Fierce Detroit influenced soul drenched techno by label boss Jose Cabrera.
detroit techno
Sawlin – Motion Keeper [DSR/C11]
The Delsin c-series welcomes Sawlin for a new EP that finds him in a housier mood than you might expect. He has become known as a techno producer, but this proves he can do much more. Opener ‘Motion Keeper’ is a deep underground affair with swirling pads adding scale to the heavy, churning drums. It’s soaked in ethereal pads and will suck you right in when played on a large sound system. ‘Easiness Supplier’ gets a little more trippy, with mastery synth droplets dancing about above busted, frazzled drum loops. It’s edgy and tense builds to a seriously weighty groove over time. Last of all, ‘Wired Evening’ is a dark, gritty dubbed out house cut with snaking hi hats, gurgling synths and menace in the air. This is shadowy and physical house music at its finest.
Derek Carr – Distant Systems[FS008]
The EP entitled Distant Systems is a musical adventure for a quest for a new home land, a new planet, a new start, It is proper techno; proper melodies , beats and pads for this adventure. Derek Carr is a master at creating thoughtful emotive and simply wonderful techno that fits in so naturally on FireScope Records.
Colophon – Pattern Formation EP [LWRC002]
Lowercase Life returns with more melancholia out of machines made in the past. Detroit and 90’s UK vibes brought to present time in three originals and a killer electro remix by Orson Wells.
VA – Soma500 Slam Remixes [SOMA500]
Soma500 is a very special release that sees label heads Slam visit two memorable tracks for them over this past anniversary year. The duo of Stuart McMillan & Orde Meikle rework Robert Hoods, The Bond We Formed – taken exclusively from the Soma25 compilation and a track that has featured highly in countless sets, a unique Slam rework of Carl Craig’s interpretation of Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom’s Relevee.
Blue Maxx – Private Life EP [DRIVE001]
DRIVE001 sees us step back to 1998 and into the hands of the duo of Damon Wild and Mederic Nebinger, recording together as Blue Maxx they quietly unleashed some of the finest futuristic widescreen Techno and Electro to emanate from NYC in the late 1990’s. Utilising a small sub-label of Wild’s seminal Techno imprint Synewave called Deja Vous the pair embarked on a slew of EP’s released over the space of a couple of years with ‘Private Life’ being one of the last. Across 3 tracks ‘Private Life’ opens up a new sound world, from the driving, tool-like qualities of the A-Side cut – all swinging drum programming, synth stabs and deranged metallic percussions to the deeper, more clandestine leanings of the B-Side tracks, mining a more musical and Electro infused vein, the whole EP stands out as something truly original. A hallmark of the Blue Maxx sound. This is the first time ‘Private Life’ has been reissued, almost 20 years has passed and somehow Wild and Nebinger’s style remains utterly fresh and contemporary.
Detromental – Move [CPU00110001]
Ahead of their 5th anniversary CPU announce 50th release with rebuilds of 2 rare bleep techno tracks from 1990. Originally released on white label, ‘Move’ was written by Dean Marriott aka D.Ramirez and Lloyd Douglass and recorded in Sheffield in 1990. Only a small run were pressed which is reflected today by their high price on discogs.
Juan Atkins & Moritz Von Oswald present Borderland – Angles [TRESOR296]
Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald – the two vital proponents of Detroit-Berlin axis, return to the mothership following their 2016 full length effort Transport. Angles is the result of a new conversation between the founding father of electronic music and his German counterpart. The serene source of captivating musical ideas that is Borderland, keeps on flowing and vibrating with subtle energy. Two versions form here a new set of studio-refined sequences. Both parts of “Concave” are the ungraspable manifestation of the wild quietness in which the duo finds itself. Predicting at once, possible outcomes for the craft of electronic sound, while respecting their profound origins.
John Shima – Renegade EP [DWT001]
Brand new label out of London receiving transmissions from across the celestial sphere and translating them into beautiful techno for the good people of Planet Earth. Proud to report that the first transmission comes courtesy of the mighty John Shima. 4 beautifully melodic and timeless tracks with nods to the golden age of Detroit and UK Techno.
Terrence Dixon – 12000 Miles Of Twilight [OUTA006]
Italian label Out-ER (Out Electronic Recordings) welcomes long standing Detroit producer Terrence Dixon for a 21 track triple vinyl pack ‘12,000 Miles Of Twilight’. The legend has been putting out material since the mid-nineties. Recognized worldwide for his visionary, futuristic sound, Dixon unites ages of inspiration traversing diverse musical styles including electro, jazz and minimal sci-fi techno. This overall hypnotic approach can also be seen in his parallel project Population One, which appeared on Out-ER respectively in early 2016 with two-tracker solo ‘Temporary Insanity EP’. ‘12,000 Miles Of Twilight’ remains an experimental techno asset offering a non-linear, emotionally absorbing journey into the singular experimental edge of the Detroit artist, pulling the listener in all kind of directions from the opening track to the closing finale.
Orbe – Uniformity [HVN042]
The idea of purity is always recurring when talking about techno. Although purism has long been relegated to a mere excuse for fear, when understood not as vindication of a certain dogma, but as a way of approaching creative expression, purity is, as a matter of a fact, inseparable from the genre. After all, techno is something like the pursuit of transcendence – either visceral, cerebral or spiritual – through the strictly necessary means only. The search of the truest forms by just outlining them. All of this brings us to the story of ‘Uniformity’, Orbe’s first release for Hivern.
Ritchie Inkle / Stasis – Traffic Attic Vol.1 [PNDTA001]
Didier Allyne embodies a certain kind of underground already in the mid 90’s : A record store clerk, distributor, artist and DJ, he cross-cuttingly approched the scene even back then, when ‘French Touch’ was massive. Embracing the new trends from a sideways perspective, he emerged with his own blend of broken beat, soul jazz and Warp style electro, always keeping the groove in sight, basicaly what techno is all about, as deep and singular as it gets He began the Parisian Shop Traffic Records in 1998. This compilation will be in several volumes that have been flagship pieces of this shop influenced by Fat Cat Records, Wally’s Groove World in others …This first Techno volume highlights the influence that Didier received at Fat Cat by the introspective piece Stasis “So-Lar” on Time in Right in 1993 & Ritchie Inkle, one of the designers of Nu Loop & whose piece ” Happy Face “represents the Techno sound represented by Traffic Records.
Terrence Dixon – Like A Thief In The Night EP [TRESOR294]
The latest EP on Tresor Records comes from reduction luminary Terrence Dixon. Detroit’s most puzzling genius debuted on the label in 2000 with his first ever full length work – From The Far Future. It took over a decade for its sequel to follow – From The Far Future Pt.2 released in 2012 to great public acclaim. This year, Terrence Dixon prepared a matchless four track EP, going ever further in his very own tenor of collided electronics and mesmerizing tones. Words can simply not describe.
Miller & Keane – Remnants Of A Technologically Advanced Society [RAM-X-09]
Deep sci-fi techno by these techno veterans and Delta Funktionen’s mentors from back in the days! ‘As technology consumed the Antikytherian Empire, the council of conjunction had no choice but to take desperate measures: Probe 2187 was launched into the event horizon of Markarian 335. Its mission was to find an escape route into an alternate reality. A hazardous mission and as the orbit failed, the probe made one last transmission before it was submerged into oblivion. The Phantom Regiment, with their time manipulation abilities, managed to capture these signals. Trusted sources claim transmitters 1200 & 1210 are the only reliable outputs for these remnants of a technologically advanced society. The Antikytherian Empire, believed to be the first cosmic empire, was never heard of again…’
VA – Cameron 10 [DSR/C10]
Delsin is to put out an eight track compilation for the tenth release on its Cameron series, taking in stronghold names as Claro Intelecto and Vril, as well as former contributors to the series Shlømo, Artefakt and Gunnar Haslam. As has been the mission for the series before, there’s eye for new talent too – in the names of recent Delsin newcomer Sentomea, The Invariants and Cameron. All contributors look beyond the dance floor to offer a mixture of moody and atmospheric sounds, and everyone was given free rein, which has resulted in a collection that covers so much stylistic ground.
Robert Hood – Paradygm Shift [DKMNTL050]
Paradygm Shift is the first Robert Hood album to be released since 2012. A staggering record of techno dynamite sees the Detroit legend excelling at what he does best. Paradygm Shift is return to the distinguished style that defined Robert Hood’s music in the early 90s. It is the older, and more mature brother to Hood’s classic Minimal Nation, highlighting his more evolved, technical craftsmanship, It is an album of crisp, smooth and delicately orchestrated techno that is quintessentially minimal in focus, and grandiose in sound, juxtaposed with electronic funk, wrapped up in blisteringly urgent, and honest, pulsating techno.
Eduardo De La Calle – Rosert EP [MNG067]
Eduardo De La Calle presents his new brand, the Monogram Systems. The new and fresh 12inch will be the first reference catalog number on the Monogram Series. Four new solid techno scifi tools especially made for vinyl DJ lovers and dancefloor killers. This time Eduardo has left his imagination, leaving stereotypes and minimalist alucinations to focus on a more technical mode and puristic style in terms of music production. The whole ep is a musical journey based on a concept “modern tools for the current time we are living” and its defining itself.
Velež – Eternal [SUBWAXBLS002]
Subwax Black Label Series continues their mystical Slavic underground saga with this next Techno bomb 313 stylee.
Mystic Letter K – Soul Storm [MLK001]
MLK presents Soul Storm (MLK1) by Mystic Letter K (aka Cari Lekebusch), the first release in the new MLK series. The EPVcontain 2 extraordinary electro sonic experiments that will continue the story of a mystery in sound architecture science.
Redshape – Shift [PRESENT015]
Redshape returns to his own label with a retrovisionist release that looks back in time as much as it looks forward to the future. Revving up on the A side is ‘Shift’, a propulsive hurtle to the final frontiers. Starting off ominously with just drums, bass and a Pollock splatter of toms, the track is soon overrun by an army of relentlessly running basslines, let loose to steer in and out like searching headlights on a dark and endless highway. With a heavier kick, the track shifts into top gear with pensive pads soaring overhead, mesmerising squeaks and his signature attention to percussive detail. On the flip is ‘Drive’, which switches gears down a notch as an astrospace cruise along intergalactic coastlines – from summery California to shiny Coruscant. A rounded pounding beat with heavy sub bass bounces along to a breezy tropical melody and spacious percussive work, before riding off into a cinematic sunset that is as nostalgic as it is hopeful of the coming dawn. Once again on the edge of spatial sound but grounded in analog warmth, Redshape has presented a revision of classic record productions that truly punches as it is meant to be felt and heard – on wax.
The Hipodrome Of Music 