The 20th podcast from the Hipodrome Series makes a premiere, is actually the first female dj that has a podcast on our site. Roxxete aka Roxana Zangar is a young dj from Cluj, but she is making a name for herself for quite some years already. Her style is very melodic, strongly rhythmic, with great attention to detail. With a strong curiosity for the spiritual side of music, she believes in sharing her feelings, moods and beliefs through sound.
Ecstatic label catch Martin Jenkins (Pye Corner Audio) in Head Technician garb for a slippery set of slow, plasmic acid workouts that were originally issued on a super-limited tape, and now sit heavy on wax. Over the years Jenkins has used the Head Technician alter ego as a sort of evil engineer Hyde analogous to his day-to-day Jekyll, a sort of hyperstitious studio partner in a time-honoured tradition of sleeve credits ghost chasing. Where Pye Corner Audio’s pieces may tend to be lustrous, optimistic, the Head Technician’s Zones LP hems to the shadows of the ‘floor with a furtive, noirish quality that works a treat in the right situations, whether soundtracking gaslamp-lit raves or midnight street patrols seeking out ne’erdowells and laudanum dealers.
Fired on a classic trinity of Roland TR-606 drum machine with an MC-202 (a beast to program, he admits) and TB-303 to sequence his baselines, it clearly makes explicit reference to the early days of Detroit techno and UK bleep ’n bass, but the vibe is more anachronistic, out-of-time, possibly thanks to his patented, lagging basslines and slowly unfolding arrangements, bridging that imaginary, dilated gap between fuzzy dancefloor head melt and curtains-drawn next day gouch out.
3 Year Compilation LP. There’s something undeniably old-fashioned about this latest missive from hyped imprint Nous Disques. By gathering together seven unheard tracks on one slab of wax, they recall thoughts of classic compilations from early techno labels. Musically, it’s undeniably forward thinking, gathering together a range of dancefloor-friendly cuts from label artists old and new. Highlights are plentiful, from the flexible disco bass and new age chords of Mutual Attraction’s “Track 2”, to the stripped-back, drum machine thump of Moodcut’s “Sleep In 808”, via the cybernetic techno fizz of “Azoui” by Fetnat. Elsewhere, you’ll also find some fine Larry Heard style deep house revivalism from Breakin Moves, and a mid-tempo blast of colourful synthesizer love by Cofaxx.
Analogical Force is introducing Echo 106 to the family. The Swiss duo serves up more hard-wired fare for those who like their dance music intense and rugged. Opener “Frontal DN-2” sets the tone, layering ragged acid lines, psychedelic electronics and creepy chords atop a crispy TR-808 rhythm. There’s more 303 abuse to be found on the more electro flavoured “Shifting Multiverse” and “Myrtle Acid”, with the latter arguably being the pick of the bunch. Naturally, the most banging contribution to the EP comes from remixer Ceephax Acid Crew, who turns “Myrtle Acid” into a trippy stomper.
Seattle-based electro artist 214 (Two Fourteen) aka Chris Roman has made a welcome, if not inevitable debut on CPU, with 4 tracks of icy beats, bass and bleeps. He begins with the panicked electronics, bubbling synths and snappy rhythms of “Overbridge”, before diving deep into purist electro pastures on the funk-laden brilliance of “Fuel Cells”. Flip for the similarly funky 303 lines, intergalactic melodies and hissing electro beats of “Keep Right”, and the darker, spacier and punchier “Greenbelt”. If you’re on the hunt for some “proper electro”, look no further.
Lost spaceship Lok44 returns to its home planet, and it has been mightily upgraded with alien bass technology since dropping ‘Ghetto of the Mind’ and ‘Derailed’ on TRUST over 10 years ago. ‘Bous’ is a vigorous comeback, touching on lean and mean electro funk, broken house, and hypnotic outer-orbit bleeps across its four tracks. Lucky owners of ‘Bous’s two highly sought-after precursors will recognise common stylistic threads spanning the decades, but just as before, Lok44 prefers to veer off on tangents, sketchily exploring unknown bass music quadrants. Second release in the ‘Covert Systems’ series, limited quantity.
Wonderful, driving, Drexciya schooled Electro refreshment from CN aka Stian Gjevik on Sleepers.
Envisaging a trustworthy approach to sound, French DJ and producer Voiski has steadily built a name for himself in contemporary left-field dance music. He took a singular path in techno, oscillating between experimental projects and signature sound dance floor material. The Parisian brings his versatile skills together on the third installment of Dekmantel’s UFO series, serving up five completely different yet coherent sounding tracks. The beat lacking ambient synth jam ‘Go To A Mountain’ is a display of Voiski’s ear for mesmerizing soundscapes, while the pulsating, Nintendocore fuelled ‘Happy Piece’ and the dark, bass-heavy ‘Seriously No’ are two peak-time beasts. On the B-side, ‘Come Back’ gives you a glimpse of what the future of techno sounds like, whereas ‘Drama In the Futuristic Cabinet’ echoes Hi Tech Soul gone breakbeat.
Fresh out of the Midwest Keith Worthy (Detroit), Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being (Chicago) and Steven Tang (Chicago) bringing some of that notorious Midwest D.N.A. on this deep acid banger.
The forty -fourth release on Will Bankhead’s highly lauded The Trilogy Tapes comes from Born Free co-founder Samo DJ. Given the Swede’s eclectic approach, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Kicked Out of Everywhere is a pleasingly mixed-up affair. Opener “Bleeps” drags the fuzzy, sparse and bass-heavy sound of Early British techno kicking and screaming into the industrial techno age (admittedly via the broken beats of West London), while “LKF” is simultaneously dreamy, trippy and rhythmically intense. Some may hear the influence of early Belgian techno in the slippery throb of “Medellin”, while the weird, spaced-out “Downer” sounds like hazy jazz after several shoe boxes full of Ketamine.
Compilation featuring 11 exclusive tracks from the New York Haunted family. Banging and distorted techno and electro tracks from young producers like Foil, Kluentah, MEZE, Leonardo Martelli and many more. Blending EBM style industrial with modern experimentalism, compiled by Drvg Cvltvre.
Not so many things to say about this five all killer, no filler trax – except that this Antonio EP is the perfect business card for the Pescara guy in order to confirm himself as one of the most talented young-bloodied, rawness manufacturer around right now. From 130 bpm ghetto acid madness to a surf-house summer anthem such as “Untitled” and the electro standout track “Clara”. Fasten your seat-belts and enjoy this ride provided by UNintelligent Trax Outsourcing, Milan.
Immersed in the early days of the 90s midwest rave scene, Bill Converse began DJing at a young age in Lansing, Michigan. Luminaries such as Claude Young, Traxx, and Twonz were key early influences. Since moving to Texas in 1998, he has experimented with analog techniques in varied studio bunkers. Early techno, noise, ambient, tape, and paranormal processing are all part of his uncanny sound palette. “Warehouse Invocation” is Converse’s debut 12? release, collecting material from a cassette release on Obsolete Future plus a new unreleased song. Three of the tracks, “Warehouse Invocation”, “Senys Magick” and “Consulted Acid”, were recorded in Austin TX between 2012-2013 at home and direct to tape with no overdubs or multi-tracking. “Riverbank” was also recorded at home in early 2014 in one take with a mic placed outside of the window to record the the sounds of the river late at night. Bill is informed by his surroundings, influenced by scenes of desolation in nature, the sea, the desert, and places of industry, like power stations, old factories, and warehouses. The songs on this EP length reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, early Chicago house, and Acid.
Simoncino already released two great records on the Chiwax imprint as Ken Kojima. The ”Deep EP” is his first appearance on Rawax.
The Hipodrome Of Music 