Tin Man – Ode [ATCD004]

California-raised Johannes Auvinen made his name blending hypnotic techno with the distinctive electronics of acid house. His most recent album, 2012’s Neo Neo Acid, moved further towards the sounds of Phuture. Ode, his seventh full-length, sits somewhere in between, delivering a sequence of deep, hypnotic grooves that utilise acid lines not to create energy, but as melodic hooks. With the addition of his own half-whispered vocals on a number of cuts, the result is an atmospheric set that feels like the soundtrack to a hazy after party. For the most part, it’s very impressive, and has a genuinely weary, late night mood that’s strangely attractive.

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Tin Man – Ode [ATCD004]

Fishermen – SELF#01 [SELF001]

Can you feel it? Time moving faster and faster. ”The next thing” is always more appealing than what you’re holding in your hands right now. But is it better? Well, perhaps. Perhaps not. At this pace, can you really tell? So. Just like Magritte’s pipe wasn’t a pipe, this is not a record. This is an invitation. An embracement. You see, this round disc may be white, but it is not empty. It is filled with our creativity. Our time. And now we would like you to fill this plain, white sleeve with your creativity and your time. We want you to share this with us. To be a part of this release. To be apart of our SELF. This music spoke to you in some way, and now we want you to speak to us. The language is up to you – do whatever you feel like! Some of you will paint, some of you will print, some of you will do things we couldn’t even think of. All of you will be a part of the movement. A movement against the one-sidedness of the producer-consumer relationship. A movement against the hurried Zeitgeist. A movement against the grain. We are the Swedish Electronic Liberation Front. We don’t have customers. We don’t have followers. We only have members. And you’re invited to join us.

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Fishermen – SELF#01 [SELF001]

Cuthead – Total Sellout [UVLP002]

Cuthead got known to the wider public via his releases on Uncanny Valley but his roots reach way back before the label’s start. There was a time when Cuthead and his brothers from another mother threw wild parties at abandoned industrial locations or in the woods around Dresden. The crew, which was known as Kunst:stoff Breakz, also established a label where Cuthead released two albums and one EP as free downloads between 2006 and 2010. Over the years the calls for vinyl versions of those early joints were getting louder and so Uncanny Valley decided to give the best tracks from that era a new life on physical sound carriers and start the ”Total Sellout”. Through refinement and rearrangement 51 tracks were boiled down to a selection of 18 and ended up as an album full of catchy bass lines, heavy beats and sampling excesses. Among the tracks are party starters like the strings-infiltrated ”Scissorhands”, ”The Poncho” or the ever devastating ”Iron Lung” which still kicks like Dubstep has never faded. Since Cuthead has always been heavily influenced by Rap music, there are of course lots of great Hip Hop beats on ”Total Sellout”. Either in the form of funky sample studies like ”Painquilizer” and ”VibraSkit” or in true fashion with Raps by crew member Alibi on ”Hidden Track”. Also included on the album are ”Rock My Soul” and ”All Night Long”, some early examples of Cuthead’s knack for well tempered and super catchy House tracks, while the double-bass driven ”Rythmus ’78” shows another jazzy side of him. Once again, the artwork was conceived and designed by Till Hohmann who already did a brilliant job on last year’s ”Everlasting Sunday”.

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Cuthead – Total Sellout [UVLP002]

Annanan – Lyser [FP006]

The sixth release on Jurg Haller’s excellent Forbidden Planet sees the Berlin-based newcomer Annanan at the helm. Lead track “124” booms and bristles in all the right places, with an intoxicating dub techno pulse at its core which resonates brightly with sonic intensity as the A side run out groove draws ever closer. On the B side, “ACIDz x2” fluctuates superbly between grizzled acid and saturated deepness, whilst the appropriately named “Satin” reins in the madness for a supple, widescreen journey into techno loaded with atmosphere.

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Annanan – Lyser [FP006]

D’Marc Cantu – Some Kind Of Strange [SEQ011]

Cantu’s electro-heavy sound is fleshed out here and while still lean enough for dance floors, it makes bolder moves into atmospheric and melodic territory. The A side, “Some Kind Of Strange…,” begins with long synth strains before one of his signature overdriven drum workouts immediately punches through the lush spectral melody. Cantu runs through the patterns on his 808, weaving a sort of broken beat track that cruises through acidic space time. On the flipside you’re treated to the electro/freestyle jam, “A Space Age Function.” There aren’t many surprises here nor is there any need for them: just pure and grimy electro joy…right down to the pitched down vocal sample and octave-hopping bassline. “September,” the beatless coda, is an echo from a childhood spent in dark cinemas with the sounds of Carpenter and Howarth. Tinkling FM bells dot the layers of rich ethereal pads and you can practically hear the clattering of the projector somewhere behind you in the dark.

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D’Marc Cantu – Some Kind Of Strange [SEQ011]

Jordan GCZ – Digitalis EP [FT023]

Jordan GCZ, aka Jordash from Juju & Jordash delivers for Future Times! ‘Swingonoguitaro’ hits a very unique place. Far from chopping up typical disco guitar licks, J runs a fierce house rhythm through varying six-string zones, from rainy day Slippertronics and Cocteau strums to the dusted, poly-rhythmic bends that warp the song’s ending. ‘Digitalis’ starts as cold, snake-charmer funk that gets washed away in outrageous keys and hovering, molten electronics. ‘Fusionfuk’ closes the EP with a barrage of library gusto. Jordan showcases his amazing synth work on this one, destroying and rebuilding melodies at will.

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Jordan GCZ – Digitalis EP [FT023]

Invisible Menders – Porn Wax Eight [PW008]

The Porn Wax releases can always be counted on to be some psychedelic, tripped out disco and this release does not disappoint. “Affected” is spaced out disco goodness, while “To Be Discontinued” has more of an Italodisco throwback vibe to it.

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Invisible Menders – Porn Wax Eight [PW008]

Tokyo Matt / Mori Ra & Asn – Balearico Cosmico Edit [MME3003]

Tokyo Matt from the Otaku Soundsystem and Mori Ra & Asn from Tokyo Oyama Edit presenting 4 edits out of this world. All very atmospherics, they are the ideal combination of space disco, Balearic rock, jazz, pop and fusion.

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Tokyo Matt / Mori Ra & Asn – Balearico Cosmico Edit [MME3003]

Japan Blues – Brasserie Heroique Edits Pt 2 [BH010]

Berceuse Heroique label deliver the second 12″ from the Heroique Edits series, coming form Japan Blues, aka Ethbo Records founder Howard Williams takes an altogether more eccentric approach. Opener “Half Dead Pulse” is dreamy, melodic and, well, rather odd, with vocal chants and fluid melodies riding a skittering drum machine rhythm and long, drawn-out chords. “Baroque Mutiny” sounds like post-punk-meets-chiming synth-pop (with a dubwise beat), but is almost certainly an edit of an obscure new wave track. Finally, “Mysterious Satsuma” delivers an attractive blend of exotic, Eastern synth lines and curious, experimental Italo rhythms.

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Japan Blues – Brasserie Heroique Edits Pt 2 [BH010]

Melja – Steady Mobbin’ EP [MSN011]

For this release the New York label has exhumed from Melja three cuts of bottom-end heavy, lo-fi and distorted techno music that will beef up a house set or nestle into a rhythm section of a long haul techno session. “I Won’t Forget” is the heaviest, industrial track on this 12″ while “Steady Mobbin” is body rhythmic, but with out the slam and assault you might hear from say.

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Melja – Steady Mobbin’ EP [MSN011]