New hot stuff from Detroit. Pablo R. Ruiz returns for his sophomore release for Portage Garage Sounds with some serious 707-infected goodness.. “Estados Criminales” features 5 tracks, playful yet sinister, like the chaotic energy of a carnival ride falling off it’s hinges.
Introducing Earth Plates’ second pressing, Gnork’s latest EP, Lost in X. The Budapest based producer takes his signature sound further, deeper, and more refined. Wonder how that would sound like? Imagine underwater infused with outer space, chunky electro beats with dusty organs, dark wharehouse vibes with soul wrenching satellite bleeps, 707 drums with cheesy synth solos.
Italian proto house vibes on this new Clone Royal Oak 12”. An elegant Mystic Jungle & Whodamanny production that’s ready to be a regular force on dancefloors from Rimini to NYC and the Chitown. The classy vocal heavy club mix is backed up by the re-mix and freak-appella.
Tassilo Vanhöfen with his first ever solo EP on Neubau. Three subtle but dancefloor-aimed tracks that many have been waiting for will be included on the much-anticipated ”War Manual Of Gear EP”
Innershades returns to Time Passages. He hits the ground running with “It’s Time”, a warehouse-ready throb-job full of new beat riffs and creepy electronics, before offering up another funky Euro techno cut that sounds like it could have been played at an after-party in 1990 (“Forum”). Elsewhere, “Euphoria In Ginza” is a deliciously chiming and melodious breakbeat-house workout, while “No Romantic” is another retro-futurist romp full of squelchy synth bass and rushing, turn-of-the-90s style nostalgic riffs.
From the chaos of our rapidly changing world, Swiftness was born to provide a constant in our lives: timeless agile music from the hidden corners of Bucharest’s electronic scene. Swiftness’ first release is Stuffz – the debut EP of rising local talent FILIPP. Comprised of 3 spacey house tracks, Stuffz will make any turtle put on its fastest dance moves in no time.
Antinote and Dizonord present Studiolo. Northeastern Italy, at the beginning of the 1980s, an entire local scene gathered around a handful of DJs who put their dancefloors in a trance to the sounds of ”rare, new, and singular” music, under the strong influence of ethnic and world music. Mixes where German Kosmische clashes with space disco, along with the most experimental side of British new wave, industrial music, creepy funk, deviant rock and pop. All this mixed with Brazilian and Afro music, reggae, ragga, percussions and bhangra… A kind of mixing in total rupture with that of a dying disco for which it is intended as an alternative. A way of playing songs often at the wrong speeds, at 33RPM instead of 45RPM and vice versa, and always the obsession of a slow tempo, between 95 and 110 BPM, while the cruising speed of disco mixes goes up to 125/130 BPM… A haunting rhythm, accelerated or slowed down voices, with experimental and ethnic approaches. This fusion of styles was named “Cosmic Style” by Daniele Baldelli, resident of the Cosmic Club in Rimini, and ”Afro Style” by Beppe Loda, resident of the Typhoon in Gambara. It is in this last period that this compilation will immerse you, through 8 tracks from the Italian, German and Austrian scenes.
Part one of Hivern Discs’ Fragments compilation. While compilations tend to look backwards, ‘Fragments’ is far from being a retrospective. Since its launch in 2008, Hivern Discs has favoured a documentary approach, capturing the most vital and exciting sounds within its orbit at each particular moment. In keeping with the ethos of the label, this extensive compilation, comprising 29 new tracks across six 12″s, offers a panoramic glimpse of Hivern’s present and gives indications as to its near future. This is the first part and includes five tracks by Arthur Evans, Benedikt Frey, Epsilove, John Talabot and Walden.
Bristol-based dancefloor futurists Innate return with a third multi-artist EP – shot through with melody, warmth and soul. A quartet of timeless-sounding tracks full of stargazing sounds, undulating acid lines, far-sighted electronics and crackling beats. Tracks by Perseus Traxx, Ewan Jansen, Reedale Rise and label co-founder Owain K.
The Lisiere Collectif trio returns on their own label with LSR No. 04 EP, a collection of three original tracks, genuine worked for different moments of a clubnight.
UK’s OPIA tell the tales of ‘Florence and the Machines’ via the form of otherworldly sounds. Etienne kicks off proceedings on the sixth release of the label with ‘Engage all Targets’. Distinctive drums and wavering synths zoning in on your senses. Belgian producer Innershades provides ’10,000 Steps’ a hard hitting jam, leaving nothing to the imagination. Rounding off the A side is sub heavy goodness from a man on fine form, Daif. Glitchy rhythms with the machine theme of the VA heavily embedded in its sound, ‘Vade Retro’ by name. Serving up on the B side are young duo and Slowlife affiliates, Primary Perception. Ice cold broken drums, riding an elastic bass that swallows you up. ‘Maelstrom II’ is one of their cleanest cuts to this day. Robotic conversations in the closing track from Berlin based Formas, the trio deliver a curious final chapter to the story with ‘A Su’. Another discerning VA from OPIA, bringing together vital and established artists once again.
Official License of the 1991 Rare classic produced by Jörg Burger for Trance Atlantic Records. 4 tracks produced in Germany in Classic Detroit House Style.
DJ Mad A (Adam Embleton) & Dr. Stevie The Ambient Guru (Stevie Hewitt) originally met when Adam picked up the Saturday shift at ‘Record Mart’, a record store run by Stevie back in the late 80’s. They quickly bonded over shared tastes and enthusiasm for the growing dance club culture in England.
Brooklyn-based, Yugoslavian-born Maroje T is back as Remora with a new release on Kraftjerkz. His latest Remora release is a cohesive, synth-driven exploration, drawing influence from 80’s New Wave, Belgian New Beat, synth-pop, Italo disco and electro. Its aim is not to emulate; its nostalgia is grown-up and contemporary, filled with arpeggiated synths and metallic punctuation. There’s a play between light and dark here; the opening tracks take us on an easy, synth-pop voyage, as if through a neon dawn. Half-way through the EP, the mood shifts towards dystopic visions, with tracks like “Bitter Night” and “Green Sea” bringing to mind videogame-boss nostalgia and darker electro sentiments. The EP closes with the final, visceral “You Travel by Plane Often,” meant to be experienced with the body. The EP is primed to become a classic; it goes down easy but stays with you for a while, before wanting to be ingested again and again.
Joris Biesmans debuts on 17 Steps with his Big Mouth, an EP crafted in his trademark style – propulsive, analogue driven house and techno, rich in melody and colour. ‘After All These Years’ and the title track ‘Big Mouth’ are anthemic, brimming with extrovert synths and acid lines. On ‘DrumatiXL’ Biesmans channels vintage, celestial electro through his hardware. It’s a slick, sci-fi inspired three track selection primed for the Berlin dancefloors he calls home.
Discodromo present a three-vinyl compilation to celebrate the tenth birthday of their Berlin party CockTail d’Amore. The compilation features the sound that best envisions the party and its evolution throughout its first decade. This installment features the sound of the Garden and its kaleidoscopic surges. Tornado Wallace’s contribution is a fetishized Italo-High-Energy adventure. On the same side the breaks of Greenvision’s Sleeping Bag In New York conjure a clubber’s hallucinations on a Sunday afternoon. Bell Towers and Bon Voyage nostalgically cover the flip side. The former with synth pop inspired ode to the this special dance-floor and the latter with a classic cosmic emotional composition.
Beyond Space And Time is the new record label from Japanese music festival, Rainbow Disco Club (RDC). RDC has been welcoming music loving people to Japan for over a decade. Throughout the festival’s history, RDC have been fortunate to constantly encounter performers and DJs who’ve collaborated with them in establishing a beautiful dance floor year in, year out. These relationships have lead RDC to start their own label, and now gives them the opportunity to reveal one of the best-kept secrets: What is in a DJ’s record bag? This time around, festival regular DJ Nobu kindly opens up his collection and shares the music he loves with us all. On visual duty we welcome Senekt – his representational yet contemporary drawing illustrates the emotion we feel from DJ Nobu.
VARME003 switching tempos a bit with three powerful and mysterious tracks from Uruguayan rising star Cosmonaut aka Federico Jorcin. Varme is an electronic music label based in Bucharest, founded and curated by Paul Popa.
The clouds pile up in the Dresden autumn sky, but Uncanny Valley still sees a little bit of blue on the horizon. And why not looking on the bright side of life for a change? It’s appropriate. At least if you have five killer tracks in your bag. Anyway, the collaboration with the Leipzig graphic designer Doppeldenk proved to be very fruitful and has now produced the fourth of seven children. So, after PINK, RED and ORANGE, here is BLUE. May life be good to you. The record opens with the aptly titled, Chicago-inspired ‘Mind Trip’ by Credit 00, the Aldous Huxley from your neighborhood. The Leipziger takes you on a journey on your own nerve pathway with occasional stops at the hottest spots in your body. Local buddy Gnista is piling up layer by layer for the UK meets Electro affair that is ‘Playtime Worktime’. It’s an atmospheric monster that needs to be climbed first. But as soon as this is done, a fresh breeze blows around your nose. In ‘Brecht Hat Er’, the mysterious Dresden underground formation AGB spreads wisdom in staccato mode, accompanied by Cold Wave-like music, which could also have been created in the shadows of the Berlin Wall. After a long time of hiatus, there is also a sign of life again from Uncanny Valley’s Break SL, who proves with ‘Bye Bye 627’ that he still masters the art of producing House music that is as edgy as it is catchy. In similar veines comes ‘In Treansit’ from Qnete who channels the ghosts in his machines into an emotional and powerful House track.
The Hipodrome Of Music 