Blue Hour’s fifth release ‘Introspective’ continues to explore faster tempos in classic dance-floor fashion. Bright atmosphere and emotive melodies compliment warm staccato drums over three tracks of effective techno.
detroit techno
A Sagittariun – No Spring Chicken EP [HYPELTD020]
Man of mystery, A Sagittariun, lands on HypeLTD. The EP’s centerpiece is “3-4-3”, coming here in two versions. The Original Mix combines the usual Sagittariun heady mix of driving breakbeat techno and warm synth modulations but in a more unsettling and distorted setting. Rolando, steps up on the first of the remixes of “3-4-3”, keeping it on the straight and narrow with an intense and to the point version. “Delta House” is quite a different proposition altogether. A low-slung and funky slice of New Beat, it’s part industrial funk, part Balearic pop, with it’s breathy female vox and wandering bassline really making this a stand out track from A Sagittariun. Loaded with melody, subtle acid and cute saxophone blasts, this track further opens up the breadth of style that A Sagittariun ascribes to.
Aubrey – Abstractions EP [RAWAX009LTD]
Aubrey with a new Detroit influenced EP on Rawax lmtd. Balancing right on the line of techno and house.
Robert Hood / Floorplan – Shaker / Ritual EP [EPM010V]
For the first time this EP unites Robert Hood’s two dancefloor personalities on a brand new release. With one track as Robert Hood and the other under his Floorplan alias we certainly get the best of both worlds. ‘Shaker’ immerses you in those late-night moments when Robert graces the decks. It’s pulsating and hypnotic; stripped-back to the essentials. The beats, the groove, the perfectly placed vocal snippet – nothing is superfluous here. Robert’s Floorplan touch is all over ‘Ritual’. A shuffling Chi-town flavour, trademark hi-hats and a beast of a bassline underlies the track, with elegant synths that build to dizzying heights.
SYS – Bad Signal EP [ESHU008]
After a short period of contemplation ESHU Records is back with fresh beats from their kindred spirits: SYS, they return to their native record label with another quality release from Nijmegen NL. Analog, deep and distorted cuts to be found in this package, warehouse and space material.
A Sagittariun – The Anomaly EP [EDREAMS011]
Hitting a particularly fertile patch with his music, A Sagittariun continues to ride the night skies with some heavy doses of cosmically sprinkled techno and kinetic electronica. ‘Aruba (Overhead Mix)’ is a seductive jam of Nuyorican (tech) soul, cloaked in warm synths with a breathy, human quality and deft melodies to ensure a smooth takeoff for the passengers. Lead cut on the vinyl is ‘The Code Breaker’, channeling some enchanting techno moods and themes on a no gimmicks, no cheap thrills, head & foot stomper, whilst ‘Triangulum’ prefers a mechanical rhythm of robotic tech funk, syrupy melodies and acidic motifs to deliver a dance in outer space.
Costelloe – Inflex [SIG007]
Signal Code label boss Costelloe digs deep and chows down on techno’s deepest tendrils: electro. Razor-sharp, reflective and icier than a January skinny dip in the North Sea, it pays respect to the roots with true authenticity. Marco Bernardi heartily invests with two disparate twists – one abstract, warehouse-shaking techno version and a gritty, paranoid angular electro reboot. “First Light” closes the show on a deep, house flavoured number that’s not dissimilar to Sabres Of Paradise
Jasper Wolff & Maarten Mittendorff – Cosmic Language EP [AERA010]
The new instalment on Indigo æra features three originals by Indigo’s founders Jasper Wolff and Maarten Mittendorff. This release, a little bit more tough styled compared to their previous releases, still perfectly maintains the detroit-esque melodic elements. Cosmic Language EP is about the visualization of soundwaves into geometric forms….
Jeff Mills – Woman In The Moon [AXCD046]
Woman In The Moon is a science fiction silent film that premiered on 15 October 1929. It is often considered to be one of the first ‘serious’ science fiction films, written and directed by Fritz Lang, who is the one of the biggest names in German expressionist cinema, the creator of Metropolis (1927). Detroit Techno music producer and a futurist Jeff Mills composed the new sound track for this classic film, initially for the Fritz Lang Film Retrospective event for Cinematheque Francaise in Paris in 2011. Since then, Mills has been consistently performing the soundtrack in the form of a cine-mix.
Heiko Laux – Fernweh Mix
Micronism – Steps To Recovery [DSR/X8]
Delsin kicks off 2015 with Micronism’s Steps to Recovery EP. Originally released on Nurture records in 1999, the EP, which comes in black and limited coloured vinyl, is a bonafide deep house classic from the short live career of New Zealander Denver McCarthy. ‘Engaging Causeless Mercy’ is a contemplative, atmospheric affair with soft drums and celestial pads that could roll and roll forever and you’d never get tired. ‘The Quiet Mind’ is just as deep, but the spiralling pads and rippling melodies here are more colourful and charming. Both tracks are hugely spacious, luxurious affairs whilst ‘Constructing Space’ on the flip is a more stripped back and humid number that is more enclosed and oppressive for cosy back room spaces. Finally, the title track is a playful, elastic house track with heartwarming hooks and pinging drums.
Marcel Heese – Invite’s Choice Podcast 238
30drop – Tools For The Dimensional Step LP [DETUNDLTD006]
This album is the conclusion of research conducted on theories arguing for us living in a holographic universe. The songs included are parts of a whole that moves the listener towards the idea of understanding music as a universal language that hides within a dimensional leap leading to other universes. Each beat is a part of a primary equation and each song a piece of a second-level puzzle. The complete set is the key that defines the geometry applied to music as the binary expression of geometric mathematics that shapes the vacuum in a space confined by the laws of physics. Taking Detroit Techno as the primary basis for 30drop; this LP intends to develop this type of sound where repetition generates undefined mental structures and pads are the large dimensional containers for vacuum and space. A trip from Detroit’s minimalist, hard, and concise techno that cuts into predefined patterns and creates new boundaries to warm musical spaces in order to accommodate this new way of thinking.
Modular One – Segue One [SISMODONE]
Patrice Scott and Chris Mitchell are back at it under their Modular One moniker. Segue One sees the duo pushing forward on their thematic journey into deep, interstellar techno. Adding to the fire, UK deep techno maestro, Aubrey blesses the EP with a remix crafted in his signature textural style.
D’Marc Cantu – Little White Earbuds Mix
RA.452 DJ Bone vs Differ-Ent
VA – Finale Underground Vol.2 – Detroit Visionaries [FU002]
For those turned on by the far-sighted, sci-fi inspired sounds of Detroit deep house and techno, this EP from Michael Zucker’s Finale Underground imprint (an offshoot of his Finale Sessions label) should be an essential purchase. With the likes of Patrice Scott, Keith Worthy and Luke Hess involved, you’d expect the quality threshold to be high. It is, of course, resulting in a quartet of killer tracks. Worthy’s hypnotic techno jam “Tolox” is a definite highlight, though it pales in comparison to the analogue futurism of Luke Hess’s brilliant “Cyclops”. Best of all, though, is Scott’s “Journey Into The Unknown”, which bobs, weaves, bubbles and spits to the rush-inducing deep house sound of undulating synthesizer melodies and classic, Transmat-style Motor City rhythms.
Johannes Volk – P-Delta EP [CRF009]
Proper techno tools by Johannes Volk on this smashing 4-tracker EP. Rolling drums, accompanied by well laid-out clubsynth. Birth of Frequency on remix duties with a minimalistic take on the original.
DJ Bone – Differ-Ent [DBA018]
Speaking to Resident Advisor recently to accompany his podcast, veteran Detroit artist DJ Bone looked to clarify the distinction behind his new Differ-Ent project, stating it is “darker, more aggressive and straight to the point but still manages to remain beautiful in a very twisted way.” This statement is fully qualified on the two track for Don’t Be Afraid that make up this excellent debut 12″ from the Differ-Ent project. “Differ-Ent (Hrall)” is the more musical of the two, with Bone teasing minor keys and acid squiggles over a stripped back, yet still quite forceful rhythm. “Differ-Ent (Ity)” is where that dark aggression is let loose and is the sort of ominous techno you crave to hear deep into the night.
Population One – A Theory To Where Size Of The Compact Dimension Goes To Zero [REDUCTIONFIVE]
The deeper depths keep getting hit… The reduction series evolves… Prime minimalism from Terrence Dixon.
The Hipodrome Of Music 