All I Do (Ryuhei The Man 45 edit instrumental) (4:05)
Review: Japanese live outfit, A Hundred Birds has a thing for creating classic covers. Over the course of their career, they've recorded countless covers, including organic, string-laden interpretations of techno scene staples such as "Blackwater" (originally recorded by Octave 8) and "Knights of the Jaguar" (The Aztec Mystic). Last year they offered up another warm and wonderous cover, this time of Stevie Wonder classic "All I Do". Here it gets a new lease of life courtesy of scalpel fiend Ryu The Man, who has delivered tightened-up, floor-friendly vocal and instrumental edits of the warm, rich, soulful and undeniably summery cover version. Both are rather good, though it's the vocal version that will win over dancers.
Review: Both of these funk gems are taken from a cult compilation Trans Groove Express, which explored the sounds of Express Records and was assembled by MURO. Fourth Wave now serve them up on a superb 7", starting with Maki Asakawa. 'Hohi Hitotsu' is a delightfully gentle and subtle dub with funky guitars adding movement while the sultry vocal soars. Yasuhiro Abe's 'Night Fish' is a brighter and more retro 80s soul and boogie sound with glowing chords and snappy hits. The Japanese language vocal is emotive enough to mean plenty without understanding the meaning of the words.
Review: Ed Davenport's Counterchange imprint is back with a label compilation that demonstrates a wide variety of techno derivatives by a stellar cast. From scene legends such as UK innovator Boddika (with his hypnotic and textural epic "Broken Wave)" and elder statesman Patrik Skoog with the functional, peak-time cyclicality of "Mind Control". For more heady and atmospheric flavours, they have you covered courtesy of Puglia's Distant Echoes on the utterly sublime "Under The Influence" while Acing Seas main men Cassegrain team up with the inimitable Tin Man on the heady acid epic "Opal Stare".The harder edged, dancefloor ready weapons are provided by label head honcho Davenport on the retro, bleep driven "Fluxus", while BNJMN's abrasive "Red Tide" hammers the message home on this true beast that reaches near tribal moments.
Review: Well, this is an absolute Klockworks takeover this week, and its clear that Mr.Klock himself is making a bit of a statement! This is the third episode of the new Klockworks compilation series, each one of these releases bound together by a similar artwork and, of course, a mutual love for sleek, direct techno for the mind. Newbies Jay Clarke and Ritzi Lee ride on the A-side of this double-pack, both offering a dusty procession of calculating techno, while the B-side is dominated by Reus' tenebrous "Acid Mono" and High Position's hard-hitting, dub-leaning "Cops". The second disc kicks off with Yokol's dreamy patterns through "Dense", followed by the dark and bass-heavy groove of Adam Craft. Vincent's "How I Feel" closes off the compilation with a comparatively more soulful piece via "How I Feel", a melody-rich house-techno hybrid for the masses.
SculpturedMusic - "Get Home" (feat Robert Owens) (5:25)
Young Molz - "Closer" (7:00)
Review: 'SculpturedRecords Sample Vol 1' presents a showcase of South Africa's emerging deep house talents, featuring standout contributions from Maczito, Guztav, Young Molz, and SculpturedMusic. The release shines with soulful grooves and introspective beats, offering a finely crafted sonic journey. Highlighting the EP is the remix of DJ Nana's 'Unity' by Robert Owens and KG Sunset, blending smooth vocals with a compelling deep house backdrop. With each track delivering a distinct energy, SculpturedRecords kicks off this series with an impressive release, signalling an exciting new chapter for both the label and the producers involved.
Review: The House Of Web is a new project that brings together music with a range of international origins across two EPs. They feature material originally by Takuya Sogimoto on this label in 2020 and 2022 as well as some unreleased cuts from 1994 and 1995. Dynamo Dreesen & Robotron go first as Dynatron ahead of a debut solo EP on SUED that is due soon. Then comes Dresvn aka Dynamo Dreesen & SVN, YPY aka Koshiro Hino from Osaka and a member of the Japanese band Goat, plus the next level beat maker A Made Up Sound. All four of these cuts offer superbly fresh takes on techno.
Review: Weme presents, 'Various Acid'. The genre-bending artists such as Ed DMX, Chris Moss, Todd Osborn (SoundMurderer),
Ceephax, Cylob, Syntheme, Yuri Lewitt and Luke Vibert need no introduction. United on this record to celebrate the magi
vibe of acid, each of them with their own personality. When we thought we had seen it all, this piece of wax goes a step
further then your usual acid; it's more than a compilation, it's a modern acid manifesto. This is Acid.
Review: As the ongoing Palestinian humanitarian crisis deepens, more and more artists are taking a stand and demanding a ceasefire in the conflict. Following Annie Lennox's "Artists for ceasefire. Peace" outcry at the Grammys in January coming at the end of a heartwrenching rendition of 'Nothing Compares 2 U', Young Fathers, Fontaines DC, Massive Attack and Orbital have come together to use their platform to raise funds for non-profit humantarian medical group Medecins Sans Frontieres. The 12" comes in one of four colour combinations, where the disc and two contrasting colours on the cover (designed by Massive Attack's 3D) sport one of the bold colours of the Palestinian flag.
Review: The first release from the Axis Audiophile Series. Jeff Mills has formed an electronic jazz fusion band and this 12? is a recording of their recent performance in Kobe during the TodaysArt.JP Festival. Mills manages the decks, drums and percussion and is joined Detroit legend and Underground Resistance stalwart Gerald Mitchell (Los Hermanos/Galaxy 2 Galaxy), keyboardist Yumiko Ohno and bassist Kenji Jino. "Eventide" has the same kind of urban, uplifting soul as anything Kaidi Thatham or Mark de Clive-Lowe have made and isn't bad at all! On the flip "Happy Gamma Ray" features uplifting keys and emotive chords backed by funk bass and one of Mills' unmistakeable 909 drum machine workouts. It really seems that there's no limit to this Motor City legend's creativity which has spanned nearly 30 years and we're excited about this new chapter in the Wizard's sonic universe.
Review: The second chapter of Sentry's compilation series furthers the notoriety of its lauded artist congregation, welcoming plenty of fresh faces to the revered artist roster. A four-track vinyl sampler, Syndicate Part 2 takes (as the label best said themselves) 'bass music enthusiasts for an extensive and stylistically varied ride'. KALI & Senncoria take dubstep into world music realms on 'Dragon Shape', LSN bring UK bass music forward on the urban grit of 'Shotta Kush', Substance teams up with label head honcho Youngsta on the blunted late night grime experiment 'Nug', and on what was probably our favourite track on here, Cimm presents a unique take on dub techno with the cavernous and glacial 'Glider'.
Review: The latest release from KH (HF International / Magic Ways) & The Lasttrak, the unit that gained popularity for their remix of 'Playa' released on Urban Discos, is a superb UK lovers rock cover of The Weeknd's 'Out of Time' and 'I Feel It Coming', with guest vocals from Yosuke Nakano, frontman of the urban pop music band Emerald. Nicely recapturing the Weeknd's distinctive vocal character while lending a sunned J-digitub character to the compositions, the tracks are twin variations on the same melodic theme and great fodder for decked-out shindigs sure to come in the 2024 summer ahead.
Review: Yoi keep it fresh with a new 12" that comes on a rather nice picture disc. More importantly the music is of a quality that merits the extra attention on the packaging with four artists all coming through with compelling takes on minimal. Mariche's 'Haunted House' is awash with nice bubbly synth phrases that are full of colour and charm, then Sbruf's 'That Think' gets funked up and kinetic on lively drum programming with lots of hooky synth details and sci-fi flourishes. Watsche's 'Bsmtgrvs' is another glossy hyper-real sound with polished melodies and a restless sense of groove and Yogi P keeps it deep with the soulful pads of 'Vickies Groove.'
Review: Seaweed Rythm Vol 1 assembles an accomplished crew of techno explorers for a fine gatefold double 12". Revered underground old timer Mihai Popoviciu opens with the gentle dub delights of 'Lit' then Rowlanz gets intensely romantic on the dub house of 'Hold Me Down' and YSC cooks up a superbly bubbly bassline and slinky groove with a tough edge. There is then some lovely crisp electro depth from Andu Simion on 'When They See Us' and further highlights from Per Hammar on 'Sub Motion' and the icy minimal breaks of Cesare & Disorder's 'Choramingando.'
Review: Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain, the masterminds behind Future Sound of London, return with The Pulse EP Vol 3, a reissue of their classic work under various aliases on the Jumpin' & Pumpin' label. This highly anticipated 12" features tracks that showcase their 90s techno brilliance. Side-1 opens with Smart Systems' 'Tingler' (Four By Four mix), a dark, sinister track that channels Beltram's 'hover' sound into a hardcore rave anthem. Indo Tribe's 'Owl' (I Can See You mix) follows, hailed by fans as one of the greatest breakbeat hardcore tracks ever made, a retro-classic loaded with chunky, energetic beats and an unforgettable sample. Side-2 kicks off with Indo Tribe's 'Bite The Bullet Baby' (Jacques Reynoix mix), another gem that blends early 90s rave energy with a unique edge. The real highlight, however, is Yage's 'Calcium' (Elementary mix), which first appeared on Future Sound of London's Accelerator album. Even today, it sounds transcendental and timeless, its melodic piano lines and otherworldly ambiance continuing to win over listeners. This EP is a vital piece of underground rave history and an essential listen for fans of early techno and breakbeat hardcore.
Yamada The Giant & SMS - "The Phun-ky Thing" (6:02)
SMS - "U Yami" (6:13)
THX8182 - "El Hanblador" (5:16)
THX8182 - "YYMM" (Popiol I Diament mix) (7:27)
Review: And Ana makes its bow right at the end of one year and the start of a new one and does so with a sampler entitled Acid Animal Traxx Vol 01. Yamada The Giant & SMS open proceedings with 'The Phun-ky Thing' which is a blissed out downtempo sound littered with samples from a house classic. SMS then goes it one for the mid tempo percussive jumble that is 'U Yami' and THX8182 offers the psychedelic colours and churning rhythms of 'El Hanblador' before a Popiol I Diament mix then layers in plenty of gurgling acid and synth lines. On this evidence, we hope there will be many more instalments in this fine series.
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