Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Leipzig based Riotvan, run by Peter Invasion and Panthera Krause, welcomes Kalexis and Paulor for this collaborative four track that mines techno's deepest depths. 'Going Through The Void' is a moody and slow motion opener that rides on an undulating bassline with plenty of ambient pads for company. 'Energy' is more edgy, a stomper with fractured vocals and wonky synths that builds a darker mood. On the flipside there is the brilliantly unhinged and unusual melodies of 'Lashes' which sounds like a marching band on acid and 'Magnetic' closes down with haunting low ends and spooky pads.

Review: Six tracks by some of the less conspicuous names in 1980s Italo disco scene get pressed to a singular unifying 12" here. Commemorating Cruisin' Records' 40th anniversary (1983-2023), 'Takes Over' is a delightful compilation scouring the exclusive vaults of its back catalogue, with label mainstay Nello Jay handling curation duties. Largely centring on the year 1985, two cuts from, 'Japanese Girl' and 'Lady Fantasy', come courtesy of Max Him, while the likes of 'For Your Sweet Information' by PJ Marcus, 'In Your Eyes' by Roxana', and 'Heigh Ho' by Fabian Nesti all stomp, gyrate, and whoop away, indulging the very same escapist fantasies as those involved in the scene back then.

Review: We're big fans of the great work that ZYX has been doing recently and it seems as though that is going to continue into 2023 if this first release of the year is anything to go by. Paul Crazy's 'Believe Me' is an Italo disco classic hit from back in 1984 that gets a top reissue on 12" vinyl. This version includes both the original vocal and the instrumental as well as, as is often the case with reissues from this label, a fine remix from Flemming Dalum. He flips the original into a more rigid and chugging disco stomper while a lush Victor Ark remix brings the dreamy arps.

Review: Earlier in the year, Miss You offered up a first ever 12-inch pressing of Patrizia Pellegrino obscurity 'Il Mondo Da Una Nuvola', an obscure Italo-disco B-side that they backed with their own tastefully executed extended mix. Here they repeat the trick with one of the Italian singer and actress's earlier B-sides, 1982 gem 'Musica Spaziale'. In its original form (track one), the song is a throbbing, heavily electronic chunk of infectious Italo-disco excellence topped off with a decidedly cosmic lead vocal from Pellegrino. It comes backed with a suitably moody, chugging and even more musically expansive 'Extended Mix', and a fine TB-303-laden Italo-meets-acid revision courtesy of the cheekily monikered 'DJ Asshole'. Space disco for the win!

Review: Belgian label nacht and The Pilotwings (Louis & Guillaume) present a compilation of works created in the STELPLAATS venue in Leuven, early 2022. In November 2021, right before the second Covid lockdown. Guillaume and Louis were invited by the nacht crew in Leuven to play their first dj-set together since the start of the pandemic. At the time, the nacht crew had just received the first physical release on their brand new imprint, and the team was eager to get the record out into the world. For the second release, however, everything was possible. Before the show, somewhere between the obligatory nasal swab and the third drink, the idea of an unusual collaboration sprouted. Leuven Works compiles five tracks that flowed out of the sessions in STELPLAATS and is a testament to the week that Louis and Guillaume had under the STELPLAATS roof. During their stay, the blood brothers got looked after with love by the nacht team, who provided homemade pizzas and a well-stocked fridge full of Duvels, allowing The Pilotwings to truly root into the Leuven soil and enrich the local landscape with their colourful presence.

Review: Hailing from Philadelphia - currently up there with the most artistically arresting cities in the US (having spawned the nickname 'New York's most exciting borough' among those wanting weary of the Big Apple's gentrified shell) - Plastic Ivy make music that's pure drama on disc. Or digital file, depending on your chosen format. Founded by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lira Marie Landes, when teamed up with bassist, producer and engineer Daniel James Shields, the duo are something real to contend with.

Here we're given four pieces of compelling evidence proving that point. Original versions ooze a kind of affected sexuality, a retro-tinged electro-punk ride through the experimental side door of a night in the club, nodding to influences from Kitten to The Human League. Remixed, though, 'Superior Corruption' is nothing short of a banging electro number filled with attitude and cheekiness. Essential.