As Dolly Records marks its 15th anniversary, the label celebrates with a powerful new various artists release that distills its core values: timeless quality, emotional depth, and a dedication to house, techno and beyond that moves both body and soul. Carefully assembled by label head Steffi with the same precision of her DJ sets, the compilation brings together a diverse lineup including both longtime allies and fresh additions to the Dolly family. Fifteen years in, Dolly continues to evolve without compromise. This release is both a reflection and a statement of intent.
Morris Audio is welcoming Dutch artist Böhm with “People communicate EP”, full of dreamy, old school House with a techy edge. Techno, Acid or old school House, Böhm’s versatility while keeping a real underground edge is class.
Formed by George Thompson, Kyle Martin and Jonathan Nash, Kommune were active between 2014-2015. As close friends living near each other, their musical journeys were intertwined; Nash and Martin had recently completed their debut album as Land Of Light, while Thompson (aka Black Merlin), at that time putting the finishing touches to his debut album ‘Hipnotik Tradisi’, was also working with Martin as part of the duo Spectral Empire. Sharing equipment and ideas, Kommune arose organically, serving as a creative outlet for exploring analogue machine music in an improvisational context. Sessions in their North London studios led to a handful of gigs at venues including Hamburg’s legendary Golden Pudel and London’s LN-CC. This fleeting chapter of musical history may well have gone entirely undocumented had it not been for the fortuitous decision to meet up for a recording session in October 2014. Filling a car with their machines, they drove to a converted barn in the south of England, proceeded to set up, settle in and hit the record button. Over the course of two days, fuelled by the experiences of recent performances, the trio immersed themselves in the machines, crafting subtly evolving, long-form compositions with an enchanting balance and flow. Across the four long-form compositions that make up ‘Oast’, the trio summons barely controllable scrapes, acid-like bubbles, and bleeps from their machines, leaning on dub mixing techniques to give the tracks a sense of depth, dynamism and organic ambience. Mastery of the TR-808 drum machine is central, with remarkably nuanced drum programming imparting a hypnotic rhythm to the work, allowing other elements to emerge and unfold at a beautifully measured tempo. Recorded entirely live and improvised without any overdubs, ‘Oast’ offers a profound journey into minimalist electronic music while serving as a tribute to friendship, curiosity, and the spirit of experimentation.
Hilltown Disco presents the 12th Angel in their ongoing ‘Angel Series’, Persephone. All profit goes towards the worthy mental-health project, Art Angel, who continue to change the lives of people in the Dundee area. The charity is run by those who have been through similar experiences, and offers a safe place for people to discover and rediscover themselves through many different art-forms. You can find out more at: www.artangeldundee.org.uk Joining the label to help raise awareness and funds are; Ivna Ji, Chupacabras, Hayter, Crossover Network, Rapha, Romphea, and Marickville Electronique.
Longtime TX techno scene veteran Xander Harris is back for blood on the reactivated TRU (Texas Recordings Underground) label from fellow Lone Star cyborg Gavin Guthrie (TX Connect) as well as DJ/Producer Xinexport. Prepare to enter a world of scuzzy synths buzzing like cathode-ray screen-glow reflected back from bloodshot eyeballs, basslines sizzling like seared flesh around overheated nethacker brain-jacks, synchronized laser saws slashing serrated arpeggios to the rhythm of robotic drum machine assembly lines, dystopian melodies refracting through the haze like swarms of gleaming crimson camera eyes…6 trax of unstoppable terminator assault audio.
Fireground are a male/female duo with Neapolitan origins that – after appearances on labels as esteemed as Tresor, no less – landed on Illian Tape back in October 2024 and now return with more cultured techno that finds a perfect sweet spot between atmosphere and intent. ‘Marea’ opens with some jazzy melodies zipping about over dusty drums and classic deep house chords. ‘Harbour Walk’ then has fizzing synths overloading a cantering groove that fills you with rushes of warmth and ‘Gateway’ is a more direct techno pumper with deft percussion and grimy pads, making it primed for warehouse action. ‘Smile As One’ closes on a dubby, stripped back and heads down broken beat vibe for 5am sessions.
In a sea of disposable cookie cutter music Hieroglyphic Being continues to be a singular voice in the crowd. The 12 track album “The Sound Of Something Ending” deftly maps the intersection of house, techno, and EBM, while maintaining the curiosity of free jazz & the DIY of punk.
Moto Music presents Time Synthesis, a sonic collaboration of the living legends Dan Piu and DJ Estimulo, creating a future past guaranteed to last. Experience the dynamic aurora of class, seamlessly guiding your senses through savory flavors of funky Detroit and atmospheric Techno hybrids to the smoothest of sunset coastal Deep House designs marinated to move bodies on the dancefloor and influence the mind. Indeed a synthesis of good times where the future of authentic house and techno was never left behind.
With Closer, TV.OUT deliver four tracks of sharp, elegant electro made for the dancefloor. It’s the kind of record that moves bodies without shouting — precise, deep, and full of character.
The 5th installment of the Xuntanza series of Fanzine Records brings a new gathering of 5 electro wizards as Plant43, Umwelt, Robert Cosmic, BombyxBlow and the Slit Observers.
Few producers have had the same seismic impact on techno and rave music as Joey Beltram. Hailing from Queens, New York, Beltram was a key architect of the early ’90s rave explosion and responsible for some of the most influential electronic records of the era – and it was Belgium’s R&S Records that gave many of these tracks their first home. Originally compiled and released by R&S in 1996, Classics brings together the core of Beltram’s groundbreaking early output – namely the Beltram Vol. 1 (1990) and Beltram Vol. 2 (1991) EPs, alongside the legendary Second Phase productions ‘Mentasm’ and ‘Mind To Mind’ (1991), plus a selection of aliases and collaborative work from the same period, including tracks under Mental Mayhem, Open Mind, and Disorder. Now remastered and reissued as a 2LP, Classics is available on vinyl for the first time since 2006, offering a long overdue opportunity to own these timeless cuts in their purest form. Across the 13 tracks, you’ll hear the sheer force and innovation that made Beltram a household name in underground techno.
“The Techno Wave” was the debut single released in 1990 by the iconic project founded by Jens Lissat and Ramon Zenker (Hardfloor). It quickly became one of the defining anthems of the so-called Frankfurt Tekkno scene that swept across Germany in the early ’90s, capturing the raw energy and rebellious spirit of the movement.
The Hipodrome Of Music 