One of the deepest techno musicians out there Unbalance returns to Mutex Recordings with an incredible sound collage. His “Sand EP” is going to take you on a long journey through the unknown Siberian soundscapes. Dutch veteran techno producer Jeroen Search supplied two remixes of “Dependence” with some jacking 909 rhythms and spooky synths to add more dancefloor tension to the sound of this marvelous EP.
New 2 track 12” by Omar S. The pulsating acid injected Triangulum Australe (Say It in Space) on the a-side and cool chord driven house track Mayall II on the b-side. Real talk (from space) from Omar S. Two quality tracks from the upcoming Omar-S album.
The Midnight Shift label debuts with a daring pairing of the emerging and established in this efflorescence EP. The first EP features Singaporean Eddie Niguel with Torontonian Basic Soul Unit aka Stuart Li. Together, they present a crisp and compelling release statement that pushes a new trajectory in the house and techno genres.
Fachwerk boss and dubby techno don Mike Dehnert steps away from his usual home for a new EP on Delsin entitled ‘Umgangston’. ‘Andruck’ swings back and forth on a squelchy synth hook as tin foil hi hats cut up long thin pads. Knocking bell sounds add plenty of silvery colours to the dubby bass below, and it’s one of the more serene and beautiful Dehnert cuts of recent times. ‘Tracer’ is much sterner, with huge Basic Channel dub waves breaking beneath scratchy synths and acid bleeps. Fizzing and fine grain like warm white noise, it’s for those more intense dancefloor moments. ‘Refillable’ finds Mike in full on rave mode with filters twisting and turning and skewing synths into weird patterns as hi hat ringlets race between sandy claps and a tortured vocal yelps out every so often. Rushy and racy, it’s underpinned with a walloping kick drum where closer ‘Umgangston’ is about knife-edge intensity, cantering kick drums and wild, freeform synth lines.
The concept behind Raw Series is just a drum machine and a synth – pure analogue DJ-tools. This is thier second release.
Paper Recordings continue their journey back to plastic with another vinyl release. Jamie L is a mysterious figure of undisclosed origin and history who fits in to the Moodyman / Theo Parrish mold of heavy future disco; which his new production ‘(What We Saw) In The Burg’ nails. It’s a heavy leftfield groove laid over broken house beats with a filtered bass, samples and leftfield vibe. The Detroit pad creeps up to the break and filters in and out as the track works it’s way through for locked down dance floor business. Next up, Havana Candy breaks out the analogue and takes things deeper and techier. With a rolling bass and tweaking acid line, it cuts to a Rhodes before filtering down and riding back to the heads down groove. Cottam steps up for Paper for the first time and demonstrates what all the fuss is about with a very special mix. Clocking in at 9.41 it’s deep, tough soulful house that crosses the 4/4 divide from techno to disco and deep house to soul.
Machining Dreams is back, this time with an EP from G. Marcell titled Sound Extravagance EP. Five musical compositions firmly rooted in Chicago, but offer much variety to the romanticized concept, as Marcell holds true to his home town production ethos with sampling, beating arrangement, and spoken word. This aforementioned variety in sound brings great depth to this 12″.
Idiot Savant Masterpieces is the 3rd release and the first full solo EP by Amir Alexander on the Vanguard Sound record label. On display is Amir’s somewhat off kilter take on U.S. dance music. An approach so different that one critic described the work of Amir and his crew as Idiot Savant Masterpieces. All bases are covered, acid, deep, big room, and banging techno with a little hip house thrown in for good measure.
Sound Black Recordings presenta a 12″ from Hakim Murphy called Darkness EP. This three track experience dives deep into the Chicago ethos, specifically made for underground jocks who like to bang jack tracks. Shouts to all the jacks who like to jack in the dark.
The Smugglers Inn is an independent radio show/podcast which is produced and presented by Daniel Berman aka Red Rack’em very second Wednesday. The Smugglers Inn has become a unique testing ground for new artists and productions and many of todays highly rated new school producers benefited from early support on the show. With a network of talent to draw from, it seemed a logical step to start a record label so this is the first release from what promises to be an interesting series of eclectic, dancefloor focussed musical endeavours from an all-star international cast. The EP includes tracks by Carlos Nilmmns, Franklin de Costa, Tommy Rawson and Ajukaja.
Debut release on the french Knotweed imprint from this pioneer in Detroit Techno, Terrence Dixon. “Beat” powers itself from a prominent set of hats and cymbals while intricate layers of jazzy melodies interlope in an atonal fashion lowed down in the mix in true pile-driving fashion. “Escape” is a creepier affair, holding back on the percussion and letting intriguing keys clash in a measured way that breeds new scales for that quintessential Dixon otherworldliness. “Another Space” is yet more stripped back and haunting, focusing on lavish pads and the space they have to roam free.
Small repress from these two tracks, his underground anthem ‘Energize’ from 2005, as included on Carl Craig’s Fabric mix cd. Other side brings ‘Gemini’ from his debut EP from 2004.
Siberian producer Unbroken Dub makes his debut on Delsin Records. The three track Checkpoint EP kicks off with ‘I Want To Make This Louder’, a widescreen, gently undulating soundscape with scraping percussion and thick, smeared synths. Cutting through the dense dub fug are sharp edged percussive ticks, driving the track forwards gently as more and more analogue textures unfold and unfurl. ‘Det Special’ is less smooth and more choppy, rising up and down as abrasive white noise swirls add caustic surfaces to the hopping wood block hits and buried deep in the mix bassline. Again, it’s seriously analogue and as cerebral as it is physical. Closer ‘Insane’ is a much brighter cut, instead of sounding introverted and melancholic it offers some hope thanks to the buoyant hi hat ringlets, up right kick drums and glassy, tinkling echo of percussion. Contrasting heavy bass with light percussion as he does, this young producer continues to find new life in the ancient form of dub.
“Square” is the follow up to Redshape’s album debut “The Dance Paradox” (Delsin, 2009) – that is if you don’t want to count the double impact 12-inch “Red Pack” as a long player. And indeed, it is a long player in the truest sense of the term. Pamphlets, theories and opinions about the dubious role of “the album” in techno are dime a dozen, i.e. squaring the circle, but the man with the mask makes an effort to prove all of them wrong. “Square” doesn’t care for styles, genres or expectations, it can hold its own. Spread across twelve tracks you are as likely to meet vintage Redshape on tracks like “It’s In The Rain” or “The Playground (Square Version)” as you will encounter new facets of him with the Hyperdub affiliated Space Ape featuring “Until We Burn” and “Moods And Mice” or with a cluster of ambience pieces (“Orange Clouds”, “Landing”, Departing”). Working its way through all these states and moments on and off the dance floor, through melancholy and industrial romanticism alike, “Square” leaves you with the feeling of having experienced an electronic music album with identity that trusts in itself and wants you to trust in it. No matter if your perspective comes from a classic album like Kenny Larkin’s “Metaphor” (R&S, 1995) or is informed by the recent retro futuristic developments in the United Kingdom, if techno means more than a desperately compressed kick drum to you, Redshape with all his idiosyncrasy finds his way into your heart.
New release on Ferrispark Records, featuring four mystery tracks, reminiscent of the early Detroit house & techno.
