“This mix has turned out pretty Dutch sounding and is exactly where my head is at at the moment. I could have put up a tracklist together for it, however some are unreleased tracks of mine, some are future Creme/R-zone shit and others I have no idea what they are as they are either demos or up and coming white labels….plus shazam needs the business”. Marco Bernardi.
17 years after first releasing a cassette EP from label boss Marsel van der Wielen under his Peel Seamus guise, Delsin has now hit the landmark category number of 100. Truth is, taking into account choice re-issues and specials such as the recent house series, there have already been scores more than 100 releases. Nevertheless, in that time the Dutch label has become synonymous with a wide range of timeless sounds from house to techno to dub to electronica, nurturing and championing some of the most respected names in the scene, all of which can now be enjoyed on 5 separate, various artist vinyl EPs or one impressive two disc compilation. Far from just a collection of tracks, the 100DSR compilation has been carefully curated to tell the tale of Delsin. Each record conveys a slightly different part of the story – be it house, techno, beats or electro – yet every one is tied together by the label’s own underlying sense of desolate melancholy. Across the five EPs and complete CD collection there are tracks from newbies and old favourites alike, including Sawlin and Delta Funktionen, John Beltran and Bleak, Redshape and Convextion, Gerry Read and Claro Intelecto.
Non Series has become one of the strongest and well respected labels if we speak about serious techno. For its 10th birthday the label comes up with the debut album by Chevel and delivers again more than only a handfull of tracks.
Arriving back in the spring of 2010, the first edition of Halal Prepared from London label Boe Recordings featured Iron Curtis, KiNK and Ladzinski and has remained a 12″ the more considered selectors at Juno HQ keep in their record boxes. Primed by Boe as the onset of a new V/A series, it’s taken the label three years to decide on what artists to feature on this second volume, with a great online mix series of the same name available for those craving some Halal flavoured house. Smallville graduate Arnaldo calls shotgun here with the playfully named A side hogger “A Shop That Sells Everything But At Twice The Price” filled with the sort of texturally deepness that made his Blank Slate record from earlier this year such a popular 12″. Label boss Ben Boe deems the time right to surface with his first original production and “Low Rider” fits snugly in with the refined house aesthetic the under-rated Boe Recordings has developed over the course of it’s five years of releases. French producer Anaxander rounds out Vol 2. In fine style with the deep and dubby “Dance Et Cetera” showcasing his percussive chops.
Order / Decay is the first release of Falling Ethics, the Berlin based label managed by P.E.A.R.L.
The on-going celebration of Delsin reaching 100 releases continues here with the 4th in the series of 100DSR releases. Featuring key label friends Redshape, D5 and Area Forty_One, it’s another compelling package. First up is the famous masked one with a track specially made to celebrate the centenary. Fittingly it is entitled ‘100 (Classic Mix)’ and finds him in a doleful mood, layering sad synth motifs of a hubbub of nicely crushed drums and scurrying percussion. Sad but optimistic, uplifting but heavy-hearted, it’s a quintessential Redshape track that manages to be industrial and romantic at exactly the same time. Next up is D5, who has basically only ever released on Delsin since emerging in 2001. It’s be a few years since his last EP, but this new track makes the wait worth while: ‘Stem Cell’ is a light-footed, harmonically enriched bit of house that has large opens spaces glowing golden white as paddy kicks keep busy below. A blissful but purposeful track, the final offering comes from sometime Ann Aimee producer Area Forty_One, who offers the dynamic and juddering bit of deep techno that is ‘Supervoid’.
Granulart Recordings presents the second release, coming from one of the irish finest Dub & Detroit techno producers The Parallel. Strong EP with three tracks, a great mix of top dub techno with just the right amount of classic Detroit sound.
Following that excellent Bicep collaboration, Simian Mobile Disco join forces with Cosmin TRG for the latest release on their Delicacies label. On paper the two parties make logical collaborators thanks to their love of minimal textures and subtle melody, and in execution the results are a resounding success; “Surstromming” sees those rubbery acidic basslines SMD are famous for take a pulsating approach, throbbing its way through subtle dub chords and a robust 4/4 rhythm. “Sannakji” meanwhile is a considerably trippier affair, combining a taut arpeggio with well placed moments of ecstatic chord release. Two tracks sure to cause maximum warehouse devastation!
Expansive new material from Swedish polymath Jean-Louis Huhta’s Dungeon Acid project. Rather than setting the controls to bludgeon, JL reveals a dynamic nuance on this three-tracker. “Move”, its purpose self-evident, begins with swinging african guitar, hand drums and an organ solo before acid and modular textures seep in. “Duped” is similarly elusive – on the surface, the track consists of a bobbing acid line and muffled vocal sample, but a closer listen reveals suitcase synth textures coloring the track’s murky corners. “Astro” is noiser and more cosmic, but maintains the introspective bent. “Move”, out on Detroit’s FIT Sound, is tough and functional dance music. The acid form is stretched to contain a wealth of influence, both musical and personal.
Its been a landmark year for Joey Anderson with a succession of superb 12″ releases and V/A appearances for labels such as Latency, Anunnaki Cartel, Syncrophone, Avenue 66 and his own Inimeg recordings all demonstrating the New Jersey-based producer’s reputation is well deserved. What better way to sign off 2013 than with a taste of what’s to come from Anderson next year, as he graces Dekmantel with this excellent 3 track 12″ ahead of a debut album for the Dutch label planned for some time in 2014. Deep beneath the frazzled, pixelated synth of lead track “Repulsive” there’s a haunting quality that informs so much of Anderson’s work, yet it still feels immediate enough to be the track that many selectors will gravitate towards. “Sky’s Blessing” acts as an introspective wedge between the classic B-Side in the making that is the hypnotically charged “Heaven’s Archer”
LAAK return on Austere with four cuts, only available on vinyl as usual. LAAK are on point with the opening track Unbalanced, an intensely gritty track. There is also a remix of an archive LAAK track by DJ Spider who completely dismantles the original to create a dark menacing remix. The B side kicks off with Mental & Emotional which continues the theme along with the more laid back track, the Rituals.
Creme Organization celebrates their 10k barrier of soundcloud followers with a free pack of tunes by Marquis Hawkes, Jorge Velez, Trackman Lafonte & Bonquiqui, Innershades, Yør, Orgue Electronique and Delta Funktionen. Free free free, so go grab this early Christmas present!
Juan Mendez goes solo for the third release on the Jealous God label. Classy Techno trip w/ dubbed out vintage synth feel.
Neville Watson ends 2013 with a club-focussed 12” and the second in the DBA Special Editions series. Since remixing DBA003, and thereby providing one of the most requested tracks in the label’s history, it has only been a matter of time before the legendary UK producer joined the DBA camp for a full 12” release. In keeping with the remit of the Special Editions sub-label, all three tracks are …
Given his stated role as curator at the head of the ‘non-stop’ LIES, it makes perfect sense that Ron Morelli would look elsewhere to issue his debut album. Gravitating towards the Hospital Productions label run by Dominick ‘Vatican Shadow’ Fernow makes equal sense given their shared appreciation of noise, ambient and industrial music. Apparently the first of three planned releases on Hospital from Morelli, it’s no little surprise that Spit arrives with much expectation. Spend some time with the eight tracks that make up the LP and you’ll begin to understand why Morelli has used such words as pressure, monotony and stress to describe the motivating emotions behind Spit. The corrugated growl of “Modern Paranoia” and the broken metallic rhythms of “Crack Microbes” are considered highlights!
First surfacing with an impressive debut EP for the Horizontal Ground label, it makes perfect sense that Berlin-based Samuel Kerridge should then gravitate towards Downwards to further expand on his own brand of industrial techno. You get feeling that the knowing sense of humour apparent in many of the titles to Kerridge productions appeals to someone like Downwards label boss Karl O’Connor. After several EPs for Downwards, Kerridge unveils his debut album A Fallen Empire which comes brandishing “7 pieces of sonic warfare” that lodge the producer ever deeper into the crawlspace between jagged industrial techno and white noise laden experimental sounds. B side behemoth “Death Is Upon Us” is a morbid highlight.
James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas are getting crustier and more experimental with every passing year. Recur, their fourth full-length excursion, is decidedly fuzzy and discordant. Seemingly intent on pushing experimental electronics to its limits, the formerly Bristol-based duo serve up a challenging but rewarding set based almost entirely around half-rhythms, white noises, drones, feedback and hissing atmospherics. It’s spooky, intense stuff, all told, occasionally enlivened by sparse, pared-down concoctions that sound like a smacked out take on Autechre. But for all the bleak, out-there sounds, Recur is strangely involving, due in no small part to its immersive nature.
The Hipodrome Of Music 