Another Various Artists special from the mighty Bokhari camp. Two fresh tracks from the Lord Lucan-esque disappearing Russian, Kirill Tipo. Creta Kano on the flip gives us a slice of electro that sounds like it could have been made in 1988, with a bassline that’ll be in your head for days. Joe Europe returns with another slice of deepness for those who like some musical content in their house.
Mathematics Recordings presents the second retrospective volume of their releases. Tracks by Andreas Gehm, Deviere, Ra Thout & The Brigante’s Orchestra and John Heckle.
Next up on Greek label Lower Parts is a fierce EP from the one and only DJ Stingray. The word cognition comes from the Latin verb cognosco (con ‘with’ and gnōscō ‘know’) (itself a cognate of the Greek verb γι(γ)νώσκω gi(g)nόsko, meaning ‘I know, perceive’ (noun: γνώσις gnόsis ‘knowledge’)) meaning ‘to conceptualize’ or ‘to recognize.
London’s DMK label provides a follow up to it’s debut release from Kuba Sojka with another strong release from Stojche who delivers another quality EP of underground house/techno tracks on the Square Chapter EP.
Slugbug offers up a four track ep for the Russian Torrent label. While the title track is a massive electro cut sure to scorch floors. The three remaining cuts explore more tense and moody territories that explore more industrial and downtrodden house vibes that wouldn’t be out of place at Medusa’s back in the day.
Lux Rec enters its fifth year of existence. A time of adventures in electronic sounds, exploring the margins and the darkest corners. To celebrate all victories and failures Cosmo & Faber compiled this release, the number 23, collecting material from old acquaintances and musicians that are new to the label. The Dying Lights is a collection of tracks that reflects the path Lux Rec followed these past years, acid, low-fi, analog rudimental techno, melodies of pain and sorrow. Six tracks on two vinyls, from light to dark, to accompany you, soothe and haunt you, to the only known end. Tracks tracks by Villa Abo, CCO, Juanpablo & Sneaker, Drvg Cvltvre, Echo 106 and Luciano Lamanna & Daniele Cosmo.
Part 2 of the Laffer EP Marco Bernardi on Barba is going head down, straight ahead and striving for energy. Attack of the Dessert Stormers is an overload of dark electro power, six minutes of squirming bassline-driven movement with surges of intensity from analogue bleeps and subtle drum pattern shifts. There’s no let up on the flip side where Two Sliders brings equal force but in a more techno style. Right from the start you’ll be grabbed by the bassline, but this one rewards extended listening as the track develops progressively with new melodies and metallic touches taking you deeper and deeper. There’s a moment of sweetness to end our journey with “There’s always tomorrow”, a chiming melodic ramble through tinfoil meadows that will fit beautifully into a warmup set.
Syncom Data’s powerful return with the hard jacking Warehousing EP, all drenched in that typical raw Syncom Data techno sewer sound with lots of emphasis on bass. Titletrack Warehousing is a constantly forward thrusting jacktechno track that builds to a warm string climax. A great combination of melancholy introvert feels and deep bounding bass. In Stowage Syncom Data take on a beatless electronic flight into distorted vinyl and synth territory. The whole b-side is for Ekstasis, a 13,5 minutes relentless acidsynth techno bomb for destroying some dancefloors. This live recorded track constantly evolves and builds and builds and builds.
Mathematics Recordings presents a two volumes retrospective of their releases. On this first volume we find tracks by IFM, Echo 106, Bon Voyage, Kuba Sojka, Joe Drive, Takeshi Kouzuki, John Heckle and Marcello Napoletano.
Danny Wolfers aka Legowelt has spanned everything from frosty techno, sprawling boogie and melodic acid house to chugging electro without sacrificing bonafide quality or pandering to the fad du jour. In his newest effort, a debut EP for Fotomachine’s Technicolour imprint entitled Anaconda Flow, listeners are treated to that dynamism in its very finest form. Uplifting, dreamy synth sequences are incorporated alongside his instantly recognizable gritty floor-fillers for a four-piece package that will both delight the home listener and devastate the dance. His long-demonstrated devotion to hardware is utilized here to extraordinary effect: blips bubble to a murky surface, twinkles cascade from above and a kick drum pulses straight through everything it touches—all in all a darkly immersive little jewel.
Insolate aka Miss Sunshine on Deeply Rooted. The EP goes through different moods and feelings: Epic is a straight up techno journey, Werk is a great rythm track that keeps building all the way through, Parch is a dark and heavy uncompromising track, the record ends with Tuga a deeper and more mysterious jam.
Re-issue of A Thunder Orchestra’s ‘Shall I Do It?’, a haunting yet beautiful slice of hypnotic proto techno from the vaults of the rich eighties Belgian new beat / synth wave / EBM noir scene, originally recorded in 1985 and released on a handful of cassette tapes only. Re-discovered by Walhalla records and included on their ‘Underground Wave Volume 4’ compilation in 2014, and now re-mastered and available on 12” format for the first time ever. Next to the original version we have two different reconstructed versions, one that starts with the intro just like the original and a special beat version for even more convenient dj use. Things started to move when label boss Paul du Lac heard this gem being played by Germany’s finest, Mick Wills, in one of his trademark epic dj-sets, and fell in love at the spot, with the pounding drums and the eerie kid’s voice haunting him for days. How beautiful darkness can be! It turned out Mick didn’t play the original, but, like so often, his own re-edited version: slightly pitched, extended and re-constructed in an utterly brilliant way, making this an ultimate dj-weapon for the darkest hours of the night. Eventually, intrueged as the label was with the song and being a big fan of mr. Will’s dj-ing and editing craftsmanship, one thing led to the other and Bio Rhythm is now proud to officially present A Thunder Orchestra’s ‘Shall I Do It?’ in the full glory it deserves.
Ghostminers 2 is the follow up EP to Wilsons debut album, Ghostminers. It’s an acid techno four-tracker which continues to dwell on “all those who have worked and lived underground.”
The Dutch Pinkman label is back with a new EP from Xosar, who debuts on the label and covers release number 10, with two new cuts of mystic techno. World Of Illusion goes first and marries reverb rich claps and cacophonous hi hats with a tough bassline. Spritelyand nimble and with thumping kicks down below, various bleeps, serene string sounds and glassy melodies colourthe groove and make for engaging listening. On the flip, Phasers of Eden is a kinetic fusion of ticking percussion,molten synths and withering chords that works you into an ethereal and otherworldly trance. Still with some allimportant drum funk powering things along down below, this is another idiosyncratic winner from Xosar.
”The Antimatter EP appears in the form of four tunes that go into acid, techno, and house through syncopated drum rhythms and playful synth work. This EP continues on the space theme, as the cosmos guides the tunes from concept into some deep floor bangers that vary in tempo and feel, like antimatter which is one of the hardest things to produce.”
The Hipodrome Of Music 