house
Sneaker DJ – Les Yeux Orange #041
Basic Soul Unit – You Knew EP [DOLLY021]
After a small hiatus Basic Soul Unit is back on track, delivering some serious jacking club action! Four deep & intense cuts, but all still with that tremendous party vibe… all equally powerful.
Nitam – Retold EP [UTON006]
Its debut release time for Nitam as the Retold 12″ surfaces on Ostgut-Ton’s intermittent sublabel concern Unterton. It’s certainly the kind of friendly, melodic stuff that the Berlin label gravitates more readily towards, with a healthy amount of techno powering the machines. “Retold” strides forth with big room intent but not at the expense of the depth of the track, for it is indeed a hypnotic experience to behold. “Neotyp” meanwhile edges in a touch more groove to make for a gentler overall mood, before the muscular pump of “Value Time” brings in some sturdy bass, edgy strings and swooping synth tones. “Exiam” finishes the EP off with a drum-led workout that will have plenty of DJs swooning with mixable delight.
Trenton Chase – The Manor Conspiracy EP [JUNE006]
For June Records’ sixth release, the Vampire of Sacramento returns with a live jammin’, four track techno EP, filthy and as raw as anything previously consumed by the monster. A sequel to Trenton Chase’s full blown manic episode taking place inside the Manor asylum.
Legowelt – Immensity of Cosmic Space [UTTU050]
50 releases in under four years is no mean feat, so a round of applause to Unknown to the Unknown who surpass the landmark with a new record from Legowelt. The superbly named Immensity Of Cosmic Space arrives hot on the heels of Legowelt’s fine Vaporware Tracks record for Creme and sees the Dutchman exploring the realm of rave era breakbeat techno. Of course what makes Danny Wolfers work as Legowelt so distinctive his mastery of star gazing melodies and hearing them fused with recycled drum breaks on the title track and the Amen filled “Lumeria2” is a real delight.
Trevor Jackson – Format: Lumiline [VF116-1]
Acclaimed creative director and music maker trevor jackson releases format, a collection of unreleased music & his first album in 14 years. F O R M A T is no ordinary album release – instead it charts the legacy of the physical music format, in a characteristically beautiful and uncompromising way, paying homage to physically released formats over the decades and also celebrating the artistry, design, as well as the individual experience of playing music via physical methods. Initially available as a limited edition release, each track is available on : 12″, 10″, 7″ vinyl, cd, mini cd, cassette, usb, mini disc, dat, 8 track and 1/4 reel to reel.
Raw M.T. – La Duna [MORK002]
The second Mork release finally gets out of the blocks, helmed by Italian analogue explorer Raw M.T. With some seriously heavy cuts under his belt, we coaxed him out of hiding for a varied 12” of low-slung house, dreamy beachside dreams and hammering arpeggiated techno, cut deep and heavy over two sides of wax.
Sparky – Tapes [RADSPRK1]
The in-house label from Glasgow’s Rubadub has been an infrequent affair characterised by a sense of the unpredictable thus far. A third release arrives and it’s from a source much closer to home in Sparky, aka veteran Glasgow producer Dave Clark. The two track Tapes 12″ is an unfussy affair, arriving as a stamped white label and brandishing some archival productions from Clark’s mid ’90s output. If you like your techno deep and fizzy you will cherish A side track “94Archive2/8” whilst the accompanying production veers off into tracky yet transcendental territory.
DJ QU – Redtones EP [SMR015]
By his own prolific standards, veteran deep house/techno producer Ramon Lisandro Quezada – better known since 2005 as DJ Qu – has been rather quiet of late. Several bases are covered on the Redtones EP. Contrast, for example, the drifting, sci-fi chords and dense, deep house goes tribal rhythms of the title track, with the picturesque pianos and crackly samples of downtempo bonus “Sadness In The Static”. Best of all, though, is “Sweaty”, a formidably wonky fusion of psychedelic electronics, trippy effects and throbbing, grime encrusted house beats.
Perseus Traxx – Dr Burisch [COTF006]
The new release from Perseus Traxx ‘Dr Burisch’ on Crimes of the Future, is a four track soundtrack to some forgotten alien abduction documentary… maybe. Starting off with ‘Rainy Tuesday’ and its skipping pitch shift melodies, and followed by ‘Lotus Protocol’ and its almost Richard D. hook. On the flip we have the title track, slow and building, very much the ‘theme’ of the piece. The EP finishes with ‘Electrical Surge’, and its static crackle of radio interference and damaged power lines.
Nick Klein – Failed Devotee [PRECEPT004]
Maoupa Mazzocchetti – A-Morality [UP001]
“Given the positive reception that led Maoupa Mazzocchetti’s debut EP for Unknown Precept, we have decided to put on tape some of the tracks that were not released on his vinyl. Call it what you will, this vicious industrial terror for when the dance-floor turns ugly sees Maoupa going a little further in the experimentation, giving sex-appeal to discomfort through these four oxidized cuts.”
Mick Wills @ Machine du Moulin Rouge (Paris) 27.02.2015
Legowelt – Vaporware Tracks Vol.1 [CR1280]
“So what would the week be without one or two new Legowelt releases eh? But before you start your usual consumerist whining, consider this: this here selection was made by a team of experts after truly careful consideration and sonically enhanced with a plethora of experimental prototypes. It was chosen for its coherence, depth, otherwordly qualities and general PIZZAZZ. To call it a gripping, compelling, sweeping tour de force would be beyond lame right? You and me, we know better. But see how we weaseled it in here anyway with some advanced reverse psychology marketing techniques? It really is true, we know you better than you know yourselves. So if you make it a point to pick up, say, just one release per month off the top of the hipster pile, it better be this one. Just so you can tell your grandchildren you were there in the Satierian Moonrise, contemplating the Silent Sea while you vaporize the ounce of sherm you just copped from some Norwegian Crack Dealer that flew in with XYZ dig? See? that was easy.”
Creta Kano – Skyway Motel [HAPSKL006]
Happy Skull’s first release of 2015 comes from UK based artist Creta Kano. He showcases his highly melodious and deeply textured sound across three tracks for the Bristol imprint. ‘Skyway Motel’ is an emotive, Detroit inspired amalgamation of warm chords and rolling drum machine rhythms. The track’s romantic qualities are emphasised on ‘Skyway 81’, a screwed, pitched-down version that re-casts the original as a serotonin fuelled slow jam. ‘False Water’ completes the package. A sprawling trip in to broken techno territory, reminiscent of 90’s era Rephlex.’
Route 8 – This Raw Feeling [LTWHT004]
Route 8 returns to Lobster Theremin with a very special four-track white label of emotive dreamscape house and heady techno. Expanding on the ideas and themes he explored on last years’ Dry Thoughts EP, Route 8 slides fresh out of his New Age synth shell for 2015, adding crystalline electro and tool-room clattering house to his emotionally charged sound palette.
Boo Williams – Freaky Teck EP [HOUSEWAXLTD008]
Chicagoan Boo Williams begins 2015 with a bang, delivering an EP of Freaky Teck jams – his tag for cuts that join the dots between jacking Chicago techno, yearning deep house and relentless Detroit techno. It’s a formula that guarantees thrills, from the wide-eyed, chiming positivity of opener “Charming Echoes”, to the enveloping, acid-laden pump of closer “The Banger”. Best of all, though, is “Freaky”, a throbbing techno jam blessed with a rough Italo-style bassline and enough deep house elements (chords, electronics, melodies).
Intergalactic Gary @ Panama Racing Club (Den Haag) 22.01.2015
Xosar – BOP004 [BOP004]
Synthesizer and drum machine obsessive Xosar (AKA producer Sheela Rahman) has enjoyed a productive few years, building a formidable reputation via releases on Rush Hour, L.I.E.S and Creme Organization. Here she delivers her first full-length for Opal Tapes’ occasional vinyl offshoot, Black Opal. It’s perhaps a little less colourful and synthesizer-heavy than previous excursions, instead focusing on dark, fuzzy, heavily percussive takes on acid house and techno. Of course, there are curious interludes – see the wonky industrial IDM of “Prophylaxis” and the beatless synth madness of “Gnome Circle” – but it’s the more floor-friendly excursions (and most profoundly the bleak and intense “Hades Gates”) that really stand out.
