Index Marcel Fengler continues with its second installment, introducing an expertly produced EP from respected long-running artist Echoplex. Since 2000 Echoplex, the Polish born Peter Sliwinski, has released truly pioneering, atmospheric and soulful techno, appearing on his own Soleil label, or Synewave amongst many others. This triumphant return to the limelight comes in the form of three stand out tracks.
Appearances from Charlton Ravenberg are few and far between, with just seven releases since 2006 including a few shared spots alongside the likes of Regis and Djorvin Clain. This turn for ever-growing Argentinean techno imprint Krill Music showcases a sturdy approach to the techno blueprint, keeping things dynamic and fluid while making sure it smacks where it ought to. “Beyond Misery” is something of a smoke screen with its housey groove and minimal bleep demeanor, but “The Aggression Scale” soon puts paid to this with abrasive acidic swirls of atonal melody and a mean-tempered rhythmic thud. “Know Yourself” takes things deeper with some intricate percussive detail in a cyclical arrangement, while “If They Don’t Realize” lets the drum machines fit and start around a dubbier kind of techno throwdown.
Yan Cook has started a close collaboration with Silent Steps 2 years ago since he released his first full lenght album.
For this new EP, Yan made new synthesis and sampling experimentations and went even further in his own music development. Mixing raw fat kicks and basslines with exciting rythmics and mind blowing synth loops, every track is unique and brings its own energy but a similar color of sound hook up the whole package. Yan’s EP features a quality remix from the well known and highly respected artist, Mike Parker, which is the perfect reflection of his very own hypnotic and linear Techno, obviously recognizable.
Jorge Velez returns to L.I.E.S. with his first effort since 2012’s Hassan LP. Through this six track LP we see the ultra versatile Velez weave seamlessly through numerous strains of electronics. From menacing drones to EBM influenced floor tracks to Sakamoto-esque melodic experiments, he creates an atmosphere equally suitable for home listening or adventurous club play. All of this very much reminding us of the days when Mute, Factory, Cherry Red, or Fetish Records were at their best.
Raw, analogue-drenched album by Syncom Data. Ranging from deep and dubby to detroit-inspired electro and industrial-influenced bass music.
Dial regular Efdemin returns with a third album of a respected career, with the autumnal theme of Decay inspired by the German producer’s three-month artist residency in Kyoto, Japan. Sollmann immersed himself in the local culture while in Kyoto, attending ceremonies with monks at temples and visiting local instrument makers. This results in a ten track set that canvasses the sort of poignant, introverted house music that’s characterized much of Phillip Sollmann’s work as Efdemin to date. There are however a few stylistic surprises along the way – the stripped back, jacking “Transducer” or the fusion of jazzy licks and noisy bursts of percussion that makes up the title track – but overall you’d be hard pushed to think of a better label to house Decay than Dial.
Two deep tripping techno tracks. DVS1 revitalize his own imprint HUSH with his second release focused only on his own tracks and his love for deep and purist techno.
Ron Maney aka DJ Skull lived in the Southside of Chicago. His musical career started during the summer of 1986, DJing first at basement parties, building his reputation to go on to larger events such as loft and hotel parties, and eventually the infamous Music Box and Power Plant clubs. At the age of fifteen Ron shopped his first demo at Trax Records. There he first met Chicago’s legendary DJ Ron Hardy, working as A&R for Trax Records. Two years, and a new alias later (DJ Skull) later while at the Power Plant, Chicago’s own Steve Poindexter heard a DJ playing one of Rons tracks, and met Ron. Steve was now A&R at Saber Records and invited Ron to release some tracks. So in October of 1991 DJ Skull’s first record ”N.R.G. Music” was released. In 1993, he released the EP ”The Stomping Grounds” on Djax-Up-Beats, which was more noted than the first one. Over the years that followed DJ Skull released lots of EP’s on several labels. He has become well-respected producer and DJ in the Techno industry.
Kel, aka Elias Landberg of Skudge, with 3 analogue techno cuts for the 6th release on 7777. Sci-fi acid from the future or the past?
Three years after his last full-length album on Delsin, tireless techno producer Mike Dehnert is back with another one. The 104th release on Delsin, entitled Lichtbedingt, counts 12 tracks and is yet another subtle evolution away from the chord driven, functional sound he has championed before now. The album starts off with a suitably sombre intro that features cold, slowly shifting synths. They set an uneasy and moody tone before ‘Construction’ settles into a fat, swaggering. From there you get lost in broken, ruptured, malfunctioning bits of hardware that spit out random hi hats, bleeps and gurgles and then eventually get spat out the other side into a cantering bit of dubwise techno with paranoid vocal snippets. Moving along, the album throws plenty of diverse influences into the mix: ‘Movement’ is freaky and dynamic, skipping and pumping, ducking and diving through all sorts of occult synth sounds and shadowy vocal loops then ‘Single Action’ is like a sledge hammer groove run through with harmonic elements that glint and glisten like diamonds in the rough. Classic sounding Dehnert tracks like ‘ReRe’ remind us where this producer has come from, whilst the breezy house swagger of ‘Emlo’ show us where he might be headed. Key to this album and Dehnert’s output as a whole is, besides the killer grooves, the production: crisp and clean, full blooded and always outstanding, it makes his tracks leap out of the speakers and into minds, bodies and souls without relying on the usual tropes or same old cheap tricks.
Four tracks of gritty club ammo straight outta the East side torrents… from bleep era warehouse vibes to sweaty dub to all out jak madness.
Second solo album from accomplished Berlin based producer Tobias Freund. Continuing his exploration into ‘non-standard’ electronic music, and expanding on the rich sound palette charted in his first LP, ‘Leaning Over Backwards’, this new chapter presents 10 versatile tracks taking us ever further into the purist, evolving sonic world of Tobias. ‘A Series of Shocks is Tobias’ is an impressive return to longtime home Ostgut Ton. Beginning with the beatless melodic pulse of the Steve Reich-influenced “Entire”, Freund works his way through a range of clandestine techno compositions, touching on claustrophobic acid and intense late night thump (“Testcard”, “Ya Po”), scratchy Chicago jack (“Instant”), deeper moods (“The Scheme of Things”) and, most thrillingly, early ’90s influenced intelligent techno. It’s in these moments – “If” and tactile ambient breaks of “Cursor Item Only” – that A Series of Shocks really flies.
Just a year after starting and the irrepressible R-Zone series is up to release number 9. Again this time there is no real word on who is behind the music, but again it is fierce, searing techno for darkened dancefloors. The barrelling, stomping ‘Down You Go’ opens this EP with blocky metal beats, spares synth lines which bleed in and out of focus and plenty of rattling percussion. ‘Give Me More’ goes a little slower and deeper, with rubbery kick drums forming the base of the track as molten and melted acid gurgles percolate up through the mix. On the flipside, ‘Too Much TV’ is a more elastic groove that undulates up and down with short little acid stabs buried deep within as the bass drops in and out. Supple and propulsive, it’s arresting stuff that gets completed with final track ‘VHC Beats’. Whichever producers are behind the R-Zone series always manages to come up with the goods, so if you like fizzing, textured techno that pulls no punches, this remains the series for you.
This new EP from D’Marc Cantu, Long Weekend, features three new tracks of fully formed house and techno with more than a touch of acid along the way. The title track opens the EP with a lively house jam that has proud kick drums, plenty of muffled and deeply buried chords and a busy bassline that darts about like a kangaroo on hot rocks. It’s propulsive and emotive as it surges along, taking you with it every step of the way. Next up, ‘1Lb Of Flesh’ is a much more jagged and serrated track, mainly because of the manic acid squiggle that runs right through the heart of the slapping snares and icy cold hi hats. Full throttle and as ever delightfully frayed and analogue sounding, it’s a real face melter. Last but by no means least, ‘Acid Test’ is the quickest of the lot, coming over like a slick, powerful fusion of electro and techno that whips and snaps as Dance Mania style snares flap about above a grilling bassline and acid wiggles in and out. It’s a busy, fulsome track but never feels cluttered and rounds out another exceptional EP from both MOS and main man D’Marc Cantu.
Hardmoon London is a new independent platform solely focused to release music by the analog militants who are struggling against the loudness war of digital industry and want to spread the love of that warm, distorted sound exclusively through vinyl or special tapes. The first release comes by way of courtesy from the mysterious Hissman who captures, with his name, the vey essense of the tape’s sound: Hissssss… that’s the sound you hear when a tape starts rolling.
