electro
DJ Maaco & DJ Overdose / Grischer – When Cities Collide VII [RHR007]
Maaco from Detroit and Overdose from RotterHague had some time in the studio together and here’s what came out, somewhat old somewhat new somewhat slew. Grischer from Cologne takes all the girls home, and makes them program beats.
E.R.P. – FR014X [FR014X]
Under the E.R.P. alias, Gerard Hanson has been making some of the finest intergalactic electro known to humankind since the tail end of the 1990s. His catalogue is meaty and some of his older, out-of-press records are now frustratingly hard to find – hence this tidy double-pack from Frustrated Funk. It includes all three tracks from Hanson’s 2007 label debut, “Vox Automaton” – the body-popping brilliance of the title track, the Drexciya style underwater trip of “Nerve Play” and the deep electro lusciousness of “Parfume Persuasion” – as well as the trio of cuts originally released on the “Alsoran” from the same years. These are arguably even better, with the melodious, cinematic and futuristic title track, and wonderfully poignant “Irma” standing out.
Disco Morato / Gegen Mann – Abandoned Signatures [FLCS02]
Disco Morato and Gegen Mann are Moscow based DJs and sound producers. By playing their music they try to touch the darkest aspects of human emotion expressing an atmosphere of body-control. Apart from DJing they produce music and signed to UK-based NEIN Records. And as a collaboration, they founded imprint “Maxima Culpa Records” to develop their specific sound and vision of music. This release is also the result of their collaboration. There are 10 tracks created with total freedom to experiment with sound.
VA – The Belligerents Vol.2 [GRTW008]
The second installment in the Gravitational Waves series, The Belligerents Vol. 2 puts the label’s experimental and always forward-thinking sound on display. This time, label head Dj Nephil and his slew of machines take to Side A, alongside the mysterious System Disorder, and Swordsmith who delivers us a slice of raw, industrial action in the form of Autorobo. Hannibal III makes his return to the label, sharing Side B with some exciting names – Diana Berti – the alias of Violet Poison, and Anna Funk Damage. Gravitational Waves is back with a vengeance.
TV.OUT – Dusk Till Dawn [DE267]
Tel Aviv born, Berlin based duo TV.OUT make their Dark Entries debut with a 6-track EP titled ‘Dust Till Dawn’. Doron Mastey Charly & Ori Itshaki have made a name for themselves the past few years putting on impressive live sets, DJing around the world, and running Parallax Records releasing various strains of rugged, well informed electronic music.
Romansoff @ Corp.X 006 (Bucharest) 15.11.2019
VA – Blue [UV050-2]
The clouds pile up in the Dresden autumn sky, but Uncanny Valley still sees a little bit of blue on the horizon. And why not looking on the bright side of life for a change? It’s appropriate. At least if you have five killer tracks in your bag. Anyway, the collaboration with the Leipzig graphic designer Doppeldenk proved to be very fruitful and has now produced the fourth of seven children. So, after PINK, RED and ORANGE, here is BLUE. May life be good to you. The record opens with the aptly titled, Chicago-inspired ‘Mind Trip’ by Credit 00, the Aldous Huxley from your neighborhood. The Leipziger takes you on a journey on your own nerve pathway with occasional stops at the hottest spots in your body. Local buddy Gnista is piling up layer by layer for the UK meets Electro affair that is ‘Playtime Worktime’. It’s an atmospheric monster that needs to be climbed first. But as soon as this is done, a fresh breeze blows around your nose. In ‘Brecht Hat Er’, the mysterious Dresden underground formation AGB spreads wisdom in staccato mode, accompanied by Cold Wave-like music, which could also have been created in the shadows of the Berlin Wall. After a long time of hiatus, there is also a sign of life again from Uncanny Valley’s Break SL, who proves with ‘Bye Bye 627’ that he still masters the art of producing House music that is as edgy as it is catchy. In similar veines comes ‘In Treansit’ from Qnete who channels the ghosts in his machines into an emotional and powerful House track.
Jerome Hill – Eat The Evidence EP [DEXT013]
Jerome Hill, the man synonymous with the UK Underground for a couple of decades now arrives on DEXT with this 4 track EP and shows just why he is one of the country’s most underrated talents. The Super Rhythm Trax / Don’t Records boss really flexes his muscles on these heavyweight offerings – effortlessly blending super sharp drum programming with his signature “acidic bleeps and breaks” style, delivering 4 clever-yet-no-nonsense jams to make you move for a long time to come.
Jared Wilson – Roland Acid Again EP [USR013]
Undersound returns with a four tracker of restless acid sketches with one of our favourite contemporary Detroit producers, Jared Wilson. As the title “Roland Acid Again” suggests, the EP is a homage to the classic synthesizers that defined electronic music. The EP kicks off with “Always Something” and “Roland Acid Again”, where acidic lines are interlaced with signature Roland drums to convey different moods. Side B showcases a more reflective side of Wilson’s sound, with “Peanutbutter Halloween Saltmix” and the more direct “Nov 27” which closes the EP with its squelchy melodies.
Elena Sizova @ Empty Signal Transmission (Milano) 05.10.2019
Popsimonova – After The Fall [EE029RTM]
Electronic Emergencies celebrates its fifth anniversary with ‘After The Fall’, by Croatian dark electro queen and style icon Popsimonova. Cult classic ‘Drive’ was remastered especially for the clubs by Rude 66, who also made a DJ edit of ‘Dark Star Crashes’, the collaboration of La Popsimonova with Italian queer heroes Hard Ton. Bosnian producer Borgie remixed ‘Break and Enter’ and ‘Delete Yourself’ into energizing, pounding dance floor killers.
Versalife – Equation of Motion EP [CELTD002]
Cultivated Electronics continues it’s output from excellent Dutch producers right now. CE LTD 002 comes from heavy weight Boris Bunnik under his Versalife alias. Haunting melodies and crispy digital beats make this some of Versalife’s darkest work to date. Out on limited run, vinyl only, hand stamped wax.
Pasiphae – Motel Campo Podcast 005
Aborted At Line 6 – Mammut [MEC050]
Aborted At Line 6 was a project that emerged from the inside of a Swiss company which sold electronic equipment and batteries. Carlos Perón (founder of Yello) sat on the same desk as the later publisher Urs Steiger. The other members Martin Sturzenegger, Moritz Faccin and Andrea Fürer sat separately through a glass pane in their own office and sold TEAK products. Chris Lunch was the only not employed in this company. He was working on some stuff at the Slatt Studio owned by Carlos Perón. They all had a ritual to drink a bottle of Mumm champagne early in the mornings. Since it was not allowed to drink in the workplace, the glasses were disguised as a coffee mug and used the winged word “Mümmli”. It’s in this situation that Aborted At Line 6 developed into a “crazy idea”. They did some recordings in the studio of Andrea Fürer and mixed everything in just one go. The equipment used included one 808 Roland Drumcomputer, a Roland Drumatix, a Roland Bassline, one EMS Synthi A1, a Duke guitar and a Roland SH 3A operated and programmed by Carlos Perón and Chris Lunch. All this took place in 1982 and a 12″ single was released by Off Course Records (home of Grauzone and Stephan Eicher). This iconic and very hard-to-find single is re-issued included the original tracks.
Norwell live @ Mechatronica x Cultivated Electronics, Griessmühle (Berlin) 25.10.2019
Ekman – A Pastime for Semi Gods [BR-APFS-LEB2]
‘A Pastime For Semi-Gods’ is an evidence to a new mythology, is the genesis of a collisions. Of waves to a statement on the static, extending in perpetual change. With this album, Ekman is describing the chaos of erotic imagery that is unbroken. On the border of mythology and science fiction. ‘A Pastime For Semi-Gods’ is Ekman’s fourth release on Bedouin Records and his album debut on the label.
Westlake & Hayter – Sucksonia EP [RAT17]
Greetings from Sucksonia! This is Rat Life number 17 – straight from the arse end of nowhere called Saxony. Westlake & Hayter dedicate their debut EP to this not so special part of Germany. Moving here voluntarily from the western sector pissed off their parents and friends, so they had to join the local freak music underground. Apart from this, what other option do you have as a free spirit, in a place that is controlled by crazy old men and their weird ideas? Right! You deal with the messed up reality by making some beautiful messed up music. And the two did very well! Spreading their Mutant Freak Funk over four tracks that will make your nice little suburban homestead collapse, this way it will fit in perfectly with the industrial ruins in the neighborhood!
Mono Junk / Mesak – Code Four [PROPAGANDAM012]
VA – Vol.1 [ANCPT002]
For its second release, Russian label Analog Concept brings you four powerful and floor-ready electro tracks from rising stars in a dedicated genre. On Side A, we have Reedale Rise with a track that can easily work out at 5 am as well as at 5 pm, joyful and broken rhythm promises it will shake your body properly, while Nullptr delivers a strong and vibrant track. On Side B, Datawave delivers a tune that keeps the atmospheric idea of the label and experiments with driving rhythms and acid lines. Ivna Ji’s track isn’t focused on dancefloors but instead entices the listener into a slowly progressing story, heavily loaded with dreamy synth lines.
The Hipodrome Of Music 