AVIVX is a young and talented queer DJ & producer from Kazakhstan, now living in Tbilisi where he has several DJ residencies. Dark Temple is his first vinyl release. On the 4 tracks, the melancholic Eastern vibes and melodies are woven into a thick energetic house blanket.
From the long overdue debut albums of LeRon Carson and Steve Summers, to the revelation of An Anomaly, from the roughness of Filmmaker and Ratsnake to the meditative music of Les Filles de Illighadad, from the established Greek artist June to the very limited synthwave album of the unknown Greek artist Tatat, here are our favorite albums from 2021, compiled in chronological order.
Continue reading “2021 Best Albums”
Italian DJ and producer Gianluca Pandullo a.k.a. I-Robots has chosen six of his favourite Electronic Emergencies tracks to reconstruct. The second part of a collaboration after a digital-only compilation of EE tracks by the founder of Opilec Music in 2020, the six rigorous reconstructions on this double 12-inch are long, luscious, and full of energy. “Move Like Rays” by Machinegewehr was injected with a high-energy vibe, while Das Ding’s “Want Need” was transformed into an electro classic. Skeleton Head’s queer anthem “Beaten, Bloody, Bruised” was given the percussion treatment, “Danza Obscura” by Borgie got an Italo Wave twist, and New Wave legends Chris Davis and M/A/N/O/S had their tracks worked over by dubby electro and minimal techno. Electronic Emergencies reconstructed by I-Robots consolidates the label’s frontier electronic underground reputation.
The first Electronic Emergencies release of 2021 is by Chris & Nogi, founders of the legendary Shoc Corridor. It reflects our love for minimal wave, simply called new wave back in the days. Released as a 10-inch, ‘Autumn Rituals and Refugees’ consists of eight tracks taken from 4-track-cassette tapes recorded in 1985-1988. Three of these are collaborations with avant-garde voice artist Sharon Gal. The original tapes, which had to endure a journey from London via Israel to South Africa, were beautifully restored by Ruud Lekx, who was able to retain the original sound and atmosphere. The cover art of ‘Autumn Rituals and Refugees’ was designed by Niels Vrijdag, exhibiting the DIY-mentality and modern living-fantasy of the music from the eighties.
Continuing our past year briefing, after the readers top 3 and best giveaways, we present a list of our 20 favorite albums from 2020.
We have four albums more on the electro side coming from DMX Krew, Men With Secrets (Donato Dozzy and Retina.it), Nullptr and The Exaltics & Heinrich Mueller, while on the industrial/EBM side we have albums by A Civil Terror, La luna sotto il ponte and LBEEZE and impressive works from Black Meteoric Star, Ian Martin and Trenton Chase.
On the synthier side of music we have four albums coming from Das Ding, Linea Aspera, Newclear Waves and Jake Schrock, while for the Detroit lovers we have two Detroit influenced album by The Beneficiaries (Jeff Mills, Eddie Fowlkes and Jessica Care Moore) and The Nightstalker (Dan Piu and Martin Akeret).
Closing the list are the debut album of disco-don Franz Scala on Slow Motion, Obergman‘s acid album on Furthur Electronix, Anthony Collins with his album on Lobster Theremin under the Grant alias and Shifted with his first album on Avian.
The list is compiled in chronological order.
Winter is coming, with ‘Archive Tracks 2005-2009’ by Newclear Waves as its soundtrack. For the album, Berlin-based and Italian-born producer, DJ and label owner Alessandro Adriani let us dive into the vast archives of his Newclear Waves project. The resulting collection of 8 tracks can be described as minimal wave pur sang, reminiscing of the darkness and doom from the cold war period. The exorbitant and jumpy synth lines and derailing revolving drum machines keep us moving, all analogue of course. With this album, Adriani confirms his musical excellence.
For the third time, Bosnian DJ and producer Borgie has delivered an astonishing 4-track 12-inch to Electronic Emergencies. Transcending the here and now, he rockets into Hyper Delta Space, where desire, emotions, pain and memory are transformed into telemetric signals. The sheer distance, emptiness and darkness of the outskirts of space are intertwined in the tracks. Disco noir or dark techno, it’s not an issue. Resistance is futile.
Summer kicks off with ‘How Come U Know’, a 4-track EP by accomplished producer and DJ Captain Mustache from Paris. For this EP, he teams up with rave legend Adamski and electro goth star Linda Lamb. Title track ‘How Come U Know’ is an electro rave basher featuring Adamski’s vocals and cheeky lyrics about the all-seeing eye and loss of privacy. On ‘Bliss’, the deep and esoteric voice of Linda Lamb takes us to another world without possession – electro wave in optima forma. The remaining two tracks on ‘How Come U Know’ showcase Captain Mustache’s crispy electro pop sound, made to dance all summer long.
Early 2020, while the Covid-19 crisis was taking over the world, I-Robots was introduced to Electronic Emergencies. Calling it a magical parallel world, I-Robots immediately fell in love with the retro electro and disco noir feel of the label from Rotterdam. It was a nice surprise to discover that the guys of Electronic Emergencies have been fans of I-Robots since the early days. I-Robots and Electronic Emergencies have found each other in their eclectic taste in electronic music. While their friendship evolved, they started discussing ideas on how to collaborate. As a first step in this collaboration, I-Robots has curated this digital compilation of 14 of his favourite Electronic Emergencies tracks. These reflect the deep melodic eighties atmosphere of the label and the elaborate and sophisticated taste of I-Robots.
‘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.
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.
New release by Chris Davis who is one of the founding members of 80s cold wave legends Shoc Corridor. On Travelling Light, his first solo release on vinyl, Chris Davis moves within the space between minimal wave and dark ambient. The three original tracks on side A are emotionally rich, melodically strong and leave you with a sense of nostalgia. On side B, the tracks are remixed by Electronic Emergencies’ finest in various styles: dark electro by Rude 66, disco noir by Machinegewehr and industrial ambient by Yabibo Hazurfa.
The Hacker needs no introduction. The 4-track 12-inch ‘Nancy’ on Electronic Emergencies finds him at his best – oscillating wildly from electro to new wave, his true musical roots. For the title track, he collaborated once more with post-punk hero Michael Zodorozny, vocalist of Crash Course in Science, resulting in a slippery wet dance floor killer. The three instrumental tracks have a gritty feel, breathing over the cold wave atmosphere.
Rotterdam’s Machinegewehr returns to Electronic Emergencies with Kurayami, a four track 12-inch. Its analogue synths make Machinegewehr’s sound darker than ever, reaching into every groove. The embodiment of Disco Noir, the record leaves you with a sophisticated sadness, made bearable only by the pulsating bass and rolling beats leading you to the dance floor. Kurayami’s mysterious cover art was created by the multi-talented artist himself.
Arcane electronic duo Violence, from Quebec, Canada, show their dark side on the four track 10-inch Le Flux de la Nature. Their underground spirit of new wave, French vocals, opaque and sometimes disturbing electronics reflect the complex rhythm of nature and intense human relationships.
Electronic Emergencies kicks off 2018 with its 20th release. On the Kosmostrator On Venus EP, Bosnian DJ and producer Borgie has rocketed himself into deep, deep space, far beyond planet Italo. The sound of the four tracks on Borgie’s second EP for Electronic Emergencies is deep, has dark edges and is extremely danceable.
Electronic Emergencies is thrilled to work together with brand new New York label Sangron Records on the 10-track compilation album ‘Sangron Volume 1’. Compiled by Skeleton Head’s Leo Torres, the compilation draws from the U.S. underground with songs from minimal synth pioneers Crash Course in Science and Mark Lane, alongside contributions from Skeleton Head, Revival Times, M/A/N/O/S, Ortrotasce, Minima Moralia, Silent Em, Horoscope and Paper Music. Moody, dancefloor-friendly and rebellious, this is “music for dissidents”.
With the Asexual EP by YobKiss, Electronic Emergencies is back with a true electronic delight. YobKiss consists of Dutch instrumentalist and producer Paul Borchers, currently based in San Fransisco, and Tokyo resident Yuko Araki on vocals. Their music balances on the edge of avant-garde electronics and flirts with acid pop in dreamy soundscapes, with an analogue synth sound and beautiful vocals in Japanese and English. Or, in their own words, a pitch-dark, filth-ridden tour de force into the worlds of acid house and electro.
Killer electro/wave tracks by Black Pond. Black Pond is a collaboration of underground star Beta Evers and Jeff Galea from the legendary Eleven Pond. Known for her solo work as well as various collaborative projects, Beta Evers can be considered the godmother of German electro wave. Her beats are strict while her voice is cool and deep. Jeff Galea, who founded Eleven Pond in the mid-80s, is the master of energizing bass lines and emotional synth melodies. Deepest Chasms reflects their shared darkness in four melodic and atmospheric synthwave tracks that won’t let go of you.
Lucifer & Lust is a 10-inch mini album by Dmitry Distant, showcasing the diversity of his talent. The 6 tracks by the Russian-born artist who currently resides in Latvia reflect the atmosphere of the Baltic and the mystic sides of electronic music. Showing where his devotion lies, Dmitry experiments on the verge of techno, wave and industrial. On this mini album, he grasps our attention with minimalistic trance-like rhythms covered in fluctuating painful melodies, using wonderful analogue sounds and exotic instruments such as the electric violin.
The Hipodrome Of Music 