The second Vortex Traks compilation features driving and spacy electro cuts from Kan3da and Morphology on the A-side. On the flip Mr Velcro Fastener make it more funky while The Guide Girls round off the EP nicely with their dreamy and melodic track.
BT14 brings back Pip Williams & Koova along with Simon Lynch as London Modular Alliance for Out of Sync. Across 5 tracks they bring together a wide range of influences from electro, bass & techno to create their own unique sound. Opening the EP De-Orbit_118 is a beatless excursion into space before crashing back down to earth with the deranged The Mind is a Terrible Thing. Closing the A side, Tinker matches sombre pads with squelchy intricacies. On the flip Their Discontent grooves and trips out while closing track Out of Sync offers an even deeper variation of opener De-Orbit_118.
…and then the Log Lady said: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet there are those who open many eyes. Eyes are the mirror of the soul, someone has said. So we look closely at the eyes to see the nature of the soul. Sometimes when we see the eyes — those horrible times when we see the eyes, eyes that … that have no soul — then we know a darkness, then we wonder: where is the beauty? There is none if the eyes are soulless.”
First OYE Black Label Edition comes with two outstanding electro tracks by Alex Seidel. More known more his dusty Max Graef Band deep house jams but makes the crossover into electro on the S.G 12″. On the first side is SG (mix A) a serving of dirty and lowdown electro funk where snappy vintage machine breaks are balanced out by some dreamy Rhodes keys: remnants of Seidel’s more typical work. On the flip, SG (mix B) injects more ferocity and tempo in the track; the breaks on this one get more glitchy and aggressive.
Norwell’s Death Of A Star E.P, released earlier this summer, mixed his usual kosmiche-inspired sounds with the distorted grittiness of ’80s industrial music. It was impressive, and now Pinkman has decided to offer up two remixes apiece of EP highlights “Nordic Nights” and “Death of A Star”. The former track is given the acid-flecked, 8-bit techno treatment by Antenna, before S Olbricht turns it into an unsettling, Motor City-influenced roller. Delta Funkitonen channels the spirit of EBM pioneers Nitzer Ebb on his throbbing interpretation of “Death Of A Star” – all psychedelic synthesizer arpeggios and restless kick drums – before DJ Overdose steals the show with an inspired electro remake of the same track.
The Smoke Clears is the abstract ambient project of producer John Daly. He debuted this alias with an eponymous LP in 2013 on Further Records and this is a part 2. Following up his 2013 LP of the same name, this record builds upon it’s predecessor’s ambient abstractions while adding another layer of nuanced melodic contemplation. Kicking off with “Fathoms” a deceptively calm track but with a paced sense of urgency which is evident throughout the LP, belying it’s calm undertones. Continuing at this pace for the rest of the first side the LP takes a side turn with the lush “Slipstream” melting into the only vocal track of the LP – the dubbed out bliss of “Oh My Days” featuring Cian Finn. Showcasing a side that might not be so familiar, this is lush downtempo machine music equally as at home cranked up one louder soundsystem style, or for late night home listening.
Humanoid X is CPU’s deepest foray into Detroit techno so far, from Blixaboy aka Mwanza Dover – Texas based artist, friend of Cygnus and very much part of the local electro scene. Dover presents an album influenced by the pioneers of the hypnotic groove. On first pass you’ll find elements of krautrock through to the Belleville three, all with finely crafted arrangements that reveal themselves in more detail on each listen. A cyberpunk theme runs throughout as Blade Runner-esque synths wash over the album evoking late night electric-city noodle restaurant contemplation. Blixaboy has selected 4 of the more DJ friendly tracks from the album for the vinyl E.P. treatment.
Lucifer & Lust is a 10-inch mini album by Dmitry Distant, showcasing the diversity of his talent. The 6 tracks by the Russian-born artist who currently resides in Latvia reflect the atmosphere of the Baltic and the mystic sides of electronic music. Showing where his devotion lies, Dmitry experiments on the verge of techno, wave and industrial. On this mini album, he grasps our attention with minimalistic trance-like rhythms covered in fluctuating painful melodies, using wonderful analogue sounds and exotic instruments such as the electric violin.
Best known to the techno world as Conforce, Boris Bunnik’s sprawling body of work reaches far beyond his acclaimed techno productions. Recording under names as Silent Harbour, Hexagon, Vernon Felicity, and Versalife he has contributed sublime releases to the genres of ambient, electronic dub, acid house, and electro over the years. It is his Versalife project that now receives its first outing on DJ Glow’s long-running TRUST imprint, and if any further proof is needed that Bunnik is a master of the resurging electro genre, this should easily win over any doubters. ‘Self-Replication’ starts out with a nod to the aquatic innovators of the genre on ‘Raptures of the Deep’, but quickly leaves their many imitators behind in its wake, effortlessly contrasting subtle textures with clanging beats, spiraling arpeggios with grumbling basslines. Bunnik’s sonic boldness peaks on ‘Gentrification’, a sprawling 7-minute journey through jittery rhythms, bottomless echoes, and foreboding harmonies, before ‘Pathogen’ closes the EP almost with a touch of pop, combining a Boards of Canada-style bassline with FM chimes that hark back to the golden days of synth music.
Charlois presents the summer cult hit of 2016 by OTTO, a new project of Alexander Arpeggio and Cid Hohner. Weirdo German Organ tracks, specially made for the Disko.
FR Fels is making his debut on Ortloff Records with a four track journey through analogue mindscapes. Record and sleeve are provided with a phosphorescent silkscreen print.
Roberto Auser is known for his wide range of sounds and releases on Viewlexx and his own Ausland label. Next to that he is part of Kaval (Vrystaete). Even though his releases until now go from italo disco inspired electro to exotica and dark jazz influenced electronics his production is always rather smooth. For Enfant Terrible he shows his raw and dirty side. “Faceless Future” is an old school minimal elektro record done with analogue synths with a real industrial and post-punk attitude.
Here is a new member to the Enfant Terrible family: Utroid. Behind this project goes the producer who was once known as Funxiun and BS-1. The biggest difference between Utroid and the former projects is that the music is less hectic as before. With Utroid the music moves into a more minimal direction while keeping the raw beats and rough vibe.
Project STS-31-Spiralgalaxie (Hubble Telescope Series Vol.3) A clash of the Titans! Celebrating Solar One Music’s 40th release and 10th anniverary, this split LP sees two stars under various disguises, Heinrich Mueller (aka Der Zyklus and various other projects) and German producer Robert Witschakowski aka The Exaltics, back to back in a no return odyssey through the depths of the Galaxy. Expect nothing but contemplative and cosmic electro beats using original outer-space sounds from the Universe. Closing the Hubble telescope trilogy which brought to you Luxus Varta and more recently E.R.P. (respectively with the “Everything Is Nothing” and “Ancient Light” EP’s), trippy “Spiralgalaxie” will mark a new step in SOM’s History. As usual, the final chapter of the series dedicated solely to Hubble and all the great scientists and engineers at the NASA and ESA, comes with a beautiful cover print picture taken by the Space Telescope. CD comes with bonus tracks by Project STS-31, The Exaltics, Robert Heise and a extended alternate bonus Version of Der Zyklus – Ionospheric Delay.
After some quiet years Stilleben Records is back. This VA 12″ goes on in exactly the same style as earlier records from Stilleben. A mix between electro and electro disco. Many records are planned and in the making right now for the future to be heard. This 12″ has a nice mix from E.R.P’s more 4/4 and harmonic melodies to more stiff electro-funk from up north.
BT12 welcomes ITPDWIP to Brokntoys. Founder of Remote Influence; a collective and record label pushing 70’s to 00’s electronic music. ‘Taking An Already Taken Decision’ takes on what post love would sound like with a doleful, melancholy interpretation of electro. ‘Dolphin’s Cry’ accommodates skipping, intricate minimal grooves. Closing the EP ‘Haguenesse Wind’ brings bass heavy, mechanical electro.
Morah comes from Athens and his record on Lux Rec mirrors this magnificent, spendid, decadent, rotten and grimy metropolis. A long journey into the greek maze. Unsettling at times, not without fear or dismay. And those noises coming from a great distance away, are of fools, demented, lunatics. The release begins with “Around You, Around Me”, a sparse-but-energy packed fusion of wild acid lines, rising and falling, high register melodies, and sweaty, full-throttle drum machine hits. “Don’t Tear My Soul Apart” drops the tempo, but persists with the bold electronic riffs (it’s kind of like the original 1988 version of The KLF’s “What Time Is Love” after a session smoking crack), while standout “It’s Been A Long Time” whips off its shirt for a muscular dance around the altar of mid-80s EBM.
Drum machines, acid basslines and colourful vintage synths are the main characters of this release, blissfully warmed up by the recording on tape. This one will bring some hot vibes in your collection!
The Hipodrome Of Music 