A new collaborative release by labels Transmigration and Sound Migration, featuring a reissue of Italian sonic polymath J.P Energy. ‘Prima Dell’ Alba / Forbidden Planet’ are two sophisticated and sinister percussive tracks from 1997 that sit at the boundaries of Techno & Trance, indicative of the fruitfulness of creativity in underground dance music from Italy during this time. The release is completed with with a modern revision of Forbidden Planet by J.P Energy himself.
GǼG is the production duo of Japan’s Keita Sano and Monkey Timers. Their unique, rabble rousing, sound is showcased here – assembled with the building blocks of disco but launched on a completely mind-warping course into territory anew. This 12 inch is heavy-duty weaponry with a sole purpose to rip at the very fabric that makes up the reality of dance floors – discotheque destruction guaranteed.
This one-off Belgian New Beat project from The Zodiacs at first glance seems like standard fare from this time and place in dance music history – even with call to action, commanding listeners to ‘Move & Dance To The New Beat!’ that could well have earned a place at one of the slogans of the entire movement in an alternative universe where this record was a hit. However, a hit it was not – what we have here is an obscure piece of music shrouded in mystery, previously released only on 7 inch, and its enigmatic nature only adds to eerie quality of the children’s voices throughout the record. This, alongside its higher tempo not usually associated with New Beat as a musical form, come together to bring forth a bizarre oddity of the genre that also has the potency of a modern, peak time weapon. Anatolian Weapons on remix duties takes the material and reduces the speed but increases the malevolence and is a testament to his skills as one of the great producers working today
We start presenting our favorite tracks from 2024. More or less in a chronological order we present here the first 10 tracks.
Playful Italo-Disco project by Florentine Marzio Benelli, originally released in 1984. “Life Is Now” delivers a number of what seem to be almost very important life-teachings over a rather sloppy beat. The hi hats, although very present also make it clear “Spanish Crash” is in no rush to get anywhere any time soon, sounding almost off beat. What strikes the listener even more than the smudges of highly valuable advice in some form of English language is the creative usage of what might have been some of the latest studio recording toys to reach Italy in 1984, an array of rather unorthodox synthy effects, vocoders, trippy delays all topped off with imposing guitar riffs for good measure. Very much sounding like what could be the soundtrack to a bootleg Disney comic strip on acid. Castro’s “Paella Crash” shifts the original lazy gear into a dubbier, high BPM, striped down version of the original that is more club oriented.
The kind of track that makes you want to know what kind of morning routine Apiento has on a weekday, “The Orange Place” is simply an underground dancefloor classic of the 2010’s that makes you realise something very special was going on with Paul Byrne’s Astrological charts at the time. Pure Sleazy Belgian Indiana Jones vibes, impossible to forget and very timeless. Now with full cover artwork and additional dubbed out afro cosmic remix by Castro.
Originally released on one of Bruton’s extensive library albums but later used as the theme song to a UK drama series dealing with the intrigues of a family motor business and the world of rally driving from the 80s, “The Winning Streak” is another production by the now late library music maestro Alan Hawkshaw. A downtempo track with remarkably trippy use of percussion elements via electronics and drum machines with entertaining accents and “exotic” vocals. Another wonderful example of library music tickling the fancy of diggers and collectors with a dancefloor inclinations thanks to its highly distinct sound — everybody loves a winner.
Finally the mystery is solved. After seeing air time by jocks like Harvey and Orpheu the Wizard and causing an absolute frenzy amongst diggers world-wide going into a hopeless hunt for what was thought to be a rare unearthed Cantonese version of “Spacer Woman” from back in the day. Only to find out that it was actually a newly produced cover version by Romain FX. Here it is, finally, after tumultuous negotiations with the original rights owners, Hong Kong raised Romain FX’s skilful efforts to give the absolute classic Italo-disco bomb a new facelift “Spacer Woman”, but now in Cantonese. Subtle but effective, he presents a new rendition with Cantonese lyrics by Cheung Yuen Tung along with a very respectful “Acid Trip Version”.
Sound Metaphors’ archeological excavations into the cult Interactive Test label continues with a 4 track EP originally released by the label’s Don, Franco Falsini, in 1991. Generously brought back to the bins, 3 decades later and still highly applicable to any tasteful dancefloor, a timeless expression of early italo-house.
Highly wanted amongst collectors for its unique sound, this Italian psychedelic percussion heavy disco single was originally only released on 7 inch format sometime in the late 70s on the Idea label. Quite experimental for its time, it stands out not only for the reckless use of percussion but also the use of early synthesiser sounds in very rhythmic conscientious manners, some moments almost sounding as if a pioneering example of Acid House years before its time. While it seems like all possible percussion instrument sounds are chaotically employed into the drum salad that unfolds, the clavinet and vibraphone offer a contrasting dreamy nuance via a simple and slowly moving melody. Besides the original Parte 02a version this release comes with a new remix “Drum Implosion (Parte 10a) further propelling the chaos commenced in the original release with the aid of flangers and delays, already striking the fancy of DJs like Marcell Dettmann. Severely remastered at Manmade mastering, now featured in 12” format with full cover artwork.
The second release to come out of Sound Metaphors’ collaboration with the Italian electronic music Don, Gianpiero Pacetti aka J.P. Energy. “I Have A Pessimistic Outlook Of Life EP” showcases a considerably more mature and polished sound relative to the previous release as the artist moves into the end of the 90’s. Here things get more serious and even more “industrial” with a darker and perhaps more cynical tone, not unlike the title of the EP. A 3 track record, very much oriented towards the dance floor. The EP was fisrt released in 1999 by the Italian label Spectrum (Civiltà Del Suono).
It might sound like an overlooked European dance record from 1985, but “Surrender” is a catchy Pop oriented production with strong influences from Italodisco and HiNRG, written and produced entirely from scratch by Benny Howell (aka DJ Subaru) and his friend Bella Quirin. Innocent and charming lyrics over 120’s BPM drum machine and a simple melody that you’ll be humming in the back of your mind for days to come. The remix on the B-side by Castro takes a darker turn into what almost sounds like a Techno version with heavy dubbed out effects taking the “Surrender” theme through an unhinged Ketamine flanger vortex.
With a mysteriously unknown release date, “Photochrome” could have been originally put out somewhere between the late 70’s to early 80’s on the Italian Idea label, which although only boasting a minuscule catalogue of mainly 7”s has gotten the attention of many collectors of European disco obscurities for releases such as “Flavio – Drum Explosion” and “Aleo’s Band – EOE”. “Photochrome” features a very organic sound with hints of early electronics that might have been making their way into studios at the time. A fast passed driving bass line layered with what almost sounds like an early 303 bass line and spacey/cosmic vocals. Dry drum recordings give it a naive DIY feel which coupled with the experimental tricks on the vocals results in a very unique sound that has put this release on the radars of diggers world-wide. Now available once again at an affordable price with a new two part bonus beats remix that starts off as a more DJ friendly tool but soon embarks into a questionable full-fledged acid house excursion.
A much needed release essential to any respectable New Beat record collection. The second and last single for the Zsa Zsa Laboum project, originally released in 1989, shortly after the prolific impact of ”Something Scary”, although a different formula, ”Tu Veux Ou Tu Veux Pas?” is deep in tune with the Belgian Acid aesthetic, but with a more industrial edge to it. Simplistic but effective use of vocals, streamlined to the basics of maximum club efficiency, dark and not trying to make friends – De Smet is here to sell records, and with much success at the time with his honed production experience from years in the studio. Own a very relevant piece of club history from a special time in rave culture. Topped off with a new remix by Anatolian Weapons.
“Something Scary” is probably one of the most representative examples of Belgian New Beat as the genre shifted to Hard Beat, by one of the key figures in the explosion of the early Belgian rave scene Rembert De Smet. Starting with the first few seconds of the track, the listener is presented with what could arguably be one of the most unforgettable New Beat acid bass lines to attack the human ear. Very much in your face, characteristic of a genre that emerges from studio experimentation during a time when Chicago Acid was establishing itself and already contaminating the UK. Although relatively simple in terms of production, the way De Smert employs all the elements at play is ingeniously effective, from the simple vocal sample placement to the bassline, propelling it timelessly throughout decades to follow as an iconic example of the Acid sound in Europe. Re-released with two new remixes by the masterful Anatolian Weapons.
Two powerfully effective club tracks by one of Berlin’s most talented Juan Ramos. A clear cut exposé of his vastly amassed knowledge in dancefloor experience throughout over a decade of dedication to the craft of steering some of the most significant contemporary underground dancefloors. Can’t really go wrong here, mandatory for any club focused record bag, with an entourage of 125 BPM percussion sample based mayhem on the A side and a slower industrial 115BPM chugger that grows into a tripped out narrative of playfully galloping transient elements.
Another well kept secret from the Italian cult electronic music imprint – Interactive Test. A 4 track EP with a wide range of flavours in “house” music, very much dependent on the different samples employed. A side starts off with a deep house track echoing similar atmospheric qualities as to some of the dancefloor oriented productions making their way into US underground scene around that time, specifically Chicago and Detroit. The Percapella Mix makes the dedication to the Canadian Disco legend Gino Soccio very clear with a lengthy sample of “There’s a Woman”, a track which uses early electronics in a pioneering way, with what could possibly be one of the first examples of an Acid Bass line. On the B-side, things slow down a notch with more clear cut explorations in Acid house featuring layers of synths and percussive samples and occasional placement of vocal samples from countries far away from Italy, all made possible thanks to the new exciting technologies that had recently been made available to producers at the time.
An interesting insight into some of the diverse dancefloor oriented sounds going on in Canada during the 80s sitting somewhere between electro, italo disco and proto house. A-side starts off on a slow paced 80 bpm pop/rock italo-disco crossover track featuring lyrics in english with an unidentifiable accent, very much reminiscent of Italian local neighbourhood private press ventures featuring someone’s sister on the vocal. 3 versions later, on the B side, things step up a notch coming in at 130 bpm with “Heat In Africa’s” drum machine propelled rhythmic mayhem pulling out all the latest studio bells and whistles of the time. Big electric guitar solo build up on the “Dance Mix” and additional Bonus Beats mix by Castro.
Anatolian Weapons is back with part two of his remix/studio work for Sound Metaphors, this time a 2 track EP featuring downtempo chuggers high in dubbed out acidity. The A side feels like a perfectly put together composition that grows with a playful industrial beat paving the way for trancey melodies to develop in unison with acid nuances. B-side goes into more percussive directions still with heavy acidity well presented in full Anatolian Weapons effect – a solid investment yielding high returns on any music focused dancefloor.
The Hipodrome Of Music 