Second EP from Vereker picks up right where the last one left off starting with the track Fear Eats the Soul which somehow reminds us of Nitzer Ebb meets techno meets your face in a meat grinder. Chock full of paranoia, deceit, and all things bad that happen that you wish never would, the remainder of the ep continues on in a bleak and unforgiving manner painting
a grim picture of the decaying present and lost future. Heavy music for the dark hours.
Originally from the UK, now San Francisco based artist Oliver Vereker makes an amazingly strong vinyl debut with three crushingly tense and off-kilter techno tracks. All three tracks contained within are designed to rip the listener apart like a sickened animal on the loose.
Better late than never: Special X-mas edition from the L.I.E.S. camp, Delroy Edwards comes in hitting hard with this 2 track piece of vinyl
Finally we are at the last part of the 2012 review. In the first part of our review, the preferences of our followers are shown, according to the number of click and stars. Top 3 albums of the years, top 3 EPs, compilations and mixes loved by our followers can be seen here.
In the second part, I presented some of my favorite events and performances from last year. For more details go here.
After three fruitful years of existence and daily careful surveillance of the electronic music scene, I’ve decided, for the first time, to draw a line and make a review of the year that is just closing.
I will make the review in two parts, the first is dedicated to our followers and their choices from this years. So, I will make a list with the most successful post on my blog, the releases that gathered the most likes and clicks in 2012 for our visitors. The second part of the review, will include my own picks and I will present some of my favorite albums of different genders. Also I will make a review of the best parties and acts I’ve attended this year.
After two years of existence, New York’s L.I.E.S. Records has transformed itself from a bedroom label into one of the more interesting and diverse labels in the world of modern underground electronic music. Disc one, of this double cd compiles and documents some of the labels early moments showcasing out of print tracks by Legowelt, Terekke, Steve Moore, Two Dogs in a House, and Bookworms to name a few, showcasing the broad yet cohesive spectrum of styles the label has worked within. The second disc is comprised of almost all new and unreleased material from the labels current pool of talent, with tracks by the likes of newcomer Delroy Edwards, Mutant Beat Dance’s Beau Wanzer, cult figure Terekke, early label contributor Marcos Cabral and more. Through and through this compilation captures where the label has been and where it is going in the future.
Three track vinyl sampler EP from the upcoming L.I.E.S. “American Noise” 2xcd compilation. This sampler expands upon three completely styles reflective of the diverse L.I.E.S. catalog to date. Torn Hawk pulverizing the entire a-side with his most unclassifiable material to date, Marcos Cabral returning to the label with a sinister 110 BPM techno track, and Delroy Edwards doing a blown-out Barney’s workout.
Two Dogs in a House, aka Steve Summers & Ron Morelli, took to a secluded studio in Stockholm Sweden during spring 2012 to record while on the road. Here we have the result of uninhibited access to machines with no time constraints and no distractions from the outside world. This freedom allowed the duo to expand upon their ideas of deconstructing conventional song structure and harnessing the power of what immediately surrounded them in the moment. Two full side tracks that will absolutely crush and/or isolate anyone who crosses through the sonic pathway of them. Perfect sounds for the apocalyptic world we live in.
Delroy Edwards steps up with his debut release for L.I.E.S. Musically Edwards takes his influences from that Barney’s Ghetto sound with oversaturated 909 shuffling highs, DX bells, 101 filters and ends up making fresh, and yes, melodic ghetto style tracks that somehow get stuck in your head even without vocals. A unique take on a modern classic with the dancefloor in mind.
New Trackman Lafonte & Bon Qui Qui aka Legowelt & Xosar. Raw analogue house music. When computer programmer and music enthusiast Lowrell “Trackman” LaFonte was relocated to a small suburb North of Santa Barbra California a chance encounter brought him to meet Bonquiqui Pardue. As he scoured his local break to find someone with a resin patch kit to fix a fresh ding in his favorite tri-fin fishtail, Bonquiqui, dental hygienist, and also an avid surfer just so happened to have a kit handy and a union was born. From this moment on Lafonte & Bonquiqui were inseparable, often hitting the clubs and immersing themselves in Latin Freestyle and obscure local house productions from the smog filled Valley. As it would have it, eventually the two moved in together and began working on their own music, using strictly Casio drum machines and keyboards. Inadvertently, Lafonte & Bonquiqui pioneered a sound now known by the masses as “Surfer House.” These three tracks stand as a testament to a time in California music history that can never be recreated, no matter how hard the posuers at the local break try.
Two mega dancefloor tracks made by Doug Lee (Stallions, TBD) and L.I.E.S. label boss Ron Morelli. Real Bad News reminds us of the Cajual/Relief records days with heavy drums and a massive breakdown that is sure to totally confuse or drive people insane. The B-side’s More Bad News is a massive morphing track that sounds like a dying animal trying to escape a garbage can. It’s like German shuffle track through the eyes of two drunk and delusional Americans.
While everyone was sleeping Mutant Beat Dance (the production duo of Chicago’s Traxx and Beau Wanzer) were in the studio cooking up something nasty. If you know these guys then you know they are out to push music into a different realm every time they work. On this 12″ we get two very different songs, the lead cut being driven by 727s, JX-3P bass, and some sampled horns which make this a driving and funky excursion bring you back to another time and place. Sketch III clocks in at around 110 bpms and drives on and on and on, plodding through the depths of your mind while conflicting voices (mis)guide you through your trip. Strictly for the freakz.
Shimmering VHS haze from NYC’s Torn Hawk aka Luke Wyatt. The world of Torn Hawk lies somewhere in-between slo-mo cosmic balearic sunrise/sunset music, kraut experimentations. All around though, Wyatt’s music feels like getting busted watching scrambled static ridden cable porno in your aunt’s wood paneled basement while smoking a pack of stolen Newports. Four amazing tracks on this limited debut release.
Long Island Electrical Systems presents two very sick house jams from a mystery ‘super group’ of Brooklyn based producers.
Italian producer Nick Anthony Simoncino continues his prolific production run with a new four track EP, staying on course producing classic house music. True to form, tropically tinged, melodic, deep house music that will sound perfect in the upcoming summer months.
Very much unclassifiable house not/ techno/ not disco debut coming from recent NYC transplant, Bookworms. Blown out sample chops, synched up drum machines with those Barney’s claps and outboard synths play throughout making these two jams more than interesting excursions into an intimate place that we just can’t place our finger on still.
The Hipodrome Of Music 