Newworldaquarium’s new ‘Indishe Buurt’ imprint is now officially up and running and goes straight into it. The first record is from JT Stewart aka $tinkworx who it seems has the Mono/Poly on this Drexciyan homage sound.
More UK produced dark, robotic electro by Q-chip, reminiscent of old Dopplereffekt, and sinister film-noir soundtrack, electroscape music on the flip side from Cestrian.
The ninth release from the Mainrecords shop, on its eponymous titled label comes in the form of three tracks of slick late night electro from Matt Star, plus a remix from Perseus Traxx. Happily blurring boundaries between house and electro, with its tight, crisp beats the release exudes a form of stripped back and honest late night cool with basses that bubble in a way sometimes reminiscent of Ed DMX, while others lend more of a Chicago feel accompanied by rolling toms. Synth lines and arpeggiations cut in and out of subtle modulations giving the feel of anticipation one gets while tearing along the motorways of a city, late at night, the lights of the city and other vehicles brightly darting by, streaking and reflecting across the cars windscreen.
Italy’s webzine Electronique.it has decided to enjoy the joys and sorrows of being a record label and prepares its first release featuring three artists. “Soils” by Commodity Place is an ordinary ambient piece and “Is This For Real?” by passEnger keeps tranquil mood while adding some casual beats. Last track, Cosmic Metal Mother – “The Unreleased Techno Mixes Series (comunicazione uno)”, which is destined to move the feet and flirts with Detroit and Belgium anno 1992.
Comeme has resurfaced sporting a new artistic look and brandishing the same devilish approach to causing dancefloor chaos. The label’s latest EP comes from Isaac Johan, described in fanciful fashion as the “first genuine ghost” to join the pan continental Comeme fold. Believe what you want but lead track “Everytime I See Your Face” does sound like there’s a spirit careening around the inner workings of some Roland drum gear. Despite his apparent spectral state, the following triplet of tracks finds Isaac Johan to be a perfect addition to the Comeme fold.
New release of Heinrich Dressel aka Valerio Lombardozzi, mind of one of the best Italian techno-electro labels around, MinimalRome. Heinrich Dressel is finally celebrating the use of vintage synthesizers and driven electronic machines, holding elements of electro and ambient at the same time, but breaking from the genres too, deeply inspired by Heinrich Dressel, the pioneering German archeologist sent to study in the holy city in Monte Testaccio, who drew what is now a major tool for study of Roman amphorae, the ”Table of Dressel. Heinrich Dressel is placed in a sort of limbo where John Carpenter meets Drexciya, a sonorous journey through the darker side of the electro, taking the commands of the Elka Synthex, one of the most impressive polysynths in the history of music, planned and manifactured by Mario Maggi in the early 80s, as the commercial brother of the MCS70, synth that gave birth to a masterpice album like ”Automat”. “Sighing Melodies Thru The Graves” musically speaking can be described as a captivating hybrid of styles, mixing the chilling-menacing mood of the 70s / 80s lo-fi funkadelic horror soundtracks to outerspace synthesised soundscapes in a pure classy vein. This is cryptical-kosmische psychedelica with a nice electro retro touch and avant-minimalist vibes.
Minimal Wave return to their self-professed “First French love” In Aeternam Vale with a second LP-shaped trawl through the band’s sizeable archive of cassette only releases. The Brooklyn imprint first introduced us to the work of the hugely prolific Lyon band with an eponymous LP of remastered material in 2009, and Dub Under Brightness proves to be just as important a release. The label points to an article on the band originally published by the Douche Froide magazine in 2002, where the journalist nails their appeal in the opening gambit – “There are bands that have been acting ruthlessly in the shadow for years, in a completely confidential manner, then one day chance (but does chance exist?) makes you find one of their recordings, listen to it, and at that moment you could kick yourself for not having discovered these soundscapes earlier and you try to find all of them”. If you haven’t indulged in the sounds of In Aeternam Vale yet, this eight track selection makes for a perfect introductory primer.
The Minimal Wave label present this 12″ accompaniment to Dub Under Brightness, the freshly released trawl through the cassette-only archives of their favourite French act of the 1980s, In Aeternam Vale. The full unedited 12-minute version of the title track is presented here, pressed on a thick slab of vinyl at 45rpm for the DJs and is complemented by “Highway Dark Veins”, a brilliant example of proto industrial techno. If you are not familiar with the A Side, it presents the Lyon group led by Laurent Prot at their lolloping finest, a hypnotic sideways Minimal Wave throbber replete with cavernous and near indecipherable vocals and industrially charged synth waves. It’s the B Side that makes this release all the more special, sounding every bit like the paranoid martian techno opus that inspired the Mills series Something In The Sky and was a definite highlight of Ron Morelli’s descent into Industrial Nihilism on a recent Beats In Space show.
Dark Entries presents the the debut EP “Vehicle” from San Francisco based synth trio Inhalt. Consisting of European and East Coast natives– Matia Simovich, Bryan Gibbs, and Philip Winiger– Inhalt’s core operative strategy is of sonic fidelity and integrity rather than nostalgia. In the “Vehicle” EP the brutality of the analogue transistor rhythm section meets the sincerity of the human voice.
Dark Entries presents a 4-song compilation from one of the finest groups of the Spanish New Wave/Techno-Pop scene of the 1980s. Vocoder were a quartet from Zaragoza, Spain formed in 1981 by Keyboardists Antonio Laval, Alfonso Olarte, Antonio Tenas and vocalist Pilar Pellicer. “Cuadro Sinóptico” compiles both 2-song 12″ maxi singles as one 4-song EP. All four songs were recorded during 1984-85. A futuristic sound for the modern age topped with Pilar’s charismatic vocals. Lyrically they address robotic love, disco dancing, and the tropical island of Mindanao.
Fortified Audio’s first release of 2012, Plastic Spokes EP, has Seattle veteran 214 merging his classic electro style with current UK bass flavours to create a tantalising 4 track ep to wreck dancefloors.
After the Dexter and Erik Travis releases its funkateer mr Blount getting freaky on his 2nd release! Hailing from New Zealand Reggie Blount made his debut 1.5 year ago on Clone Crown ltd. His Hard Times debut ep sold out straight away and got loads of fine feedback from the heads out there. This second ep starts with more crazy funky vocal p-funk tracks Flip side starts with the incredible track ”Hey”. One of those tracks that is able to give you goose bumps and grow on you to become one of those ”our tunes” kinda tracks you share with that special person. Ep is finnishing of with the beautiful wave electro funk kinda thing called Racecar! As if Garry Numan is doing some p-funk.
Vinyl debut by this Viennese rave abstractionist boils down pulsing LED beats and deep synth strobe FX into a cavernous laser-streaked fog. in blinding Alex Grey-style acid-body artwork by Mr. Cruise Family himself. With more ups and downs than the average quad bike race track, epic title track “We’re In Heaven” draws us into the pulsing synth-ride. Sparkling argeggios and acid blips slide over a squelchy undercarriage making for some tranced-out electro psychedelia. “Be Part Of It (Club Mix)” will appeal to lovers of the 80s EBM sound – it’s swirling nu-beat, but without a kick drum in ear shot. “Gone By Dawn” closes the EP on a tripped-out cosmic ambience.
Debut album for BlakAndrew, released on his out bandcamp page. Awakening seems to trudge through an epic tale about good and evil – the inner struggles of light and darkness and how each power tries to defeat the other yet exists solely as a symbiotic balance. The album’s genres can be tough to pinpoint but “Awakening” definitely has a dark, electro-techno-industrial sound. The tracks wouldn’t be considered ‘dance floor anthems’ by any means, though most of the tracks have deep, pounding beats with undeniable techno roots. “Awakening” also pans into stretches of ambient, hip hop and electronica.
Apartment’s 3rd release comes courtesy of acclaimed producer Lerosa. He delivers 4 electro-based cuts, a rarely seen side to the man predominantly known for his house productions. The sparse and melancholic “Combat” starts off proceedings, before “Titanium”’s throbbing bass, combined with Mr. Rosa’s unique melodic sensibilities, increases the pace. On the B-side “Slavery” is a furious acid jam, constantly rising in energy over hectic percussion and a wall-shaking electro beat. Finishing on “Decisions”, the pace is reduced considerably while the acid stays intact.
John von Neumann’s Universal Constructor is a self-replicating machine in a cellular automata (CA) environment. It was designed in the 1940s, without the use of a computer. The fundamental details of the machine were published in von Neumann’s book Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata, completed in 1966 by Arthur W. Burks after von Neumann’s death.
Semantica’s electro department puts on display Morphology, a Finnish act consisting of Matti Turunen and Michael Diekmann. Their second single for the Spanish label is something for electro purists. Although in “Dalek Invasion” one might expect deviant sci-fi rumble, it’s a friendly tune with gentle pads, reminding of Dopplereffekt. Carrying the mood of a suburban sunset, “Journey’s End” features fatter bass along with clean riffs and hints of jazz-funk for an old-school flavored track.
Limited release on AC Records by Plan43 aka Emile Facey. All tracks written and produced by Emile Facey. Track A2 taken from the Sync 24 – Resynth Remixes by Phil Bolland and remixed by Plant43.
The Hipodrome Of Music 