MPU420 – BPM1 [IT057]

September 14, 2023September 13, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, electro, ilian tape, mpu420Leave a comment

Releases on the Ilian Tape label are nearly always two things – a) shrouded in mystery, and b) a little unconventional. Given that the painter who created the artwork gets a credit on the 12″s label but the musician or musicians themselves get no mention, it’s fair to assume a) has been fulfilled. The music itself fulfils b) too, as hard edged rhythms clocking in closer to electro than techno provide a vehicle much softer, more sensitive musical flourishes. ‘WantU’ is probably the overall highlight, with its crystal clear arp riffing and Kraftwerk-esque bumping, but ‘Chiemgau606’, the rawer ‘OSC’ and ‘Sinister808’ should all appeal to those who like their grooves esoteric and full of personality – but ultimately still dancefloor slaying.

Surgeon – Balance [TRESOR096]

September 1, 2023August 29, 2023 hipodromealbum, anthony child, detroit techno, minimal techno, re-release, reissue, surgeon, techno, tresor recordsLeave a comment

Tresor Records is fortunate enough to be sitting on a catalogue of past releases that no other label in electronic music would turn down. One of the finest in this collection were contributed by Surgeon. His inimitable combination of Detroit techno and post-industrial sounds emanating from his British homeland found its fullest expression in these masterful trio of releases. Tresor Records have decided that its time to give ‘Balance’ another airing.

Surgeon – Basictonalvocabulary [TRESOR073]

September 1, 2023August 29, 2023 hipodromealbum, anthony child, detroit techno, minimal techno, re-release, reissue, surgeon, techno, tresor recordsLeave a comment

Tresor Records is fortunate enough to be sitting on a catalogue of past releases that no other label in electronic music would turn down. One of the finest in this collection were contributed by Surgeon. His inimitable combination of Detroit techno and post-industrial sounds emanating from his British homeland found its fullest expression in these masterful trio of releases. Tresor Records have decided that its time to give ‘Basictonalvocabulary’ another airing.

Sterac / Kr!Z – Lightworks [RYCL019]

July 21, 2023July 19, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, kr!z, reclaim your city, sterac, steve rachmad, technoLeave a comment

The next Reclaim Your City pays tribute to the Benelux techno connection as they welcome Dutch maestro Steve Rachmad under his Sterac alias and Token boss Kr!z to the fold. Each contributing a brace of the typically elegant hard-hitters they’ve become so widely reputed for, the pair has us swinging in balance between proper floor-destroying potency and mind-expanding otherworldliness. A homage to the uncluttered and beautifully escapistic vision they’ve advocated throughout their career and continue to push in their various endeavors, RYCL019 is a feast for the purists as much as a compellingly future-facing manifesto: classic in essence but vanguard in its quest.

Swoze – Church EP [FCR020]

July 19, 2023July 18, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, electro, former city records, funk, swozeLeave a comment

The Church EP features four high-energy dancefloor tracks in the signature Bootybass style, by the one ”Swoze” guaranteed to get everybody moving. With Westcoast and G Funky vibes throughout, this EP delivers the perfect mix of fast-paced grooves and soulful melodies that will leave you either pimpin or craving for more.

Aubrey – Breaking Out EP [SG37]

July 17, 2023July 14, 2023 hipodromeaubrey, detroit techno, solid groove, technoLeave a comment

Aubrey has always brought a detailed sense of sound design to his heavy techno. The Berlin-based artist does that again here on a first EP on his own Solid Groveos since 2016. Two tracks delve into his archives to come up with some rare and obscure jams from the 90s. One is “Lose Yourself”, a bright and cosmic take on techno, while “Breaking Out” offers golden US-style house with nice frayed synths and smoky depths. Two new cuts are “Chase Mind” – a cavernous and dubby, with whimsical pads and unrelenting bass locking you in a trance, then “Mr Muscle”, a twisted acid techno closer that completes a varied and vital EP.

Millsart – Don’t Ask Me Why [AX112]

July 9, 2023July 6, 2023 hipodromeaxis expressionist, axis records, detroit techno, experimental, jeff mills, millsart, minimal technoLeave a comment

The Axis Expressionist series, curated by Millsart aka Jeff Mills, is back with a second EP that features a selection of tracks making their debut on vinyl. The music is less focused on the act of dancing and more, says the ever-verbose Mills, “about reflecting on the complexity and simplification of life.”

MGUN – From Time To Time [HMR-001]

June 10, 2023June 8, 2023 hipodromealbum, deep techno, detroit techno, electro, hold me recordings, manuel gonzales, mgunLeave a comment

Hold Me Recordings is Manuel Gonzales and Ryan Spencer and their objective is to maintain a constant flow of releases from local artists from Detroit. The first release comes from Manuel Gonzales under his MGUN guise. “From Time To Time” is an album with eight techno-electro tracks.

Quince – Anthology of Interest [NOWHERE04]

June 10, 2023June 12, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, nowhere, quince, something happening somewhereLeave a comment

Dutch techno producer from Utrecht, Quince, makes a return with “Anthology of Interest”, his first proper record in eight years, a four tracker versatile EP on the illustrious Nowhere series.

Jeff Mills – The Other Maria [AX114]

June 10, 2023June 8, 2023 hipodromeaxis records, detroit techno, jeff mills, minimal technoLeave a comment

As Jeff Mills returns to his third deepest obsession after 909s and UFOs, he presents an addendum to his renewed Metropolis Metropolis soundtrack which doubles down on three of the themes and gives them a different framework through the lens of a 12″. This is still the more cinematic end of the Millsian spectrum, but there’s some intensity which may well be of use to the more dramatic or daring techno DJ. Another great serving by the maestro from Detroit.

DJ Surgeles – Triglav [TECH-UM313003]

May 26, 2023May 26, 2023 hipodromealbum, deeptrax records, detroit techno, dj surgeles, minimal technoLeave a comment

The exploration craft Isis001, a spaceship sent by humanity, has crashed into the unknown world of Triglav, with one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Below, a handful of humans fight an armed group of outsiders and the entire hostile planet to protect the secret – the fate of the Triglavs, the legendary first species to show wisdom in the stars. Over time, the group of astronauts begins to understand what is going on on the planet,and begins to understand Triglav’s secret, but will they be able to return to our planet and share the secret about Triglav? Triglav’s heads were believed to represent Sky, Earth and the Underworld. It was believed that Triglav has three heads because he ruled these three kingdoms and had a golden binding over his eyes and lips so he could not see people’s sins nor speak about them.

XDB vs. Kryptic Universe – Lockertmatik 014 [LOCKERTMATIK014]

May 15, 2023May 12, 2023 hipodromedeep techno, detroit techno, kosta athanassiadis, kryptic universe, lockertmatik records, xdbLeave a comment

Great deep techno on this collaborative split release between XDB and Kryptic Universe! They’re bringing 2 of their favorite cuts onto the table. C.O.N. and Cloud Riders do dive deep and relentlessly into dub techno territory.

Stojche – Granada [SYNCRO39]

May 15, 2023May 12, 2023 hipodromeconvextion, detroit techno, stojche, syncrophone recordingsLeave a comment

Macedonian-in-Berlin Stojche continues his faithful exploration of deeper strains of techno with this entry for esteemed French label Synchrophone. It’s the first time the Tangible Assets artist has appeared on the label, and he does so with the statement drop of just one original tune, the frankly epic ‘Granada’. Laying down a swirling dream of synth strings and fluttering Rhodes, the core of the track is a soothing balm driven by bouncy, strident 909 kicks, but the real magic comes from the switch up as the pads give way to fast-paced, classically informed techno rush right up there with the best of Detroit. Meanwhile, the B-side is handed over to Gerard Hanson aka Convextion, who delivers a version which submerges the broad sweeping pads and focuses on building the forwards momentum.

Derek Carr – Allez EP [TRECS008]

May 15, 2023May 12, 2023 hipodromedeep techno, derek carr, detroit house, detroit techno, trident recordingsLeave a comment

Derek Carr has been pretty untouchable in the last couple of years. His work in the fields of deep house and deep techno has been consistently innovative and captivating. He takes care of the eighth EP on the Trident label now with more of his serene sound designs and dynamic grooves. ‘Allez’ heads off into the cosmos with balmy pads and smooth drums then acid lashes about the mix of ‘I Want You’ which rides a nice tight, clipped, locked-in drum line. Things get more loose and star gazing on ‘Revival’ while ‘Typhoon’ closes with playful synth patterns tumbling down over invitingly warm deep house drums.

Millsart – Inner Eye [AX111]

May 14, 2023July 6, 2023 hipodromeaxis expressionist, axis records, detroit techno, jeff mills, millsart, minimal technoLeave a comment

Axis Expressionist Series is a collection of vinyl and limited digital releases, curated by Millsart, an alias of Jeff Mills, of his most eclectic and transcendent compositions that derive from his Every Dog Has Its Day project as well as new unreleased works. “Inner Eye” and “That Voodoo You Do” were originally released in digital as “Every Dog Has Its Day vol.12” (2020). “Nocturnal Moves” was originally released in digital as “Every Dog Has Its Day vol.9” (2020).

Sterac – Teknitron EP [DSR/STC5]

May 10, 2023May 9, 2023 hipodromedeep techno, delsin records, detroit techno, sterac, steve rachmadLeave a comment

This fifth EP in the Steve Rachmad re-issue series contains a colorful combination of three tracks from different releases. Side A brings the sought after track ‘Teknitron’, originally released on his 3rd EP, originally released under his short-lived alias Black Scorpion back in 1995. ‘Transpose’ is taken from his first Sterac EP from 1994, while the last tracks ‘Alastria’ comes from his second album Thera, originally released in 1998. All tracks are re-mastered of course. Steve Rachmad’s richly melodic strain of techno has resulted in a huge body of work he has been growing since the early 90s. His sound is the perfect distillation of machine soul – dubby atmospherics and crisp, danceable dynamics balanced in perfect unison. Amsterdam’s Delsin Records gathers together some of the Dutch techno figurehead’s most important, sought-after works in a new EP series, all remastered from the original DAT tapes from Steve’s archives.

Augustus Williams – Increaser EP [M049]

May 10, 2023August 16, 2023 hipodromeaugustus williams, detroit techno, metroplexLeave a comment

With Augustus Williams, Juan Atkins’ newly signed artist, Metroplex Records welcomes one of Detroit’s new generation of electro and techno explorers to the label. His debut, titled ,,Increaser EP” offers four tracks of celestial funk, deeply indebted to the classic sound of Metroplex. The EP starts off with ,,The Hook-Up”, a bouncy yet minimal electro permutation built around a propulsive bassline and a percolating synth arpeggio. On the other three tracks Williams flexes his techno muscle and shows his keen sense for deep and focused techno-soul with a futurist edge that has any dance floor heaving with energy. – most notably in the noisy abstractions of ,,Submission”.

Jon Hester – Continuum EP [ODDEVEN041]

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, jon hester, odd even, technoLeave a comment

Berlin-based American Jon Hester presents some fierce-driving techno tracks on his latest release on Odd Even Records, with a clear Motor City influence.

Kenny Hooper – Detroit Orbiter Vol.2 [ELY111]

May 1, 2023April 27, 2023 hipodromedetroit, detroit techno, electro, elypsia records, kenny hooperLeave a comment

Young Detroit-native Kenny Hooper steps up for his debut release on Elypsia Records with not one but three 12 inches full of prime Motor City techno and electro escapism. Titled ,,Detroit Orbiter Volume 1 – 3″, each EP features four tracks, showcasing Hooper’s brilliant personal take on classic Detroit sounds. The twelve tracks of the ,,Detroit Orbiter” trilogy signal the arrival of yet another Motor City talent ready to rake the world and dance floors by storm with his chunky and funkafied sonic fictions.

Eduardo De La Calle – Kardama EP [FP007]

April 14, 2023April 12, 2023 hipodromedetroit techno, eduardo de la calle, futurepast, minimal technoLeave a comment

Futurepast presents a new release from Spanish producer and DJ Eduardo De La Calle. “Kardama” emerged as the winter of 2022 bled into 2023, a period where he’d actually been producing more downtempo works. As a reflective work, De La Calle processes emotions and thoughts with analog methods, reverse delays and pedals on “Kardama”. The emotions that he holds close to himself show up in the detail that sits deeper within each track.