VA – Neuromorphic Engineering Vol.1 [MS004]

REEDALE RISE/DARREN NYE/MIHAIL P/SPIN FIDELITY - Neuromorphic Engineering Vol 1

Magnonic Signals presents the first of a various artists EP series, Neuromorphic Engineering Vol. 1. Kicking things off master of deep electro Reedale Rise delivers a sublime immersive machine funk workout with ‘Anatalia’ oozing class from start to finish. Next up is Darren Nye with ‘Beyond The Stars’  a 90’s techno and electro at its core with just the right amount of intergalactic magic. On the flip we welcome back Mihail P with ‘Past Lives’, a slice of pure Detroit inspired brilliance from our man in North Macedonia. To close the EP label co-head Spin Fidelity sets the machines to warp dive with ‘To Tha Outta Limits’ a driving techno track perfect for that 3am boost of high octane energy.

listen

VA – Neuromorphic Engineering Vol.1 [MS004]

VA – Exit Planet Earth: Nitrogen [EPE03]

RADIOACTIVE MAN/ANNIE HALL/SANSIBAR/VC 118A - Exit Planet Earth: Nitrogen

‘The third edition of the Exit Planet Earth vinyl series features four more exclusive intergalactic selections from Ralph Lawson. First up is a true legend of the UK electro scene, Keith Tenniswood aka ‘Radioactive Man’, who creates a constantly evolving sonic trip called ‘One Out’. Sharing the A side is the Spanish producer Annie Hall, creating melodic landscapes, layered with intricate string orchestration driven by deep bass. On the flip side Helsinki-based Sunny Seppa aka Sansibar shows exactly why he is fast becoming hot property following his immense debut album on FTP – ‘Targeted Individuals’.  Sansibar brings the record back to the 4/4 with a flowing yet subtle working of synths and pads. Also based in Finland yet hailing from Holland is VC-118A, delivers some deep space dub with expertly crafted production centring on low end theory.

listen

VA – Exit Planet Earth: Nitrogen [EPE03]

Exhausted Modern – Year of the Rat [ENDILLP02]

EXHAUSTED MODERN - Year Of The Rat

Exhausted Modern’s debut full-length titled The Year of the Rat is a proof of the thought-provocation that author’s name generates. Released on his own Endless Illusion imprint, the album doesn’t have all the answers, it simply offers Exhausted Modern’s perception of the modern times and also the energy to do something with them. The title, borrowed from the Chinese zodiac calendar, doesn’t slip to mere esoteric prognosis, it fittingly and provocatively comments on broken mechanics of society, capitalistic hierarchisation and emotional frustration of its victims. Despite the dystopian character of Exhausted Modern’s sound, which ranges from fast melancholia through suspicious calmness to slowly bubbling rage, it doesn’t feel like the end of the world. It’s critical artistic statement of a person who despite seeing all the darkness, also sees the way out of it.

listen

Exhausted Modern – Year of the Rat [ENDILLP02]

VA – How Sick Do You Get When You Look At Yourself? [LIES159]

L.I.E.S. Records Various Artists compilation “How Sick Do You Get When You Look At Yourself?” with tracks from 51717, Bad News, Beau Wanzer, Chupacabras, Daniel Holt, December, Delroy Edwards, Entro Senestre, Innsyter, JT Whitfield, Krikor, S. English, Teste, TV.OUT and Willie Burns.

VA – How Sick Do You Get When You Look At Yourself? [LIES159]

VA – Special International Vol​. ​2 [HC012]

Hypnotic Connection presents the latest release which features artists from Mexico, Sweden, Israel, Germany, Holland, US and Russia. In this compilation you will hear bouncing techno and acid, some slomo synth grumbling and a banger electro & breakbeat tracks.

listen

VA – Special International Vol​. ​2 [HC012]

Marcos Cabral – Spell Breaker [LIES154]

Marcos Cabral returns to L.I.E.S. with a new six track mini LP after a run of cult releases for The Trilogy Tapes as Chemotex. Here we get Cabral in top form falling somewhere in-between his last works for L.I.E.S. and Chemotex tracks. Through the record we get a rough yet refined style moving from metallic gnarled electro to melodic IDM and/or destructive the electronics as heard on “Secret Air”. Our favorite being the introspective closer “Wearing Petrichor”.

listen

Marcos Cabral – Spell Breaker [LIES154]

VA – Onderwereld EP [CELTD003]

COSMOX/543FF/STAR KID/GAMMA INTEL - Onderwereld EP

Coming next on Cultivated Electronics Ltd (CE’s limited vinyl offshoot) is a V/A EP entitled ‘Onderwereld’ which takes its name from a former atomic bunker based in The Hague (Netherlands) that housed music studios, offices and the Intergalactic FM station, Onderwereld Radio. The building had to be vacated last year, but the amalgamation of some of those artists and their creative resources lives on. Together, they encapsulate the new underground sound of The Hague. Opening the A-side is a track by Crave Festival organiser, Cosmox who delivers tough staccato Electro-funk on ‘Electrostress’, before 543ff (a regular player on the Dutch Electro scene who’s released on ?X and has a forthcoming album on Diffuse Reality) brings stripped-back beats and layers of melody on ‘Easy’. Keeping the Onderwereld collaborative ethos alive, 543ff joins forces with Star-kid (Bunker Records) and Gamma Intel (Brokntoys / Pinkman) on the B-side, for ‘Three City Firm’. Their original version is dark and bristling, while 543ff’s remix takes the track on a galactic ride.

listen

VA – Onderwereld EP [CELTD003]

Detroit’s Filthiest – Please Play Again [PHLTRXXL003]

DETROIT'S FILTHIEST - Please Play Again

The don of Detroit ghettotech, Detroit’s Filthiest (a.k.a. Julian Shamou / DJ Nasty / 313 Bass Mechanics / Digitech) returns to Philthtrax and transports us to the secret levels of dance music, revealing the hidden keys that were there all along, across this 4-track EP.

listen

Detroit’s Filthiest – Please Play Again [PHLTRXXL003]

Steve Allman – Brainwave [EON003]

ALLMAN, Steve - Brainwave

Scand resident Steve Allman brings together the fast-paced sounds of Detroit and London
electro in his debut EP on EON Records. Sonically the EP is an expression of Allman’s ear for fast-paced 90s era Detroit electro and the UK’s rave edged take on the sound calling upon freaky synth work, heavy bass patterns and eerie rave stabs to colour the release. What we hear on Brainwaves across the three original tracks is pacey, buoyant and sub-weighted – a record ready to be played loud when the systems are turned back on. Closest influence and mentor Sync 24 drops a bomb of a remix for the title track Brainwave, weaponising it a step further adding a deadly acid scrawl.

listen

Steve Allman – Brainwave [EON003]

Cyan85 – Lucid Intervals [VOILP03]

A year has passed since Cyan85 first graced the VOITAX catalogue with his successful summer debut EP – “Bay Of Sampieri”. His dreamy pads, avant-garde take on retro arpeggios and slamming 808 beats have been continuously conquering our ears ever since, making him a young talent to watch within the electro circuit. He now returns to the imprint with his very first album – “Lucid Intervals”, demonstrating his knack for crafting ambitious pieces to establish himself as a respected producer. The LP aims to explore a variety of dystopian atmospheres and energies throughout nine infectious and carefully crafted tracks that build on electro’s rich heritage without failing to infuse it with Cyan85’s very own remarkable, dreamy electronic signature.

listen

Cyan85 – Lucid Intervals [VOILP03]

Animistic Beliefs – Thief of Sanity [BT45]

Thief of Sanity’ is shapeshifting duo Animistic Beliefs’ debut on Brokntoys. The 4 track EP is an ode to the past, drawing inspiration from political techno group Underground Resistance, as well as ancestral pan-tribalist music. Without compromising their signature Rotterdream sound, the dynamic duo deviates from their recklessly violent live-sets, tuning into more introspective and earthbound frequencies. By means of hypnotic synthesizer and bursting drum machine workouts, Xakalele and rbf.linh take you through their melancholy filled world, sharing with you their worries, hopes and fears in the form of a tongue-tied protest.

listen

Animistic Beliefs – Thief of Sanity [BT45]

Intimacy – Across the Bridge [BQT002]

INTIMACY - Across The Bridge

Outfitted with anthemic romps, tongue-in-cheek pastiches, and percussions that pivot from rolling adventures to rain hitting the windowpane, Intimacy’s ‘Across the Bridge’ marks the artist’s fifth release on vinyl and first release on Bouquet. A grab bag of fun, dancefloor-ready tracks written across 2019, the EP delivers his aesthetic of old computers, sci-fi movies, and science class educational videos configured into deep, spacey line-toting bedroom techno and melancholic house.

listen

Intimacy – Across the Bridge [BQT002]

Filmmaker – Discordian Disco [PHXS10]

Filmmaker sharing some mythical and magical sounds on the latest Phormix release. Dystopian panoramas have been a recurrent panorama on Filmmaker’s tracks and for this work the direction focused on some core elements like the entropy and chaos magic to bring a musical tribute to the goddess Eris. Filmmaker’s birth name, Fauns (derived from Faunus) has surrounded his life with inspiration from greco-roman mythology so all the energy put on ‘Discordian Disco’ is fed by the multicontextual universe and synchronicities that shaped it into a memorable tape. During the days off his touring in New Zealand, Faunes stayed in Wellington, city where these 10 tracks were recorded using his Deluge, motivated by how the other artists on this tour developed various uses and styles for this instrument also crafted in that land. The result is a collection of wave grooves and lo-fi creamed melodies which also included a special collaboration with the Belgian producer Naomie Klaus (ex Laura Palmer) on the track ‘Golden Apple’ where she delivered both male and female vocals with lynchian tones and tribal vibes. Besides the symbolism of this release, Filmmaker wants to dedicate this album to his most eclectic listeners for highlighting the soul reflected on the music since the beginning. Discordian Disco aims to cause a unique remembrance on the auditory memory of anyone who listens to it from start to finish as is the last Filmmaker’s full-length on this 2020.

Filmmaker – Discordian Disco [PHXS10]

VA – Still Life [VEYL017]

JENSEN INTERCEPTOR/CARDOPUSHER/LOKIER/MORAH/RANDSTAD/EMPIRE STATE - Still Life

Veyl introduces a new series called ‘Still Life’ inspired by photographs by Tomaso Lisca. For the first edition we’re thrilled to welcome Jensen Interceptor, Cardopusher and Lokier for an electro-heavy A side, while Morah, Randstad and Empire State fathom the depths of the more leftfield side of the label on the flip.

listen

VA – Still Life [VEYL017]

R Gamble – Sever The Ties [PSR006]

R GAMBLE - Sever The Ties

Starting the new decade strong, the French label Public System Recordings debut R Gamble with his much anticipated EP, ”Sever The Ties”. Hailing from Memphis, TN and now functioning out of Brooklyn, R Gamble has been a staple of the New York underground for nearly ten years. This record presents you 5 original tracks and a remix, all ridden with infectious mechanical rhythms laced in haze, abrasive synth lines accompanied by metallic vocals doused in reverb. For the remix, Gotham luminary Shawn O’Sullivan returns to his ”Vapauteen” project, providing an intoxicating and dizzying groove for those ”lost in the fog” moments.

listen

R Gamble – Sever The Ties [PSR006]

CYRK – Balloonatix [DRD019/TZ02]

CYRK - Balloonatix

CYRK deliver a three track energy trip of electro infused Italo house on DRED Records. The duo conjure up a collection modern melodies built upon the roots of machine-made-disco. Each track is a weapon for the summer dance floor and the EP is chaperoned with a remix from the nuclear power house known as Italo Brutalo.

listen

CYRK – Balloonatix [DRD019/TZ02]

Nehuen – Psyops Part One [LR017]

NEHUEN - Psyops Part One

Nehuen is an Argentinian born but Barcelona based artist who is notorious for his abrasive dance floor workouts on I Love Acid, BNR Trax and the Classicworks label he co-owns with Cardopusher. Nehuen’s Psyops kicks off with the excellent title track, which contorts acid and electro into a writhing monster filled with dark energy. The visceral ‘Toxic’ is built on slapping hits and spangled basslines that will tie you in knots as the bumping drums drive things forward. The late-night menace continues on ‘Bailar’, with tight synth arps layered up in robotic forms over clunky drums that are industrial and futuristic in equal measure. Last but not least, the eerie ‘Desire’ strikes a more twisted note with double kicks juddering beneath echoing hits. It’s pure, filthy, brilliant body music.

listen

Nehuen – Psyops Part One [LR017]