Review: EPM20 Ep2 goes off on an electro tangent here. On this one, we have veteran producer Cisco Ferreira aka The Advent teaming up with his son Zein on the ferocious electro dystopia of "Strangeform" and as if that was not enough, another legend, the one and only Carl Finlow appears next with the abstract, cybernetic beats of "Optogenetic". Over on the flip, we have someone by the name of Detroit's Filthiest (quite an accolade!) who is in fact Motor City stalwart Julian Shamou (Motor City Electro Company) known for his work as 313 Bass Mechanics or Digitek, and longstanding hero of the Midwest Freddie Fresh should need no introduction; his contribution here under the Modulator alias is the deep mind IDM journey "Promars".
Review: The Spanish Hypnotic Collective label attempts to capture its take on the Detroit Legacy with what looks like a new series of various artists' EP. There is plenty of Motor City soul in the gorgeous synths of Cignol's muted acid and deep house opener 'Distance' which is a soothing and reverential groove, but then its pure party from Barce, Alex Martin offers up 313 style tech and three further tunes on the flip explore blistering electro with high-speed funk and cosmic intent. Mission accomplished and we're already looking forward to the next one.
Review: Veteran Italian duo D'arcangelo return with a new EP for Aussie label A Colourful Storm. Across the five tracks featured on the Arium EP, Fabrizio and Marco present their singular take on IDM that earned them several releases on Aphex Twin's seminal Rephlex label. There's the introspective, mesmerising bliss of opener 'Godsonix' plus the emotive 'Spacing Out', as well as the artificial intelligence of the title track and the visceral beats of closing track 'Familiarity' rounding out another terrific release by the Roman brothers.
Boogie Night (feat JZP - Astratto Fool mix) (6:34)
Bank Robber (4:29)
Magic Circle (2:58)
Brazillionaire (2:58)
Brazillionaire (The Mechanical Man remix) (6:45)
Review: Daddario proves he is the daddio with a new electro excursion on the fledgling Ragoo label. Rather than all out cosmic dance floor assaults, this is electro steep in funk and boogie from the off. 'Shift' is a playful one with stiff melodies and lush chords while 'Boogie Night' (feat JZP) is just that. 'Space Lou' has a feel good disco tinge to the hip swinging clasp and jazzy keys and after an Astratto Fool mix that slows 'Boogie Night' down to a soulful slow dance the flipside brings dazzling electro-disco and downbeat analogue grooves that seduce and tease. The Mechanical Man remix of 'Brazillionaire' might just steal the show at the end.
Dawn Razor & ArcheTech - "From Another Galaxy" (8:05)
Dawn Razor - "Good Morning MIR" (4:59)
Dawn Razor & ArcheTech - "From Another Galaxy" (Shed remix) (5:40)
Dawn Razor - "Jupiter Thrill" (4:37)
Review: Dawn Razor makes his mark on DEXT Recordings with a fresh release of deep, minimal, and atmospheric breakbeat techno. Blending intricate rhythms and ambient soundscapes, the tracks push the boundaries of the genres in a stylish fashion. The release opens with a collaboration with ArcheTech which is loopy and kinetic. Additionally, legendary German experimentalist Shed provides a remix that reimagines the original track with his unique, forward-thinking approach and physical drum programming. Two Razor solo cuts explore floating and airy techno rhythms that soothe the mind.
Review: Dark Entries label regulars De-Bons-en-Pierre are back with more of their scuzzy delights in the form of their Card Short of a Full Deck EP. It's drenched in textbook sludginess as is often the way with Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti ever since they came together in 2016. These tunes were all originally written back in 2019 for live performances and really find the pair pushing at the boundaries of accepted social norms. The absurd sounds pair skipping rhythms with dark and freaky basslines and plenty of eerie rave chords to make for an all-new kind of dance floor energy.
Review: It would be fair to say that Tobias Menguser's sole single as Leon De Winter, 1997's Apollo Jazz, has become a sought-after item in recent times - and with good reason. One of the earliest releases on the fashionable-again Eukahouse label, the two-tracker confidently blurred the boundaries between futurist early tech-house, electro and more psychedelic dancefloor flavours. Finally available again in remastered form thanks to this Mint Condition reissue, the A-side title track is simply sublime: a gorgeous and timeless fusion of deliciously dreamy chords, high-register acid lines, bittersweet melodies, smooth but deep bass and shuffling electro-not-electro bliss. It's emotive dancefloor perfection! Flip-side 'Metamat' meanwhile is darker, squelchier and moodier, with chunkier beats, rougher TB-303 motifs and weightier bass.
Review: Deadmau5 is nothing if not a controversial figure. He emerged before the EDM explosion with his big head fancy dress which made no sense until that scene then blew up and he was right at the heart of it. Now he keeps on with his playful attitude not least in the title of this new EP on Play out of Canada. People Are Still Having Sex is big room electro with energetic synths and a sort of polished Draft Punk aesthetic. 'Desynchronized' (John Made remix) is a more trippy affair with busy and sequenced melodies ready to blow up a main room
Review: Francois Dillinger brings his futuristic visions to this classy new EP on EC Underground. It finds the sonic sculptor kick off with a warped bassline underpinning an eerie and slow motion electro cut on 'The Pilgrimage.' 'Tangential' is another snaking rhythm with mysterious pads and bouncing bass that makes for a truly original vibe. 'Message Failed To Send' has a hint of Kraftwerk retro-ism to its snappy snares and talk box vocals then 'When It Was Free' classes down with a gritty mix of celestial charm and deep space unknown. These are next level sonics as always from Dillinger.
Review: Athens-based label Ethos is looking to build on the good start it made with its first two outings with a third raw and direct EP. DimDJ is a legend in Greece and has been since the 90s when he first began making his mark. His sound is not all about nostalgia though - he opens his Welcome To This World EP with 'This Little Face' which is a deep house reverie with painterly pads smeared over dusty drums. Nice analogue textures make it all the more lived in and a Beatless version strips away everything but the suspensory synths. 'Welcome To This World is another lo-fi and crackly deep house meditation and 'Hyper Tonic' flips the script with some undulating acid lines, more light synth work and hissing hi-hats.
Review: We don't know who is involved in this brand new Diner's Club International project but we do know that they have put together three superb new records, all of which are landing at the same time. We also know they have come from Detroit, specifically Joy Rd on the West Side, and so come drenched in plenty of the swaggering attitudes you would expect. Diners Club International Part 1 fuses electro, ghetto and techno into booty-shaking cuts designed square for the club. The rhythms are infectious, the drums booming and the vocals bawdy, so snap these up before they're gone as quickly as they arrived.
Review: Originally released for LNS & DJ Sotofett's Japan Tour 2024, this 12" now sees a global repress and it is a fittingly chaotic sonic postcard from the road with unpolished, playful and strictly for the heads cuts. Kicking things off, Tokyo's DJ Gizzard delivers 'Jitter Analysis', which is a tight blend of analogue funk, crisp grooves and rolling basslines. LNS & DJ Sotofett follow with the cosmic 'Electrolium' with its whistling synths and spaced-out, vintage-style rhythms. LNS's solo effort 'Work Them' explores robotic electro-funk with computerised melodies and percussive precision. Closing the EP, DJ Sotofett's 'Out of Place' fuses ominous electro with bold p-funk.
Review: Sound the ghettotech alarm, DJ Godfather is in the building. Detroit's undisputed master of this eternally catchy branch of electro knows exactly what he's doing, and his Databass label is the most trusted stamp in the scene. '313 Keeps It Down' is a no-nonsense body rocker with whipcrack claps, brittle hats and dirty thump in the low end, of course with some reliable vocoder chants to lock on to. There's a dub mix of that track to get creative in the mix with, plus 'Owe Your Shit' which brings a deadly, filthy rap from Lil Mz 313 to put all needy bros in their place. 'Late Night Funk' offers something more introspective thanks to its lush pads, showing there's more than one side to the Godfather.
Review: Something is stirring deep down beneath; after lying dormant for some time, Clone's Aqualung Series is revived in order to facilitate another round of Drexciya-related goodness. Dedicated solely to the various works of Drexciya man Gerald Donald, the Aqualung label has been used sparingly by Clone since it was established in 2009 so the arrival of a new release is somewhat surprising and, more to the point, most welcome. As the title suggests, Black Sea / Wavejumper (Aqualung Versions) presents alternate takes on the Drexciya favourites and wedged inbetween is a brilliantly grotty unreleased track in "Unknown Journey XI". Another fine Drexciya document from Clone.
Review: D Strange & Huey Mnemonic hail from the American Mid-West and certainly bring plenty of the usual tropes of their homeland to this new EP. It's defined by a rather moody narrative with Huey kicking things off with the glistening synths and scurrying baselines of electro-funker 'Black Manta Corps'. His second cut 'Red Alert' is defined by an unsettling siren that loops up and down while the freaky pads and old-school electro drums power on. D Strange then steps up to the flip with the more fast and furious sounds of 'Exoframe' and the turbocharged dystopia of 'Drapetomania.'
Review: LNS and DJ Sotofett explore a new direction on their latest EP, 'The Reformer,' released on Tresor Records. Moving away from their debut album, the duo fuses digital artifacts, scanner sounds, and vocoder voices with melodic colors that radiate across cold electro landscapes. The opening track, 'Reform,' takes a deep dive into the electro sound, while 'Plexistorm' blends synthesised strings with arpeggiated acidic bleeps. 'Electric Terraforming' uncovers charged energy sources for life on another planet, and '909 The Controller' features washes of dub over a skipping beat, with a slow, rippling melody and percolating synths. The vinyl version includes exclusive locked grooves by DJ Sotofett.
Review: Flexi celebrated 40 years of energising dancefloors and championing underground music back in 2024. What began as a haven for vinyl lovers and evolved into a cultural force dedicated to high-quality sound. To mark the milestone, Flexi's indie off-shoot Flexi Cuts assembled this limited-edition compilation across several 12". Minimono opens this one with some super smooth deep house on 'Before Morning' and Delphi then switches it up with more twitchy, synth-laced and tense house while DJ Rou's 'Elastic Body' brings acid charm to steely mid-tempo beats. Relative's 'The Piece' shuts down with a darker heart and prying synths.
Review: Queensland's DJ Whipr Snipr joins forces with Brazilian artist Norus for this superb new EP, Gravitational Attraction, on the also brilliant Nerang Recordings. Since 2016, Whipr Snipr has helmed the label and steered it through plenty of innovative sounds as he does again here, this time with Norus who brings his expertise from Gestalt Records. This collaboration marks their second EP and it is a clean and crisp blend of emotive breaks, electro, techno, and serene synth sounds. 'If I Could Fake One Emotion' is our favourite for its thrilling mix of deft jungle breakbeats and sombre piano chords.
Review: Introducing Diner's Club International, a new and anonymous collective, we have been told on the low down, that is here to keep clubs bumping. They hail from Joy Rd on the East of the city of Detroit and are here to keep the ghetto tech scene going strong with a vast array of breathless new rhythms across three different records. Their MO is to get in and out quickly with each track - short, snappy sketches packed with attitude, cut-up vocals and spongy drum and bass patterns. As physical as all these cuts are, they also have a real human heart thanks to the warming pads and well-deployed r&b stabs. These are red hot so do not sleep.
Review: If you like acid, and you like it deep, then keep reading. Dircsen has put together an album of just that for Gated across four sublime sides of wax. Helical Structures operates at the intersection of those sounds and more, with a range of different tempos explored from the unhurried 'Fragments' which spits out random hits and has a nice lo-fi edge to the more high pressure acid of 'Helical Structures' with its undertone of bass lead menace. 'Jack In The Head' is a more classic acid cut with nods to the Chicago pioneers and 'Synthetic Rhythm' (Know Where mix) is perfect for both body and head.
Review: DJ Panthr is the "shadow self" (or, as we'd put it, alternative alias) of Hunter P Thompson, better known for his genre-bending ambient house and ambient techno releases as Akasha System. 100% Silk describes 'Jade District' as a 'technoid night ride inspired by the fern-shoruded neon streets' of South Tabor in his home city of Portland. It's an atmospheric and fairly accurate description all told, with Thompson combining his usual dreamy chords and colourful sonics with grooves and musical motifs more often associated with electro, acid, sci-fi techno, 'Artificial Intelligence' style IDM and hypnotic dub techno. What unites it all, aside from the colourful stylishness of the whole thing, is a pervasive sense of loved-up, wide-eyed tactility.
Review: DJ Sotofett is one of those producers who operates on his own plane. His sounds are like no other, his ideas are weird and wonderful and his execution is always exceptional. He is a producer who does things in his own playful way and that bears out on this new 12-track album. It's couched in electro with 80s Nintendo console vibes and a fusion of analogue and digital synthesis that makes for a jubilant celebration. Along the way, things shift from acid-infected beats and catchy electronic pop to avant-garde electro cuts. Vital stuff.
Review: Veteran electrohead and former artist on the Rephlex Records roseter DMX Krew's Ed DMX takes the well-known story by Jorge Luis Borges of The Library of Babel, said to contain all the different languages of the earth. Some deep philosophical thought has gone into the album's concept, but we'll leave that to Ed to explain. Instead, we'll tell you that from beginning to end there's plenty of the kind of trademark 80s synth playfulness in evidence, with a generally more mellow and soundtrack-related rather than frenetic and dancefloor-filling vibe in evidence, even on faster tracks like 'The Combed Thunderclap'. Still, Ed knows what he's doing when it comes to this kind of leftfield electro gear, and it's a rewarding, never boring listen.
Review: New week, new album from the prolific and always fantastic DMX Krew. Unlikely Seeming is the latest from the much-loved UK underground mainstay and it comes on the Byrd Out label featuring eight superb cuts that showcase his signature mix of joyous synth hooks, pads full of texture and of course innovative analogue drum machine rhythms. With hints of 80s pop and a slightly softer sound than he has done in the past, this is another triumph that is well worth adding to all his many other triumphant albums on your shelves.
Review: Gerald Donald's Dopplereffekt is by all measures one of the most influential electro groups of all time. A bunch of their music is being reissued at the moment including the long overdue debut album.But now comes a new one, Neurotelepathy, their second album and fifth overall release on on Leisure System. The duo of Rudolf Klorzeiger and To-Nhan had a special live magic that always informed the music that made it onto record and that is the case here. The album has a real precision of groove, with wiggling basslines and modulated synth sounds that find them at their very best across these tunes.
Review: Having previously mined Drexciya's back catalogue for four superb compilations (the Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller series), Clone has decided to reissue the Detroit electro legends' final studio album, 2002's Grava 4. It remains a superb set, moving between deep space explorations (the superbly atmospheric ambience of "Cascading Celestial Giants"), rolling, intergalactic electro ("Drexcyen Star Chamber"), intense dancefloor work outs ("Drexcyen R.E.S.T Principle"), glistening IDM ("Hightech Nomads"), and fusions of Sheffield bleep aesthetics and Cybotron style rhythms ("Gravity Waves"). In other words, you'll struggle to find a better electro album. If you don't own an original copy, you should grab this reissue sharpish.
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