Absolute Unity is the new Dance Music project from Ryan Grieve, a cofounder of Hole In The Sky Records. Ryan has produced as one half of bands Canyons, Fred Cherry and Heart People, among others, with releases on labels DFA Records, Modular Recordings, Universal Music, Warner Music, Hole in the Sky & I’m A Cliche. Returning from the haze of major record label obscurity and confusion, Absolute Unity is a return to roots with a focus on simple, raw sounds aimed for DJs to play to dance floors.
2020 marks the tenth of collaboration for Red Axes, the Tel Aviv-based duo of Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi. Informed by post-punk, new wave, and a plethora of club sounds old and new, they have cleaved a singular path with their hefty discography. To celebrate their anniversary, they reunite with Dark Entries for an eponymous 11 track LP brimming with jagged guitars, spacy arpeggios, and hypnotic vocals. ‘Red Axes’ is their first effort written and conceived of as an album-length listening experience. This work flows effortlessly through a variety of stylistic detours, highlighting their ears as both keen listeners and skilled DJs. Opener ‘They Game’ is a grooving number that unifies the psychedelia of cosmic disco with the early 90s ‘baggy’ sound. The energy mounts further with “Shelera”, a guitar-driven acidic banger, and “Sticks and Stones”, a certifiable club hit fueled by sassy vocals courtesy of Adi Bronicki. Launching Side B is “Break the Limit”, an EBM-laced number that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Razormaid compilation. The following tracks wax moodier, with “Brotherhood (Of the Misunderstanding)” touching on darkwave territory. “Udibaby” and “Arpman” close out the album with their respectively dense and sparse takes on kosmische lysergia.
Elena Colombi’s Osàre! Editions presents its third vinyl release: Blood in the Grass, an EP of electro tinged new wave from Hamburg-based producer Johannes Haas, aka L.F.T. (Love, Fist, Tears), the title of which takes inspiration from a 1966 tapestry work by the late Swedish-Norwegian textile artist Hannah Ryggen (1894-1970). Prompted by Colombi and Haas meeting on the dancefloor of Golden Pudel, the eight tracks run the gamut of darkwave and punk sounds, with Haas utilising Korg MS20 and Roland SH101 synthesisers to meld mutant acid with slamming synth lines, ear-worm melodies and opaque lyrics that are left open to interpretation. The new wave aesthetic he draws inspiration from is most evident on tracks Die Geldsmachine, No Covenent and the glistening Chloe-Rose, and with its howling guitar riffs and driving energy geared for late nights, Manon is a rough and ready punk anthem and a tribute to Haas’ “gang” of favourite people in Hamburg.
”AngstLust is a project of Kris Baha and Niklas Wandt merging their influences of early electronics into one hell of a sonic ride.”
Los Angeles-based Inhalt assemble a strikingly unique selection of eight producers across generations styles and musical backgrounds to remix and simulate Inhalt’s 2018 Commerce EP. On a backdrop of EBM, techno, electro, industrial and more these new remixes vigorously intensify Inhalt’s examination of neo-liberal capitalism and identity. Through this process a new alluring narrative of the tensions of 2020 is born.
Meet the pop brainchild of Delroy Edwards, Earth to Mickey. The mercurial Los Angeles producer known for experimental, urgent and soulful synth sounds has returned with a new project, more polished than ever and featuring vocals from Mickey van Seenus in her debut on LA Club Resource. Most of Edwards work carries an anthemic nature and this project is no different, the opener ”Brace and Bit” particularly stands out in this regard.
Interstellar Funk & Robert Valera roll out a wealth of EBM, darkwave and acid leaning electronics in a new instalment for Olf van Elden’s (Interstellar Funk) label Artificial Dance. Devil’s Juice is a split twelve and the result of two analog recording sessions that took place in New York and Amsterdam in 2019. Van Elden and Valera met each other through mutual friends, sharing a love for deep and twisted bassline explorations, visceral melodies and analog machine funk. Robert Valera is a seasoned live performer but this will be his first release. Devil’s Juice is a testament of Van Elden’s and Varela’s fascination for analog instruments and how they are able to communicate in spontaneous and unpredictable ways.
The Hipodrome Of Music 