
Power Cuts is a sub label of Power Station, outputting edits from residents and friends of the weekly Melbourne party.

Power Cuts is a sub label of Power Station, outputting edits from residents and friends of the weekly Melbourne party.

Vivod welcome Paul Withey to the fold for a slice of his funk tinged repertoire. With recent tracks on Birmingham’s Ruby Hills & Diamond Mountain and a remix for Future Unit’s Tusk Wax release, this should be a telling year for Mr Withey.

Hot on the heels of the co-release between Especial and Cocktails d’Amore Music of the Sfire Remixes EP (EES023/CDA013) comes an accompanying release with a pair of deeper, stripped back remixes from the inimitable Timothy J Fairplay and Willie Burns.

Especial returns to its concept of taking music it loves – in this case Sfire’s debut EP – and remixing them for a stand-alone release. Teaming up with Berlin’s Cocktail d’Amore Music, mixing desk duties are taken by newcomer Kris Baha, as well as label mainstays Jamie Paton and INHALT and the esteemed Lauer.

After a hiatus of 11 years it appears Monkeyshop are using the Vivod portal for their current works, this being their 2nd EP for Ali Renault’s imprint. Title track Island of Love is a melodious sprawling opus perfect for keeping the summer vibes going all year round and takes the whole of side A. Side B has 2 more cuts. Heartbreak is another disco pulser and the final track is Island of Love given a brilliant rework treatment from fellow Swede electroist Obergman.

Rouge Mecanique delivers a stone cold classic EP for Discos Capablanca. The psychedelic steady muscle of ‘All Will Be Changed’ aims to destroy visionary dance floors. ‘Sans Scrupules’ is the most surprising acid banger you will likely hear this year. ‘Ampedusa / Xaver’ defies description and its mutant sound could evoque ecstatic early minimal house references, kraut and concrete music. ‘Can I Say’ is simply put the most elegant, languid way to say goodbye to an EP that exudes sheer brilliance and character.


P-Balans is a new imprint in the Future Nuggets emerging constellation. A tehnodelia ramification within the Bucharest electronic scene that will host rising names like Khidja and Borusiade while introducing new characters like The Holy Fix (Camil Dumitrescu, co-member of Delusion Men) and Utopus (Ion D, producer of Steaua de Mare, Raze de Soare, Anahore?ii among others) already featured on “Sounds on the Unheard from Romania vol. 2”. Keeping the same strategies of fusion and diffusion as Future Nuggets, P-Balans will explore the space traversal to techno, entering and exiting the dark halls of the club through multiple doors.

Joining the dots after last years reissue of Plus Instruments early 80s post-punk music on the Bodies EP on Emotional Rescue, Especial now looks at their return to recent music production, taking the song “Love Is Enough” from the recent Trancesonics album and giving it the all encompassing label remix treatment. We get four reinterpretations by Richard Sen, Khidja, Luke Solomon and Jamie Paton.

The Hivern edit series is back with its 4th instalment, this time with two joints by Lost Scripts, the duo of John Talabot and Marc Pional. On the A side, S.O.P. revamps the theme of a popular TV series with krautish rhythms and woozy percussive details to transform it into kosmische monster ready for the club. On the flip, A.F.K. is an uplifting afro-house number that pairs ritualistic percussion and African chants with curly synths to create a journey that starts in the savannah and ends in outer space. A proven dancefloor wrecker.

The Previously Unreleased series of Playgroup 12″s from Trevor Jackson returns with a second edition. Echoing the diverse nature of the classic Playgroup album, there is plenty of stylistic swerves in the three tracks that feature here. Up top, “Doin’ It Right” is a low-slung slab of disco chug with a most devious arpeggio conducting proceedings. On the B-side, “Flyte Mode” is a short proto house piece that would work well as an opening track on a DJ mix whilst “Live At The Funhouse” is a fizzing electro DJ tool.

Left Ear Records went back to Coleman’s original master tapes for their vinyl reissue of the Commander’s 1981 private press album Mastership, a lost electronic funk classic. Truly nuts and really kind of essential. Check the instrumental cut, Mastership – a head nod synth voyage of the highest order.

After taking the helm for the label’s inaugural release, Jonny 5 returns to Bahnsteig with more genre-fluid stylings for the leftfield dancefloor freaks. “Deja Vu” opens the set with a space age textures, stadium slap bass and cinematic guitar licks, firing up the wind machine for some coiffured coastal romance. With the linen suit needing the dry cleaners, Jonny 5 steps aboard the “Last Train” for some oddball NDW rock and roll. Imagine if the B52s if their cartoon was redrawn by Frank Miller – dark and deranged machine music. B-side opener “Miami Slice” continues the lunacy but with added wow and future, taking us on a tape mangled tour of post punk history. The grand finale comes in the form of “Slow Bodies”, a 100bpm cosmic bopper retrofitted with Linn percussion, hypnotic arps and the best in zero gravity delay.

A special treat from the Tiger’s lair with a different and darker twist, that seeks out the darker and more dodgy discotheques on the side streets and in the backyards, where the trough has no flush and the mirror balls have never been cleaned. Automatic rhythms and electronic dancing sound made years after the future.

The Secret Squirrels continue to assault the dance floor and make you want to you to dance with two more deadly reworks. On this 11th episode they continue to disrespect boundaries as they criss-cross from Disco to Italo to House music in order to do their dirty deeds.

Third time out for Francisco on Slow Motion’s strictly retro-dance-floor series – Linea Beat. Joined by partner in crime Cosmo, ‘System 3’ and ‘Get In’ are classic Slow Motion laser jams. Phasers set to stun and energy levels turned up to 11, the latest in the 12″ dance programme comes with a jacking bonus beat remix from Dephi of Tiger & Woods. Throbbing, electronic dance music for your mind, body, this is Italian dance music of the past, present and the future.

The undisputed one man army returns to Bordello A Parigi with the ultimate Sicilian holiday kit: an adventurous tour around his beloved island during the endless hot summer days. Palermo Disco Squad is Innershades aka the Belgian artist Thomas Blanckaert.

Bijou is back in the Bordello and ready to bring some cool to these hot summer nights. Sun countered by sea. Soothing synthlines, airy analogue tones and gentle currents characterise the two openers, Bijou calling on calming waves and peaceful percussion to begin. The Belgian producer allows the temperature to rise for ‘Reine Des Plages’, broad basslines and funk laden bars dancing late into the night. But those fresh breezes are ever present, closing in the beach bronzed beauty of ‘La Marée’.

Homesick #5 is the unplanned result of a tremendously funky DJ set by General Ludd in Hong Kong. Three tracks have been chosen by the Homesick team to reflect the intense disco inferno atmosphere we all felt on that unforgettable night.