Steel City Dance Discs Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Tommy Holohan's newest EP is a high-energy tour de force, blending techno, jungle and rave elements. Opening with 'Show Me The Sky', the trance-infused keyboard stabs and massive build-ups create a cinematic techno anthem. The title track, 'Temple Theatre', brings tribal loops, hard-nosed percussion and funky momentum for a relentless dancefloor roller. 'Make Me Feel' dives deep with a rumbling bassline and jungle-inspired drums, enhanced by clever house samples and a commanding vocal drop. Side-2 showcases two mixes of 'Your Lovin Arms'. The Warehouse Mix delivers a heavy rave vibe with raw energy and techno grit, while the Jungle Mix adds a melodic touch with breakbeats, creating a unique fusion of styles. A bold, diverse release, proving Holohan's real knack for blending old-school influences with modern techno innovation.

Review: After first surfacing digitally late last year, Matisa's Steel City Dance Discs label debut finally makes it onto vinyl - and not a moment too soon. Hard to pigeonhole but fiendishly heavy and floor-friendly, the four cuts on offer are rave-igniting workouts that somehow manage to sound both nostalgic and genuinely fresh. For proof, check opener 'Brillatine', where a warped, all-action bassline, fizzing electronics, Orbital-style female vocal snippets, jumpy stabs and pots-and-pans percussion hits cluster around a skittish, warehouse-ready breakbeat. 'Eyeliner' is a slightly more rave-centric chunk of heady breakbeat hardcore revivalism with added M1 organ motifs (and a rap-less accompanying hip-house style tweak from label boss Mall Grab), while 'Lip Plumper' is a muscular, hands-aloft house workout with layered percussion aplenty.