Review: Coeur De Glace on DKO Records (DKO 34) delivers four fantastic electro tracks, each with unique influences and directions. Side-1 kicks off with Binary Digit's 'U Want Dis,' an exuberant, high-energy track that pays homage to old-school rave with its lively vocal samples. Fasme's 'Morning' follows, blending smooth electro with soft keys and a whimsical AFX melody for a perfect combination. Side-2 features GGGG's 'La Cueillette,' a feel-good, fun and melodic electro tune. The EP concludes with Mud Deep & Sans-Qui's 'Mesonyx,' offering IDM goodness reminiscent of Rephlex, Squarepusher, and AFX. Coeur De Glaceis a vibrant and diverse collection, sure to delight fans of electro and techno.
Review: Released just days after their Reflections tour, I Jordan and Sherelle link with club institution Fabric and their new label Fabric Originals. Both artists currently working on inspiring stratospheric levels, their energy is captured here across the two unique tracks. I Jordan rinse us up and down the highways and byways of the UK with their high impact 'M1 / M3' while Sherelle goes full-on techno with 'Getoutofmymind'. Intoxicating stuff!
Review: Newcomer Liam Sinigoi shares a debut release for Nonsono, impressing us seasoned types with an evidently sparse but efficacious sonic palate. While Sinigoi's dancefloor acumen is second to none, you'd be surprised to learn that most of these tunes were made while he was living on the site of a former hospital in London's Shadwell, not in some action-stations studio. Packed with piquant acid leads and haunting over-synths, the likes of 'Steel's HC' and 'Can't Dance!' make up a sonic tetragram, each corner of which reveals a different side to the initiate producer.
Review: Woody McBride's Sounds label continues to dive back in the archives and revive some absolute gold standard techno for modern diggers. This collab effort between McBride (in his DJ ESP guise) and DJ Skull originally came out in 1995, and it still sounds fierce to this day. 'The Drive' is a stripped down tool with all the right chops to tweak out a locked-in raver, but 'G-Rated' is the real gem on the record. In a blistering hailstorm of 303 squelch you get a definitive example of acid techno at its finest. 'The Power' might well find relevance in the present day trance-techno scene thanks to its unsettling leads and relentless forwards thrust.
Review: This EP from 2010 is an oldie but a goldie, which is pretty much something you could say of everything that this Motor City maverick has ever put out. It finds the former Ford factory worker in techno mode from the off: 'Ultra Fine One' is a pounding mid-tempo cut with airy hi hats and kicks that never quit. The whole thing is marbled with fuzzy synth sounds and a corrugated acid line that pries ever deep. 'Ultra Fine Two' is, in essence, the same cut but with broken beat patterns and different filters applied to the acid line. 'Mid 90's' is gloppy acid techno with warped bass and loopy kicks designed for 5 am freakouts.
Solid Gold Playaz - "I Can't Think (The Nation Is Sick)" (7:11)
Solid Gold Playaz - "I Sold My Life To Acid" (7:13)
Gari Romalis - "Detroit After Dark" (7:30)
Brian Neal - "Panties" (4:01)
Review: Upstairs Asylum Recordings is one of the many seminal Detroit labels run by local legend Norm Talley. It's right in the middle of a busy run right now with no fewer superb run with three new EPs all dropping in quick succession. This one is a split EP with US duo Solid Gold Playaz taking care of the a-side. As always with this pair, their sounds are deep and dusty house with exquisite melodies tugging at the heart. On the flip, Gari Romalis steps up with the slick percussive skip of 'Detroit After Dark' then 'Panties' from Brian Neal brings jacked up analogue groves that lean into techno with a big fat bassline.
Review: We are always excited to see a new release by S.O.N., as you can be sure to expect some quality techno. This new release is jam-packed with beautiful late night ambient techno. 'Distance Problems' is the title track for the EP and definitely stands out. The deep ambient acid that gives way for a brisk dancefloor knockout is pure sublime producing. 'Fade To Green' is a stunning atmospheric jam that verges on a beautiful acid trance sunset. On Side-2, 'Vanessa' is a floaty ambient techno track that you we just can't get enough of listening here at HQ. Just when we thought we couldn't be any happier, Romanian producer adds his Midas touch to the remix. If you like spacey techno, then suit up.
Review: been four years since Chicago producer Andres "Specter" Ordonez pitched up on Theo Parrish's Sound Signature label with the smoky, bleep-laden killer "Pipe Bomb". Here, he returns to the Detroit veteran's imprint, bringing with him three more slabs of fuzzy analogue oddness. "The Gooch" is the real killer, a 10-minute freakout that sounds like a jazz band making murky techno with just analogue machinery to play with - all wonky electronics, subtle acid and loose but relentless cymbals. The bolder "Zodiak" impresses with its 303-driven aggression, while "Body Blow" sounds like Hieroglyphic Being jamming with Buddy Miles. On Mars. That's gotta be good, right?
Review: Sound Signature are at it again with their dark, driving and jackin' grooves. Every time Theo Parrish decides a tune is worth pressing up nice and loud on vinyl, it's wise to pay attention. And so it proves here, with Chicago native Spekter dropping one-sided 12" "Pipe Bomb", a deadly and pounding excursion into the murkier corners of house music. It's not one for the faint hearted either, as an overwhelming sense of moodiness pushes ever forward, dripping in twisted samples and heavy techno kicks.
Review: Mystique is a brand new label out of the always fertile Dutch scene and it opens its account with a no holds-barred EP from Sylvester Javier, aka Stefano Curti of Vibraphone fame. He offers three originals and two versions starting with 'Secret Ceremonies' (Italo Disco mix) which is a pulsating house cut awash with plenty of across textures and percussion. The Cocorico mix has shimmering vocal sounds stitched into the arrangement and the original has a spooky, rather eerie feel with its hurried drums and squirrelling synths. 'Lost In 1st Avenue Loop' is a gritty Detroit house cut with heart of the dance floor intensity and 'Microdot' gets as twisted as you would expect of such a track title. A fine debut EP overall.
Slick Rick Da Master - "Everybody Dance" (dub) (4:17)
Slick Rick Da Master - "Acid Jack" (4:13)
Review: Steve Poindexter and Traxman's Factory Music Chicago imprint has been around for a while, though releases have historically been occasional rather than regular. This split EP, featuring three acid-fired jackers apiece from Traxman and Slick Rick Da Master, is only the label's fifth vinyl outing - and fifth in total. Traxman handles side A, confidently striding between the mind-mangling jacking stomp of 'Pulaski Road', the lo-fi acid crankiness of 'Get Some Act Right Acid' and the sleazy and breathless TB-303 insanity of 'Warp Acidz Warp'. Turn to side B for Slick Rick Da Master's three heavyweight contributions: the mind-bending hypnotism of EP highlight 'Acidbo 1', the sample-rich nostalgia and red-lined beats of 'Everybody Dance (dub)' and the effects-laden trip that is 'Acid Jack'.
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