Höga Nord Rekords presents “Totem Och Tabu”, the debut album of Swedish electronic psychedelia artist Datasal. The sound is built around repetitive sequencer loops and programmed beats where electric bass, electric guitar and flute improvise around a theme, creating a sound that is best described as cosmic flute house.
Most of these jams and edits haven’t seen the light of day, and aren’t available separately (except for the 2nd track which was on a Secret Gang digital release).
Since 2014, Brighter Days has been a part of the rich tapestry of Amsterdam nightlife – a semi-regular party promoting positivity and inclusiveness run by resident DJs Kamma and Masalo. On the back of the platform provided by the party, the duo has notched up a string of memorable club and festival appearances, a regular Brighter Days show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, and a memorable Boiler Room set streamed live from Dekmantel Festival. Now Kamma and Masalo have taken the next step and curated a Brighter Days compilation for Rush Hour, a collection that does a terrific job in offering up slept-on and unreleased gems – including a clutch of their own tried-and-tested re-edits – while also accurately representing the sound, style and ethos of the event that inspired it.
Chiwax presents another outstanding release by Boo Williams. “Tribute To Chicago” is Boo’s hommage to the Capital City of House Music, their artists and his hometown.
The first outing of the new label Way to France records comes from none other than Robert Johnson legend Lauer with some analog sounding nu-disco stompers. The release is rounded with two remixes by Charlie and Janthe.
Germany’s Dircsen has a solid track record of 303 infused releases across labels like We’re Going Deep and Soundtravels, but this is his first full-length vinyl outing. Across these two slabs of wax he slips and slides between electro, deep techno, jacking house, and psychedelic live workouts, but throughout the eight tracks the silver boxes work their indefinable magic.
Tom Carruthers on his own Data Sync, sub-label of Non Stop Rhythm. A 6 track EP loaded of stripped back cyborg temperature tracks.
Raw Chicago flavored house track from Tony Price. 14 minutes of stone cold house music spread out over several tracks and interludes.
Zaratustra is a young French producer strongly inspired by indie dance, italo disco, EBM, new beat, acid and ethnic music. This track symbolizes the perfect mix of rock, italo and EBM and STOLT strikes the blow with one of his finest vocal performances. Comes with a Lauer rearanging.
‘Rule The Streets’ is Timothy “J” Fairplay’s latest album on his label Dungeon Module. After 2021’s ‘A Snowstorm In The Tropics’, 2023 has been a busy year for the label. In February Timothy released ‘Dungeon Module Volume 1’ followed by ‘I Lay Awake At Night Scheming’ in August. This album was recorded in Timothy’s current studio, with his Casio RZ-1 central to the set up. 8 raw jack tracks inspired by the early days of house music, and catches Timothy at his most minimal. The early days of the Chicago and Detroit and how they drew influence from Europe in their stripped back sound is an endless influence on Timothy’s work. The bumpy opener ‘Rule The Streets’ has a vocal refrain which sounds like something from a 70’s gang movie. ‘Insufficient Funds’ is a playful jam based around a junk shop delay unit. ‘Pleasure Beach’ an 8 bit house/funk beat track. ‘Back To The Stone Age’ with its flanger heavy percussion and a booming Adonis style vocal. Side B starts with ‘Instant Replay’ with its rolling 808 toms and white noise intro. ‘Safety Patrol’ has a deeper Mr Fingers feel, followed by the stalker-ish ‘Gang Bass’ with its sampled live bass and strings. Last of all is ‘Livin’ It Up’ made entirely with the sampler on the RZ-1 sounding like a Lil Louie demo.
The Sound Migration label takes another trip back in to the CATT articles to explore the proto-trance and early bleep techno sound they were pushing from 1988-1991. Another five essential gems from the modestly sized catalogue get an airing here, kicking off with Confidential’s haunting ‘Amphibious Carbine’ followed by the boxy pressure of Exocet’s ‘Nitrogen’. This is astounding stuff throughout, not least the freak-zone trip of Holy Ghost’s ‘Walking On Air’, which sounds like the common denominator between Ibiza and Goa in their nascent days as party destinations. Don’t sleep on the clattering funk of Exocet’s ‘Overdose’ either, a seriously snappy groover with all kinds of oddball sampling going on.
One Level presents Aleqs Notal’s upcoming EP ‘Big Tal’s Elements’ – four carefully curated house joints by the Paris-based DJ and producer. The release encapsulates a wealth of influences combined to create a modern and innovative soundtrack. Producer, DJ, and founding member of the innovative ClekClekBoom collective Aleqs Notal has continued to cultivate a sound that’s rooted in the sonics of Detroit and Chicago. Here he gives a taste of his upcoming EP ‘Big Tal’s Elements’ with ‘Untwisted Delight’, a homage to the timeless sound of the Motor City. A bass-driven DJ tool, pulsating with the resonance of the 808, evoking echoes of Pittman, and igniting a powerful dancefloor energy.
Dreamy and old-school ravey moments that resonate perfectly with each other on this versatile EP by Böhm. Böhm is no stranger to the electronic music scene as he has made quite a splash with his latest releases on Dolly, Partout, M>O>S and Undersound Recordings and this outing on Eudemonia acts as an ideal successor.
The Hipodrome Of Music 