Entitled Beehive Rhythms, the four-track EP is the debut of Zsa Gang, a collaborative project between Jordan Czamanski and Future Times co-head Max D. Taking a similarly live and freewheeling approach to Czamanski’s sometimes psychedelic work as part of Juju & Jordash and Magic Mountain High, the raw hardware sounds nevertheless seem to have some of the stripped back dancefloor focus and thumping rhythms of Max D’s Dolo Percussion project.
The third release on Greek imprint Nous comes from Hungary based producer Route 8, offering five cuts of serious house music. It makes subtle allusions in places to 90s era minimal masters such as Carl Craig, while at other points paying judicious homage to UK trailblazers from Sheffield’s golden era; beyond the canny reference points however each track on the Elada EP is underpinned with an obvious love for the slow-burning soul of deep house.
Nice atmospheric piano house to techno driven peak time to raw dance floor killers. Another nice Finale Sessions.
Florian Kupfer is back with a new ep diverging from his previous efforts and delving interesting results. Nasty one from this very talented young upstart. This Society turns out to be a massive floor board ripping cut in a similar to old Acid Planet or Bunker tracks, no bells and whistles just bare bones warehouse mayhem. Resistors teases in start/stop fashion throughout pushing to the point of no return and never getting there leaving the listener in limbo. Finally, taking up the entire b-side, Reach Another System is an autistic 909 driven piano track in the most unconventional sense which implodes upon contact.
Flowing acidic lava from new Abstract Acid discovery, Etcher, who we have absolutely no prior knowledge of, but this matters not as this is solid acid-techno through-and-through, reminiscent perhaps of an early nineties European sound, which of course we favour greatly here at Interstellar HQ. Quite simply really, really good acid.
Second release on the Cos_Mos label, with 3 ritual dark house tracks by this ‘mystery’ artist. Danny Wolfers all the way!
For his follow up to certified underground hits “Tonite” and “Enter the Fog”, Fit Siegel retains a firm embrace of both melody and rhythm. “Cocomo” is Siegel’s most delicate, and beautiful track to date. While, “Seedbed” snaps the listener back to the dancefloor with a syncopated acid earworm. For his label’s tenth release, Fit presents two fully-realized, divergent sounds, obviously able to harness the energy of his unpredictable DJ sets in the studio. This marks the return of one of Detroit’s most exciting young producers and further establishes Fit Sound as a hotbed of fearless dance music.
Louis Guilliaume has come a long way and with his every release he has proven to deserve his space amongst the finest techno producers out there. Unknown Forces EP is a straight forward techno EP which shows influences from his hometown Rotterdam to Detroit and back to Berlin. The EP opens up with ”Digital Stone”. A sensitive acid sledgehammer which bounces gently on to your head. ”Ghost In The Shell” is no different with its massive basslines and dark synths drenched in that typical uncompromising Guilliaume flavor. With ”X-11-101”, mr. Guilliaume didnt hold back. This here is what you call an instant peak time floor filler. Bigroom techno, sinister and compelling all the way. After that we finish with the tense and dark title track ”Unknown Forces” which balances somewhere on the edge between hope and desperation.
Spaced out 4 track project from duo of Hakim Murphy & Ike Release. Emotional & cosmic tunes that focus on outer space themes & share common thread of infinite possibilities. Neo-acid house to straight deep house.
Layered rhythms force these tracks forward to an unspoken conclusion, although there cannot be any doubt about the tracks’ intentions! Roger 23 has a reputation for producing music that combines great intuition with a roughness that is equally as challenging as it is soothing. ‘Future State’ is no exception to this rule. Bursts of melody and atmosphere draw the attention to relentless, yet not straight rhythmic patterns and vice versa. These five tracks are a remorseless leap into what dance music can be. Made with optimism and an open mind, they explore darker territories in an inviting and open-ended way. The last track on this EP being a short, blissful Ambient piece that abstractly channels the energy of the other tracks serves as one last lap on the rings of Saturn. ‘Future State’ plays with meaning, intention and focus and in the process refocuses itself time and again. It is an extremely versatile exploration that is as engaging and believing as can be.
Another strong Bokhari release. Beautiful deep house tracks with a hint to early Chicago and bits of the mid 90’s IDM techno wave from the UK. Side a by Life Recorder and flip side by French producer Semerka (incl Fudge Fingas remix).
Joe Drive’s music is always an intricate affair, it spirals you down and never lets you go. His freeform composition dwell within the depth of machines. Exposing their buried truth. And so is this EP. A journey into electric catacombs of forgotten impulses where at every corner menacing shadows await you. Spine shivers, ghosts of children or unthinkable creatures? It is all there, and yet you can’t see. To enter Joe Drive’s dreams you need a key, Lux Rec provides it.
Punknown is Orazio Bongiovanni, dj and producer from Italy. His tracks appeared on Jam Traxx Records. Since his childhood Orazio’s felt in love with Chicago and Detroit sound. Roland TR 606, 707, 808, 909, Roland TB 303, Juno 106 and Korg M1 are the ”weapons” which he uses to create his music. All the vocals are his own recordings, using vocoder and fx. He loves melodies, often introspective and never granted, he loves powerful rhythmics, he loves to transmit his mind and feelings through the music… He loves…. The EP is named as ”Heartbeat”…. His heart beats for the music.
Wild Oats come through with the double plated goodness, as the oft-hinted label debut of Jay Daniel arrives in the shape of the Karmatic Equations EP. A resident at Detroit party Fundamentals alongside Kyle Hall, Jay Daniel has been a hot tip ever since he made his 12″ debut last year in illustrious fashion with the rugged Scorpio Rising EP for Theo’s Sound Signature label. Since then, Daniel has become an increasingly regular presence on the European club circuit – recently making his debut at Panorama Bar – lauded by FACT and dropped a guest mix on Benji B. So you could say there was a sense of expectation surrounding young Jay’s next release. The five track Karmatic Equations is likely to be as popular as that SS release, further refining Daniel’s rugged approach with C Side cut “Change 4 Me” and the bumping final track “4 Red” likely to be the cuts most selectors pull for again and again. Housed in a full colour reverse board record sleeve and full colour centre labels, Daniel’s EP for Wild Oats precedes the promised launch of his own Watusi High label later this year.
