ITISWHATITIS is back! 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of the labels first release “Panna Cotta” with two new tracks. Lost in vaults until now “Panna Cotta” resurfaced of a CD Mathew made for friends in 2003. As fate would have it though it would be the first out of hundreds of CD’s only labeled “2003″ that Mathew picked from the box in his search. Here at IIWII we believe heavily in synchronicity. These tracks have found there place in time to be released.
Silent Servant (aka Juan Mendez), a member of the now-defunct minimal/dub techno collective Sandwell District, makes his stunning album debut with the poised fusion of epic techno, primitive post punk, and industrial electronics on Hospital Productions. Now nine months since he stopped recording with Sandwell District, Mendez has explored his divergent yet compatible tastes to their fullest, recognising and reconciling their congruent rhythms, atmospheres and intentions with alchemical ability. If you’re familiar with his previous trajectories you’ll no doubt be seriously impressed with his balance and contrast of time-honoured elements, from the bellicose sci-fi romance of ‘Process (Introduction)’ to the full flight techno escapism of ‘Utopian Disaster (End)’, and if you’re new to his sound – whether you’re a noise freak wondering what the f*ck Hospital Productions are doing releasing a techno album, or a techno head who’s baffled by the raspy drums – you should be quickly realising that this stuff is the way forward. From the wave-scanning intro he spins a bleakly noirish narrative, slowly building tension with ‘Invocation Of Lust”s acid hypnosis and the stoic deployment of drones and agitated drum machine slaves on ‘Moral Divide (Endless)’ that resolves with gritted techno determination on ‘The Strange Attractor’. Yet perhaps our favourite moment is ‘Temptation & Desire’, sounding like the converged darkroom visions of Front 242 and Stephen Morris, but if any cut shocks us the most, it’s ‘A Path Eternal’, revealing SS at his most unreservedly sublime and vulnerable without his usual, armour-plated chassis of beats. It all surely adds up to one of the most impressive examples of modern industrial techno you’ll hear this year, one which doesn’t merely pay deference to its roots, but nourishes and augments them with the kind of vision that imparts the strong feeling that he’s really been biding his time, ’til now…
“Negative Fascination” is a 7-track affair said to couple Basic Channel vibes with post-punk and shadowy industrial cues.
This new EP on M_Rec Ltd., which sees label owner Max_M collaborate with Zooloft co-owner Obtane, certainly fits the musical profile people have come to associate with Italian underground productions. ’28 August 1972′ is a tribute to hard edged sounds and the loops of archetypical techno: eight minutes of pure darkness, a perfect techno tool. On the flip side, ’3 June 1980′ is pure techno hypnosis. A journey wrapped around a simple and obsessive bell sound, where an ever-changing drumscape slowly welcomes a crepuscular melody set to reveal an unexpected maximal dancefloor gem.
The legendary Mote Evolver is back with another ferocious slab of UK techno. Manuel Años aka Psyk gives a blow to the head as soon as the needle touches down on title track, “Distane”. Repetitive keys swing back and forth with mighty force; followed by “Isolate”, another triumphant techno bomb filled with muffled static and a feverishly hissed percussion. For the B Side, Psyk takes us further down the bouncing rabbit hole on “Rdmn”, and completes his rave injection with “Main”, an almighty, stripped number worthy only of a gigantic dark room filled with bass bins.
A new Full Panda release has landed. This collaboration between Yuka and Stanislav Tolkachev starts off with “Element X”, a perplexing frenzy of melting bass lines and squawking melodies which mould to create a strange journey into outer space. “Chlorum” gives the impression of a chemical substance both in name and in tone, where filtered, tinny sounds are moved forwards by a hefty bass drum. There’s no mercy over on the flip, with “Self-Renewal” and its militant use of reverbs, delays and growls; but things turn truly bizarre on “Hexapoda”, another medley of phantasmal melodies and disjointed beats. Impeccable arrangements from this otherworldly label.
Dusting off his CUB alias for his first solo release since last year’s In A Syrian Tongue on Blackest Ever Black, Karl O’Connor returns with a typically relentless pair of techno missives. Leading with 2010’s “C U 1”, O’Connor utilises dry, stripped back syncopation with a tribal menace and tumultuous industrial abrasion to create one of his typically simple but heavy hitting productions. On the flip, he provides a “Funk Mix” of the previously unreleased “C U 2” which is credited to O’ Connor’s Ugandan Speed Trials alias, maintaining the same sense of rhythmic power, but going more explicitly heavy on the abstract outburst of raw analogue voltage. This probably goes without saying, but this is a must for anyone who is even remotely serious about techno.
J.T.C. with a new release on Shaddock. Originally produced for Tim Sweeny’s Beats in Space radio show the title track was heard in one of J.T.C’s dj sets during a night out in Berlin and was signed to Shaddock on the spot. Heavy on the synths with a stirring bass-line and a driving 808. Stepping up for his first ever remix duty is MadTeo of Meakusma, who added his unique signature of twisted, hypnotic left-field house, aptly titling his re-work ‘Mad in Space’. On the flip J.T.C showcases his more melodic side as well as his versatility as a producer. The First Night Cycle, feat. Ellis Monk is a metabolic track clocking in at eight minutes developing over time, all the while under-laid with James T. Cottonis ceaseless heavy grooves. Love Canopy And Vessels finishes this little gem in the best Detroit/ Chicago house fashion.
Belgian producer and DJ Peter Van Hoesen offers a new full- length album, on his own Time To Express label. ‘Perceiver’, his second full length album following 2010’s ‘Entropic City’, is evidence of Van Hoesen’s continual experiments into sound. The textural, shifting and dynamic synth elements, hooks and arpeggios that characterise the album’s voice often reach into abstract zones, but never too far that the listener cannot easily delve into the hypnotism of the moment. Gently rhythmic pieces such as the album’s opening voyage, ‘Objects From The Past’, or the reduced modular electronics of ‘Spectral Participant’ plant the tone of the earlier tracks firmly in the high-tech, experimental realms of modern electronica. With careful editing Peter arrived at a complete and concise album, spanning 60 minutes, exploring largely varied yet complementary fields of sound. It is clear that intricacy and diversity are high on Van Hoesen’s sonic agenda. With that in mind, ‘Perceiver’, offers a telling insight into the explorations of a producer who is little concerned with fulfilling or expressing his artistic ego, and much more by the genuine discoveries one can make by diving deep into sound. The album ascends patiently from serene and perplexing sound pieces into fierce club-ready movements. With each track we find bold new percussive elements and sharp, textural, modulating synths entering the fold. In the later half of the LP the emphasis is clearly on headstrong body shocks designed for cavernous off-world clubs – the biting snarl of ‘Decoder’ – or futuristic festival settings with the entrancing arpeggios of ‘Inspection In Solitude’. ‘Perceiver’ presents an organic, flowing and modern take on techno – vitally alive, pulling us away from genre boundaries and more into the adventurous realms of electronica.
The third release of Outis Music, “Sons of Poseidons EP”, it’s a collaboration between label boss Dino Sabatini and Giorgio Gigli. “Proteus” it’s a solid, dynamic and linear track, with strong harmonic resonances and a slowly growing rhythmic in a hypnotic groove of atmospheres. “Nereus’ has deeper mental space sensations in which hypnotic noise sequences travel smoothly in a crescendo of acid riffs.
Milton Bradley’s new flagship starts with 3 new tracks and start with an unbelievable and brilliant long deep Techno journey, which transports your mind into another dimension. The B side shows Milton´s other face, 2 excellent raw Techno driven tracks combined with his unique technique and old fashioned touch from the 90´s.
The ninth release on Modularz, featuring new recordings by Developer and new upcoming artists NX1 & Adriana Lopez. A strong functional techno release focusing on driving hypnotic rhythms and funked out harder edge dub techno.
Ahead of Haswell’s hugely anticipated album for Downwards, Regis, William Bennett (Whitehouse/Cut Hands) and Kevin Drumm set about his ‘Chua Rave’ and ‘Harshing’ cuts taken from a 5″ vinyl. Regis goes in first with a jagged, loopy rebuild of ‘Chua Rave’ revolving around a signature, numb hook crawling with insectoid, stereo-swarming textures and swung round a killer metallic clap. William Bennett meanwhile is back to his old tricks, refrying the same cut in a sweltering headfuck of disembowelled modular madness, but the star of the show is undoubtedly Kevin Drumm’s “GODDAMNIT!! 1,2,3” Remix. To ‘Harshing’ he applies cryptic, haptic processing, resulting a deeply rewarding noise punishment which subsides to cosmic splutter and elegiac microtonal drones reminding of his seminal ‘Imperial Distortion’ works. So damn good.
After two years since the first vinyl release in 2010, Other Heights is proud to announce the tenth vinyl release, released as 3 seperate EP´s. The third EP is a selection of inspiring and eclectic artists, from Ukraine to Belgium, over the ocean to America and back to the roots of the UK itself. Expect a blend of future bass, garage and house influences by J. Tijn, VVV, Ozka, Myztical and Brim.
After two years since the first vinyl release in 2010, Other Heights is proud to announce the tenth vinyl release, released as 3 seperate EP´s. The second EP is a combination of elements of techno and house. Tom Dicicco, Markus Suckut, Brooks Mosher and Metrobox have been wandering around in the musical mind of Other Heights for quite a while. Now the time has come to combine their work in one overwhelming deep & jacking techno EP.
Two years after the first vinyl release in 2010, Other Heights is proud to announce the tenth vinyl release, which will be as 3 seperate EP´s. The first EP introduces 3 new individuals: Gaust, a new face in the Belgian techno-scene, and Pehr Genlogue and Kretipleti from Sweden. The most familiar face will be Unbalance, who delivers the closing track for this northern & truly oustanding techno EP!
The second release from Daniel Andréasson on Tabernacle Records, continues in his engaging style of endless rhythms and nostalgic melodies, produced under heavy influence of hot baths and regular espressos.
Nick Sinna has been on the radar lately with his debut release for Prime Numbers “PN 13”. Sticking to the dark corners of the dance floor as of late, the label has commissioned the spaced out bass child, Conforce and Spectral’s secret weapon, James T Cotton to add their touch with edits on 2 of the tracks. Conforce takes Sinna’s “Real Time” further down the worm hole, adding molten pressure to the percussion, and cutting up the vocal to reinforce “time seems to feel more slow”; while the acid warrior himself, James T Cotton stays true to his roots on his rework of “Voyager”, taking the edge off the snap and slicking the groove down to a more deep, melodic trip.
The Hipodrome Of Music 