Vernon Felicity is also known as Conforce and Boris Bunnik, the tireless Dutch producer who marries analog and digital sounds together into otherworldy sound tracks. Now he is back on M>O>S once more after a new Conforce album on Delsin, and again he impresses with his unique ear for detail and ability to craft intricate sonic worlds.
It’s some 15 years since Ashley Burchett first donned the Ø [Phase] moniker to lay down some surging London techno for Cosmic Records. A decade and a half on, he continues to impress with the moodiness and atmospheric intent of his hypnotic dancefloor concoctions. There’s much to enjoy on this second full-length – his debut album, Frames Of Reference, dropped in 2013 – from the intergalactic electronics and Drexciyan beats of “Remote”, and the looped marimba melodies and sludgy pulse of the title track, to the bleak, ghostly hypnotism of “Increment”, and hustling broken techno of “Nep-Tune”. This is proper techno for the dancefloor, with enough subtle variations and neat ideas to please all but the pickiest of listeners.
Dutch collaborative label ESHU Records is back with more inventive techno, this time from Tom Liem and Ben Buitendijk on their ‘Split 01 EP’. Opener ‘Equilibrium Two’ from Buitendijk is a perfectly streamlined and serene bit of spaced out, hypnotic techno. Gentle synth pulses roam about the airwaves, left and right, up and down, as ethereal pads glow behind. It’s heady dancing music, whilst Liem’s ‘Contact’ is also perfectly aimed at both head and heel. It is full of lick synth pulses that bubble and boil as watery droplets and ticking hits also colour the most subliminal groove. Closer ‘This Is All You Need’ is a more textured, frazzled cut with frosty lines and rickety pads working you into a trance. Rich drums and clever bass filtration add dynamics and tension and so like everything else here the end result is hugely captivating.
After a short break the London White, vinyl only, VA project returns. P.E.A.R.L ,Gareth Wild , Ben Gibson and Z.I.P.P.O. Tracks included have recently been tried and tested on dance floors in Berlin, London, Singapore and Australia with excellent crowd reaction all the way.
The Southern Italian now in Berlin comes some more fine selections for dark, late night warehouse parties on Alex.Do’s Dystopian imprint. Shady noisescapes and sublime melancholia.
Its been zehn years, ninety-two 12”; EPs, twenty albums, fourteen DJ mixes, seven Unterton releases, two compilations, one 7 single and one cassette. Within this time, Ostgut Ton has grown as a label not only in terms of catalogue numbers and musical variety, but also in terms of experience, professionality and as a musical haven for Berghains and Panorama Bars residents.
L.I.E.S. XMAS special number 4, coming with one track from Swere (AKA Florian Kupfer & NGLY) and two Marcos Cabral tracks.
Jose Rico launches the Le Disque Record Stores project: Ambiwa Records, a label dedicated to abstract House music. ”Declaration of Intent EP” is a collection of songs with a history, 4 pieces of his life talking about hypocrisy referred to poverty; the trivialisation of music as money source; the days in the studio with Ron Trent; and the night music-workers. Beyond any related stories, here you can find all the Jose Rico’s music standards: Impossible MPC percussion patterns, black keys, vocal textures, distorted kicks and tons of suspense and tension.
The return of the Windy City’s Ike Release to the tougher than solid Episodes label. Mr.Ike Velez makes his appearance heard quickly and loudly from the first bass drum of “Apollo3”, an all-out dancefloor winner with a distinctive US edge, sci-fi sonics and gorgeous hardware tweaks. “Guzzle” is more soulful and chord-heavy, while “Socialite” takes a dusty drum programme and chucks it over a deep house vibe, and title track “Watercolours” wins the beauty show thanks to its pounding beat and majestic waves of synths.
Wicked 3 part in the series… slightly dark EBM-tingled techno by Caltrop, Vault, Frak & Heinrich Dressel.
Nijmegen electro imprint Shipwrec shows us how its done yet again, with Roel Dijcks aka Ekman keeping the Dutch west coast spirit alive with 4 dramatic and haunting acid voodoo tracks certain to draw a new generation to the beauty of the dark side.. “Autapse” begins proceedings in haunting fashion; spooky church organs provide the backdrop for an epic, soaring acid lead while “Uncertainty Principle” is sub-aquatic, Drexciyan electro for freaks. On the flip is the title track; keeping on like before but with a four to the floor beat for added dancefloor dynamics. Finally “Antinomy” delves into deeper terrain; its razor sharp and morphing synth line leading you further into the darkness of the abyss.
DMX Krew makes his debut on the quality Last Known Trajectory. “RAM Expansion” is a heady electro tune with a sunken load of synths at its disposal, while ‘Experiment 5″ is classic DMX – mad modular-like patterns surrounded by menacing drums. You also got the weird and wonderful bleeps of “Quantum Computer” on the A-side, whereas the flip kicks off with a fiery techno punch in “Division By “Zero”, heads to more AFX territories via “Rubout”, and ends on high-tec electro stroll of “Bad Vibes”. This is no nonsense dance music at its finest.
Creme Organization label off shoot Jericho One serves the second release, this time from NOFACE. This is a moniker of Mella Dee. Here he offers three new pieces that show a passion for high energy, lo-fi tracks with inventive grooves. ‘Saturate’ is littered with old school signifiers but is essential a brutal, high power techno banger with immovable kick drums, slithering percussive patterns and fiery vocal ad libs that imbue the track with a sense of afro-futurism. ‘Polar’ is a similarly physical track with massive, monstrous kicks, reverberating synth lines and a barreling sense of groove that washes over you like a braking wave. Finally, ‘Warrior Charge’ is another physical and functional cut with robust drums, oversized hi hats and woodpecker like hook that demands you stomp and head bang from start to finish.
Bolstered by the unshakable body of work behind it, Brooklyn-born Berlin-based techno label Chronicle reaches its milestone tenth release with its gaze fixed dead ahead. Ten releases in, it pays to make a strong, defiant statement of intent, toasting to what the label has been about so far. More important though is to remind those tuned in to take heed, because the next step is always the most significant. Joining in on this behemoth project is; Aiken, Arnaud Le Texier, Ben Gibson, Hironori Takahashi, Imugem Orihasam, Echoplex, Mike Storm, Staffan Linzatti, & Zadig. The forward-thinking nature of the music in this collection sums up the ethos of Chronicle as a whole. Each artist has a distinct identity but they all strive to push techno into unexplored realms, placing the emphasis on atmosphere and psychological impact. In such an approach can the most affecting sounds be found, and there will surely be few listeners left unmarked by this record.
Ed Davenport aka Inland steps up on Boddika’s Nonplus; and delivers the goods as always. “Overpass” is a full frontal peak time weapon that reflects his experience playing in the worlds best techno club and brilliantly executed in all its nine minute glory. The title track is more suited for the pre peak time moments; a hypnotic slow burner but still retaining some intensity. Finally “Dromolaxia” is a sturdy and slowly evolving stomper with some real sinister dub chords lurking in the background.
New imprint Lama come charging out of the blocks with this single sided plate of gold. Atmospheric, and relentless, prepare to be submerged in moaning pads, shimmering hats and laser fire.
The Hipodrome Of Music 