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Review: Hailing from Spain's Non Series label, Ritmo Oscuro' offers a diverse techno exploration. Sciahri / Conceptual join forces to delve deep into the title track and evolve it enough to make alternate versions stand on their own. The original track oozes sci-fi ambiance with its heavy beat and eerie atmosphere. 'Ritmo Oscuro 2' shifts towards a more aggressive, energy-building tech sound. LDS' remix brings broken beats and distinctive sound effects. Finally, 'Ritmo Oscuro 3' transports listeners to the 90s with its ravey, linear techno. If you are looking for some percussive, sci-fi techno then look no further then this.

Review: In terms of being an afrobeat legend, Pasteur Lappe is Cameroon's Fela Kuti, an unsung hero who was ahead of the game back in the 1970s and 1980s, and one whose been famous for burning the pockets of many diggers nowadays. Luckily, Africa Seven have compiled some of his best work onto a ten-track LP, ranging from the funky oddities of "More Sekele Movement" or "Na Real Seke Fo'ya", to the future-zouk sound of "Sanaga Calypso", and plenty of jazzy, popped-out, disgruntled soulfulness to satisfy anyone from Gilles Peterson to Cherrystones. Heavy and warmly recommended.

Review: Tuff Culture displaying a love of original UKG, back from the Sunday session days of the genre's infancy. 'Day Dream' has masterfully dry drums and hits and a classic vocal sample that packs in the soul. Smart filters and effects build tension before the big drop, gun fingers and pinging bass all explode to life. Irresistible. On the flip, 'Perpetual Motion' is another stripped-back, scuffed-up, low-key but high-impact garage shuffler with plenty of pent-up energy and a wicked Erykah Badu sample.

Review: The NID Tapes is a collection of early Indian electronic music uncovered at the archives of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India. The compilation includes works by Gita Sarabhai, I.S. Mathur, Atul Desai, S.C. Shama and Jinraj Joshipura, who worked at India's first electronic music studio founded at the NID in 1969, with support from the New York composer David Tudor. A throwback to the early days of analog composition, the compilation escapes the usual tendency towards Eurocentrism in championing this field, and showcases the collective's experiments with Moog synthesizer, tape collage, vocal techniques and field recordings - creating a unique fusion of Western and Indian avant-garde traditions.

Review: Mysterious techno artist Rrose presents their first ever CD release, and their second full-length project to date. Following 2019's Hymn to Moisture, Please Touch features 11 slippery slinkers, flaunting Rrose's penchant for hypnotics and minimalisms; the likes of 'Spores' and 'Spines' refuse to indulge too many novel sounds, preferring to allow their more immersive textures to rattle and ricochet over each mix, producing a delugey wash. Thematically, the LP deals with themes of touch, intimacy and embodiment, doing some of the work to bridge the schizophonic gap that's remained open since the dawn of recorded music.

Notes: An ART wavetable dual oscillator mono voice source that can be used to build polyphonic patches and multi voice patches. It generates its harmonically rich sound using two 80s vintage D/A converters to feed your filters and effect processors. VORTEX comes loaded with dozens of wavetables, plus additional user wavetables can be loaded from the front panel SD card. A detune knob controls the second VCO and adds effects from deep phasing to a sub octave. The position knob and CV input selects waves in the tables and vibrato from LFOs to create FM. Like other ART sound generators a dedicated Gate output manages the voice envelope or any modulation synced to that voice. VORTEX is a great companion to the analog ATX1 and a must for digital synthesist enthusiasts.

Size: 8HP - Depth: 40mm / 1.5"
Power: +12V 80mA / -12V 25mA

Notes: OCTOPUS is a powerhouse ART controller that takes MIDI in via the USB or DIN connector and outputs 8 ART channels with 8 velocity CV plus 8 drum triggers. Together with the ART oscillators the OCTOPUS provide unprecedented simplicity connecting the modular to your computer sequencers, hardware midi sequencers and keyboards. Each ART channel can play polyphonic notes, monophonic notes or create multi-channel polyphony using an internal voice manager. All together OCTOPUS can play more voices and notes from a single controller than ever was possible in modular. Using ART high speed control signals OCTOPUS can maintain low jitter for tight timing.

Please note, OCTOPUS is not a 1V/Oct midi to CV and should not be confused as one.

Size: 18HP - Depth: 40mm / 1.5"
Power: +12V 140mA / -12V 100mA

Review: We've got some of that naughty and irresistible white label madness here from new and mysterious label and production outfit Outtaface. It comes with a label that references the energetic cartoon stylings of the late Keith Haring and a bassline that will melt your face. The 'Vocal' track mixes up disco, skank, rave, The Prodigy references and outer space designs into a truly unusual blend that will bring colour and craziness to the floor. The flip side dub slows it down, fleshes out the low and and allows the cosmic synth work more room to shine. A handy 12" for sure.

Review: Albert Zhirnov's back on the Clergy label for a second time following his debut last year. Once again he showcases a love of fad-free, straight up techno pumpers for the main room. There is a sweep-you-off-your-feet urgency to 'Switchback' with its hurried kicks and restless synth loops all demanding you move. 'Distortion Forge' is a high-octane banger too, this time with rusty metal peeling off the bulky beats. The energy levels ramp up through another high-functioning tool in 'Wooden Lessons' and the frictionless forces of 'Stoker.' Basements won't know what's hit them.

Notes: Digitally-controlled full-analogue path Granular + Multimode VCF

The Grainity brings a unique and never-heard-before concept to the world of analogue VCF.

While being based on analogue filtering only, the Grainity expands and enriches the sound in creating subharmonics, harmonies, unison, flanging effects and formant filtering all at once.

The module presents two sections, the granular filter itself and a typical multimode filter, each with its own output.

A third output offers a mix of both filter paths. Numerous controls and CV allow a very wide palette of results.

What is the Grainity

Granular?

The word granular was chosen for this filter module in relation to the concept invented by the composer Yannis Xenakis, and which is described as assembling small chops of sounds - he called grains - according to a pattern.

This is exactly what the Grainity does, no more no less ... but, digital control allows doing it in ways that are decades away from what tape and scissors allowed at the time.

Technology wise ...

In the granular section, the incoming sound cycle is determined in order to step through various filtering and phase variations of itself according to predefined patterns called structures.

The controls allow alterations to the cycling phase, cycling frequency offset (tuning), structure selection and frequency division of the filters cycling. This comes in addition to the usual filter frequency and resonance controls.

What the Grainity is not

Technology wise ...

Despite relying on a microprocessor, the Grainity is not a digital audio processor. At any time, the sound remains in the analogue domain and goes through analogue circuits from in to out.

The digital processor does not convert or generate audio signals; it is there to control the analogue circuitry and manage the interface and display.

Sound wise ...

Several digital modules offering granular processing rely on the layering of sound grains, which leads to blurry and cloudy textures.

Layering of the grains is a late addition to the concept of granular synthesis and is not a mandatory feature of the concept.

The Grainity does not use delay lines or sampling memory but is nevertheless true to the foundations of the granular synthesis concept.

The granular VCF in the Grainity is unconventional in that, most of times, it is not filtering the sound in the common expectation of removing something. Typically, the granular process adds more than it removes by expanding both the lower range, creating subharmonics, and the upper harmonic contents in multiples ways.

Dimensions
10 HP
21 mm deep

Current Draw
101 mA +12V
59 mA -12V
0 mA 5V

Review: The solo project of Swedish musician Sofie Herner, Leda is an experimental project mainly dedicated to roomy, claustrophobic freakouts, fashioned out of a distinctive form of guitar playing, among other tinkerings. Now a well-known name in the Gothenburg scene, Herner's proximity to her local DIY underground is abundantly clear. It feels just as reflective in the sound of her latest project here, Neuter, which sounds like a gargantuan woodwork project subsuming a collective consciousness. Building off the natural footprints trailed by not only her former output, but also her involvement in bands like Neutral and Enhet For Fri Musik, this LP comprises nine tracks of minimal guitar loops, layered oppressively with doomy vocals, all-encompassing percussion, and other oddball instruments. Movements one through nine guide us through uniquely dour worlds, all with the utmost creep factor.

Review: Archeo Recordings bring us some more Balearic Italian treasure here with some gold initially recorded in Bologna almost two decades ago. It's a collaboration between friends Bottin and Lucio Dalla that has never before been on vinyl. 'Lunedi Cinema' was an ident that played before Monday night movies on of one of the main Italian TV channels for many years. This electronic version includes the Martedi Mix from 2008, a Minibar Bonus Track and also a mix by pioneering Italian dream house dons Leo Mas & Fabrice with a Bottin dub sealing the deal. It's a superb package of real Italo music history.

Review: Interplugreaction is a track from Beroshima's 2007 album Real To Reel, but it's wasn't until 2023 that we (now get to) hear the cream of its reinterpretations. If only every track in the world could hear a remix from the likes of Marcel Dettman and Rodhad! Perhaps this calls for an entirely new industry - in fact, let's lock the artists in a room just so they can churn out the music and nothing else. Actually, a whopping four techno heavyweights (also including Frank Muller and Henning Baer) to reinterpret the classic track, with the new mixes ranging from stuffy and oppressive to airy and stark. Certainly not one to miss.

Review: Through his work with revivalist soul band the Indications, Durand Jones has already proved that he's a serious talent - a vocalist and lyricist whose impressive range and impassioned, emotive delivery mark him out as a genuine star in the making. Wait Till I Get Over, his debut solo album, will only enhance his reputation. Framed as a love letter to his hometown of Hillaryville, with thoughtful lyrics that reflect not only on his own intriguing life story but also the history of the town's black community, the collected songs veer from string-laden, socially conscious ballads and fuzzy rhythm & blues workouts, smoky slow jams, nods to Sly Stone and righteous, reverb-laden gospel winners.

Review: Ten years deep, Visionquest continues to be a potent force in field of minimal tech house thanks to releases like these. The latest split release from their VQ X series opens up with the spellbinding, micro dub meditation 'The Serpent & The Jaguar' from Deadbeat before swerving into the equally tender folds of Triptease & Yonatan Levi's 'Amniotic Jive'. Tuccillo opens up the B-side with some crisp, immersive broken beat rhythmic incantations, and then Wareika round the record off with a smouldering piece of hi-tech jazz from the outer rim. This is subtle, elegant minimal at its warmest, make no mistake.

Notes: Audio split cable to connect your synthesiser to a DJ mixer or record player to speakers. 3.5 mm stereo (TRS) mini jack to 2 x RCA.

Stereo mini jack to RCA split cable
Shielded, narrow profile, specially designed for Teenage Engineering devices
Length: 1200 mm

Review: Thomas Blanchot has been casting a spell with his sun-soaked reggae renditions as Mato for a long time now. He's back on his regular stomping ground of Stix with a beautiful version of Roy Ayers' evergreen 'What You Won't Do For Love', with Ethel Lindsey taking on the role as singer to complement Blanchot's sweet and easy riddim. It's a tune primed to greet the warmer weather, staying faithful to the original while giving it a fresh spin. As well as the full vocal version on the A-side, we know full well you're going to love flipping it over for the consummate dub version on the B-side.

Review: We're always happy to have another reissue of Nana Vasconcelos works. this one from Altercat, 'Nana Nelson Angelo Novelli' is a cult album of Brazilian music from 1975, originally on the Saravah. It is a record which epitomizes of the sound of Clube da Esquina, which is the title given to an e explosion of sound fusions that occurred in Minais Gerais at around that time. It takes in rock 'n' roll, psychedelia, traditional bossa nova and percussive sounds and is well demonstrated here. Various moods, from the psychedelic 'No Sul do Polo Norte' to the funky 'Tiro Crusado' to the haunting 'Aranda' all make this a classic.