June Records presents the debut release of Lithuanian artist Caroil who has been active in the local scene with his involvement with DOS Club and STRCAMP. Recorded between 2015 and 2018 in Vilnius, Lithuania using hardware digital and analog synthesizers. Sound sources include: Boss DR-660, Formanta Polivoks, Kawai SX-210, Kawai K1, KORG MS-20, KORG KR-55B, Roland SH-101, Roland JX3P, SIEL Cruise, YAMAHA TG-33.
“Mirror Glaze Lavish” is Marc’s latest effort in trying to depict his cynical and disillusioned view of the present-day music scene, seen through a sonic magnifier that emphasizes its greatest controversies, by juxtaposing different electronic languages as a challenge to the current levelling artistic trends. The artist personality is nullified, standardized to a state of placid non-critical thinking. Everyday’s emptiness emerges as the structure of reality and only the cracks in it still lead to life. “Great souls suffer in silence”, once said Friedrich Schiller, but what if silence becomes an audible, danceable image? As if all these electro cuts, differently permeated with a balanced mix of playful darkness, were populated by eerie animals that cannot find peace with their habitat and keep dancing relentlessly until the very end of their miserable existence. Seen in this context, each of Marc’s tracks must be interpreted as an irreverent and poignant act of self-assertion vis-à-vis his contemporaries. Morah’s reinterpretation of “Celexxa” adds value to the original track, taking us for a dirty ride on a psycho-electro-charged rollercoaster.
Carl Finlow returns with a double vinyl 8 track album on 20/20 Vision. ‘Apparatus’ is a forward thinking album that reflects Finlow’s return to live touring with many tracks hitting harder and darker, pushing his electro sound into new directions and soundscapes. The album means business from the start, kicking off with the title track, ‘Apparatus’, a no-nonsense assault on the system with fast tight drum programming, heavily vocoded vocals and powerful synths. The pace continues on the record with ‘Bind’ and ‘Carbon Deposits’, Structure’ but there are also pure electro cuts like ‘Differential’ and moody grooves in ‘Ampere’ and ‘Viroids’.
214 back on Cultivated Electronics with his first full release for the label. 4 tracks of heavy hitting electro delivered with the style on finesse this bastion of the scene is known for.
TRUST returns with four cutting-edge transmissions by Versalife (aka Delsin’s Conforce). Classic and experimental electro meet high-impact techno for a hefty dose of panglossian optimism.
The first release on FAKE imprint is a nice VA compilation of 10 wave, electronix and ambient tracks.
Dame-Music kicks off 2020 with a bang. For her first release of the decade, label head Bloody Mary has teamed up with Barcelona-based artist Cardopusher to deliver an EP full of hard-hitting, acidic EBM weapons. On the A-side sees the pair serve up the EP’s title track “Conformity Kills” – a high-energy original complete with a broken-beat alternative mix. On the flip side, the pair are joined for additional vocals by Lbeeze on “Out Of Control”. The package is rounded out with a heavy remix from EBM man of the moment, Sarin.
Release number 3 for the techno side of Where We Met, Spaziotempo. The Italian crew invites an iconic duo, Elisa and Gary aka Station Rose from Vienna. The mini LP starts with 3 avant-garde bangers restored from the past. Gunafa 2000 merges early ’90ies techno with psy elements and irresistible grooves, then Telepresence kicks in with its trance ish melodies and tunneling grooves. The third one on the side is Moto Tataete, a pure acid banger. The B side contains 4 new tracks that marks the evolution of Station Rose. Tacke is an hypnotic techno tool, followed by the mesmerizing dub grooves of Alto. The trip continues with 809, that takes your mind to further places, and ends with OTreggae, an electro ride that brings you back to planet earth.
The stars align as Dublin’s Cignol graces Distant Worlds with a heavyweight transmission of rich acidic electro. Cosmic hardware voyages are the order of the day: wallshaking mechanical bassweight complimented perfectly by beautiful, intricate melodies. Each track paints a beautiful picture of interstellar wonder perfectly aligned with what we have come to expect from the Distant Worlds stable. The galaxy’s dancefloors should seriously be considering some structural reinforcement as this reléase is sure to cause considerable damage.
Paradise Industrial Complex is the incubation against greed and exploitation. Your imagination springs to life as Sansibar draws a mysterious map to his subconscious. He kept his ideas secret until bolstering them with additional observation and experiments. The result is an avalanche of detail—there seems to be no corner of his mind that he did not enter. The world of Sansibar evokes an electrifying sense of discovery where fragile sound waves evolve into something beautiful and powerful leading to trigger chills.
The ever prolific Legowelt AKA Dutch electronic musician Danny Wolfers is back with another album, “Secrets After Dreams”. The enchanting LP is released by his long time acquaintance Mystic & Quantum records, the first one of a new series called SpellWeaver. 7 ethereal compositions gleaming with poetic synthesis. Artwork by Danny Wolfers himself.
Freshly-formed French trio BOA – aka Behzad, Ohes and Amarou – wrap themselves around the new decade and squeeze tightly. Joining forces with decorated French musician Mathieu Deranlot, they present four far-ranging deep electronic and ambient techno explorations that range from the dramatic-yet-beatless “Nitro” to the brooding, swampy slo-mo electrofunk of “Lumiere Electronique”. Elsewhere “Merci Pierre” teases and squeezes even tighter with its trippy triplets and sudden dive into deep dream synths before “Bonne Nuit” closes on another ambient tip, this time switching the urgency for lullaby arpeggios. Sweet dreams.
The Hipodrome Of Music 