Review: O-Wells and 41ISSA team up for their first joint EP, with three tracks full of big room manoeuvres that clock in somewhere between electro, techno and trance, plus a Sansibar remix of 'Encoder' to complete the package. 'Suzuki' outrageously throbbing sequencers bring the decadence of electroclash to mind, but the likes of 'Are You Ready' and 'Pulse' are more gradual builders, with a touch of Carl Craig in his 69 mode. The Sansibar mix is a bleepy electro cut blessed with plenty of drama. Nice work all round.
Review: For its seventh release, southern Italians Obscura Music return to welcome exciting new talents and core label acts. Head honchos Agents Of Time venture down an electro route with "East Coast", as do the ever impressive London Modular Alliance on the hypnotic "Buck One". Man of the moment Aussie Jensen Interceptor channels classic Drexciyan aesthetics on "Manix" before homeboys and label staples Hiver come through with the slinky and hypnotic tech house of "Stasys" and Detroit veteran Kris Wadsworth makes a surprising appearance with some slow burning minimalism displayed on closer "Abroad".
Ancient Methods - "Cradle The True Side Of Reality" (6:50)
OTHR - "Damage Your Pain" (5:47)
Phase Fatale - "Cursing Losses" (5:20)
Roman - "Break The Matrix" (5:51)
Review: The KHIDI label kicks off with a stern statement of intent from a batch of blackened souls in the techno domain. First up is Ancient Methods, who marches forth with the militant brutalism of "Cradle The True Side Of Reality" before OTHR turns in some cinematic EBM-flavoured intensity with "Damage Your Pain". Berlin-based Berghain warrior Phase Fatale turns up on the B-side with the hard thrum of "Cursing Losses", before Roman delivers the finishing blow with the mean-spirited surge of "Break The Matrix". This is maximalist techno with an industrial bite just begging to be heard clanging around darkened cathedrals of endless night.
Arctor - "The Gulf" (David Harleydson remix) (6:03)
Review: New Glasgow electro label Tremors presents their first vinyl release, featuring a collection of remixes of tracks from their Bandcamp back catalogue. Aftershocks Volume 1 kicks off with a particularly bold remix by Klakson boss Dexter who turns Old Boy's "Tracer" into an electro-bass monster, James Shinra (Analogical Force) channels the best of the Motor City on his emotive rework of Arctor's "Memory Gene" rounding up the A side. On the flip, Arctor remains the focus, with remixes of "Selfish Lover" by Forward Strategy Group's Patrick Walker and Hungarian newcomer David Harleydson impressed us likewise with his fierce and futurist perspective of "The Gulf".
Review: The Discontinuous Various I release from Discontinuous Germany brings together a diverse selection of artists, including Bakked, Alessio Barletta, Omar Akhrif and Ildec. Longtime collaborators and new talents combine their unique styles, showcasing the deep bonds formed through shared musical journeys. With Barletta as a core contributor, this compilation pushes the boundaries, blending fresh ideas with the label's signature sound. A testament to creative synergy, the release highlights the connection between these artists and the growing influence of Discontinuous on the electronic music scene.
Blinkduus Dischetto - "Sein Cirque Les Poppies" (4:45)
Monica Venturella - "Page Not Found" (4:52)
Orso - "Bastardo" (6:00)
Review: Proper euphoric tune-tutelage from the Ajaccio label Digital Finesse, a good name for the label for sure. Run by Jimmy Batt, Digital Finesse's M.O. encompasses curt EPs as well as multitrack V/As, polished and readied for maximum credo. 'I Bastardi Aiaccini' is one of the latter, a six-track compendium fleshing the best one-offs from their personal roster, all while accelerating and hyper-modernising the classic electro and Italo sounds native to the Mediterranean. Beginning with the crisp, hyperactive, arpeggio-heavy metrosexual fascinator 'Electromotion', we then move into the comparatively gradated boxer 'Concorde' by Human Aventura, before rounding off the A on a note of bursting acid innovation, the instrumental version of Pasqua Pancrazi's 'Danesi'. The B opens on a note of sleaze-funk with the speedy 'Sein Cirque Les Poppies' from Blinkduus Dischetto, before going full-throttle dystopi-speed by way of a minimal but no less driven flat-beat cutup from Monica Venturella, 'Page Not Found'. Orso's 'Bastardo' flaunts the more experimental ends of the label's capacity, with 'Bastardo' hearing motifs of IT-hardcore get plunged into more-than-smokey scourings of Reese and sizzle.
Review: This new collection offers up a quartet of tracks that are all tailored for slightly different moments on the dance floor. On side A, Dani Casarano kicks off with deep, hypnotic grooves that make for an immersive atmosphere before transitioning to punchy, bass-driven energy with other cuts. Side B introduces a new alter ego from Felian and Bruno Schmidt and the pair explore a robotic, looping groove with incidental breaks and nostalgic synths in the euphoric third track. Closing the release in style, Omar Akrhif & Lucretio present a minimalist masterpiece that is aimed at heady after-hours sessions.
Review: The Distorsion camp offers up its first sampler as a way of teasing you with the sort of quality sounds and artists it has on its roster. First up is a three-way collab between Citybox, Hankook & Orebeat whose 'Dangerous Changes' is an intense breakbeat workout for the peak time. Orebeat & Alex Clubbers keep the energy levels high and inject early 00s video-game style synths, Orebeat & Citybox keep it dark and raw with 'Gangsta' and Orebeat & JottaFrank laced up their thrilling breaks with acid lines and sleazy vocals on "Noche De Paris.' This is potent stuff for strobe-lit floors.
Review: The Power Cuts posse continue to gather strength and widen their reach on this second release, celebrating all kinds of nefarious era-spanning, style-hopping grooves designed for the deviant party. Dane//Close gets the bass slapping to perfection on "Getluv" before Kris Baha drops a stoutly lo-fi piece of primal electro mischief. Otologic has something rather different to say with the spacious, stalking tension of "The Big Smoke", and then Jonathan Kusuma rounds the EP out with a disheveled industrial edit approach on "Electric Hit". This record does a fantastic job of reaching back to the glory days of low budget 80s production, with the attitude to match the punky finish.
Review: Stilleben's latest EP is a no-holds-barred, all-action affair that gathers together previously unheard cuts from a quintet of label associates. Boss man Luke Eargoggle is naturally involved, with his hook-up with Swedish veteran Ola Bergman - the angular analogue bass, Italo-disco influenced grooves and shimmering chords of "Macho Macho" - being amongst the EP's many highlights. You'll find more razor-sharp, mind-altering robo-bass propelling Das Muster's brilliant opener "Sinnestauschung" towards the electro stratosphere, while IXRQ's "Robotic Nature" brilliantly combines ghostly, crystalline synthesizer melodies with a suitably dirty, club-ready electro groove. The most intense and sweaty cut of the lot, though, is Suicider's suitably dystopian and psychedelic closing cut "Trainwreck".
Review: Mental Groove offshoot Music Pour La Danse has previously put out compilations of Orlando Voorn's finest early work, so it's little surprise to see them once against dipping into the Storied Dutchman's vast back catalogue. The Travelling EP first surfaced way back in 1994 and was the sole 12" Voorn recorded as Defence. A-side "Travelling Through The Speed of Music" is typical of the producer's work at that period of time, featuring bubbling, trance-inspired electronics, gentle acid lines, delay-heavy vocal snippets and oodles of Detroit techno influences. On the flipside, "Pulse" is similarly trippy and trancey (in the original sense of the term) with lighter beats and picturesque flourishes, while "Flow" is a luscious chunk of "intelligent techno"-era electro with subtle ambient house overtones.
Review: Trident is dropping a couple of top EPs this month. One is from Derrek Carr, and one is this double white 12" that finds Deltamaxx and O En One join forces. They take us on a storytelling trip through cosmic techno that varies in mood and tempo. 'Conexxion' rides a nice rubbery, bumpy groove with incidental and wispy synth sounds, then 'Delta Pavonis' seems to soundtrack a beach party up amongst the stars. There are darker, more heady cuts like 'Donnager' and icy electro cinematics on 'Isonoe' to make for a worthy collection of sounds that work on the dancefloor and beyond.
Norus & DJ Whipr Snipr - "Molecular Collision" (4:44)
Ole Mic Odd - "In The House" (4:52)
Nasty King Kurl - "Stop Talkin Boy" (5:10)
Turk Turkleton - "Offenbachs Father" (4:29)
Review: Aussie larrikin DJ WHPRSNPR is back on his very own Nerang Recordings with a motley crew of upstarts on this one. Fittingly titled Freaky Friends 2, it features DJ Swagger with some off-kilter UK bass on 'Hotice Water' and Low Tape with the NSFW booty bass of 'So Delicious' on the A side, followed over on the flip by Ole Mic Odd's sci-fi electro funk jam 'In The House' and Berlin's Nasty King Krule doing his best Dopplereffekt impression on 'Stop Talkin Boy' among others.
Review: In something of a dream pairing for Leisure System, this split disc spans the old guard of electro and those well versed in pushing it into new contortions. Dopplereffekt is of course one of the most lauded of all post-Drexciya projects, and new material comes few and far between. "Delta Wave" is a lavish, sweeping wonder of celestial voices and sci-fi mystery that satisfies all your desires without sounding like a re-hash of old material. On the flipside Objekt has risen to the occasion and delivered one of his most outright electro-infused belters to date, keeping the beat rigid but funky, and working similar amounts of drawn out pads into the mix while keeping the crafty edits and playful sounds as limber as ever.
Review: The latest audio missive from the My Own Jupiter camp brings together debutant Nicholas Lutz (here using the previously unused Draculas Lutz alias) and former CABARET Recordings producer Omar Chibarro. They pair begins proceedings with arresting A-side "Instrumento", a bold, bass-heavy and angular electro jam packed with mind-altering acid lines and shimmering, deep space motifs. They change tack on the flipside, accompanying snappy, organ-laced NYC garage bumper "Tschuss" with the hybrid acid-jack/spacey house bluster of quality closer "Gerogliftko". While stylistically varied, the EP's three tracks are united by an attractive looseness that only emphasizes the thrillingly wayward nature of the duo's otherworldly electronics.
Otis Key - "Copy Natural Processes At The Nanoscale" (4:55)
Review: NOAR Records goes big for its debut release by enlisting several fresh-thinking producers to contribute one track each to this limited edition VA. It is a brilliantly mixed bag, with Friedrich Ernst's 'Clone Scratch' bringing unsettling electro madness to start and The Isolator's 'Locknr01' exploring more stripped-back and sparse sounds that are built on neck-snapping breaks. Anachronism's 'Lost Control By Distance' is the sort of turbulent sonic climax you get in during the boss battle moments of a sci-fi movie, and a trio of B-side cuts keep up the originality with Planetary Secrets' 'Establishment' a particular highlight.
Review: The small but already well-formed Innate label offers up a superb split EP for its sixth outing. Gilbert opens up with 'Low Flying Objects', a widescreen and serene bit of synth-laden tendon with more than a hint of Motor City soul over the dusty drums. 'Unknown Entities' is a brain-cleansing and celestial electro-styled cut with dreamy pads and cinematic deepness. Bristol-born, Welsh-rooted Owain K then steps up to the flip with equally painterly sounds. 'Corona Borealis' pairs deep and rubbery bass with crisp electro drum patterns and far-sighted chords. 'New Horizon' then closes out with some delightfully dozy deep house that's laden with wispy chords and undulating bass.
Review: In typically techno fashion, Berlin crew Mindcolormusic is keeping tight lipped about their latest multi-artist missive, presumably preferring to let the music speak for itself. That's probably a wise move, because there's plenty of electro gold amongst the six scintillating tracks on offer. We're particularly enjoying the fizzing, Drexciya-style assault of Retape's "Mysteron 1", the wild, mind-altering braindance madness of J Wiltshire's "Emporium" - think D'Arcangelo after a few too many glasses of cheap orange squash, and you're close - and the classic Detroit electro pulse of Robert Hect and XY0815's fine EP opener, "Igriegia05". That said, some of the deeper and melodious offerings tucked away elsewhere on the EP are also well worth a listen.
Review: Swedish electro legend Luke Eargoggle presents the latest exploits of his beloved Stilleben imprint with four dystopian aqua-funk exercises. From the Drexciyan derived antics of Obergman's "Aufklarung" or T/Error's "Transuranium" delivered in unrepentant all analogue vintage flair, to the fierce breakneck electro bass assault of Jensen Interceptor - "Sof_Cell" Stilleben 051 has you retroverts covered! The label is this year celebrating 20 years in the business, over the last two decades they've presented works by legends such as Legowelt, Orgue Electronique, DMX Krew and The Hacker to name but a few and the label's sound is just as relevant as ever.
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