O-Wells is back on Die Orakel with his fourth transmission, called “Moldoom”. This 4-track séance is mainly made of uplifiting, spaced out electro tracks, some rolling along with subtle or acid basslines, lush pads and gently subdued detroitish chords.
Two heavyweights of the Detroit underground come together on this kicking new EP from Puzzlebox. K-1 aka Keith Tucker brings his famously repetitive sounds and rugged electro-funk to ‘On My Computer’, which bumps irresistibly as smeared sci-fi chords set your sights on the future. Add in robotic vocals and supple bass and you have an instant classic. It’s then to the Eastside of the Motor City for DJ Maaco’s ‘The People’ which is just as funky but in totally different ways; his laid-back groove is embellished with lush synth sequences and late-night cool that is topped off by a more seductive male vocal. Two very different but equally brilliant tunes.
A new EP by UK DJ / producer Controlled Weirdness lands on Cultivated Electronics Ltd (CE’s vinyl only sister label). On ‘In The Shadows’ he delivers 4 earthy and raw Electro cuts with exciting electronics, tough beats and wonky acid.
New Analog Concept side project focused on the local acid scene. The project was born after a forest trip in August 2021 and includes four tracks from the like of Larionov, Low Orbit Satellite & Esmi, Low Tape and RSN.
Long-time west coast collaborator RA-X aka Drvg Cvltvre comes with some deep brown sounds from the sewer. Slow and haunting tracks that make you watch your back every other minute.
Welcome onboard flight number CLEAR008 with service from Leipzig to the Bermuda Triangle. We are experiencing some difficulties at the moment, caused by an overpowered VR-System. As a result, we are subjected to steely bass thunders. Oddities of crisp and bouncy fashion. Dark, yet tempting. Bright, yet unsettling. We’ll initiate Project 15. The weather at our destination is expected to be leicht bewölkt, sonst hayter, though. This is the new normal, this is the new fear. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare to overtake reality.
Zeta Reticula returns for his third EP on Mechatronica with a dystopian blend of cold machine funk and ominous electro rollers.
Balkan Vinyl is kicking off a new run of 7″ vinyl releases – the “Kanlab series” – focused on celebrating underground artists from the label roster, is Suddi Raval. He makes his Balkan debut here with two deep-space hardware electro jams.
The Maltese machine funk specialist himself Keith Farrugia is back once more with yet more of his impeccable electro business as Sound Synthesis. This time the prolific producer is shoring up on Burnski’s Infiltrate label with four cool and deadly cuts.
DJ Overdose delivers again for L.I.E.S. Miami Bass party rockin floor shakers, and high speed, blade sharpened, trunk popping electro madness ran through his trusty sp-1200, programmed impeccably and ready for the club.
After first touching base with brokntoys on the compilation “A Call Too Close”, released in the Spring of 2021, Gareth Psaltis returns to the London based label with his project Barking, this time with a 7 tracks self-titled EP merging dubbed-out electro and menacing downtempo.
Prolific and often nomadic label boss, producer, and studio engineer, Tony Price (Maximum Exposure) has been making a name for himself over these last years, as he’s lurked in the shadows while moving from city to city around the world, leaving a unique and wide-spanning musical mark in his wake. On his 14 track IBM-CONTRA LP, Price conjures up a wild melange of free jazz and high speed electro funk next that sits next to dusty ambient, street tough house, and even Bill Conti-esque dark alley rainy street jams featuring saxophone work from Alex Zhang Hungtai and Colin Fisher. The album is unmistakably Tony at his best, as he weaves in and out of these genres making them make sense next to each other. Whether it’s providing a shady saxophone driven backdrop for the next inevitable worldwide bio-warfare crisis or tapping into the roots of stripped down classic electro and house for the floor, this is the artist at peak creativity flexing his skills.
Höga Nord Rekords kindly welcomes Tecwaa back to the label, following up his last full length-album “Beyond the Altai” with “Elysian on Moon Lake”. He is still exploring the intersections between house, electro, techno and dub and once again he manages to harness the analogue electronics in his machines to produce modern psychedelia. “Elysian On Moon Lake” is rawer, less airy and not as sparkling as his last album. This is a tighter, and slightly darker experience than Tecwaa’s previous work, maybe caused by being in quarantine for extensive time during production, letting some of the dreaminess aside for the harsher reality in a pandemic world. Still, you get a mind-altering experience in a lot of tracks since the album starts off in a lighter tone than how it later develops. Switching from the A- to the B-side works as a rite of passage going from dusk to night; the sun rays through the blinders are replaced by neon light dancing on the walls and ceiling.
The Jaffa Kid goes deep with his second EP for Gated, appropriately titled “Second Frequencies”. Kicking off with the beatless but driving “Phased For Days”, the EP has a kind of relentless hypnotism to it, with “Trinian”‘s almost 7 minutes of spaced out electro. Flip to the B and the acid comes to the fore, with “War On Words” and its addictive 303 line pulsing over the Kid’s signature pads. “Tangential” throws in some breaks under gritty acid, and Not The Way rounds out the EP with a truly poignant melodic beatdown.
Turbo Recordings harpooned and skinned one of it’s white whales, Gesloten Cirkel. Gesloten Cirkel’s banger credentials are unimpeachable.
Gladio Operations launches its fifth release, which bears the electro signature of the Russian producer Dmitry Larionov.
Something special on Nightwind Records: Last December Danny Wolfers met up with Japansese digital dub legend Taka Noda aka Mystica Tribe to produce this Far East style heavy digital dub album. Custom made lo-fi oozing echo effects transform synthesizers and drummachines into a comforting mist of arcane sludge, laced with Taka Noda’s enchanting melodica playing.
