Absolute Body Control is back with new material after more than ten years. The legendary minimal-synth-wave duo formed in 1980 by Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Dive, Sonar) and joined a bit later by Eric van Wonterghem (Insekt, Monolith) has been working together again and got finished a new EP. Six songs that fuse their classic sound with a theme that reflects the times of change that humanity is going through.
Second release for this Brussels based organization (Label and parties) run by False Identity. This one focuses on dark and powerful electro, clanging industrial techno and techno body music straight for the dancefloor.
Following his Red Pyramid EP, L.F.T. returns to Mechatronica with fearless visions, Nils Fock on vocals and a cold-blooded Dollkraut remix on the flip.
Caron debuts on Shipwrec with a four tracker of sheer quality. Off-kilter percussion introduces the breathy pads and grandeur of “Ancestry,” a piece of dreamy chords and acid undertones. The haunting “Common Sense” follows. Drums stagger next spectral vocals in this chilling electro piece. A similar stalking note continues on the flip with the 303 soaked “Lost.” A steady kick offers a bedrock from which looming keys, bitter squawk and dancefloor paranoia take hold. Hopeful shades arrive with the brilliance of “Ruins.” From industrial percussion and metallic rinses, a deep and intricate finale forms to bring “Shattered” to a terrific close.
Foreign Policy is the electronic music project of Berlin based artist Thomas Ricard, co-founder of the Area Z collective. ”Watching Existence” marks his debut release as well as his first 12”, a six track journey of scorched electro industrial & techno body music operating as a conduit for his social observations on the modern condition, human rights and civil liberties. The 12″ EP also includes a remix by SARIN.
Romanian producer and DJ Miruna Boruzescu aka Borusiade knows how to create ethereal tracks, somewhere between post-wave, techno and industrial vibes. “Purge”, the new EP for Tripalium Corp, is about heart-break in forced isolation, when the only way to stay sane is purging through music and lyrics. From the 80s synth of “Let Go” to the experimental ten-minutes-trip “Haunted Evolution”, these five tracks are talking about of one’s coping systems in extreme emotional situations, hope and power to move on and last but not least, learned lessons and empowerment.
Sons of Traders 002 is an 8 tracks compilation Ep of loosely knit artists that surround the duo Sons of Traders (Mike Tansella Jr. and TANS). Leading the EP, the title track “Rotten to the Core” is a slow stomper with a forceful vocal sample and some various squelches. LA’s Kosmik picks up the tempo with “Murmurs” which features a hypnotic synth loop over a 4/4 beat. On “Chomping at the Bit” C.L.A.W.S. and Tyrell trade off between claps, hi hats and short delays underneath a sinister synth tone. To close the A side of the record is Future Blondes out of Texas with “2020 ultra visions”, a cut that can only be described as a sinister barrage of slamming drums and tones. The B side launches with “The Other Side of Town” by The White Lines, a dark electro workout with vocal samples, dark synths and growling bassline. Frigio label boss Juan Pablo brings us an intricate drum pattern with layers of synths on “Night Drive in Beijing”. “Self Feral” by Chris Mitchell is something with a hip hop swing, heavy drums, various feedback and vocals. Closing the EP is Dragée, a new artist from Haifa, Israel. “Them” features a hard snare that holds together the demented vocals, claps and bassline that develop throughout the track.
The 10th compilation on the label, Cold Readings, brings together an array of international producers. Greek sound designer Pera Sta Ori returns to the label with the trippy Passive Concealment, followed up by Foreign Sequence bringing his own brand of shiny electro.
Omnidisc regular Shokh closes the A side with the head-down-take-me-back-to-the-rave Torotam. Opening the flipside, Weith returns with the breaks excursion Cognitive Dissonance and Scarlit Port wraps up the EP with the jungle-fuelled Layla’s Acid.
Mannequin Records presents a new killer release from the legendary French producer Arnaud Rebotini. Whether as one half of Black Strobe or in his own material or just busy receiving a César prize 2018 for best film music, Arnaud Rebotini devotes his career to mindblowing electronic productions. Passionate about analog synthesizers, and with a strong taste for electronic music of a dark and brutal hue, the new EP ‘Shiny Black Leather’ pushes to the limit his EBM-influenced electro-goth side, making the most doomy goth clubber happy.
Frontmaschine is a french band created by Hérve and Louis. The alchemy of a father/son duo who experience with the ambiance, the sounds and the samples. Front 242 and D.A.F are their main influences. The music offered fluctuates from industrial to old school, and from German to English vocals. Dark sounds (sounds of the 80s), rhythmed by rustic sequences, electronic drum sounds and samples such as machines, radio communication or metals.
Manisdron, side project of GOAT (JP) drummer, Takafumi Okada debuts on L.I.E.S. with a four track EP of frenzied live electrified drum/blast synth rip not techno beat experiments. A powerful force both live and in the studio – this is no nonsense gear that truly gets your heart pumping.
Tbilisian record label, Murder Records, is back with 6 tracker various artist compilation, including exclusive tracks from Fractions & Zanias, Alessandro Adriani, Years of Denial, Body Beat Ritual. Vulkanski and Puritan.
The Hipodrome Of Music 