The saga of squelch continues. After the first round proved that the acid line might be the most durable cliché in dance music (and still the best one), part two turns the resonance knob a little further. Steve Bug & Stefan Braatz, Deetron, Todd Osborn, and Mathew Jonson with The Mole join forces for another ode to the silver box – less museum piece, more perpetual motion machine. Proof that you can’t retire a sound that never had a desk job.
The second chapter on Studiomaster unveils five tracks that showcase the multifaceted dancefloor approach of Marco Passarani. Always aimed at movement yet rich in contrast, the journey begins with the raw, untamed energy of Night Walker, flowing into the intimate, nocturnal vision of The Empty Temple. The twisted, decadent pulse of Rotten Disco echoes with a nostalgic haze, leading seamlessly into the gritty, unsteady groove of Dirty Hands and Cheater’s Smile.
The second outing of Johannes Volk for Running Back picks up, where Extra Dimensions left us: traditional techno components, an inclination for melodies, 80s electro(nic) pop and aesthesia for ecstasy.
New edition of a classic Running Back record. Molded into extended house and disco versions by Gerd Janson. Originally released in 2006 as the the fourth outing of the label and the second (and his last one to date) of the elusive artist, it is still as remarkable as on its first release. Carefully rescued from the original DAT tapes, all re-edited by Gerd Janson and remastered by Lopazz, it’s available again in a clear and present portraiture of its original intent.
The musical cosmos is set to bestow upon us a celestial gem that shall set dancefloors ablaze and hearts aflutter. It is none other than the enigmatic Marco Passarani aka David Woods of Tiger & Woods, the sonic alchemist who has been tantalizing our senses with his kaleidoscopic grooves. Imagine a voyage through a wormhole that transcends time and space, landing you smack dab in the midst of a euphoric dancefloor utopia. This upcoming opus, yet to be bestowed upon the masses, promises to be a magnum opus of cosmic proportions. David Woods has summoned their sonic forces to curate a soundscape that defies convention, much like a comet hurtling through the night sky, leaving trails of sonic stardust in its wake.
Redshape’s visits to Running Back are a welcome recurrence and a soothing reminder that techno and house can still come in several shapes and sizes. Related and referring to earlier acid studies on Release Me and to a certain extend on Rise, the masked man continues to find new approaches to the 303 canon with Acid Leak.
Running Back regular Redshape returns with Release Me. Four tracks and four deeper shades of Techno (or House?). It’s not a secret that the music of the man with the red mask is heavily influenced, inspired and informed by the blueprints and the symbolic language from the twin cities Detroit and Chicago.
‘Star’ is Perel’s Running Back debut. Picturing Perel’s development as a recording artist on the one hand and the hardships everyone had to experience since the world has been changed by a pandemic on the other, making it – in her word words – „an EP about crossing the „physical distance between the people I miss and love“. Opening with the riveting vocals of Star („This song is literally a love song for my people“), the three pieces also show Perel’s growing versatility as a producer. The tried and tested neon disco lights interchange with darker tones, uplifting and affirmative moments (Tour De Perel) rotate with contemplative and pondering intervals (Internal Monologue). Yet, by no means Perel is whistling a sad tune. Her melodies are as always deep, distinguishable and delightful to dance to.
AKSK is the collaborative effort of Adda Kaleh and Suzanne Kraft. Recorded over the course of almost seven years and despite local separation or virtual realities, it sums up the magic that already inhered in their debut song „Breaking“ for Gerd Janson’s „Musik for Autobahns“ compilation on Rush Hour. An eight track LP of crystalline chansons and pastels pop that features the skills of The Coober Pedy University Band aka CPUB (Tornado Wallace and William Paxton) on dub duties to complete the magical musical mysteries of AKSK.
Producer veteran Thee J Johanz from the Netherlands, a master of technology, deepness and a pinch of humor, debuts on Running Back with a 4 tracker that pays homage to the innovators of electro disco: Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley. “Kickin ‘In” is actually a Patrick Cowley cover, the proceeds of which go to the San Francisco Aids Foundation.
4-Storie varied EP with classic Redshape tropes. From slow motion techno poems to clever DJ tools.
Welcome to the deeper end of the Hugh Mane spectrum. Mane’s third outing on Running Back captures his love for the spirit of early Detroit techno, IDM’s ambient aspects, the philosophy of the acid house experience and a natural production flow. Emotions electric. Vintage voodoo with modern spells.
A Sagittariun’s third album chronicles the journey back to Telepathic Heights; an expedition that encounters many obstacles along the way. The feuding parties of the two planets make for a journey of determination and self-discovery for our techno lone ranger that will ultimately deliver him to the sacred site on which Telepathic Heights stands. Conceived as a space western soundtrack to the cinematic interpretation of this tale, Return To Telepathic Heights delivers ten chapters that journal the ultimate mission to reach the imposing tower of Telepathic Heights, where dream telepathy has become the primary communicative tool amongst its peaceful and harmonious community who have opted out of the planetary war that continues to rage, seemingly with no armistice anytime soon. The score fittingly winds its way through the trials and tribulations of this journey, blending minimal and harmonic rhythms, industrial funk, dreamy synthwave and transcendental techno into the rich tapestry of music that documents the ‘Return To Telepathic Heights’. The album features original artwork by Johnny Bruck, fully licensed, and taken from the legendary German science fiction novel series, ‘Perry Rhodan’, which ran weekly from the early 1960s, and was the most successful sci-fi book series ever written.
What once started as an anonymous underground project with stamped white labels and a clever take on sampling, has since then unfolded to be one of the longest-running and most successful teams in current dance music. Nurtured by the sounds of the past and blessed with the techniques of today, the music of Tiger & Woods always kept evolving in and around the tropes of disco, house and boogie. Celebrating the 10th anniversary this year, Marco Passarani and Valerio Delphi managed to arrive at album number three. A.O.D. (adult oriented dance) is inspired by the faded buildings and images of discotheques on the Italian countryside, the romantic start and bittersweet endings of summer, beach life and the excitement of travelling through the landscape to get to aforementioned temples of dance and subsequently the morning after. Except for the 100% sample-free 1:00 am, everything on A.O.D. is based on a quiver of cleared samples from the Roman institution that is Claudio Donato and his Full Time and Goodymusic emporium. In Tiger & Woods hometown Rome, the often very electronic and futuristic sound of Italo Disco had a different twist. Much more boogie-based and influenced by the song-writing styles of New York City’s dance scene, it played in a league of its own. Tiger & Woods use these materials to take them apart, out of context and into contrasting areas. Molding something completely new, one gets fooled to recognize Sade songs that aren’t, pop music instrumentals and a reprise of memories that never existed. A ride through ones brain in a convertible with an Italian FM radio station playing in the background. Or to use less stiff poetry: a chill out album you can dance to or a dance album you can chill out to.
Numero due in the Super Sound Singles series on Running Back continues on the re-issue/update tip of inexpensive records. Big in the charts in 1985, the Italian queen of “romantic dance” made her second single “Get Closer” a clairvoyant poem about… errr… life and love: “when the world is running down – get closer”! Think stonewashed jeans, endless summers on Italian beaches, boats coming back to the shore. Remixed by fellow country men Tiger & Woods, “Get Closer” gets sandblasted into our modern times and the necessary treatment to be the peak- and night time hug fest, it’s always supposed to be. Add a run out tool by DJ Oyster and a gentle DJ-friendly edit by Gerd Janson of the original to the billboard.
Younger Rebinds is a new project and imaginary band by the inimitable and unstoppable Benny Rodrigues. Maybe best-known for his Rod moniker and releases on Klockworks, Rodrigues embodies and keeps the candour, spirit and curiosity that made techno music stand out in its start-up years – and that’s exactly what we have here. The “Retro 7 Ep” makes the most of the classic 707 drum machine, gnarly synths, ambient soundscapes, pianos and organs. Done in a way that is as much new wave, as it is electronic disco. Spread out over a double-pack with eight tracks (8!, get it), the Younger Rebinds hit the sweet spot between vintage DJ Hell aesthetics, Sterac Electronics and Trevor Jackson’s Metal Dance dogma, if its choir would be muted. Loud pressing and hypnotic artwork included. Please don’t look at it for more than 5 minutes.
Third time is a charm. The Analogue Acid Project by Todd Osborn and Tadd Mullinix resulted in two records in 2005 and 2006 that excelled at the fabrication of gritty acid jak tracks ow, Todd N Tadd alias TNT aka the dynamite duo finally returns. Their third outing and first one on Running Back, is a detonative reunion of old and new friends. With two previously unreleased beat tracks on one side plus carefully tailored reissues of Hotness (from the blue record) and Beat This House (from the red record), you get a box of dynamite sticks in various sizes for different situations. More than ten years later and still as explosive.
New release by Phillip Lauer on Running Back imprint. Post-house-proto-disco-trance rockets fuelled by new wave and sound transmissions from middle-wave Caucasus.
Shan on Running Back with his monolithic ‘Chord Memories”. An evocation of what dubbed out house and techno tracks usually do, but to a rather unusual and – if we dare say – devastating effect. The flip holds three short and direct cuts with leanings to the A-Side and one acid track.
New Cosmin TRG making his debut on Running Back. White label techno feel on this release with three stong slowly building cuts that slowly move further away from the old TRG titles.
The Hipodrome Of Music 