Connecticut’s Jon Beall, recording as Entro Senestre, makes his debut for Dekmantel. Beall has taken his signature vintage flavors of techno and electro and pushed them into news spheres of the frightening, combining chalky, continuous drum tracks with an ear for emotionally challenging melodies. Championing timeless electro-techno that breathes real soul, this four tracker does Senestre proud and alters a dynamic EP that is ear-piercing and contemplative, nifty and evocative.
Contributions by the likes of Panama Brown, Roberto Auser, Gesloten Cirkel and I-f staple hit by Tandy Ogmo.
Next up on Greek label Lower Parts is a fierce EP from the one and only DJ Stingray. The word cognition comes from the Latin verb cognosco (con ‘with’ and gnōscō ‘know’) (itself a cognate of the Greek verb γι(γ)νώσκω gi(g)nόsko, meaning ‘I know, perceive’ (noun: γνώσις gnόsis ‘knowledge’)) meaning ‘to conceptualize’ or ‘to recognize.
Alternate mixes of two seminal Drexciya tracks. A longer version of Black Sea and a different mix for Wavejumper (without the infamous ‘skip’). And to finish it off an Unknown Journey.
London’s DMK label provides a follow up to it’s debut release from Kuba Sojka with another strong release from Stojche who delivers another quality EP of underground house/techno tracks on the Square Chapter EP.
Slugbug offers up a four track ep for the Russian Torrent label. While the title track is a massive electro cut sure to scorch floors. The three remaining cuts explore more tense and moody territories that explore more industrial and downtrodden house vibes that wouldn’t be out of place at Medusa’s back in the day.
Part 2 of the Laffer EP Marco Bernardi on Barba is going head down, straight ahead and striving for energy. Attack of the Dessert Stormers is an overload of dark electro power, six minutes of squirming bassline-driven movement with surges of intensity from analogue bleeps and subtle drum pattern shifts. There’s no let up on the flip side where Two Sliders brings equal force but in a more techno style. Right from the start you’ll be grabbed by the bassline, but this one rewards extended listening as the track develops progressively with new melodies and metallic touches taking you deeper and deeper. There’s a moment of sweetness to end our journey with “There’s always tomorrow”, a chiming melodic ramble through tinfoil meadows that will fit beautifully into a warmup set.
Syncom Data’s powerful return with the hard jacking Warehousing EP, all drenched in that typical raw Syncom Data techno sewer sound with lots of emphasis on bass. Titletrack Warehousing is a constantly forward thrusting jacktechno track that builds to a warm string climax. A great combination of melancholy introvert feels and deep bounding bass. In Stowage Syncom Data take on a beatless electronic flight into distorted vinyl and synth territory. The whole b-side is for Ekstasis, a 13,5 minutes relentless acidsynth techno bomb for destroying some dancefloors. This live recorded track constantly evolves and builds and builds and builds.
O Xander’s debut for the Berlin-based Nous imprint is opening with “Lovers Theme” wrapping ghostly chords and woozy, electronic bass around an ’80s electro-influenced deep house groove. The electro influence continues on the drum machine handclap-heavy “Jupiter Jam”, while “Integrity & Intensity” and “Dirac Sea” both sound like the handiwork of Legowelt. Opal Tapes type Karen Gwyer remixes the latter cut, delivering a brilliant fusion of stuttering drum machine rhythms, drifting chords and fizzing electronics.
Hailing from Florence, Daniele Ciullini was part of the forward-thinking TRAX collective, whose pan european art/music collaboration network acted as a proto-social network decades in advance of the internet. This compilation collects Ciullini’s self released ‘Domestic Exile’ cassette (1983) as well as selections from a series of other compilations(1982 to 1986).
Girouette Records presents tracks selected from the early works of the French Electronic music pioneer Philippe Laurent. “Exposition 3” and “Rapide 1”, these two gems from 1982 are out for the very first time on vinyl, after being remastered from the original tapes by the talented label Minimal Wave. The major cold wave New Yorker duet Xeno & Oaklander brings a second heart to this record, with a wild and breathless cover version of “Exposition 3” taking us with a night driving analogue bass and a surgical eight o’ eight beat to intriguing cinematographic landscapes.
Is the Truth out there? With “The Truth 2008 – 2013” anthology, Solar One Music presents a refine selection of some of The Exaltics greatest tracks from 2008-2013. Box Set , five years of a highly prolific career. This future classic retrospective gathers together the very best of the Jena located artist on labels such like Transient Force, Bunker, Clone or Last Known Trajectory just to name a few. Only a handful of talents succeeded to emerge from the shadows and raise up such enthusiasm the way The Exaltics did over the last 8 years. Widely regarded as one-to-follow since making his musical debut back in 2007, the co-founder of the Solar One Music label never stop transmitting to Earth warning signals, that would affect the whole human race. Early influenced by Detroit and the European West Coast movements, the German producer, real name Robert Witschakowski, quickly forged his own musical identity, extending the legacy of Drexciya or Dopplereffekt. Always coming on strong with a dense, dystopian and even hostile sound, the present LP turns into a testimony of The Exaltics’s technical skills behind his machines. Featuring eleven cuts (two of them never released on vinyl and one unreleased track) of pure robotic madness tinted with Sci-fi and aggressive funk, with lots of room for experiment to turn dancefloors into panic zones, pushing Acid Techno and Dark Electro genres forward, far beyond trends. Thanks to SOM032, the Truth about Ancient Aliens and their plans to invade Earth is definitively in your hands: a must have for every fan of electronics with soul and nuts. We are not alone!
Mutual fans Sherard Ingram and Mariska Neerman join forces to present four essential tracks spanning the breadth of contemporary electro on this second release from Bleep43 Recordings. The first side sees Ingram exploring the edges of his famously unique blend of intricate yet relentless electronics, simultaneously touching on Autechre’s metallic abstractions while sounding the depths of bubbling oceanic vents. Mariska answers with two tracks of melancholy machine music that embody her talent for melody and arrangement and promise to make their presence felt on dancefloors across the spectrum.
Australian born and Berlin based producer Privacy debuts a fantastically coherent EP for Klasse Wrecks. Classic Electro structuring and Detroit pads mingle to produce a forward thinking collection of music that also nods to the past, included in the EP is a screwed up and slowed down remix from Hamburg artist extraordinaire Helena Hauff.
The Hipodrome Of Music 