Johannes Volk @ Polytone Labelnight, Silbergold (Frankfurt) 04.10.2014
techno
VA – Aphelion [TOKEN48LP]
If you are looking for a massive slab of techno, you won’t find anything released this week that’s as hefty as Aphelion. A triple vinyl box set from Belgian label Token, Aphelion is essentially a primer for the best in contemporary techno, featuring contributions from Surgeon, Rodhad, James Ruskin, Karenn and Planetary Assault System alongside some label regulars. You will have probably already heard “Fixed Action Pattern” from Surgeon, it’s possibly one of this year’s finest techno 12″s, but it’s got some stiff competition here with Ruskin in particularly funked up form on “No Trace”.
D. Carbone – Untitled EP [BSR010]
VA – Gravitational Push [TEAL009]
Sonic contributions come from two TEAL newcomers A Sagittariun and Matti Turunen, as well as the return of Jared Wilson to the label with a fresh cut of his own. The opening drum break swirls into synth-line and syncopation europhoria on Gravitational Push. The droning bassline cuts a groove in the space-time continuum that’s so deep, it could put some discussions in Geneva to shame. The playful arpeggios of Spice Flow mask the underlying moody pads, resulting in an unusually honest piece of dance music. Flipping the disc reveals a two-track contribution by Matti Turunen. Menacing kicks and synth chirrups begin Substellar Object as a dark chest-rattling piece. However, its sonic frequency emission spectrum eventually widens into a lush composition. When we arrive at the Apoapsis of our sonic orbit, we are met with a stuttering of rhythms and bleeps. An emotional line melody confidently marks the end of our journey.
Mick Wills @ Nation Night, Concrete (Paris) 03.10.2014
MRSK – Absomnia [SKUDGEX01]
Skudge Records presents an involved and masterful album of deep acid from Sweden’s Martin Skogehall aka MRSK.
Jean Nipon – Nice Seeing You EP [CCB12016]
DJ, producer, all-round music connoisseur and entertainer, Jean Nipon, drops a dope new EP on ClekClekBoom after his first effort for the label released in late 2012. Four touching tracks from someone who likes his house deep, remote and brittle.
Steve Murphy / DJ Octopus – Together EP [HM003]
Back for one more night with Hardmoon London. Fresh new, gritty, mind-altering tracks by way of Steve Murphy and the eight armed, cephalopod mollusc, DJ Octopus. The Duo are bringing their ecstatic energy for an exciting break in the the label. Definitely count on some serious hardware action to create the finest dance-floor melters. Encapsulating only the cream of the contemporary electronic sounds with the beautiful renditions of classic house just laced with fat sweltering bass and heavily distorted seizure inducing melodies.
Unknown Artist – Wargames #121 [WAR00121 ]
Wargames is back, this time on 12” format for maximum impact. Four new tracks coming in from the dark lord of the weird, do not weep for those who are not prepared.
Rhythmath – Rhythmath #001 [RTMT001]
Julia Pé – Una Vuelta Al Sol En Madrid Pt1
Ulwhednar – 1520 [NE013]
Abdulla Rashim and Varg’s collaborative project are back for another quest in sonic experiments and northern tales. Even if they do release obscure drone from time to time Northern Electronics continues to up hold its reputation as record label worthy of the tag: ‘buy on sight’. That can definitely be said about Varg and Abdullah Rashim’s second full length as Ulwhednar. For some dirty Rashim loops look to “De 92 Vita Stenarna” while for some Nordic drone splashed with Varg’s trademark space echoes check out “Kattarens Dom”, and if you want to experience what the crash landing of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise sounds like there’s “Askan Fran Balet”.
Mike Servito @ No Way Back, Movement (Detroit) 25.05.2014
Iron Blu – Science Probe Vessel [FLR011]
Iron Blu is a UK producer and broadcaster on the mighty Intergalactic FM. His production career has spanned krautrock/cosmic, post-punk, electrofunk to what he does today. Stepping aside from managing and A&R for Flight Recorder, Iron Blu releases his second offering for the label. “Science Probe Vessel” is 12 inches of jackbeat and Detroit techno. A1 is a dub-tinged organ driven 909 jack. A2 is a bass-heavy 909 jack cut through with glacial strings. B1 is heavy Detroit techno. B2 is a deep groovin’ house workout fused with wobbly seesawing strings.
Life’s Track – Velocity [COSMOS002]
Italian duo Life’s Track with raw, analogue house sounds that is physical as well as emotive. The first track here is ‘Stone’, a hurried house jam with raw and splintered hi hats racing over broken sounding drums as urgent synth stabs fill in the spaces left behind. It’s live sounding and loose, ghetto in texture and truly arresting in nature. The b-side starts with ‘Velocity’, another over-driven bit of house with non-stop claps chattering over slower, purposeful kick drums deep down below. Nagging synths slowly shape shift and draw you attention away from the physical percussion, making for a nice duality to the track. Lastly, ‘Invisible Symphony’ is a stripped back techno banger with heavy kicks, a great little hook at its heart and turbo charged synths slicing through it like lasers.
Moodcut – Tame Cats EP [US005]
With prudent timing comes yet another artful release from Greece’s Nous contingent, this time courtesy of Manchester’s Moodcut who muses succinctly on the invisible overlap of Chicago and Detroit’s aural heritages. The Tame Cats EP delves deep into the industrial overtures of each with the melancholy sparseness of sound that characterizes the brutally beautiful aspects of man-machine-music.
Rødhåd @ Boiler Room (Berlin) 07.10.2014
2562 – The New Today [DOUBT003]
Dave Huismans (A Made Up Sound) returns under his 2562 codename with the oneiric ambient/concrète dancefloor states of ‘The New Today’, his 4th solo album in this guise. Where its predecessor, ‘Air Jordan’, also for his When In Doubt label, took inspiration from the arid landscapes of the Middle East, ‘The New Today’ draws upon ideas sketched out whilst 2562 was in New York, late summer 2013, and was later finished at his home studio in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Rather than disco samples, as with his last LP ‘Fever’, he sources from and splices together an enviable library of European synth experiments, new age tapes, avant-garde, post punk, pop and long forgotten aces, offering an entirely different palette of textures and tones. Ambient is a keyword here, taking inspiration from the feeling of drift of utopian/dystopian novels, as much as the sublimation of electro-acoustic processes. Between the humid concrète drone sphere of ‘Arrival’ and the sweeping celestial space of closer ‘New Life’, there’s a keen sense of momentum through dreamy time and space, taking in the airborne melodies and syncopation of ‘Vibedoctor’ and ‘Utopia’ along with killer Afro-centric gyrations in ‘Terraforming’. Inarguably, it’s the the most diffuse yet cohesive and involving album in his celebrated cache.
Distant Echoes – Fury Road EP [DYSTOPIAN009]
Sean Dixon – Believe EP [FINALCHAPTER004]
Swedish producer Sean Dixon once again contributes with his characteristic sound. Classic analogue synths and drum machines used in his very own way, with the result being three killer melodic and warm tracks, all with short vocal parts on top. Fellow swede Sankt Göran wraps things up with an excellent floor friendly remix of the title track Believe.
