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.
techno
VA – Ostgut Ton: Zehn [OSTGUTLP020]
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.
VA – LACR013 [LACR013]
Swere / Marcos Cabral – LIES-XMAS-04 [LIESXMAS004]
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 – Declaration Of Intent EP [AMBIWA001]
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.
Ike Release – Watercolors EP [EPISODES007]
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.
VA – In The Dark Again 3 [DARK003]
Wicked 3 part in the series… slightly dark EBM-tingled techno by Caltrop, Vault, Frak & Heinrich Dressel.
Ekman – Synaptic Feedback Loops [SHIP031]
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 – RAM Expansion [TRAJECTORY1016]
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.
NOFACE – Warrior Charge [J102]
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.
RA.489 Basic Soul Unit
VA – Consider This A Warning [EVENT010]
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.
Inland – Wayfinder [NONPLUS032]
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.
Masha – Ghost [LAMA#01]
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.
RA.490 Florian Kupfer
Amir Alexander – Sonic Subversion EP [PBR043]
Amir Alexander returns to New York’s Plan B Recordings with three dusty house trax. “Channeling” kicks things off with a sullen, funky bassline and intricate swings of percussion backed by distant piano keys, whereas “Deep Banger”, as the title suggests, is more of a straight-up house jerker, and “Nocturnal” fuzzes things out with its growling bassline and eerie background atmospherics.
Legowelt live @ Dimensions Festival 2015
Jamal Moss - 4 This Is My Gherkin Life Vol. 3 [GHERKINCD003]
While Larry Heard only ever produced two 12″ singles under the Gherkin Jerks alias, the ragged acid tracks featured in those EPs have been hugely influential. Certainly, they made a lasting impression on Jamal Moss, who earlier this year decided to record a bunch of tracks inspired by Heard’s infamous blend of rugged drum machine rhythms, twisted acid lines, and heart-aching deep house touches. 4 This Is My Gherkin Life Volume 3 continues where installments one and two left off, delivering eight more killer machine jams which temper Moss’s usual balls-out approach to Chicagoan acid with a few melancholic, melodious touches. The result is another impressive set of analogue box jams, from the bass-heavy bounce of the intoxicating “Track 8”, to the spacey electronics and Detroit drums of “Track 5”.
Phrased – Star Maker [LBP004]
Neither L.B. Produce or mysterious production outfit Phrased give much away, aside from a few hints at their love of old music-making hardware. That trait comes to the fore on this third Phrased 12″. Musically, it’s pleasingly varied, moving from the fluctuating acid lines, Detroit electro swing and sci-fi electronics of “Star Making”, to the hypnotic, becalmed, ambient dub flex of closer “Morello”. Along the way, they also find time to squeeze in a dash of ultra-deep IDM (the blissful “Diatom”), and an impressive excursion into classic, dubby deep house territory (“What’s Good For You”).
Chicago Skyway – Empty Patterns [EMP016]
‘Empty Patterns” is a collection of tracks named after empty, programmable user patterns founds in most modern sequencers, synthesizers, and drum machines. All tracks are DJ tools and is geared towards DJs and dance floors. Lots of Chicago jacking house style drum patterns and bass synth stabs, with added reverb and distortion for grit and color.
