The Dutch artist releases music at a rate of knots – there’s been at least nine albums under the Legowelt name alone now, and he has over 30 different aliases, all of which interact in weird, wonderful ways. His music has appeared on labels as Creme, Clone and Bunker bringing that original Dutch West Coast Flavour. Here Institute Of The Overmind, which was made live in a session filmed for FACT TV,gets the vinyl treatment backed with a monster 90s trance re-work from Photonz.
Those familiar with the Strange Life label operated by Danny Wolfers will know it’s rife with CDr material worthy of the vinyl format. Whilst our personal favourite (the bizarre Portopia by Wolfers alias Satomi Taniyama) remains looked over by labels, Berceuse Heroique were responsible for a quite sumptuous double LP edition of Smackos album The Age Of Candy Candy earlier this year. Now local Den Haag crew BAKK have got their hands on 2004 Strange Life album Dark Days for an equally classy triple LP edition. Wolfers fans not familiar with this album will immediately fall in love with Dark Days, thanks to the signature blend of goofy track titles (“Lego Resistance”, “An Obnoxious Affair On Tape”) and music that veers from soaring, synth vistas to grotty techno via cold, primitive electronics and more.
Simoncino is back with another full length album, Amazon Atlantis, on Creme Organization. His vintage sound is one full of real emotion, and that is the case with this new full length. Simoncio turns on his machines and makes music every day, just for pleasure. Every so often he feels the time is right to release a new collection of material, and that time is now. There is no objective or particular message behind the album, it was simply conjured up using the Akai S 900 and the Emu Emax I drum machines as well as a Roland JX8P, a Korg PolySix a Ensoniq ESQ1 and a Yamaha DX7. Made at different times over an extended period of time in his home studio in Perugia, Italy, the album features two collaborations. The first is with Legowelt, “who besides being one of my favourite artists is a close friend” and the other is with Vincent Floyd, “a true legend whose records ‘Cruising and ‘I Dream You’ have left their mark on my life.”
All the tracks on I See Light are culled from the Forgotten tape released on Go! Finger last year with two Chupacabras cuts backed by remixes from Legowelt and Willie Burns. Those two names are probably reason enough for many to investigate but don’t make the mistake of glossing over the wonderfully strange original version of ”I See Light” from Chupacabras, which pairs strange wind instrument with an insistent raw techno groove.
BAKK presents a new 12inch by Legowelt from the darkness of the Scheveningse Pier. Hypnotic swirling synths, moisty hi-hats and dirty kicks welcome you to the Laundromat Of Your Mind. An EP with both dark peak time techno and beautifully orchestrated symphonies. A four tracker bound to get your stuff clean or to leave the club filthy at the end of the night.
Smackos is one of Danny ‘Legowelt’ Wolfers lesser-known aliases. It was first used in 2004 for The Age of Candy Candy, a suitably eccentric experimental electronica full-length that was only ever released on CD in limited quantities. Here that album finally appears on vinyl thanks to the efforts of Berceuse Heroique, and it’s every bit as weird, wonderful and out-there as you’d expect, with Wolfers pursuing his passion for spacey, weightless electronics, far-out soundscapes, occasional skuzzy rhythms and dystopian synthesizer workouts. It’s previously been something of a hidden gem in his vast discography, and should be an essential purchase.
Foggy dreamy tracks by The Xamiga duo. Xosar and Legowelt re-boot their production partnership. Given both artists passion of intergalactic electronics, classic synthesizers and creaky old drum machines, it’s little surprise to find Bohemian Groove packed with spacey techno rhythms, glistening electronics and almost suffocating chords.
9300 Records returns with the first EP by Shin, a relatively unknown, Belgian producer duo. They gave birth to three solid tracks with low kicks and raw bass chords, synths that are highly 90’s trance influenced and some acid vibes on the B-Side. The cherry on top is a remix of ‘Mistress’ by none other than Legowelt.
Danny Wolfers aka Legowelt has spanned everything from frosty techno, sprawling boogie and melodic acid house to chugging electro without sacrificing bonafide quality or pandering to the fad du jour. In his newest effort, a debut EP for Fotomachine’s Technicolour imprint entitled Anaconda Flow, listeners are treated to that dynamism in its very finest form. Uplifting, dreamy synth sequences are incorporated alongside his instantly recognizable gritty floor-fillers for a four-piece package that will both delight the home listener and devastate the dance. His long-demonstrated devotion to hardware is utilized here to extraordinary effect: blips bubble to a murky surface, twinkles cascade from above and a kick drum pulses straight through everything it touches—all in all a darkly immersive little jewel.
Creme Organization turn to the mysterious IVVVO and Lisbon producer Lake Haze for a new single that comes backed with a remix from label regular Legowelt. The single ‘#1’ is a hard hitting but fuzzy, misty and hugely spacious house track with deep jacking drums, haunting synths spiralling all around and freaky voices buried deep within. Hugely atmospheric and lovably imperfect, it then gets remixed by Legowelt. His version of the track flips it on its head, strips back some of the white noise fuzz and reimagines it as a driving techno cut with impish chords, retro arps and high pressure stabs. It’s a peak time bomb and ensures that this release is a high impact one indeed.
Time to hit the vape and embark on the journey of your lifetime, or at least a most pleasant trip this week…or as long as your attention span can handle it. Rising Sun Systems – Oberheim Space, 11 tracks of ambient g-funk slow jams and psychedelic space muzak. Using special frequencies to alter your brain waves and make u a smarter and better human being. Written, produced and performed by Danny Wolfers on Roland Juno 106 KIWI, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Korg DW8000, Yamaha SY35, EMU EMAX II etc.etc.etc.
50 releases in under four years is no mean feat, so a round of applause to Unknown to the Unknown who surpass the landmark with a new record from Legowelt. The superbly named Immensity Of Cosmic Space arrives hot on the heels of Legowelt’s fine Vaporware Tracks record for Creme and sees the Dutchman exploring the realm of rave era breakbeat techno. Of course what makes Danny Wolfers work as Legowelt so distinctive his mastery of star gazing melodies and hearing them fused with recycled drum breaks on the title track and the Amen filled “Lumeria2” is a real delight.
“So what would the week be without one or two new Legowelt releases eh? But before you start your usual consumerist whining, consider this: this here selection was made by a team of experts after truly careful consideration and sonically enhanced with a plethora of experimental prototypes. It was chosen for its coherence, depth, otherwordly qualities and general PIZZAZZ. To call it a gripping, compelling, sweeping tour de force would be beyond lame right? You and me, we know better. But see how we weaseled it in here anyway with some advanced reverse psychology marketing techniques? It really is true, we know you better than you know yourselves. So if you make it a point to pick up, say, just one release per month off the top of the hipster pile, it better be this one. Just so you can tell your grandchildren you were there in the Satierian Moonrise, contemplating the Silent Sea while you vaporize the ounce of sherm you just copped from some Norwegian Crack Dealer that flew in with XYZ dig? See? that was easy.”
“Ok, so 15 years in this invigorating game is enough to get us all teary-eyed and melancholic and wandering ponderously on the meandering roads of reminiscence…..
Not! Here’s some FREE smack to celebrate this joyous occasion and onwards to the next 15 years. Part 1 so you know what that means! Get ready for the geriatric experience and special Creme ointments for your shingles. Now there’s something to look forward to.
The Hipodrome Of Music 