minutes of aquasonic electro, intergalactic boogie and deep techno. This bass oriented, mind bending album is considered one of The Netherlands best kept secrets and has been a fave amongst connaisseurs, selectors and DJs around the globe for many years. A real post apocalyptic gem from Utrecht that is as fresh and sharp as it was originally released 20 years ago. The tracks are full bodied, muscular pieces of electro and techno with hidden melodies and savage beats upon clever bass lines. This is just the first one of a series by Sonar Base released on Deeptrax Records.
Longtime resident of the label Stefan Vincent offers up Dynamic Reflection’s 37th vinyl, a four tracker consisting of three distinct original mixes from Stefan’s own hands and a remix by the fellow Dutchmen Artefakt.
Another excellent soulful record on Fides. This new collaborative project by Z.I.P.P.O & Hiver contains four special cuts: Dub Techno, Electro, IDM inspired.
Population One, also known as Terrence Dixon, offered a first remix of his mysterious, minimal Detroit track ‘Rush Hour’ for the celebration of the label’s 10th anniversary and now blesses us with new takes on five ‘Hippnotic Culture’ album tracks. Five dazzling remixes of Population One’s ‘Hippnotic Culture’ 2LP by the Detroit minimalist himself. Kicking off with a 20th Anniversary Mix of ‘Rush Hour’, the track that inspired our company name.
Legendary Los Hermanos member Santiago Salazar’s album ‘Aspirations For Young Xol’ is given a vinyl release courtesy of Rekids. A heartfelt dedication to his son Isaias, ‘Aspirations for Young Xol’ takes us through the life of a pillar in the electronic music community – Santiago Salazar. From his formative years spent in California to his connection with Detroit and the passing of a childhood friend, the long-player’s tracks signpost the musician’s significant experiences, both positive and negative. This meaningful body of work now gets a full release on wax.
Jaunt celebrates a decade in the game this year, with the British clubbing institution marking the milestone in typically esteemed fashion. 10 Years of Jaunt – Sea, Land, Air is a 12 track V/A compilation spread across three distinct vinyl discs, each of which is based around some of the world’s core elements; themselves a mode of transport or a manner to embark on a ‘jaunt’. Each featured artist is somebody who the label has forged a connection with at some stage during their ten year journey – and each track has been titled to the artist’s own interpretation of a ‘jaunt’. The tracklisting itself has been tailor made to build and develop like their a Jaunt event, with deep, hypnotic, up tempo strands included alongside numerous surprises along the way.
The visionary from Detroit, Terrence Dixon, is back to 30D Records with an exquisite pack of vanguard tastefully built on Techno. This fifth chapter of the ExoPlanets series is powered with two original cuts and a pair of remixes.
Work For Love return with a blinder from the legend Thee J Johanz. Limited edition, the first in a series of two with unreleased tracks and takes from the early nineties.
Super Rhythm Trax welcomes producer John Heckle to the label. On this release you’ll find heavy nods to Detroit as the music is bursting with soaring chords and emotion but all the time underpinned by the heaviest of 909 beats.
After a career spanning more than 25 years John Beltran lands on the Belgian De:tuned label with the long-awaited follow-up album to his widely acclaimed classic 90s masterpiece ”Ten Days of Blue”. On ”Moth” Beltran opens his heart by combining melody, emotion and soul with infectious grooves. As such he lays down the definitive and timeless Detroit sound with a clear nod to the early innovators. From 4/4 dance floor burners to tribal shufflers and ambient interludes, ”Moth” is a well-balanced journey full of blissful atmosphere for both the mind and feet.
JP Enfant with a crafty, uplifting, highly effective 1990s Detroit Techno futurism schooled EP on a.r.t.less.
Route 8 back to his techno project Q3A dropping some heavy grooving tracks. The talented Hungarian producer is back with four more cuts of techno and electro excellence, club tracks that ooze atmosphere and intriguing details. The Nameless Place kicks off with a tense and tangled techno track that is urgent and slick as is hurries on through damp underground caverns. The Very End of You completely flips the script and is a slow motion bit of dub. With only sparse kick drums, the focus is on the cavernous pads that smear in huge arcs as watery droplets and heavenly chords add to the brain soothing effect. Temple of Retribution is back to techno, this time with loose, jumbled percussion and clipped drums cantering along at high speed. Again it’s roomy stuff with no real edge, the Deva Station drops into house mode, wriggling drums and distant vocal cries finished off with some classic Detroit keys. It’s a high tech, soulful track that closes out a diverse and devastating EP.
The Echelon is conceived in total secrecy. Embedded deep in the contemporary landscape, its sole purpose is to function as an anonymous observer, translating its findings into music and movement.
The five-track EP will be the first material from Mills’s latest electronic-classical project, Lost In Space, which is a collaboration with Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse. Following the 12-inch, Mills will release a Lost In Space album at some point in 2018 and perform live alongside the orchestra on April 5th and 7th in Toulouse. “Lost In Space” is an exotic music excursion into the unknown – discovering the sectors of Outer Space and encountering unexpected occurrences which is to be the objective, narrative and attraction. Like the architecture and habitation structure of a jungle, life exist and persist everywhere, but only by the degree of our 5 basic human senses.
Artefakt come from the deepest branch of techno. The partnership of Robin Koek (Cyspe) and Nick Lapien (Metropolis, Rhine) have explored subterranean caverns, dense forests and unknown lands on labels like Prologue, Field and Delsin and their latest three track expedition on DSC continues that journey into the beyond. “Raid” is a near nine minute odyssey, a trip into shimmering cymbals, acid growls, placid lakes and ritualistic rhythms. The flip finds a breaking in the dense foliage: “The Radiant City”, a sanctuary of soaring strings, soothing pads and entrancing harmonies. “Lichtspiel” writes a different tale. Muted tones are ruffled by an industrial edge, the hand of man and the rise of the machine blended with a natural and organic warmth.
The Hipodrome Of Music 