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.
Considering the combined talents of Detroit veteran Terrence Dixon and Black Jazz Consortium man Fred P, you’d expect this split EP for Finale Sessions to be a lesson in warm, soul-flecked depth. Pleasingly, that’s exactly what it delivers. Dixon excels with the sub-sporting alien futurism of “To The Bridge” – the aural equivalent of staring into space while dancing to electronic jazz – and the sumptuous, minor key bliss of the casual deep house jam “Starting Over”. Fred P, meanwhile, delivers two contrasting cuts. There’s some acid-fuelled deep house futurism in the shape of “Circuit”, and a chunk of bongo-laden dancefloor humidity in “The Road”, whose rising strings and sweet melodies are arguably the highlight of a superb EP.
Effective drum machine rocking techno tracks by the unstoppable Mr.G.on the Don’t be Afraid Special Editions series.
Raw intense techno tracks on the Head Front Panel label. Reminding a bit on the early relentless Jeff Mills productions and Terrence Dixon. Funky looped techno with bubbly and funky bassline sequences and effective percussion.
Those looking for concrete information about the music they’re listening to should probably steer clear of Tabernacle Records’ offshoot Head Front Panel. They’ve yet to announce the identity of any of the producers behind the series blend of slowed-down futurism, discordant electronics and feverish techno. This third installment in the series is similarly mysterious in origin, and once again features a range of intriguing cuts. Opener “Track 1” sounds like an explosion in a “Speak & Spell” factory – a veritable whirlwind of discordant beeps and throbbing techno rhythms – while “Track 2” offers a smoother and more hypnotic variation on a similar theme. Best of all, though, is the jaunty, late night bounce of slow techno excursion “Track 3”.
Irishman John Daly takes a rare break from his One Track label and delivers his magic to the Tanstaafl Planets imprint. Floating house and spacey techno on the b-side that seamlessly merge Daly and Tanstaafl’s aesthetics, while the A-side delivers a pulse-raising new fusion of jacking swing and dubby synths.
For their fourth transmission, Happy Skull presents a trio of dystopian fantasies from analogue maverick Marco Bernardi. Opener ‘Floating’ is a throbbing trip in to rattling techno territory complete with discordant chords and bubbling acid lines. ‘Broken Boiler’ offers a trademark Bernardi fusion of sweet, visceral melodies and raw machine drums. Rounding things off is ‘upside In’, a fearlessly wonky voyage in to freaky techno-funk.
The third release on Detroit Techno Archive. Detroit inspired techno at it’s best with powerful tricky grooves, warm and massive.
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.
Second reference of the label White Rose (part of the Dead Rose Records project) that aims the hypnotic detroit sound of mid 90s and also the dub flavors of the mid 90s Berlin sound. The E.P. is signed by Miki Craven.
Excellent spiritual techno tracks for lost rituals, dances and gatherings. Comes with a remix by Detroit veteran Claude Young.
If you’re going to launch a label, it’s always wise to start with a bang. That’s exactly what newcomers Audio Visual have done here, recruiting Detroit veteran Terrence Dixon and Chez Damier cohort Michael Zucker (boss of Finale Recordings, no less) for a four-track trip into deep techno and intergalactic house. Dixon goes deep into the groove on the hissing, intoxicating deep techno roller “MTA”, before delivering a touch more melody on the retro-futurist gem “Over The Top”. Zucker, on the other hand, opts for a Jaydee-does-deep house feel to “Foundation (Part 1)”, before setting off towards the heavens with the deliciously deep, smooth “Reflections”.
Philippe Petit delivers three hypnotic techno tracks. In addition, he invites Terrence Dixon back on Knotweed so that Terrence can give his own minimalistic interpretation of Stars.
This Time Around is the long awaited follow-up to the succesful Probe album by Roswell Return. The original is a mesmerizing piece of minimal electronic music, heavily inspired by composer Steve Reich. More than 10 minutes of pure synth bliss. On the b-side Syncom Data take it into deep techno territory with a shuffling and ridiculously low-end remix that’s both warm and unsettling at the same time. Deep basslines keep pushing everything forward, while the constantly rising church-like organ brings a nervous mayhem quality to it.
Tel Avivs Deep’a & Biri and Iran-born producer Aril Brikha unite on a forthcoming 12” on Deeps & Biris Black Crow label, from which proceeds will be donated to a Israel/Palestine peace projects organization.
Motech Records, DJ 3000’s label heads to another new signing with two tracks by Lionel Weets, taken from his forthcoming debut album, `Stellar Orchestra’. Techno and house producer, Lionel Weets hails from Belgium and yet his style is clearly influenced by Detroit Techno with its deep, soulful and melodic sound, plus that additional funky touch.
Following a five-year hiatus the #Stockholm based label, Finest Blend makes its return. With previous releases from the likes of Orlando Voorn, Shawn Rudiman, Terence Dixon and label head, Kenny Black it became synonymous with hi-tech grooves, breaking barriers, crossing genres and developing new ones. For its re-launch Finest Blend turns to Santiago Salazar with three tracks of his characteristic house / techno sound. His new EP for Finest Blend opens with the upbeat ‘Galactic Stomp’ full of shimmering flourishes and a tough bassline, before the funked-up shuffle of ‘The Twang’ makes its hit, ending with the spacey electronics of ‘3000 Northend’.
The Hipodrome Of Music 