Regularfantasy and Void Mirror met up at the Dance Music Workshop in Victoria, B.C. during the dog days of summer to track down the house. The music here represents some of the results: melted italo, evergreen synths, and shining energy.
house
Florian Kupfer – Going Down EP [HM024]
Patience Africa – Wozani [LCT003]
The career of Patience Africa spanned over 40 years. After almost a decade of success on a major label with her Zulu Disco sound, and a few years in the early 80s experimenting with a more soulful sound, the funky synths of the 80’s would force her to stay relevant in the quick changing times. It would be in 1987 that she would sign to the independent Ream Music which with the help of their tight knit in house production team had released hits for upcoming disco artists Makwerhu, Ntombi Ndaba, Sunset, Athena, Percy Kay and more. The label’s success in the traditional market made Patience a perfect fit and could have been their first crossover artist.
Khidja @ Boiler Room X Plisskën Festival 26.06.2019
Mr TC – Zeug EP [AFTRAX005]
Thomas Clarke returns to the wider Optimo Music family with his third offering as MR TC for us and his first on Against Fascism Trax. This collection of 4 tracks were recorded over the past couple of years in Clarke’s home studio and sees him diving deeper into the psychedelic dance explorations that you heard on ‘Soundtrack For Strangers’ and ‘Surf & Destroy’.
Cold Front – Beyond The Beat [KH024/DZN01]
Founded in 1990 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cold Front were what you’d call early adaptors, their music at the time of its inception an oddity. This fourpiece, consisting of spouses Ayanna and Cam Muata, Jon Jon Scott and Ron Clark, were far ahead of their time and faded just as rapidly as they entered the stage, only playing a handful of local shows in support of Nine Inch Nails, Meat Beat Manifesto and such, alongside several cameos during early house nights and techno events. Beyond the Beat will burst dancefloors soon. In collaboration with Paris’ recordshop Dizonord, Knekelhuis will close the summer of 2019 with this amazing gem.
A Sagittariun – Return To Telepathic Heights [RBINC004LP]
A Sagittariun’s third album chronicles the journey back to Telepathic Heights; an expedition that encounters many obstacles along the way. The feuding parties of the two planets make for a journey of determination and self-discovery for our techno lone ranger that will ultimately deliver him to the sacred site on which Telepathic Heights stands. Conceived as a space western soundtrack to the cinematic interpretation of this tale, Return To Telepathic Heights delivers ten chapters that journal the ultimate mission to reach the imposing tower of Telepathic Heights, where dream telepathy has become the primary communicative tool amongst its peaceful and harmonious community who have opted out of the planetary war that continues to rage, seemingly with no armistice anytime soon. The score fittingly winds its way through the trials and tribulations of this journey, blending minimal and harmonic rhythms, industrial funk, dreamy synthwave and transcendental techno into the rich tapestry of music that documents the ‘Return To Telepathic Heights’. The album features original artwork by Johnny Bruck, fully licensed, and taken from the legendary German science fiction novel series, ‘Perry Rhodan’, which ran weekly from the early 1960s, and was the most successful sci-fi book series ever written.
JTC – FlightSTRENS2Rd / The Assembly [BOP08]
A group discovers a community of outsiders engaged in a ritual that invokes an inexplicable celestial event.
Perseus Traxx – How the Mighty Fell [SBOX009]
Perseus Traxx makes his Schrödinger’s Box debut with a 4-track EP of experiments forged in the depths of Northern England. Pristine plateaus and eerie sweeps cover the entire first side, a Perseus Traxx from 2090, shimmering in and out of phase within a murky acidic landscape. Introspective and thoughtful throughout. Timothy J Fairplay finishes off the final quarter with a summer-garden Techno banger.
Cooper Saver – Pacifico [bio036]
Biologic Records welcomes Cooper Saver to the label with two stunning remixes from Khidja and Abstraxion.
John Talabot / Khidja – HVN C/D [HVNcd]
The new installment of the Hivern split series features John Talabot and Khidja. Both tracks have slowish tempos, are built around obsessive motifs and make an outlandish use of delays. An unsettling and menacing atmosphere, fruit of masterful exercises on tension building, that seems tailored for those early moments in a set when you feel the need to rise the pressure without causing too much of a blast. These tracks are prime examples that’s there’s space for functional tracks away from the most obvious paths. And that’s the ultimate purpose of the series.
John Daly – Safe EP [CKNOWEP16]
John Daly resurfaces with an outstanding 4 track house record on Craigie Knowes. Daly has reached an almost mythical status within the house music community; his tracks have been adored by record collectors, DJs and dance floor enthusiasts since the mid-2000s. This record is the embodiment of everything we love about John Daly’s sound, and a bit more.
Fred Ventura – Technologies [MNQ108]
Acid techno experiments from the Italo disco master with Alessandro Adriani extended rework of Technologies.
Kiwi – You Want Her Too / Peeling Oranges [PP018]
Alex ‘Kiwi’ Warren’s passion for music has been a fire that has long burned within. He now joins Edinburgh’s Paradise Palms for the latest installment of their highly regarded 7” series. “You Want Her To” is a playful, low slung stomper featuring a slowed-down House beat, pads and a catchy oddball chant from Warren himself. “Peeling Oranges” ups the NRG and uses an Italo-strength arpeggiated bassline to great effect, resulting in a peak time electronic Disco smash.
VA – Various IV [030LP005]
The fourth various artists compilation album on Netherlands based 030303 Records. Splitradix has been given the honour to kick off with a wonderfully meandering acid epos, reminiscent of 808 State’s more obscure output, with a euphoric element entering about halfway. Zaphyd takes the energy level up a bit further with a strange dry beat driving the tune which is full of melodies trying to elbow each other to the side in the friendliest possible way… Side B opens with Star Flip by Holovr where a series of classic throbbing acid basslines are accompanied by an unsettling melody, not for the faint hearted! The Exaltics’ What If We Could is a haunting bubbly motherfucker of an acid track, not totally unlike Polygon Window’s Untitled, pure dark bliss… The C side then starts with a brilliantly bouncing contribution containing a beautiful melancholic theme by Piepiep, one of 030303’s co-founders. Argentina’s Nacho M Meyer is the mastermind behind Planeta, yet another dreamy cut full of Detroit-like melancholy. Zelfkant, the first contribution on the D side, is by Betonkust and feels like a classic Warp Artificial Intelligence armchair track with a touch of wave/electro. One of the best tracks on the comp then, is by Dirty Data, who delivers a track full of twisted breaks, hectic bleeps and eerie synths, mind blowing this one… Kramphaft is behind the final contribution to the compilation, again a sinister and dark one with haunting melodies spun out over unusual hard hitting electro breaks.
Sound Waves – I Wanna Feel The Music [SR1243]
Seminal NYC deep house sounds from the legendary Strictly Rhythm catalogue, this is some straight 1991 heat. ‘I Wanna Feel The Music’ / ‘Gotta Have You’ are 2 stone cold jams. Sound Waves is a crew made up of Andrew Richardson and Gijo Rosario, who crafted 2 slamming 12”s for Strictly in the very early 90’s. Both cuts ooze so much soul, and those unmistakable deep synth pads that wash over those tuff NYC drums with uplifting emotion. A true underground record that sounds like it could have easily dropped last week.
Camarade – Orwellian EP [DD-004]
Camarade release there first full EP on Duke’s Distribution. Dan Piu & Grant come together once more, but this time showcasing a completely fresh sound under a new moniker inspired by early IDM all while maintaining a clear grip on the dancefloor with deep atmospheric ambience and rhythms.
VA – Italian Dance Wave Otto [SLOMO043]
The eight chapter of the infamous Slow Motion Compilation series, “Italian Dance Wave Disco Otto”, has quite some hidden gems to be discovered. Beginning with a track from Marcello Giordani DJ (half of the duo Marvin & Guy), that expresses a perfect Italian melancholic sunset (as the title also states), energetic, strong, but always poetic. Always following that “beachy” vibes we find The Caribbean House, serving a track that could last a century, and we would never mind. Electro hints mixing with deep and balearic vibes: ears glued to the headphones. Moreover, we have again Slow Motion queen, System Olympia with a track that could make even nuns sweat on the dancefloor: beats and bass to die for. To close this chapter, you can pamper your ears with a angry balearic track from Gallo, not suited for the more weak hearts, that’s for sure.
VA – Italian Dance Wave Sette [SLOMO042]
Summer is coming sooner this year, and you can tell from the heat of the two latest releases from Slow Motion. The first of the two, “Italian Dance Wave Disco Sette”, is here to delight you: starting from a half Italo and half Asian influenced Altieri track, killing it with a dancefloor belter that will make you sweat the night away, raving sensations guaranteed. Lukebox (Fabrizio Mammarella and Umberto Saba from the duo Loudtone) will serve you a slightly more downtempo, modular, weirdo beast that will make your head bang without you even notice: banger. Back on your turntables, is also Robotalco who is providing some proto-house extravaganza and adding some charme to the dirty, chunky beats of the compilation. Last but not least, José Manuel, delivering a touch of biting deep house and electro tribal feels to close the gap, and make us scream “hell yes”.
Jex Opolis – Earth Boy [DKMNTL064]
Dekmantel welcomes the good time vibes of Canadian selector, and retrotastic, vibe-poppin’ producer Jex Opolis. Cult figure, obsessive Discog-er and Good Timin’ boss, the Brooklyn-based, Canadian has etched out a global reputation with his exotic taste of lo-fi, party productions, with this – his Dekmantel debut – not straying far from the formula Electro, disco-chic, doused in gooey pop, sultry silk, and retro synth-boogie.
The Hipodrome Of Music 