Closing out the year, Ben Sims’ Symbolism Ltd returns with an ultra limited vinyl VA which further explores the hypnotic yet squarely dancefloor focused side of modern techno and features a cut from Synewave legend, Damon Wild.
techno
Olivia @ Unsound Festival 2018 x Crack Magazine, Szpitalna 1 (Krakow) 14.10.2018
VA – Casa Sports Vol.2 [CSV04]
The second volume of Casa Voyager’s compilation gathers the label’s regulars OCB and Kosh, as well as two new artists: Polyswitch, coming straight from the shady streets of Casablanca and also known as the moroccan funkmaster, and Jamal, who comes from the moroccan diaspora in Europe and purveyor of post-futuristic electro beats, keeping the dutch-moroccan connection alive.
Pascal Hetzel – Reset EP [TEETH-6]
This is the sixth release on Eye Teeth, the techno sublabel of Interdimensional Transmissions, by Berlin’s Pascal Hetzel. This EP effortlessly merges a modular and hardware approach to music making while fusing techno, industrial and electro influences. The opening cut “Incognizance” is a near perfect blend of all his influences, while the EP closer “Reformation” mixes these ideas into an energizing very techno take on electro feelings. We love this EP and really look forward to new music from this promising artist.
Do or Die – Impossible Materia [MOJ09]
Last year, Spanish analogue freak Do Or Die impressed with debut album “Alien GF”, a nine-track romp through intergalactic acid, techno and electro pastures. “Imposible Materia” offers up his first new material since and is similarly impressive. Head first for “Lost”, a bustling, all-action affair rich in fizzing riffs, weird noises, classic Motor City chords and wiggly acid lines, before losing yourself in the hypnotic, minor key motifs, broken techno beats and unsettling stabs of “DX100”. Sci-fi loving acid freaks will devour the psychedelic TB-303 lines, rumbling Michigan bass and punchy drum machine hits of opener “Conciencia Sucia”, while closing cut “In Time” offers a warm, groovy, tactile and suitably shuffling conclusion to another superb Do Or Die release.
Andrew Red Hand – Les Yeux Orange #112
Mantra – Blackout [PT013]
Polybius Trax present another three track EP from Mantra showcasing a variety of acid styles. Opening track, Blackout, is a solid, no-nonsense acid techno workout, perfect for a strobe filled warehouse, and features builds and drops layered with ethereal tones. Emanation is a maelstrom of moving synth sounds, bouncing delay lines and vocal-like klaxons that combine to disorientate the listener. Final track, Mirage is a classic bad attitude acid track with an unnerving acid line that weaves in and out of aggressive percussive lines.
Photonz – Etheric Body Music EP [DE239]
Photonz is the alias of Marco Rodrigues a DJ, producer and driving force of Lisbon’s underground scene. Etheric Body Music is Photonz’s debut 6-track EP for Dark Entries and a simultaneous reference to hermeticism and EBM (Electronic Body Music). Marco loves that ‘aesthetic when 80s industrial and EBM bands split up and start to make trance in the early 90s and all the ritual magick pushes them to zen stuff and they do ecstasy.’ There’s this concept in theosophy and hermetic philosophy of the Etheric Body, which is an energy body superimposed and connected to the physical body, similar to the acupuncture idea of an energetic body. That idea manifests itself as six primal club cuts, which also channel early techno, Drexciyan rhythms, balearic & old school jack. Raw arpeggiated synth lines and bass blast jut against metallic stabs and highly percussive shakedowns to create mournful atmospheric warped house.
Cardopusher – Muscle Memory [DE233]
Born in Venezuela and based in Barcelona, Luis Garban aka Cardopusher has spent the last decade creating a wide variety of noisy dancefloor assaults. Although his roots lie in the breakcore scene, he’s slowly gravitated toward a raw, electro-infused take on techno that is no less compelling. Dark Entries presents a new 6-track EP titled ‘Muscle Memory’ that takes the listener on a deep and gritty ride through his diverse sound, from techno to electro, acid, rave and house.
Hieroglyphic Being & The Truth Theory Trio – Journey Through The Outer Darkness from the Inner Light [HVNX-700]
When asked about the story behind the tracks of ‘Journey Through The Outer Darkness from the Inner Light’, Jamal Moss answered with a laconic “No story. No dogma. No Hype”. After all, his despise of extra-musical paraphernalia is proportional to his productiveness in the studio. But there’s always a story. On April 9, 2016, Hieroglyphic Being played a live show in La Casa Encendida of Madrid within the festival Electronica en Abril. Some days later, the recording of the full set was uploaded to YouTube. When we watched it, we were totally captivated. Those eighty minutes of music had the raw power of all of Jamal’s body of work, but with a heightened sense of transcendence. Cosmic, spiritual and intensely beautiful, it sounded like a lysergic reinterpretation of Detroit techno transmitted from a galaxy yet to be discovered. As most of the material was unreleased, we reached Jamal in order to try to press it into vinyl. The result is ‘Journey Through The Outer Darkness from the Inner Light’, a 12″ that reunites eight of the individual tracks that conformed that Madrid performance. When inquired about AUM, the sacred sound all the tracks are labeled after, Jamal referred us to a book by author and naturalist Joseph Bharat Cornell. A book that the author himself presents with these words: ‘The sound of the Cosmic Vibration is AUM, and listening to it brings the greatest bliss imaginable. AUM is the Omnipotent Force that propels each soul toward Spirit. It’s the sacred, inner fire. As you approach the cosmic blaze, you feel at first its radiant, soothing comfort; then, as you come closer – AUM’s liberating flames consume you – and bring you to God”. There might be “no story and no dogma”, but, suddenly, it all makes sense.
Posthuman – Mutant City Acid [BV29]
First full length from Posthuman in eight years. Named from, and created as a companion piece to the (completely sold out) Mutant City Acid series on Balkan Vinyl. Inspired by classic computer games such as ‘Syndicate’, ‘Flashback’ and ‘Beneath A Steel Sky’, it is written as the soundtrack to a journey through a near-future dystopian city, awash in the glow of neon skyscrapers. Digging into the weirder side of acid techno and electro, this is still an album for the dancefloor but with one eye on the darker corners of the room. Pressed on completely random coloured vinyl – red, green, yellow, blue -.some marbled, some faded, some solid, some translucent – the first time this has ever been done. The entire pressing process was video livestreamed from the plant with engineers answering questions in the chat (again, a first). Comes in a full colour gatefold sleeve adorned with retro pixel art.
Sepehr – Body Mechanics [DE226]
Dark Entries comes with a 6-track EP from San Francisco based DJ, producer, and remixer Sepehr Alimagham. The San Jose native has been a fixture in the Bay Area house and techno scene for quite a while now, on the dance-floor, behind the decks, in the studio, or all of the above. In 2017 he began performing live PA sets, utilizing his immense production backlog to perform vivid and electric sets, from potent dance music to psychedelic and esoteric soundscapes. ”Body Mechanics” is six tracks of acid drenched dance music that ebb and flow from floor filling club thumpers to more cerebral soundscapes. Inspired by the new wave of the acid sound as well as nostalgia from his formative years in the San Francisco music scene, ‘Body Mechanics’ takes a functional, yet psychedelic approach to 303 styled techno and electronica.
Skudge / Splice – X0X01 [SKUDGE-X0X01]
Three different takes from two different periods of time meet up in this acid focused 12”. The record features two Skudge originals from 2009, optimized into today’s standards. And also a classically trained Splice track, where a fierce drum patterngoes in parallel with the acidic bass line. A current take on a very classic machine.
Djedjotronic – Cruising [CPU01000010]
Djedjotronic Aka Jérémy Cottereau drops an icy 4 track Electro cut for CPU. There’s a clear Drexciyan influence here with plenty of dystopian drama but things are disrupted with the likes of ‘Tunnel’ serving up raw 4/4.
Ectomorph – Subsonic Vibrations [IT001]
The debut record from Ectomorph that launched it all — the project, and the label Interdimensional Transmissions in 1995. This is the first time it has been repressed in over a decade, and it’s using the original masters complete with 3 lock grooves cut by Ron Murphy.
No Data Available – The Night EP [NUL004]
London based hardware specialist No Data Available joins the Null+Void family with a four track EP of rugged, playful and effective electro driven tracks for the rave – ending in a blissful introspective 7am moment with title track the night.
Sololust – Dato EP [GOOILAND036]
It has been quite some time since Sololust released something but he returns with fresh energy and a sound both familiar and with a new twist. His music has become less synth pop and more dance floor minded. Acid and elektro is the drill here, with some touches of techno. This five track EP features some crazy stuff which at times is reminiscent of Börft output.
Adam X – Recon Mission [SGLP05]
Adam X returns to his imprint Sonic Groove with his first album in four years, a 56 minute excursion into EBM and Cyberdelic Industrial Techno titled “Recon Mission”. The mission begins with beat driven hypnotic electronics that invoke paranormal illusions of Easter island mythology and Bermuda Triangle disappearances. Climbing forward the album crosses the line into harder industrial territories, conjuring visions of New York City’s dystopian past and CIA shadow government experiments. Adam has survived the ups and downs of the industry while continually raising the bar for production value and sound design.
VA – Emerge From The Darkness [SYMLTD002]
Following a superb start last year with his edits of Mike Storm, Ben Sims’ Symbolism imprint returns with it’s second ultra-limited drop featuring Biemsix, Scott Franka, Stef Mendesidis and Raul Alvarez. Deep, hypnotic techno for the ‘floor.
VA – Continuum 3: Fluctus [10YRDREF003]
Marking its ten-year anniversary Dynamic Reflection is set to release Continuum, a collection of five uniquely intertwined EP’s. The special series commemorates the label’s roots, evolution and establishment and honors its residents and friends. The Continuum-series will feature twenty exclusive tracks. The EP’s Sonos, Magno Hyacinthum, Fluctus, Luna Frigus and Terra Nova are planned as part of Continuum. Collectively they become the articulation of a decade of techno. Featuring tracks from Donato Dozzy & Mike Parker, Abstract Division, Deepbass & Ness and Ben Buitendijk, Fluctus represents the third planet in the Continuum-constellation, consisting of five exclusive releases in celebration on the 10th anniversary of Dynamic Reflection.
The Hipodrome Of Music 