Lazy Reflex Complex lands their second release with a split EP by Clone’s techno-ambassador Lenson and Sculpturism / Miller & Keane; two collaboration projects of Dave Miller that were produced back in 2003. Tranquilizer, originally released on the Schenk1 compilation (Onderwereld), has been remastered for vinyl and is exclusively available for the fitting format. Label head 543ff reworks Tranquilizer in an ominous and hypnotic fashion. Big room beats built to shake floors and move crowds
The next Reclaim Your City pays tribute to the Benelux techno connection as they welcome Dutch maestro Steve Rachmad under his Sterac alias and Token boss Kr!z to the fold. Each contributing a brace of the typically elegant hard-hitters they’ve become so widely reputed for, the pair has us swinging in balance between proper floor-destroying potency and mind-expanding otherworldliness. A homage to the uncluttered and beautifully escapistic vision they’ve advocated throughout their career and continue to push in their various endeavors, RYCL019 is a feast for the purists as much as a compellingly future-facing manifesto: classic in essence but vanguard in its quest.
Lee Holman, the Bristol born artist, returns on End Of Perception. This release themed four techno tracks, deep and spaced out. A unique record from an artist soaring to ever greater heights.
Rawax presents a new EP from Unbroken Dub. ‘Highway Sleepers’ begins on an ambient-acid note with the not-a-gabber-track ‘Gabba’, the EP moves slowly into stickier and gooier dance oceans, ending up completely immersing its beats in spitty acid ectoplasm on ‘Murky’ before rinsing itself off and drip-drying in the ambient gusts of ‘Spectral Wind’.
Cititrax presents a highly anticipated 12” from An-i, the musical moniker for Berlin-based Korean American Doug Lee. Doug has been DJing and producing records for two decades under various aliases and collaborations. The return of An-i has found him in even more brazen territory than on previous releases. He moves between musicality and chaos while remaining intriguing throughout – a testament to his uniqueness and integrity. The opener, ‘Rabble’, tonally crude and menacing, backed with a relentless primitive machine rhythm and a psychotic vocal parodying mob mentality, points at the absurdity of take-down culture. ‘Rubble’ follows, a mighty stripped-down instrumental dub. The flip, ‘Chapel Perilous’, is a wandering spaced-out journey into the psyche. It reflects on loss and ultimately freedom from one’s ego identity, meandering an uncertain path that results in a spiritual epiphany.
Dold and Blue Hour are teaming up on yet another split EP for Arsenik. The two explore new and diverse sounds, broadening the label output with four tracks ranging from dub soaked and dreamy house to early rave and obscure techno/electronica.
“Forgiveness of Blood Remixes” shows a modern vision of techno voiced by the sound of the four artists involved: SHED, Anthony Linell, Alessandro Adriani and Tensal. Static and hypnotic waves of strain recur, even though the 4 tracks represent 4 different major expressions of what techno explicitly and implicitly stands for. Forgiveness of Blood Remixes – is a distillation of the modernist and nostalgic sound capable of impacting both on the dance-floor and mentally. Four strongly evocative tracks that narrate not only the artists’ but also the label’s path.
Aubrey has always brought a detailed sense of sound design to his heavy techno. The Berlin-based artist does that again here on a first EP on his own Solid Groveos since 2016. Two tracks delve into his archives to come up with some rare and obscure jams from the 90s. One is “Lose Yourself”, a bright and cosmic take on techno, while “Breaking Out” offers golden US-style house with nice frayed synths and smoky depths. Two new cuts are “Chase Mind” – a cavernous and dubby, with whimsical pads and unrelenting bass locking you in a trance, then “Mr Muscle”, a twisted acid techno closer that completes a varied and vital EP.
L.F.T. aka Johannes Haas is back on Mannequin Records with a brand new 6-tracks EP “Hollow Head”. Blessed by the vocal features of Rosaceae (the bloodthirsty breaktbeat ‘I Want To Be A Witch’), Nils Fock (the banging wave ‘Hörst Du Das’) and Petra Flurr (EBM anthem ‘Panzer Tanz’), L.F.T. music evokes a urge of dancing while simultaneously embracing a DIY aesthetic, creating a sonic universe where past, present, and future converge. The Hacker is joining the pack with his interpretation of ‘Panzer Tanz’, turning the track into a straight techno banger. L.F.T. is a visionary artist who takes listeners on a mesmerizing journey through a sonic landscape that fuses elements of electro and new wave aesthetics.
Klasse Wrecks’ Grafiti Tapes series continues on at its own pace with a new release from Antwerp based graffiti writer, tattoo artist and musician Redray. Aside from being active in the Belgium scene in the late 2000s, Redray is also enjoying great success as a tattoo artist, having co-founded Brabo’s Hand Tattoo in the center of Antwerp. For GT13 Redray turns in a charming 6 track mini-album, with all individual songs are produced by a limited pallet of sonic tools. A tried and tested combination of vocoder, 808 drum machine, keys and screwed samples of old funk and soul records provide the solid foundations. Comfortably sat in-between the genres of G-Funk and Screwed + Chopped Rap, Redray elevates the beats with catchy vocal hooks sung through a Roland SVC-350 vocoder. The result is some of the sleaziest and greasiest sauce to ever adorn a Grafiti Tape.
Mysterious project recorded in Berlin in 2018, a shadowy collective brings a collection of cold synths, ominous tones and analog drum machines. Various Positions exist as the collective vision by five anonymous artists. On ‘Irrational Flashbacks’, Various Positions have created a unique atmosphere likened to the the reverberation of a gunshot ricocheting through city streets though while still maintaining the impact of a hollow point bullet absorbed into the chest; a resounding testament to the artists’ ethos towards the obliteration of identity and their self imposed state of obscurity.”
Clone Records releases the new sci-fi electro-techno album by The Exaltics. Its the 3rd album project for Clone Records after the 2014 ”Some Other Place” and critically acclaimed 2019 album ”2 Worlds”. The Exaltics deliver an album full of futuristic modern techno tracks with beautiful distant atmospheres, alienating techno tracks and energetic robotic electro beats. Joined by Paris the Black Fu & Mr. Remy for a critical view on the current state of affairs on our home planet.
With distorted arpeggiated synthesisers and cold metallic drum-machine patterns, William Wiffen from Yorkshire invites you to his sonic warzone. Höga Nord Rekords presents R.E.D. (Rapid Ear Damage), a stripped and harsh take on postpunk, motorik and EBM. With haunting and reverbdrenched synthesizers, Wiffen’s new project sometimes resembles acts like Two Lone Swordsmen in their dirtiest moments. R.E.D. is not a wholesome and pleasant experience. Heavily modified vocals, used more like an additional instrument, breaks through the distorted, hard, backbeat, contributing to the feeling of being trapped in a mental slit trench or bomb shelter: no light coming in – only sound.
The Hipodrome Of Music 