Frame Of Mind Holland Schallplatten & CDs

Review: When "Easin' In The S-System" first appeared on wax way back in 1994, Gert-Jan Bijl was still taking his first steps as a producer. In fact, the track was originally the B-side of the Dutchman's very first EP as Gerd on Brave New World Records. Curiously, this 25th anniversary edition places the superb original version - a deliciously intergalactic fusion of ambient techno sounds, hypnotic deep house drums and Detroit style sci-fi electronics - right at the tail end of the EP. It comes accompanied by a wonderfully ghostly, acid-flecked alternate version, plus four previously unheard cuts rescued from an old DAT tape. The breakbeat-driven chunkiness of "Brave New World" aside, these offer varied and largely high quality explorations of the futurist sound of vintage Motor City techno.

Review: They don't make them much more rulable than Gerd - the Dutchman has been quietly going about his business seemingly forever over there in the Netherlands. House and electro are his bread and butter but his ability to speak through his machines elevates everything he does to all new labels. Frame Of Mind is home to this latest EP and it launches with the metallic drum chatter, analogue aesthetics and cosmic house bump of 'Kosmos Tour' before exploring lovely lazy deep house on 'Red Girl', dancefloor darkness on 'Videophonic' old school Virgo-esque Chicago sounds on 'Fractalz'. Yet another timeless EP from this master.

Review: Gerd's archival Frame of Mind label continues to offer up reissues of sought-after European techno classics from the turn of the '90s. The latest 12" to get the repress treatment is Dave Campbell's second outing as Hi-Ryze, 1990 EP "Cyberia". Of the two versions of the Motor City-inspired "Cyberia" that are on offer, it's arguably the heavier, stripped-back "Lo-Pass Mix" that resonates most, though many will be attracted to the rave style stabs and crazy drum edits of the "Midi Edit". "After The Flood" is available in two variations, too: the filthy, bleep and bass-influenced sleaze of the "Harmo Bass Mix" and the rush-inducing chords and melodies of the "Optimistic Mix".

Review: Last year, 4Lux man Gerd reissued "Afterglow", a record he made in 1992 while part of obscure Dutch trio It's Thinking. "Hyperion" was the 1994 follow-up to that inspired EP, so it makes perfect sense that he's giving it a new airing, too. It's aged rather well, with superb title track "Hyperion" delivering a deliciously warm and loved-up blend of colourful electronics, dream house chords, rich bass and house-tempo breakbeats. The sparkling "Frame of Mind" sounds like "Chime" and "Belfast"-era Orbital after a night on medical grade happy pills, while "Love Without Sound" peppers a positive techno groove with all manner of shimmering synth sounds. "Funky Finger", meanwhile, is an awesome chunk of saucer-eyed ambient techno bliss.

Review: Dirk-Jan Hanegraaff, Gert-Jan Bijl and Mark Ripmeester released more music via more aliases than you've had Nandos... The proliferation of electronic gold coming from their Dutch laboratory is staggering. Celebrating 25 years, It's Thinking was one of the most significant projects of the time. Flexing from the darkest dancefloor to the lightest of lounges, the document is still as immersive and innovative as it was in 92. The title track (famously remixed by Bushwacka years later) is the epitome of everything about early 90s house while "Surviving Desire" is a darker exploration of techno and the then-burgeoning influence of Detroit while in between we have the daydreamy synth melodies of "Down In A Bubble" and the joyous house uplift of "Mild At Heart". Still resonating hard to this day, there's no overthinking this one.

Review: Given the runaway success of the recent reissue of DJ Nature's 1993 gem Necessary Ruffness Volume 1 - an early outing under the alternative Nature Boy alias that has long been regarded as a British deep house classic - it was inevitable that Volume Two would quickly follow. Like its predecessor, the EP is something of a cut-and-paste deep house treat, with the former Wild Bunch member wrapping vocal samples from classic disco, boogie and jazz-funk tunes around chunky, bass-heavy grooves. We're particularly enjoying the rolling late night pressure of "On Your Side", with its relentless bassline and fluttering Mystic Merlin samples, and the Dream II Science smoothness of "Relax Man", though the more disco-fired bounce of "Whatchusay (dubwize)" may well be the premier peak-time treat.

Review: Before sometime Wild Bunch member Milo Johnson became DJ Nature, he produced under the Nature Boy alias. Amongst the gaggle of largely overlooked releases was a fine album entitled Ruff Disco Volume 1. Here the 1992 set gets a deserved reissue, with Johnson tweaking tracks here and there (most notably the superb deep house of "Prayer"). It's a fine collection full of playable material, which largely combines nods to U.S and European house trends of the time with occasional audio references to the bass-heavy sounds of the city in which he made his name, Bristol. If you're looking for highlights, check the dubbed-out reggae vocals, heavy bass and bongo hits of "Unda Me", the percussive disco-house dub of "Tobago" and the 4am pump of "The Major Enemy".

Review: A dreamy and trickstery new EP from the lesser-spotted artist Synaptic Voyager, who for all intents and purposes, we might have thought had been a legacy artist, with this EP hailing from the mid-90s, not the early 20s. 'State Of Play', in a proper return to form, is a 6-track mini-EP-album, recalling the release strategy of many early deep house makers. Octaving, captivating bleep techno exposits on 'Gateway To Infinity', while nice acid basses pique our ears on 'Fragments Of Normality' and the analog aerator 'Laminar Flow'.