New label continuing the Hinode / Science Fiction legacy, quality interstellar Detroit influenced analog jam’s.
detroit techno
Binny – Explorer EP [ASGOR012]
UK-based Adam Cummings aka Binny is back with another EP that shows his skills & deep affinity with the Detroit sound, he blew our mind again with his tremendous honest analog sound & brilliant arrangement. This Four tracker contains only floor tracks full of 909 drums, brilliant patterns & groove baselines with the touch of the Juno machine.
Robert Hood – Protein Valve (Re-Plants) [MPM021]
The Floorplan project show-cased Robert Hood’s love of gospel-tinged house, but as this, his latest release demonstrates, he remains a techno artist through and through. The Protein Valve record originally appeared on M Plant 20 years ago and like Hood’s Internal Empire and Minimal Nation releases, became a blueprint for minimal techno. On the “Re-Plant” and “Edit 1” versions, nagging, insistent percussion and an eerie organ sound create a sense of drama. However, the old approach proves to be the most effective and the second edit remains closer to the original sound, with jittery hats, unsettling organ riffs and the wind whooshing past in the background.
VA – Machines & Tapes [SIG006]
Nice compilation ep with Clone veterans Duplex and Mark du Mosch alongside Costelloe and ESS. Smooth electro techno sounds coded from Dublin.
Trevor Deep Jr – Tapes EP [NSYDE010]
Finnish deep house champ Trevor Deep Jr takes a break from releasing for Delsin and his own HPTY imprint to drop this delectable set of jams for Nsyde. There is a distinct dubby lilt to Trevor’s output, and that comes through in abundance with the carefully treated chord that pulses through the core of lead track “Merge”. However that track is still operating in the Basic Channel school of dub, while “Blunted” flips the script to a Rhythm & Sound style romp through rootsy steppers rhythms and choice guitar plucks. “Believe Dub” ramps the energy back up with a housey groove around which cavernous synths can echo and throb, making for a damn fine addition to the tradition of dubwise dance music.
Jeroen Search – Figure SPC T [FIGSPCT6]
One of the true masters of modern minimalism, and one of the central artists on Figure SPC, Dutch artist Jeroen Search is back. Over three exciting and urgent new tracks Search hones in his skills in programming and arrangement to create yet more exciting and unique club tools. A refined and trippy journey into the cleaner, more funky end of the Techno spectrum, ‘Magnus’ works an airy, bleep-era riff atop snappy, tight drums and frenetic hat and ride elevations. Constantly lifting the energy, dropping it off with subtle tension, and bringing it back again, its a masterful example of the producer’s talents.Drifitng into more edgy zones, the darker and more sinister ‘Renaissance’ welcomes back Jeroen’s jacking house influences, as this groovy 90s-vibed jam takes off. A rough and totally out-there synth riff emerges from the forward pushing percussion to take centre stage, creating a moment of wild abandon!’Formalized’ completes the EP with a more abstract trip into dark dance. Classic techno bleeps and pizzicato synth patterns revolve and hypnotize in this reduced and frankly killer slice of paranoid genius.
Sterac – Klockworks 12 [KW012]
Dutch techno legend Steve Rachmad, aka STERAC, joins the Klockworks ranks with an outstanding four-track EP. Funky minimal techno like he did a long time ago on Robert Hood’s M-Plant in an updated version.
Charlton – Intelligent Life [MORD008]
Doing their own thing with a host of less-familiar names, Mord has worked tirelessly over the past couple of years to establish a distinct sound within more techno-minded realms. Charlton returns with a second release for the label that brings a range of moods to bear on his looped-up style, kicking off with the Robert Hood-isms of “Vulnerable” with its nervous cyclical chimes, before “Stand Behind A Line” burrows a little deeper into throbbing machine rhythms with acid overtones thrown in for good measure. “Unforgiven” opens things up with a mammoth, distorted square wave synth line that flinches not once in its quest to devastate the dance. “Simple” thing brings some 303 action back into the mix but balances it out with a dense base layer of industrial grunge to make for a nice and dirty ass-shaker.
XDB – Afrikk EP [ECHOCORD061]
The 2nd Ep by Kosta Athanassiadis aka XDB on Echocord. The Afrikk Ep contains 3 original tracks, all rough, deep and dubby with house elemenst, typical XDB style. Also the ep contains a remix of the Afrikk track by Philogresz. All tracks are perfect for the dancefloor, a good mix of the modern House sound of today and Dub Techno.
Scientific Dreamz of U – Visionz Of An Abstract Plane [TABR026]
Datastreams formed via the merging of spin ½ wavefunctions, refracted through myriad unit spheres in momentum space. Alternative visionz divined by Lost Trax.
Marco Bernardi – Spacejam [WRECKS003]
Klasse Wrecks welcomes Marco Bernardi to it’s ranks with the Spacejam EP. Spacejam is an EP of demented drums, fiddling electronics and refreshing originality, all tracks contained within feature the signature sound of a studio obsessive and capture the many inspirations and influences of the Scottish born DJ and Producer.
Mike Gervais – Behind You EP [SYSTEM001]
New label from Minneapolis kicking it of with a big one, Push (2nd track) kick it hard with staccato hits and crispy sounds and takes it to the next level when the warm chords drop in. The 3rd track is a cool variation on this.
Efdemin – Decay Versions Pt.1 [DIAL067]
Efdemin presents the 1st part of a remix series, featuring mixes by Asusu, Staffan Linzatti & The Borderline State.
Stasis – Space 1993 [ONLY005]
Steve Pickton aka Stasis released ‘Space 1993’ originaly on Native Sampler pt 2. Only One records has the honour to re-release this masterpiece on blue transparent vinyl. Featuring Unbroken Dub’s re-interpretation.
Floorplan – Never Grow Old / Phobia (Re-Plant) [MPM020]
Continuing the 20th anniversary celebrations of Robert Hood’s M-Plant label which began with Mark Broom’s edits of ‘Untitled 1’ and ‘One Touch’ in March, Hood now delivers remixes of two of his Floorplan tracks taken from the 2013 Paradise album.
Population One – A Mind Of His Own [M041]
The ‘A Mind of His Own’ EP delivers four magnificent, forward thinking cuts by this experimental techno vanguardist. Expect the terse, elegant minimalism that Dixon is known for. Especially Encircle is another classic Terrence Dixon track.
Esteban Adame – Day Labor [EPM007V]
Following the album’s opening single ‘Home Sick’ backed by a remix from MGUN earlier this spring, LA based artist Esteban Adame delivers his first album for EPM in the shape of ‘Day Labor’. Esteban Adame is a part of the new wave of artists emerging from the Los Angeles underground scene. After releasing material on Planet E, Esteban partnered up with long time friend and colleague Santiago Salazar to start ICAN Productions. As a musician, Esteban is also a member of the Underground Resistance live act Galaxy to Galaxy, as well as being part of the new six-piece ensemble, Thee Afterdark. He has also released solo productions on labels like Underground Quality and Modelhart and boasts various remixes to his credit.
Psyk – Time Foundation [MOTELP002]
After two succesful EP releases on the label, Psyk aka Manuel Anós is back on Mote-Evolver inaugurating his first full-length album effort. “Time Foundation” proves to be an outstanding collection that shows the full spectrum of Psyk’s sound and the range of skills as he expands and explores different depths and moods. Keeping the energy level constant at the peak, there’s no downtime in “Time Foundation”. And while 10 sharp-cut tracks are all armed with clean, streamlined groove and impressive sound design therefore may soundincredibly slick and effortless, once you listened closely – and they will demand your attention – that kind of breezing through swift force is only the byproduct of Psyk’s high caliber production ability to map out meticulous structures with a great detail.
Mono Junk – Shotokai [FP004]
Given that he released his first EP way back in 1992, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Mono Junk’s latest 12″ – his first since 2011 – sounds like a blend of early ’90s intelligent techno, Kraftwerkian rhythms and Clone-ish icy electro. While “Shotokai” is a pulsating shot of woozy, off-kilter futurism, the EP’s hardest hitting moments are those that shuffle to a different beat. The glacial melodies and skittish 808 rhythms of “With You” are particularly potent, while “Bleep Number 9” sounds like a stripped-back, underground take on Brown Album-era Orbital. As for “Kime”, it comes on like a long lost Kraftwerk production circa Computer World.
Mayday – The Darkside [PC000]
Taken from a mysterious Acetate cut by Derrick May in 1987 this release was originally penned for KMS offshoot Pheerce Citi. Both these sides were later released – ‘The Darkside’ = as ‘A Relic’ (by Longer Than Long ago) and ‘Tic Tic Tic’ was later released on the limited edition compilation as Music Institute 20th Anniversary as ‘Untitled’. Both tracks are however, very hard to get on vinyl and have now been re issued as loud 45rpm pressings in Pheerce Citi artwork and remastered for 2014.
The Hipodrome Of Music 