Weme Belgium Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Beyond his prolific body of original work under myriad guises, Gerald Donald has gifted the electro world many a superlative remix. At all times, his pioneering strain of machine funk from the days of Drexciya remains at the forefront of the sound, and so as Belgian label WeMe gather together this compilation of key reworks from the Donaldsphere, it's just as relevant to consider this a compilation of Drexciyan magic you might not have stumbled across before. Whether as Heinrich Mueller, Dopplereffekt or Rudolf Klorzeiger, Donald brings his unique cybernetic qualities to tracks from Ultradyne, Cisco Ferreira and Duplex amongst many others. A particular highlight is the emotive future-synth-pop of his remix of Rough Days For Diamond Trade, while the slow creep of his version of White Car's 'Now We Continue' is equally show-stopping.

Review: Joey Kendrick is perhaps better known for the braindance gear he's put out under his own name for Rephlex and the like, but he's also played around with plenty of aliases over the years too. His work as +10 actually predates his breakthrough years on Rephlex, having been released on the classy Canadian label Napalm Enema. Grace came out in 2007 and it sounds a little rowdier than later Kendrick works, but that's also part of its charm. Hence stalwart Belgian braindance believers WeMe have opted to reissue the CDr-only album as a double vinyl for your twitch, glitchy, acidic pleasure. It's a feast for the cerebellum, no doubt about it.

Review: It was 14 years ago that Dopplereffekt's Calabi Yau Space album landed on Rephlex Records, much to the delight of electro fans everywhere. Now it finally gets a much warranted reissue on vinyl thanks to WeMe Records. The album found Dopplereffekt head off into their very own musical realm, far away from here between the stars. The eight tracks are cinematic and spacious in feel but dense in ideas. There is a supernatural feel, a cosmic eeriness that always keeps you guessing as the modulated sounds, whirring machines and alien details all detail haunting leads and implied rhythms.

Review: The accompanying notes with this say "don't call it a comeback" for NOT_MDK (aka Martin Wood-Mitrovski), even though it is an album that finds him exploring an all-new style. It is a meeting of steady 70/140 bpm grime drums and beats with IDM synth details and evocative breaks that soundtrack an all new type of late night urban conurbation. It's menacing and fresh, perfect for both body and head and is a long way from the jungle this artist made in the late 90s, or the cid and breakbeats he made in the years after that. It's a brilliant reinvention.

Review: First released in 2006, 'Ceerial Port' is the ultimate wildcard in the electro profligate Ceephax's towering discography. The seven-or-eight track album does things with the electro form that few of Mr. Jenkinson's contemporaries would dare ever indulge, were it not for this initial fatherly stamp of approval. lead reissue cut 'Acid Whorl' is the foremost case in point, hard-limiting and soft-clipping a cyclonic 'whorlwind' of pitch-whacked acid effluence. Further 8-bit playtimes come in the form of 'Acid Highway' and 'Acid Causeway', recalling the feeling of scouring the outer edges of an Atari Kart game and encountering nothing but rolling, pixelated skies; 'Tough Grugoy Acid' and 'Woodlice Acid' make up the longer wavelengths on the spectrum, stomping and echo-rimshotting to ever-weighty, yet jolly ends.

Review: Chromedealer's Sketches Of Silver EP is a collection of cuts that were originally recorded between 2021 and 2023 and now arrive on Belgium staple WeMe. They find the New York-based producer in scintillating form with opener ' Onyourmarks' fusing jungle and electro with masterful synth work to make for a thrillingly high-paced yet emotive rhythm from another world. 'Sable' is another track made from millions of seemingly small fragments of sound that all coalesce into a darker broken jungle soundscape then 'Jack' pairs lovely snappy snares and rolling amen breaks with celestial melodic sequences that drift up top. 'Cubed3' is more masterfully nimble drum programming and 'Silver City' brings a more melancholic mood to close.

Review: Braindance bastion WeMe welcomes RTR back for another round following the standout XOR album and a string of ear-snagging singles. The Hague-based producer rests on the electro end of braindance but you can absolutely hear the influence of Aphex and the like in particular synth lines. 'Nrevenge' is a cool and deadly machine funk monster with plush leads which sound like boogie given some poky uppers, while 'ERA' comes on like EBM if it was less sullen and more cheeky. There's clattering drum funk, boxy freak outs and heaps more to feast on from this razor-sharp addition to RTR's canon of mind-tickling workouts.

Review: Legendary Belgian record label WeMe has long been a pioneering force in the drum & bass underworld. It is Lord of the D who makes a devastating return here with all consuming sounds towering over you and do as they please with your brain and body. 'Dunstable' is all fizzing synths and hammering drum breaks then 'O Ixed Mpo' absolutely cuts loose with sonics in meltdown, reversed stabs and drum carnage that never resolves. 'DBLE' is another fucked up drum track that will leave you bedraggled and bewildered.