MANASYt vs Sam Lowry. A clash, mashup and/ or battle between two minds yet one and the same face. Hailing from the twilight zone, Bulgaria. The currently Xiamen, China, based Petar Tassev has joined the forces of his alter ego’s on this 9 tracker. A side 4 celestial and daring Electro tracks followed by the more eerie B side. An experimental, future horror movie-like sound.
Timothy J. Fairplay is a producer based in the UK with a back catalogue of releases under different aliases and as a member of various groups. His EP “Chariots In The Sky” was made with cult hardware synthesizers (Roland TR-808, SH-5, SH-09 and many more) and is the debut vinyl release on Archaic Future Sounds. Influenced by the Dark Wave side of Italo-Disco, John Carpenter’s soundtracks and electronic Krautrock, it features 4 Science Fiction themed tracks perfect for all sophisticated dancers, DJs and connoisseurs of pure analog sonic bliss.
The second release of Flight Mode has landed with four artists from four different countries. On the A-side, Dawl delivers ‘Microbe’, a sleek acid slow burning that truly stalks the listener, before Kiddmisha ups the speed and the eerie moodiness with ‘Anxiety’. Acid Charlie’s ‘Por La Paz’ has the most old school favour of the quartet – even before sirens hit – underpinned by a thunderous drum machine. Then the mysterious producer SPAC closes the single with more cunningly employed acid shenanigans.
Gravitational Effect debuts on Mechatronica, and blasts through the cosmos with an extraterrestrial blend of emotive electro funk, alien basslines and quirky rhythms, soaked in intergalactic ambience. One for the travellers.
Hailing from Mar Del Plata in Argentina, Juan is bringing the 3rd release from Subterranean Odyssey. The “Lorenzo EP” is dedicated to Juan’s newborn son and showcases his sound perfectly with a variety of different moods. This EP includes 4 tracks that are sure to be club (Ju)anthems in the coming months.
Hypnophobia is the bleep fueled beginning to a six release series from Dan Piu on Terrestrial Funk. Recorded from 1993 to 2021, the 27 tracks pose a reflection on the relativity of time. Each release will be accompanied by a foldout poster featuring oil paintings of city skylines at different points in time, all painted by Dan Piu himself. It start in present day London.
Zeta Reticula (Umek) makes his Censor debut with Star’s Wobble EP. A sizzly, mega-compressed five-track compendium of electro with ultra-scratchy highs and phase-freaked lows, it consists of three originals and two remixes. Of the former, ‘Unaided Eye’ boldly goes where few electro artists go, opting for a lower tempo, sparser soundscapes, and a more melodic underpinning. Of the latter, Sync 24 and Alex Jann serve up a tune that sounds like the bioindustrial workings of the Engineers’ spaceship from the Alien franchise. An overall extraterrestrial affair, transcending the limits of mere humanity.
Client_03 comes to Cultivated Electronics with more of that razor sharp electro-bugging business, hyper-detailed soundscapes to inspire vivid sci-fi reveries in the midst of the dance. From the tuned up cybernetic pressure of ‘Sense Combiner’ to the slow and tense Sync 24 collab ‘Counterfactual Interaction History’, the quality is as unrelenting as the intricate fusions of drum machines and squelchy synths.
Italian The Villains Inc. moves up a gear with its fourth release to date and already the second in less than a year. ‘Conscious ‘Time To Go Back EP’ introduces the exclusive collaboration between label owner Gab.Gato (Dominance Electricity, Drivecom, SolarOne) and his partner in crime Jack Bags (La Sabbia) from Milan. Together, they drop an untouchable dancefloor oriented five tracker based upon a terrific concept. Coming from the year 2106 with a preventive message to save Earth from manhandled destruction, scientist Dr Boomer understands how much it’s too late to prevent the planet from Armageddon.
Soft Crash is the collaborative project of two Italo Body Music trailblazers: BITE founder – Phase Fatale, and one of the label’s protagonists – Pablo Bozzi. United by a mutual passion for a particular melancholic yet sensual approach, and a sound that combines influences of synthwave, EBM, Italo and techno, the two have proved themselves to be a perfect match with ‘Spritzkrieg’ (2020) – their first EP on BITE. This time, Soft Crash present their first long player ‘Your Last Everything’. The album further expands the Italo Body Music palette into electro, acid house, bleep, hi-nrg, and IDM. Each of the eight tracks on the LP sounds layered and intricate, with a variety of interactions between different technical elements and intertwining melodies that reference high production methods from the 80s and 90s turned contemporary. The album centers itself around themes of dystopian cyberpunk and surreal cinematics. It looks to invoke emotion in cold and mechanical elements, making it feel like an organic new chapter in the duo’s ongoing exploration of the relationship between technology and the body.
Over the past decade, Vienna-based Florian Stöffelbauer – also known as Heap, has built a consistent reputation as a skilled DJ, producer and Neubau’s label head. Isla presents his latest effort “False Hope” which explores the intersections between industrial, electro and dark wave – all with a leftfield twist. As diverse as it is powerful, the 7 tracks featured here almost feel like nocturnal tales, chalking out Heap’s observations wandering through the streets of a silent city, with cigarette smoke permeating the air and sirens ringing in the distance.
German DJ Helena Hauff and ‘Return to Disorder’ label owner was the first female to be named BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix of the year in 2017. Helena’s focus has always been on productions and DJing making her characteristic gnashing electro, acidic techno and chugging EBM tunes and sets her focus ahead of the limelight and fame that so many court. Hauff’s background comes from fine art, maths, physics and acoustics meaning her creative flair is perfectly expressed through the coaxing of weighty club sounds from her machines. With ‘Living With Ladybirds’ Hauff lays down four EBM-infused tracks recorded in her method of using strictly analogue equipment. There’s the eccentric electro of ‘Jonas’, the travelling melody behind ‘Your Turn To Fly’, the stripped down pulsing techno of ‘Touching Plastic’ and the rich rolling acid techno of ‘Pinch’.
The Hipodrome Of Music 