For the next BITE release, techno legend Adam X makes a rare appearance outside his own seminal Sonic Groove Records with a new EP Midnight Sun. The NYC electronic music pioneer displays his singular approach to the dancefloor by combining old school, bass heavy grooves with forward-thinking cybernetic sound design. Throughout the EP, he lays out the concept of a dystopian timeline in which the Earth is knocked off orbit. Panic ensues as the earth moves closer towards the sun, annihilating all.
Velvet May returns on “ Tears On Waves” with the 4-tracker EP “Unknown Bodies”. This time he is joined by the live duo Years of Denial and the northern-irish artist Autumns who delivered their own interpretation and vision of the tracks in the B side.
Doug Lee returns to the label under his AN-I moniker, this time collaborating with prolific Greek producer Unhuman on a new four track EP. This is what happens when you take all the right elements of techno, punk and industrial music and smash them together; a fucked up and devastating hybrid of blistering modern electronics. Heavy, but not stark by any means, Lee channels his inner Liasions with his vocal performace through the record. Most notably this is heard on the cut Entschuldigung, snotty laughs and scattered barks accent the stuttered drums and ms-20 feedback; Lee bringing it all together in a sarcastic funked up fashion. Five to Nine sees both producers complimenting each other expertly, clocking in with the most “dancefloor” cut on the ep…a twisted five minutes of screaming psychedelic dance that reaches an epic anti-climax of sorts. A true hit for those who know how to use it right, not to be missed.
Years of Denial joins Pinkman Broken Dreams and deliver an EP with four devilish and cataclysmic electronic body tracks. The duo’s sound combines influences of deranged experimental music with vocals surrounding themes of isolationism and dark romanticism. The outcome is stunning in its very own way, as the music creates a deeply immersive atmosphere, and is abundantly vigorous to keep dancers on their toes and moving from the night’s darkest corners to the dawn of day.
Five cuts of obsessive electro/ebm from the cold heart of Croatia that will make you sweat. Unchaste vocals on brash basslines and slicing snares are melted with acid sounds and thumping beats. These tracks tie together a journey beginning in the 80s Yugoslavia, among rituals and lies, leading to the relation with sexuality and eroticism within the collective consciousness of mankind. How do you deal with your purely physical desires?
Dischi Autunno welcome Harold Boué to the fold for another full-strength cosmic expedition. Best known as Abstraxion – and, since last year, Lion’s Drums – Harold is the man behind the Biologic label and is renowned for his sprawling, hypnotising productions. As a deep as he is decorated, Abstraxion lives up to his name and rips you from the plugs of reality without safely disconnecting. Take this EP; the lead track ‘Black Vulture’ hurls you into a space on a Black Strobe rocket that tears through black holes like us mere humanoids drink black coffee while the breakbeat-driven ‘Deleuze Fight’ flips us 360 in the anti-gravity flow sending us spiralling into an ocean of lasers. For a heavier intergalactic trip head for ‘Remember Bourdieu’ where more and more turbulence kicks in on every bar, creating a driving hypnotic intensity that you’ll never forget. Finally we crash back into reality with the fittingly nihilistic ‘Nietzsche’s Future’; spiralling, cascading arpeggios with more than a mild touch of prang; it’s a poignant end to yet another unique trip from Jennifer Cardini & Noura & Labbani’s Dischi Autunno imprint and Abstraxion himself. And that’s before we even touch on the killer remix missions en route… Black Merlin cranks up the noir to mind-melting technoid levels on ‘Black Vulture’ while Interstellar Funk smelts ‘Deleuze Fight’ down to a deep dark acid swamp.
Amsterdam based artist 5713 creates a sound that is inspired by sci-fi and can be described as a mixture of Techno, EBM, Electro, Wave or whatever lies between those movements and genres. Gewelddadige Realiteit EP, translating to Aggressive or Violent Reality, feels like an appropriate name for this collection of slow motion compositions of vigorously overdriven Industrial sounds. Whether its abrasive hats like on A1 Geen God, classic EBM on A2 Digitale Programma 7 or pitched basslines on A3 Ongezellig, all three tracks offer up cleverly distinct heavy hitters for your tweaked out dance floors. The B side with B1 Nodig and B2 Wakker a Mattie? are consistent in that they share broken kick patterns to offer a healthy dose of distorted swing. 5713’s style across the entire EP demonstrates his technical sleight of hand with such dense frequencies. This record shows how impactful and functional these elements can be when used with good measure.
The Prague-based duo Fractions return to Fleisch with a second serving of their signature body music. “Scars of Love” could easily be mistaken for the soundtrack to an apocalyptic rave, as foreboding melodies break into mournful euphoria to the pounding of an ever-present 4-to-the-floor kick. The inclusion of gated synth stabs and a vocal sample from “The Age Of Love” give a knowing nod to the classic 90s rave sound, while the snarl of industrial distortion places these tracks firmly in the present day’s EBM and techno maelstrom. The EP is rounded off with an ethereal re-structuring of “Millennials” by Fleisch co-pilot Zanias.
The X Initiative is the follow-up to Adam X’s ten volume series project “The Secret Initiative”. Now one year on since unveiling the secret, Adam continues the spirit of the original project with four previously unreleased songs recorded in the end of the aughts decade. New beat grooves awash with icy atmospheres that were well ahead of their time in their moment of creation.
Dutch powerhouses Parrish Smith and Interstellar Funk team up for their debut collaboration on L.I.E.S. with a new four track EP. Striking up the perfect balance of both their signature styles, this record hits the sweet spot between metallic synthwave, slow beat industrial, and clanging EBM hybrids. The duo effortlessly weave together a sonic narrative with nods to the past but unmistakable emphasis on their ever expanding foward thinking future sound.
Both Unhuman and Roberto Auser should be names that ring a bell… Unhuman crafted two tracks which pay tribute to old school EBM, perfect for the dance floor early in the morning, while Roberto Auser came up with two harsh pounding tracks with dark beats and industrial sounds and a true rave spirit.
Sturqen is a highly overlooked techno duo from Portugal. They have been releasing their own style of techno for 10 years. This new EP showcases their style of dark beats… from EBM orientated to pounding industrial to flirts with electro all of this in a very much dance floor minded style.
Unstable Signal is a new record label focused on quality Electronic music founded by Michalis Vassiliou in early 2018. The label’s vision is to support the underground music culture, through the pressing of records, as well as pushing for quality curations at the events/concerts of the label. The first release comes from Celldöd, the Stockholm based producer Anders Karlsson.
Phormix presents the 4th collection of works from various artists. Waves leds the Night elevates the exploration of the minimalist aesthetics in the soundscapes of non-trivial patterns and surfaces the artists creativity in-hand with the monastic possibilities elevate imagination.
LostSoundBytes throws us by force into the deep end of a poorly lubricated engine with this 5 tracks mini album. Hear the dirty mechanical rumble of an old abandoned tractor that LostSoundBytes has just hot wired and driven off with, leaving road kill on his way. Driving fast or slow, you may ask. Who cares ! For our beneluxian shaman puts the pedal to the metal destroying the speakers on the way with Rusty Tractor. A certain vision of combustion by our mechanic LostSoundBytes : saturated rhythms on beaten up drum machines dragging us between Brussels and Paris.
After a sabbatical period, Roberto Auser makes a comeback with his analogical machinery with the exquisite mini-album called “Chaos Never Dies” on Femur. In this record he explores a broad range of sounds from minimal-electro to acid with a touch of improvisation from his particular perspective based in roughness, rhythm and immediacy.
