With a long overdue, we finally managed to find the time to compile this list, so with no further comments here is the best electronic music created by Romanian artists in 2021, according to our opinion.
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In 2015 we stumbled across an EP by a low-profile Romanian producer, which retrospectively was a pivotal event for the development of the label. This record was Serb’s ‘Transient Recs 1’, released via Listen2me from Bucharest. We were deeply touched by the harsh and progressive sound of the tunes, which at the same time were so musical.
After a remix for Fehlzuendung and his LP ‘A12 Proceedings’ in 2018, things are coming full circle in 2021 as Șerb returns to Night Defined Recordings with ‘Transient Recs 2’, a collection of tracks produced between 2015 and 2018.
2020 was a tough year for almost everyone and definitely a year to forget for our scene. Events and gigs canceled, venues closed, artists lacking a way to earn a decent living and club culture facing a threat like never before. Without the interaction on the dancefloor all this seems pointless, but we have to stay resilient and hope for the better.
Looking at the local scene in Romania, during these times of hardship with movement restriction and curfew for almost the entire part of the year, with people fears and anxiety, there was almost to nothing happening in terms of events. But, the Romanian artists proved to be fairly active in the studio. We have here a summary of releases from Romanian artists that caught our attention in 2020 and a sneakpeek in what’s to come in the first part of 2021.
Launch of a new series of Various Artists 12inches to be released on Night Defined Recordings, which will serve as a platform for the existing NDR label family as well as for new faces. NDVAX01 gathers four tracks by Șerb, SW., Roger 23 and Eduardo De La Calle, which find common ground when it comes to depth and space as well as to walk away from established song structures in favor of establishing a forward-thinking type of club music.
After a good 2017 in electronic music, the trend continued in 2018 with more electro, broken beat, new beat, industrial and EBM, with new artists jumping on this train, so I’m curious where this will go in 2019.
On the local scene, in Romania, things are evolving in a slightly slower pace, but still in a good direction.
With just a few days from the current year left, I’ve compiled a list of 20 albums from 2018 that I enjoyed this year. Among these I have to highlight the much anticipated Mutant Beat Dance debut album, the first ever album from Gerard Hanson under the E.R.P. project, a new Gerald Donald project and a compilation of unreleased Heinrich Mueller remixes, a Silent Servant follow-up on Hospital Productions, a very interesting Fred Ventura compilation of unreleased house tracks, a new Lebanon Hanover, the beautiful debut album of Curses, the impressive Eindkrak album and the debut album of the Romanian producer Șerb.
The list is compiled in chronological order.
Night Defined Recordings presents its first full-length album so far: Șerb’s „A12 Proceedings“. A record made in sparse moments while living between the crooked walls of an old apartment building in Bucharest.
2017 proved to be a good year for the electronic music world, from my point of view. With the revival of the old school electro, with acid, industrial and afrobeat still hot and EBM growing stronger, 2017 was a very interesting year music-wise.
Regarding the Romanian producers, things are also moving in a good direction. There are no new faces to the game, but the ones already there are leaving their mark and their music heard more and more.
Cosmin TRG’s Fizic is proud to present its first 2017 release, from an exciting new name. Șerb is born and raised in Craiova, Romania, where he spent his youth playing guitar in Nihilistic, a local punk band. In 2014 he released his debut 12 on Transient Recs. His sophomore record is a prime example of his unique, cerebral take on dance music. “Qui Vive” is a somber, syncopated elegy of rugged elegance, with fizzy drums and percution filtering in and out over the fragile melody. “Feet Locked” is analog honey poured into your post-rave ear. After-glow synths follow an expertly modulated bass. Finally, “Persistent Prick” echoes the esotheric explorations of Actress, with added twisted funk. Șerb’s impressive talent and exuberance flow through his music, expect more from our new signing in the very near future.
In the last years more and more Romanian artists are making their voice heard across the electronic music palette.
Romania is well known for the minimal/micro-house/Romanian-techno and tech-house music, but now we have artist that experiment and dive into other sounds, the kind of sounds we love at the Hipodrome of Music.
mgch comes through with a dexterous debut 12” for listen2me. This 4-track EP explores lush pulses and shadowy rhythms, balancing both introspection and evocation. Label mate and long time collaborator Serb flips the title track on its head, delivering an ever evolving and explosive remix.
Șerb steps up and delivers four heady, scrunched up house excursions. Moody pads and electrified fx stretch and bang over squelching drums and a booming low end. An eclectic EP spanning thick and thin, crunching club music.
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