Review: It's common knowledge now that #.4.26. is Ilian Tape mainman Dario Zenker, who under this alias released a slew of hard hitting DJ tools on cult label Frozen Border - and this is his first new material under the name since five years. From the sheer terror of dynamic opener "Mono Middle", a dystopian electro number saturated in dense lo-fi fuzz, the broken beats continue on the minimal boom and thump of "Whenever Voi". But it's the B side that proclaims no more Mr. Nice Guy here, with the slamming old school energy of "Free Upload" calling to mind the early '90s sound of Djax or Pro-Jex, while "Van Cul" again demonstrates Zenker's fine ability to weave broken beat arrangements into epic, big room techno bangers.
Review: The ever prolific Lee Renacre is on Constant Sound in his 100Hz guise for a fresh trip through expressive techno and house music delivered with a warm, old-skool flavour. 'Jive' skips and twirls across the A side in a swung, sprightly exploration of soft and rounded synth lines and pleasingly chunky beats, capturing a dusky ambience along the way that's so easy to melt into. 'Honkey (Crazy Hats)' takes things deeper with a more rhythm-focused joint that maintains a submerged feel throughout. 'Ochos' completes the set with a deep tech house meditation rich in melodious uplift, striking a spiritual tone which would go down very well with someone bumping records on Yoruba and other such labels.
Review: Domenico Rosa and Riccardo's Imprints label has regularly delivered the goods since making its debut back in 2013. Predictably, this multi-artist affair is also rather impressive. French twosome Charonne is arguably the star of the show, delivering two tidy tracks: the bouncy and far-sighted "Vice City", where '80s synth-funk style motifs and acid-funk electronics ride a bustling groove, and the similarly-inclined, elastic tech-house-funk of "Formule Stardust". Elsewhere, turn-of-the-90s survivor 100Hz delivers a fine chunk of woozy deep house/funky techno fusion and Cobert delivers some spacey and chunky, mid-set tech-house. In other words, all four tracks are playable and worthy of your attention.
Review: Slow Life's latest audio missive draws together tracks from two different generations of techno producers. On the A-side, you'll find two cuts from veteran British pairing 100HZ, who put out their first material way back in 1989 (the rather good "Low Frequency Overload"). "New Spoon" is a fizzing techno jam blessed with clattering drum machine hits, jaunty bass, crisp funk samples and a meandering spoken word vocal, while "Innocence" is a denser, sub-bass fuelled trip into late night territory. On the flip, contemporary Italian-in-Berlin Saverio Celestri takes over, first serving up the strobe-friendly New Jersey garage-meets-Detroit techno charms of "Vortex", before charging off into space via the restless rhythms, intergalactic bleeps, heavy sub-bass and wavy chords of "Toxic".
Review: Slowly but surely Voodoo Down has built up a reputation as a deep house label you can trust. Its biggest release thus far was last year's Unstable Phenomenon EP by October (featuring a Joey Anderson remix), while other 12"s have featured STL Anton Zap and L'estasi Dell'oro. Of the six records that Voodoo Down has released, the artist/entity 12 x 12 has featured on half, and now the label offers the enigmatic 12 x 12 their own solo release. All three tracks are experimentally edged with "Partial" the most out-there and broken down production, while "Typical Male Behaviour" sounds like the workings of a robotic forest and creepy crawlies that inhabit it. Lastly, the title track is synthy, sunny and spaced out. More original, dope jams from the Voodoo Down crew.
Review: A solid four track EP on Step Ball Chain records blending minimal and tech house with a splash of techno. offering a diverse range of sounds for late-night dancefloors. Side-1 starts with 'Do U Want Me', a playful peak-time house track filled with nostalgic old-school samples and a serious grooveiperfect for keeping the energy up during those late-night sets. It's followed by 'Make Me', which shifts gears into a dubby mix of dubstep and liquid drum 'n' bass, offering a bass-heavy, laid-back vibe. On Side-2, 'Bassy Bits' drives things forward with its fast-paced tech house beats and dirty bassline, making it a DJ-friendly gem designed to shake the dancefloor. Then there's 'Lick My Chain', a deeper, moodier track with a wall-shaking bassline and a futuristic, sensual atmosphereia slick, immersive cut for those looking to bring the energy down but keep the intensity up. Rounding off the EP is the 'Lick My Chain' (PSL remix), which adds a techy edge and a sexy vocal, transforming the track into a late-night anthem. Overall, Step Ball Chain Holland is a versatile release for tech house and electro fans alike.
Review: Jochem Peteri's material under the NewWorldAquarium moniker has, in all honesty, kept the house and techno scene grounded over the years. So much so that the Dutchman's simple yet singular touch is still seen by many as the pinnacle of the last ten years of dance music resurgence, and it is difficult to think of anything he has put out that isn't memorable. He's here with his 154 alias this week, up on Boomkat's Ediitons imprint, with two ethereal slices of house bliss, tinted by a warm and peaceful ambient glow. "Wherever You Go" and "I Will Follow" are two sides of the same coin, the journey told in two separate chapters, where vast electornic soundscapes drive the tracks forwards; the beats, a placid collection of distant kicks, linger in mid-air magnificently. This is Ross 154.
Review: Styrax's alphabetized Specials series reaches its fourth volume (or Styrax I / Styrax J to use the correct parlance) with four typically sumptuous examples of archival house. 154's delightfully fuzzy "Daze" opens proceedings, which will cause much misty eyed reminiscing for anyone who indulged in the 2004 Delsin released album Strike it first appeared on. Alongside it, Damon Lamar's luxuriously paced "Rising Sun" is borrowed from Tetrode Music, its intoxicating swirls of kaleidoscopic textures every bit as potent as when it first surfaced. The flipside tracks are naturally in a similar vein with some 2003 bounciness from Claro Intelecto complemented by "Dat America", Lowtec's 1999 jam for the Playhouse imprint.
Review: Lobster Theremin has previously used their occasional Black Label Series to deliver gritty, forthright, techno-leaning fodder from newcomers Manse, Snow Bone and Reflec. Here, they reignite the series by handing a debut to previously unknown Canadian trio 1800HaightStreet. It's an impressively assured debut, too, with the Vancouver outfit getting a good balance between surging drum machine rhythms, curious electronics, paranoid textures and just the right amount of hazy beauty. Such is the EP's strength that picking out highlights is a tough task. Try the freaky techno stomp of "LSD Casualty" and the jazz-flecked mustiness of "Forager", though the whole EP is superb.
Review: The ever impressive Vancouverites 1800HAIGHTSTREET are back on Lobster Theremin sub label Mork with their second release, which follows up 2015's Heldled EP. Hardware driven, all analogue jams conjuring a glacial style of northern soul from the Pacific Northwest can be heard throughout the Age EP. From the steely and trance-inducing loops of the title track (reminiscent of classic Savvas Ysatis or G-Man), the cavernous and emotive greyscale deepness of "Ankh" or the contemplative industrial textures of "Rest".
Review: London label Pacific Command brings the heat again, this time courtesy of Vancouver act 1800HAIGHTSTREET (Lobster Theremin/Mork) who follow up some killer releases by nthng and Reflec. Starting out with the lush and deeply hypnotic "Georhythms" with its airy pads, broken beat and tribal percussion, they then get stuck into the fierce industrial techno rage of "Apprentice" which calls to mind classic Marcel Dettmann or more recently Fango. Finally, on the flip is "Interactions" which carries on with the more aggressive tendencies with its reverb and delay drenched aesthetics, creating some properly tunnelling vibes for sure-fire dancefloor impact.
Review: The second release for the ever-enigmatic Horizontal Ground label in 2013 comes from 19.21.3.11.21.20, which Discogs has now revealed to be Markus Suckut. If this is true, HG15 marks the end of magnificent year for the German, with an album on Len Faki's Figure, and a stack of remixes for labels Droid, Sleaze and Soma. "Track 1" is a funky acid workout, and something that would nestle quite neatly into a Marcel Dettmann or Roman Lindau set, while "Track 2" is a spacious dub piece that falls somewhere Ben Klock's "Gold Rush", Shed's "Bot" - and Federsen's "50 Hz". For regular listeners of Markus Suckut's music, "Track 3", with its dry beats and subtle atmospherics, will be a slap in the face for not realising it was Suckut sooner.
Review: London label No More Dreams are back with more dry-as-a-bone techno reductions by Sweden's Axel Backman. This will appeal to fans of Waveform Transmissions era Jeff Mills (particularly on the savage and cyclical grind of "93") or classic Regis and Surgeon. Shadowy British duo Rezzett get onboard for a remix of "94" on the flip , where the Trilogy Tapes affiliated artists replace the gutsy tribal stomp of the original with a deep and slow burning rendition that slithers away beneath dense tape saturation and hiss -much like a vivid dream sequence captured to VHS. Bold stuff indeed. Tip!
Review: Atmospheric Existence Recordings keep up their annual release rate with label boss Miles Sagnia inviting 1Dan and Bittersuite to join him on only the third release. Newcomer 1Dan opens proceedings with the sprawling soft machine funk flex of "Foundations", a track driven by gutter deep bass movements, steppy syncopation and rich sonic textures that no doubt helped influence the title of the EP. On the flip Bittersuite step forward with the upwards acid dub pressure of "Squeeze In" which steadily accrues an acidic overtone before a delightful left turn into a futuristic mechano soul rhythmic thrust. It's left to Sagnia to provide the final moment with the tightly relentless throb of "Can We Heal Them" that slowly reveals its inner acid brilliance.
Review: The Jungle referencing Valley Of The Shadows series from Hague outpost Creme Organization was launched earlier this year with the aim of halting some of the fragmentation that afflicts the underground. Given this first 12" has experienced severe pressing delays, maybe the underground should crowd source the financing of some fresh vinyl pressing plants? Regardless of that VOTS001 finds Creme joining forces with their Amsterdam-based compadres to present a two track transmission from 2AMFM, aka Nation pair Tadd Mullinix and D'Marc Cantu. The tumbling Axel F goes Jakbeat vibes of "Starfist Lazerbeam" are particularly good here! Watch out for future collaborations with LIES and upstarts Berceuse Heroique.
Review: Tad Mullinix and D'Marc Cantu roll back the clock to the days when labels like Djax and Dancemania ruled the roost with artists like Paul Johnson and Armando were making dancefloors Sweat. This 4 tracker on the Spectral label captures that dirty acid house vibe like nothing we've heard in ages. Pure sexed up dance music to get off to.
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