Common Dreams Schallplatten & CDs

Review: It's been many years that Rob Belleville has been exploring the deeper end of the house and techno spectrum, channeling the inspiration of Detroit and Chicago into impeccably realised cuts that suit attentive listening as much as a physical response. This latest transmission from the Dutch producer comes via Common Dreams, who have recently released the likes of Miles Atmospheric and John Shima. Belleville is a natural fit among these sorts of names as he unfurls billowing clouds of pads, chords, strings and leads over intricately programmed beats. The whole EP is immaculately produced, but we'd especially recommend the spacious dub pulses of "Rise N' Shine."

Review: The label's vision is to bring you a steady flow of futuristic, harmonic and rhythmic electronic music. You will see boundries blurred between the genres of techno, deep house, electro and electronic music in general. For this release 'Data Waves' is a deep and mental journey that is intended to send the listener or dancefloor into a hypnotic state of mind, while 'Twisted Future' is more of a funky, soulful track, also with a dancefloor edge. This release is un-named and untitled, but if you look in the fine print you will see it was written and produced by the label owner himself.. Brad Peterson, as a benchmark for what is to come.

Review: Originally prolific in the late 90s and back with a renewed sense of vigour in the past few years, Dan Piu's classic, widescreen vision of hardware techno captures the verve of the original Detroit blueprint while bringing a fresh, welcome energy to the genre. This drop on Common Dreams brims with the same head-swirling magic, especially on vividly rendered lead track "Halo City". "Falling Framework" has a more mellow veneer, but there's still so much playful detail bringing the track to life. "Akira 2171" has an old-skool sci fi quality balanced out by its linear sense of progression, and "Ilipsyon" takes things deeper into a wistful jack reminiscent of the spookiest Trax output.

Review: From his appearances on Aesthetic Audio and Ornate through to his own Atmospheric Existence label, Miles Sagnia continues to be one of the best kept secrets of British deep techno, and that's no more apparent than on this stunning release for Common Dreams. There's a looped up insistence to "Heal", but it's offset by emotive movement in the synth lines and an overall spiritual quality that escapes much cyclical techno. "Plight" takes a slightly slower path, amping up the early UK electronica tones for an immersive experience shaped out by interlocking rhythms and snaking melodies. It's a truly classy statement that stays true to techno while saying something original.

Review: Deep house don Brad Peterson started the Common Dreams label and alias back in 2014 as another outlet for his prolific strain of machine soul. Various artists have graced the label including John Shima and Dan Piu, but now Peterson returns to steer the ship himself with a new project entitled Ancient Trees vs Skyscrapers. It's not hard to ascertain the ideas bubbling away behind the release, and sure enough Peterson rolls out exquisite synthesis which ebbs and flows with a fluidity which feels inspired by nature, albeit still very much in the context of crisply rendered deep house and techno with a Motor City influence.

Review: A second release of the year for the emergent Common Dreams label sees Reedale Rise producer Simon Keat join the fold with a pair of thoughtful, pensive deep house cuts. Lead track "Pressure Box" is the track with a sense of unpredictable funk, giving us juicy chords, starry-eyed pads and an overall nice atmosphere with the drums moving ever forward. The B-side "Azikiwe" fuses sporadic arpeggiations with some very thoughtful chord melodies. Maybe it could be described as having a more psychedelic twist. Another fine house record from the Common Dreams team.

Review: John Shima is a prolific electronic music producer. He has a sound maybe best described as futuristic & intelligent, with a hint of quarkiness at times. He brings true depth and emotion into his productions, usually illustrated by using spacey pads, electrofunk basslines and intelligent drum programming. This EP contains two tracks, carefully selected from his archive to compliment one another and to bring you his productions of highest quality.