Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. These four tracks sound as great today as when they were made, over 20 years ago by Dutch techno veteran Maarten Van Der Vleuten, who should be a far more well-known name than he is, as he’s responsible for oodles of marvellous 12” singles.
The fourth CCCP teams up Vereker with Florian Kupfer. Be fast, as this one will not last for long.
First release from the new parisian label Unlearn: Chris Mitchell (Vanguard Sound / Plan B Recordings) was given total freedom for this EP. He delivers 3 massive tunes between house and techno while XDB takes care of remix duties.
Great follow up of Dolly Dubs 01! Once again Staffan Lindberg is delivering. His nice & smooth ‘The Orbit’ is a great & optimistic club track that will have the sun shine on any floor, with the mighty Trevino remix adding a slightly rough edge to the original version. But don’t let the easy-going fool you! The b-side dives in deeper territories with ‘Y2K’ that reminds a bit of early Kevin Saunderson works, and ‘Feel like dancing’, which is a proper sexy house burner for the morning hours. Wonderful & diverse release.
The R-Zone series continues down its avant-garde path with a next EP from another established producer but one who’s name will not be revealed, as is the way with this series. The jacking electronics of ‘Rebecca In The Hall’ goes first with a whipping bassline, plenty of jarring machine sounds and nebulous sci-fi synths. The tension is broken with the sensuous cry of a female vocal and from there you are elevated to a higher level of good-time vibes. ‘Romijn Ravine’ then takes us back to the old school – bristling drum breaks, hardcore stabs and crushed hits all mesh around one another to form a dusty, grainy intergalactic sonic trip. Closing out the trio of tracks is ‘Night Level II’ which is another fully analogue jam where wiry synths and jacked-up kick drums hustle and bustle with a kinetic energy that sucks you in and drags you along for the ride. It’s another fierce EP with a dense make-up, but one that has many hidden pleasures within.
This is the sound of Belgian 80’s nightclubs re-energized for the current scene. From dancefloor to darkroom, it is all there… Dark, dirty, raw and sweaty. For bodies to move on and minds to loose, in the strobelights and beyond…
The mastermind behind Plan B Recordings donates a laid back number for chilling, a deep beater, a late night track for the heads, & a classic full of dark sounds and effects.
Hakim Murphy has not been shy about sharing his vision with the world, & here he brings some classic home grown Chicago flavor.
Widely regarded for their efforts to promote the minimal synth scene in home town Rome, the Mannequin label have always proved themselves capable of looking much farther afield with equally good results. Mannequin return to the States here, but swap coasts landing in NYC to present this excellent release from Brooklyn troupe Dust. Described by the label as “a contemporary ouroboros of acid house, combat techno, and late italo”, Dust are a Bushwick-based music collective whose numbers include avant garde Korean noise goddess Green Jellyfish, psych musician/model Angela Chambers, dungeon wizard/tech genius audio engineer Michael Sherburn and DIY nightlife entrepreneur /DJ John Barclay. So far so Brooklyn you might say, but there’s evidently something special about Dust on the basis of all four tracks on the Onset of Decimation 12?, with final track “I’m Melting” particularly memorable; it feels like the work of Legowelt and Xosar shaken free of any tape dust by the sheer force of the reverberating acid lines that propel matters forward.
Simian Mobile disco are back with more of the world s only techno tasting menu, serving up a a brand new platter for your delectation: Tong Zi Dan are the Chinese delicacy usually translated as virgin boy eggs. Like the tea stained eggs you ll find in your ramen, these are eggs cracked part way through the boiling process, to let the flavours of the liquid seep through.
Samuli Kemppi played live twice at Suicide Circus, and since his energetic sound really fit well with our club, we started talking to each other about a release on our Dark Series imprint. Samuli Kemppi now is ready to rock your boat with three tracks on our label, which define a very particular sound of their own.
Iori comes back with his second vinyl release for Prologue and has fulfilled the mission with a masterpiece of pure Techno. Three deep, energetic, driving tracks and a typically hypnotic baselines based on Iori´s unique style.
Sound, rhythm and quality of underground techno without any hint of commerce! Music made with soul deserves respect. Listening, immersing into the thought and the world created by a musician thus unraveling his message in the sound.
Kel is the solo alias of Skudge’s Elias Landberg, and on Irritant he inaugurates the Tanstaafl imprint’s Planets sub-label, supposedly intended to showcase “the music that orbits the core members of Tanstaafl”. With label co-head October having previously released on Skudge Records, Landberg’s appearance on the label makes total sense. Those who are familiar with Skudge’s work will know what to expect, but in Landberg’s hands alone their analogue hardware seems to take on a more urgent, exploratory quality; the title track’s synths bristle and chime against a rolling drum beat, while “MKS” sees languid textures pushed forward by a panicked rhythm. “Traces” is the most Skudge-like thing here with its unmistakeable dub chords, but it’s not something that causes the release to suffer as a result.
The Hipodrome Of Music 