Chino – PAG044
electro
L/F/D/M – Club Germs On My Clothes [ALV006]
L/F/D/M aka Richard Smith, Brighton based producer who comes to Alley Version after several killer releases for labels like Cititrax/Minimal Wave, Optimo Trax and collaborations with Factory Floor’s Dominic Butler on Powell’s Diagonal Records. “Club Germs On My Clothes” is a 4 tracks EP in which are recognizable elements of ebm, minimal wave, industrial, jackin, shaped in experimental hardware-driven raw-techno forms.
L.F.T. – Red Pyramid EP [MTRON018]
Hamburg and Berlin coalesce as L.F.T. debuts on Mechatronica with a blood-soaked, club-ready blend of punked out electro, industrial, acid, techno and EBM cuts. Watch your spine.
Muzikalist – Bizarre Feeling EP [CHEMC007]
Four tracks of robust drums, sharp melodies and acid doused bass is what Muzikalist brings to Chem Club’s seventh release to date. The title track, Bizarre Feeling, swirls with layered squelch while ample grit and build progress throughout. The A2, Polizei, is a paranoid acid number that opens up into multiple melodies and a muddled eurodance vocal that’ll leave you looking over your shoulder. The opening B side, Short Track for Sad Lovers, takes a more reflective approach combining a blinking lead with rich pads without resigning itself from being danceable. The final track, Marine, uses these persistent elements and ramps them up to close out the release with tense form.
VA – Never Trust A Mirror [STRD-III]
Three artists discover the wider field of dark electronic dance music. Although young, these producers already have a big understanding of sound. A sound which is past-oriented but every track has a certain twist which makes the music contemporary and timeless. On A1 – Dein Letztes Hemd – Nicola Toma from Berlin combines acid cuts with German Vocals (by Camila Strasdas) and a pushy bassline. Nothing else needed. Zurich’s Prioleau opens up a totally new world on A2. ‘Never Trust A Mirror’ is an energy driven tune without compromises. A dark new wave-y and kraut influenced masterpiece. On the b-side are two tracks produced by Hesychia369, a well-known producer from Zurich under a new alias. With ‘Dmbrisded’ and ‘Diffspherez’ he shows his love for acid basslines and fast rhythms.
Captain Mustache – Special Friend [BAP136]
Captain Mustache is a DJ and producer with some fifteen years as a label manager. He arrives on Bordello A Parigi with a unique blend of electro spiked disco. The Parisian lands with a four tracker guaranteed to leave bodies and speakers aching with joy. Teaming up with Paul Play on vocals, “Special Friend” is a purely nocturnal affair. Smokey words sail above crisp percussion as laser beam synthlines lance a haze of early morning light. “Rhythm 55” is built on bold beats, the Captain slowly unfurling a sparkling melody that glimmers and shines next to burbling acid-tinged bass. A generous introduction gives way to toms and snipping snares for “Jean-Michel”, a beautiful tribute to synthesizer master Jean-Michel Jarre. Bright and clean, the track is steeped in a future-gazing optimism that palpably echoes through its vocoder. “Space Jowblob” brings our odyssey with Captain Mustache to a close, astral chords and beaming bars washed in starlight.
Key Clef – Mental Groove [IPNE001]
Key Clef launches her own imprint Ipnotica Erotica with ‘Mental Groove’ EP. In her own world music is a continuous dialogue between styles and hybridation. Her music productions as well her live performances include synth, drum machines and analogue effects reflecting her ethereal trajectory while her dj sets show the full prism of her music taste and knowledge of the dance floor.
Alessandro Adriani @ HÖR (Berlin) 19.03.2020
Schwefelgelb – Aus Dem Gesicht Remixed [AWXLVI]
Remixes by Crystal Geometry, Kontravoid, Accuracy, Cardopusher and Broken English Club for Schwefelgelb. Originals appear on the EPs “Dahinter das Gesicht” and “Aus den Falten”, both released on Aufnahme + Wiedergabe.
Mick Wills @ Drugstore (Belgrade) NYE2020
Chino – Tripalium Podcast 115
Versalife – Manifold [VIS320]
Following two well received releases on 20/20 Vision – ‘Machine Life’ & ‘Asimov’s Code’ Versalife returns to the label with his latest album ‘Manifold’ serving up futuristic electro with signature emotive synth work to trigger the imagination. The Dutch producer Boris Bunnik aka Conforce continues his dystopian journey with auditory echoes of a cosmic abyss. Peppered with moody tones, deep bass lines and robotic funk, ‘Manifold’ navigates the future landscape in true Versalife fashion.
VA – Exit Planet Earth: Carbon [EPE01]
Exit Planet Earth by 20/20 Vision is a new series of various artist vinyl releases, selected and compiled by Ralph Lawson. The first edition ‘Carbon’ leads with contributions from two of the most influential electro producers of all time The Hacker and 214, who both deliver unforgiving hard hitting excursions to future worlds. On the other side Reedale Rise sheds some light with ‘Lux’ before the record is beautifully closed with an uplifting composition for space travel – ‘The Gap’ by Derek Carr.
E.R.P. – Evoked Potentials 3/3 [SEM016(2020)]
Second time around for the third and final part of electro hero Gerard ‘ERP’ Hanson’s “Evoked Potentials” series, which first hit stores way back in 2011. A-side “Repose” is (quite literally) classic ERP, with Hanson peppering Egyptian Lover style drums and funky synth-bass with chiming lead lines, starburst chords and deep space chords. It’s tuneful and picturesque, but will also have you on your feet and throwing shapes in no time at all. Over on the flip, Plant43 (London electro veteran Emile Facey) turns in a very Drexciyan take on “Sensory Process”, in the process wrapping Hanson’s bittersweet strings and 33rd century electronic motifs around a suitably deep sea electro rhythm.
Cardopusher @ Gate III Festival (Moscow) 24.08.2019
Raw Ambassador – You Can’t Stop A Tornado [OTF003]
Out The Flat welcomes the Ambassador of Raw, burning onto wax like rubber on asphalt. Running roughshod over six one-take tracks, ‘You Can’t Stop A Tornado’ is one for the speed freaks, delivering a top gear mix of highway stomp and knuckle-funk – hardware music for running the red light.
Savage Grounds – Body Weight Compressor EP [ILG004]
Comes with a patch Savage Grounds return to the never ending warpath with their new EP “Body Weight Compressor”. After a one-year break, which was used to collect ideas, machines and material, they are releasing six titles with brooding melodies, sounds from the factory, diystopian texts and authoritative marches. An unnaturally restrained chaos. Being released by Infoline Global it provides a reflection of the city they live in. We live in the dark. We have nothing to say. We are the void inside you that devours everything.
NiKiT – Radar [EE030RTM]
‘Radar’ by Parisian DJ and producer NiKiT is Electronic Emergencies’ first release in 2020. Two years after his debut, NiKiT has once again delivered a stunning mini-album. His idiosyncratic and particular style within the realm of techno flirts with electro, and sometimes even has a dubby touch. Compared to his debut ‘Arcanes’, NiKiT’s sound has expanded and is more spacey, while staying powerful and very danceable.
Annechoic – rw nw prt m hrw [BT37]
The 37th installment on brokntoys sees the return after a long hiatus of audiofugitive Annechoic. Having carved her sound over the years, rw nw prt m hrw sees the DJ and producer inhabiting a crossover land between electro and electronica. Taking inspiration from The Egyptian Book of the Dead, the EP alternates dreamlike atmospheres with adroit club numbers. Through 5 tracks Annechoic deftly manoeuvres between the introspective and stargazing, offering a glimpse into the tapestry of a unique player
The Hipodrome Of Music 