Uncanny Valley Germany 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Having previously contributed to Uncanny Valley 003 - perhaps our favourite various artists release from Uncanny Valley - Credit 00 becomes the latest artist to step up and deliver a solo EP for the Dresden imprint. Like Cuthead, C Beams and Jacob Korn before him, Credit 00 aka Alexander Dorn revels in the spotlight delivering a quartet of house cuts that reference the Mid West of the US without sounding like clones, embellishing each with his own sense of rhythm and texture. Snapping machine funk deep with layers of analogue detail and flexing acid are apparent from the opening track "Another Me" and tracks like "The Clave Problem" and "The Living Room Life" deftly combine a sense of melodic introspection with the impetus for bodily movement. Long may Dresden provide so fruitful for Uncanny Valley!

Review: German artist Credit 00 raises an interesting conundrum - does trance need to be 'sad'? Do its usually formulaic melodies and structures necessarily mean it always has to be as gushing, emotional, and intense as it often is? Isn't trance that isn't sad just acid / happy hardcore? These might be among life's deepest questions and the artist attempts to answer them here across four rib-tickly bangers. The A-side brings us 'No More Sad Trance!', and while it does contain a wistful vocal repeating "always thinkin' bout you" (somewhat sad), its lead acid line opts for less melodic variation, while the drum palette sounds to borrow from UK hardcore. The B-side tunes are similar, but borrow from neighbouring styles like bleep and acid house, with 'Save The Forest' working in trancey vocal gateage while managing to not get too lost in rumination. Happy trance is a success, we say.

Review: While the title evokes images of the Uncanny Valley crew getting up to sitcom-style scrapes while bumbling around Germany in a rickety old bus, there's an altogether simpler explanation for the Uncanny Vacation tag. Basically, it's a hook-up between the Dresden label and their pals from Munich's Permanent Vacation imprint, featuring tracks from both camps. Musically, there are plenty of thrills on offer, from the looped deep house-disco of Jacob Korn's "Eieiei" and bodypoppin' electro-meets-classic Italo of DMX Krew's "Astro Logical", to the woozy, almost Balearic analogue deep house of Drvg Culture's winding "See You Again Someday". It's as off-kilter but on-point as you'd expect. We'd still think the bus trip idea is a goer, mind.

Review: Dresden label Uncanny Valley unveil the third of four compilation EPs with the sci-fi leanings of the distinctive artwork more than matched by the diverse musical input here. From the opening mighty bass drum thud of Metropia's "Night Train" and its subsequent expansion into far reaching washes of analogue synths this release drips quality! Credit 00's "Eiserne Lunge" follows on an inverted Drexciyan flex, with sci-fi stabs of laser bass teeing off with ripples of Martian melody crafted from the finest analogue gear. On the B Side, Tefan Lohse's "Fog Patches" arises from the bubbling sonic ether and quickly settles into a sprawling journey through the expanses of fluctuating acid rhythms whilst Projektname Unbekannt's "Dresden, Den 15 05 2005" ends on an introspective yet still highly melodic note. Highly Recommended!