Review: Ahead of an oncoming Tbilisi party set to be thrown by the Sameheads crew, their latest 7" appears ahead of time as the latest offering by fellow friends, Andrea & Alexander. With just 300 copies available, this dreamy duo share a juxtaposed space with a more esoteric, gritty B-side, occupied by TINA's 'Vacation', which breaks from the usual Sameheads sound, almost entirely, to indulge a massively wonky inhumation. The A's own 'Olias', by contrast, is light and sixteen-thy, dotting along with detuned Italo saws and descending cadences of relief. Once performed live at the fabled Sameheads festival, City Of A Thousand Suns, the label here celebrate its recorded version for the world to hear on repeat.
Review: The story of this one revolves around San Diego native Anthony "Antone" Williams. He was one day alone in a studio, messing about with the gear and before he knew he it lay down the haunting rhythm that underpins the tune now presented here by the good folks at Athens of the North. It's a sinister, restless one that got released as a hugely limited 7" on Unity Records with otherworldly soul production and a pained vocal up top. Post punk soul, some call it, and that's a fitting descriptor. A remix appears on the flip but the allure of the original is hard to beat.
Review: Sure Thing presents Well of Sand, its second compilation. Six tracks from the label's friends and favourites, each new to the roster, offer bold, untempered explorations of tempo and weight, a concise yet expansive collection recalling the deliberate cadence of rippling sand and the sheen of shimmering oases. From Command D's subtly groundswelling, but snappy 'Half Blue (Violet Mix)', to Foreign Material's alarmingly alien 'The Living Planet' and Third Space's supremely stereoized, lowercase opus 'Push (Part 2)', this is a release for that large intersection of audiophiles and techno-philes.
Review: Swiss imprint Phantom Island specialises in the kind of atmospheric, slow-motion Balearica that looks far and wide for inspiration. Their latest EP, a collaboration between live electronic performer Tillman Ostendarp and singer/songwriter Gina Ete, naturally takes a similar approach. Title track 'Le Bouqet', for example, features subtle nods towards the more atmospheric material on Peter Gabriel's 1980s album 'So' with drowsy chords, ethereal electronics, clicking beats and the sweetest of vocals, while 'Tetra' is creepy, dark and atmospheric in the extreme, with live percussion catching the ear. Elsewhere, 'Nonchalant' is like trip-hop after a hit of opiates, 'Customer Care' is a wonky number with distorted vocals, ambient textures and West African percussion, and Fuga Ronto's remix of 'Le Bouquet' is a retro-futurist leftfield synth-pop gem with added dub delay.
Five Times Of Dust - "Computer Bank" (The Floor mix) (7:12)
Five Times Of Dust - "Armoured Car" (6:57)
Unovidual & Tara Cross - "Like I Am, Comme Je Suis" (The Floor mix) (7:11)
Unovidual & Tara Cross - "Imponative" (3:28)
Review: Thanks to the eternally revered Minimal Wave imprint, out of NYC, Mark Phillips and Robert Lawrence's Five Times Of Dust project is going through a bit of a revival. The duo had first released some post-punk cassettes back in the 80s, and they clearly have not been forgotten. On this new remix EP, "Computer Bank" is given a makeover in the form of a The Floor remix, who proceeds to add all sorts of quirkiness over the tune's tough, heavy bass and driving rhythm; "Armoured Car" breaks the 4/4 in favour of something much closer to the band's original drum machine style. Once again, on the flip, we have a remix of "Like I Am, Comme Je Suis" by The Floor, who throws up a gnarly electro bass onto shady, neo-romantic vocals, and the whole things is finished off by "Imponative" from Unovodual and Tara Cross, who produce a slow, heady industrial groove for the dancefloor.
Roman Flugel - "More Is Not Enough (Heaven Or Hell?)"
Lauer - "Hector"
San Laurentino - "Final Landing"
Tuff City Kids - "People Is A Crackhead" (Tuff Hamlet riddim)
Review: Established as a record label some four years ago, Live At Robert Johnson have really come to the fore as representing the best of contemporary European deep house alongside the likes of Dial and Running Back. Here, the Frankfurt institution returns to their recent triumphant Lifesaver compilation with this addendum 12" release featuring the productions from Roman Flugel, Lauer, San Laurentino and Tuff City Kids. Flugel opens proceedings with the rough and moody "More Is Not Enough" which brandishes a beat that can't help but get in your face. This is complemented by the calmer, sumptuous New Beat stylings of Lauer's "Hector" and the richly colourful "Final Landing" from San Laurentino. "People Is A Crackhead (Tuff Hamlet Riddim)" is not only the best track title in a hot minute but yet another original dancefloor slayer from Gerd Janson and Lauer's Tuff City Kids, opting for the Germanic digi dub meets tuff house route.
Review: Following up two volumes in the Sextant various artist EP series, the enigmatic Tachyon makes their full proper EP debut here on Swiss imprint Unruh. 'Fried' is very much an advanced take on the minimal techno sound and will effectively warp minds at the afterhour, followed by the mutant electro textures of 'PCM' (dub). Over on the flip, the icy and spatial 'Traffic' takes its cues as much from 2-step as dub techno, followed by the eerie twilight beats of 'Late Chatter'. Tip!
Review: Inspired by the immeasurable depths of the abyss, Milanese DJ and producer Joseph Tagliabue fosters a dense and intense soundscape on his latest EP 'Abisso', evoking a submerged world of cosmic frequencies nay high-freq, post-techno experiments. Unafraid of the wet and subnautical, 'Abisso' dives headfirst into the lower yonders of the abyss, with the title track inspiring visions of a pulsating humanoid submersible confidently plunging into the fishy midsts of an underwater nowhere; while 'Venula' hears our main character chancing on an underwater acid rave, and 'Insidie' finding a rare pocket-vacuum of air. Finally, 'Santra' rounds off on an incredible halfstep stomp, gated vocals and resonant lows aplenty.
Review: Vodkast Records continues to put a focus on Georgian musicians here with a new EP composed and performed by Tedi, while Zesknel also offers up three remixes. These are experimental sounds from the word go: 'Peru' is all fizzing textures and live jazz drums with moody spoken words, 'Upper Manuality' is a raw techno stomper with a sense of dystopian menace and 'Saturn' is a lithe, dubby and deep space techno interlude. 'Detunator' brings curious, clean synth modulations and shuffling rhythms. The remixes all bring dark energy and otherworldly motifs.
Review: Towa Tei is best known for his membership of the influential house music troupe Deee-Lite, the legacy of which has helped sustain a prolific solo career. Now comes the two fresh bits 'Ear Candy' and 'Muse'. Channelling the aesthetic spirit of Tei's many collaborators and influenecs - that of singer and drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, once a member of the legendary techno-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra, and the artist Yayoi Kusama - we get something between broken beat, electro-funk, and downtempo dadaist electronica as the result, as we are implored to "bring that funky music", an impulse almost certainly as addictive as the sugary highs elicited from actual candy.
Review: The Tetine trio started writing and composing together in the lockdowns of 2020 - no doubt observing all the arcane rules about hands, face and space as they did so. They have an intuitive style that now translates to this record which was written for cello, voice, piano, organ and electronics and was born as "a respiratory, meditative, and improvisatory piece of DIY tropical-mutant-punk "chamber music". They have succeeded in their mission to subvert here with plenty of subtle background sounds bleeding in from the nearby street as themes such as hearing loss, menopause, pollution and respiration all come up.
Review: Commissioned by Meow Wolf for their Omega Mart immersive art experience in Las Vegas, Amon Tobin delivers the kind of horizon-expanding epic you would hope for from one of the world's most respected living electronic music visionaries. Running at 20 minutes, give or take 40 seconds, this collection of movements worthy of an odyssey may have been designed for a specific context, but they don't have to be trapped there forever. While nothing will compare to diving headfirst into Meow Wolf's critically acclaimed installation piece, a kind of sci-fi takedown of advanced capitalism and blind consumerism in a morally bankrupt world, separating sounds from space still makes a big impact. Noises from the future, soundscapes from the depths of a truly astounding mind, this is nothing if not captivating.
Review: Desencanto is carving out its own sound world with its first releases and this one again taps into a loved-up deep house vibe that puts beautiful melodies and serene moods front and centre. 'Pipina' kicks off in the form of an Acqua mix that is downbeat and blissed out. 'Miss U Too' then brings some retro 80s synth work and taught basslines under celestial keys. 'Temptation' has more glassy melodies making for a rather haunting and eerie mood and finally, 'Last Kiss' is a suspenseful ambient soundscape that floats you up amongst the stars with reverential flutes encouraging nostalgic dreams.
Review: Luke Wyatt is an NYC lo-fi experimentalist, now dwelling in Berlin and heads up the Valcrond Video imprint: which in recent times has served up great work by fellow retroverts in the form of Aussie electro fiend Privacy, the L.I.E.S. affiliated Steve Summers and analogue techno heroine Xosar. The sludgy and slow burning midnight rock on the title track is reminiscent of The Birthday Party via Ry Cooder, until he throws us a curveball with the aquatic electro frequencies of "Poser". On the flip, the vibe remains the same however "Stealing Geodes From The Nature Company" is a much deeper and experimental take on the Dopplereffekt sound. Finally, Wyatt gives you his perspective of Bob Dylan on the cheeky post punk ditty "Not Quite Music".
Sulking In The Hallway Outside The Cafeteria (4:11)
Review: Luke Wyatt's Torn Hawk project has always been hard to pigeonhole, with the American producer frequently combining admirable experimental instincts and a love for dusty, distorted sounds with a desire to foreground melody and associated musical niceness. Both sides of his musical personality combine on this six-track EP for Fixed Rhythms. The highlight - for us at least - is the surf guitar solo-laden moody epic 'Oh Yeah (Cop Collab)', where waves of gritty, psychedelic and weirdo noises rise above dense sonic textures and rolling beats. That said, there's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere across the EP, including the outstanding-fi workout 'Make Things So Complicated', the dubbed-out beat science of 'Dirty Black Satin' and the experimental breakbeat madness of 'Sulking In The Hallway Outside The Cafeteria'.
Review: The Outer Edge reckons that this first release on their label is one of "the rarest and simultaneously best-recorded independently released German new wave singles in history." Bold words, but probably not far wrong. 80s outfit Total wrote it as the first and title single for an album deal they signed. It's a killer cut with hints of 'The Message''s hip-hop rhythm and alluring female vocals over a lush bassline from the Jupiter 8 keyboard and DMX drum machine funk driving it along at such an inviting mid-tempo. The withering cosmic keys add extra spacey goodness and here it comes with a couple of alternative mixes, though the OG is really the one.
Review: A couple of years ago, Max Stocklosa debuted the Trii Group project - albeit under the alternative TRjj moniker - via a couple of decent releases on STROOM. This limited 45 marks the first Trii Group outing of 2021 and was made in cahoots with Hipolito, a fellow Cologne-based artist who has previously contributed to Stocklosa's cassette-heavy TRii Musik label. A-side 'Circuit' is odd but rather good, offering a glorious mixture of tipsy, inebriated new age electronics, distant vocals and chiming melodies. 'Timer' retains the same reverb-laden vocal sound, this time placing Hipolito's vocals atop undulating, lo-fi machine drums and the kind of bubbly, alien-sounding modular melodies that were once a feature of compositions by the Radiophonic Workshop.
Review: Composer, sound designer, musician, artist. Vienna-based Ulrich Troyer has a number of strings to his bow, all of which have played into a world-building process deeply rooted in dub and sound system culture. Releases on the likes of Deep Midi Musik are a good reference point for newcomers. Here, though, we're in less structured and formalised places, with two pieces - well, one and a bit - of abstraction waiting for you to get lost in. 'Track 1' certainly comes with the kind of low reverberations and effects that call to mind huge speaker stacks in smoke-filled places. But it's also kind of deconstructed journey, it harmonises distorted beats and rhythms with beautiful melodic motifs in a way that's as innovative and beguiling as it is instantly pleasing. Flip it to find something we won't even bother trying to define, a celebration of the remnants of that opening arrangement, perhaps.
Review: Josh Dahlberg is The Valley and the Mountain aka TVTM and is an artist who has made a big move recently from the deep westside of Detroit all the way across to the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest. He he arrives on Central Scientific for its inaugural release with Detroit-based producer and Akka & BeepBeep founder, Jo Rad Silver, taking care of the flip. Next to an array of hardware, there is plenty of improvisation with guitars in this EP - 'Experiment Obscura' is a widescreen and dramatic ambient cut with a meditative feel and 'Immersion Theatre III' is another empty but inviting piece with curlicues, wispy pads, distant guitar echoes and moodiness to spare.
Porter Brook - "Three Things You Can Watch Forever" (5:58)
Ayu - "Light & Reflection" (4:51)
Atavic - "Subconscious" (5:30)
Tammo Hesselink & DYL - "Accent Award" (5:10)
Plebeian - "Gowanus" (5:05)
Review: Aaron J's Sure Thing kicks on towards its tenth release with a superb new 12" packed with fresh techno jams. Myriad different mods, grooves and tempos are on offer here starting with the puling rhythmic depths of Vardae's 'Pahlevan' then moving on to Kick21's 'Bright Interface', a dark and haunting low-end wobbler. Atavic's 'Subconscious' is a heady one with ambient cosmic pads over deeply hurried, supple rhythms then while Tammo Hesselink & DYL combine to mesmeric effect on the carefully curated broken beat brilliance of 'Accent Award.' A forward-thinking EP for sure.
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