2019 is coming to the end so it’s that time of the year when we look back and see what caught our attention the most. As the tradition is on our side, we look first at the preferences of our readers and this is a top 3 of the most appreciated albums, compilations, mixes and other stuff.
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.
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.
This is the second night of Interstellar Funk’s Video Club residency, this time an all nighter B2B with non other than Intergalactic Gary himself.
After a very successful premiere at Drugstore a superbond was made with the Italian-born selector Elena Colombi. For the first night of her residency, Elena Colombi kicks things off with a visage familier: Intestellar Funk. Since a very memorable back to back set at Amsterdam’s De School the pair has shared the decks again at Left Alone party in London and at Dekmantel Sao Paulo, leaving a mark with each and every set.
Artificial Dance has returned to the source for release number two. The 12” pays tribute to one of the most influential figures of Amsterdam’s original DIY electronic music scene, Hanjo Erkamp. During the first half of the 1980s, Erkamp had a hand in some of the most experimental and forward-thinking releases on the now legendary cassette label, Trumpett. Famously, he was a member of two of the label’s key bands – industrial outfit Doxa Sinistra and new wave combo Ende Shneafliet – but during the period he also recorded a swathe of solo tracks as C. Stein, most of which only saw the light of day decades later. ‘La Bombe Plastique’, a thrillingly spacey and futurist cut rich in proto-techno rhythms, intergalactic electronic motifs and drowsy choral vocals. For this timely reissue, the superb original version comes accompanied by a fresh re-edit created primarily for DJ use.
Having thrilled dusty-fingered crate diggers with a reissue of Denis Mpunga and Paul K’s impossible-to-find mid-’80s cassette album Criola – an unusual but rather fine combination of post-punk and traditional Congolese music – Music from Memory has decided to give some of the tracks the remix treatment. As you’d expect, there’s many more hits than misses. Dutch rising star Dazion delivers a wonderfully cosmic revision of “Intermezzo B” full of fluttering new age synth lines and drum machine polyrhythms, while Tolouse Low Trax turns “Veronika” into a woozy and dreamy chunk of dub-flecked, loved-up downtempo bliss. Late night dancefloor thrills are provided by Interstellar Funk’s intergalactic tribal techno take on “Intermezzo 2” and Prins Emmanuel’s tactile take on “KWEI!”, which sits somewhere between dub disco, boogie and proto-house.
The Hipodrome Of Music 