Review: Space jungle master ASC returns with 'Hiding In Plain Sight', except this one is certainly not part of his usual repertoire. Rather than being drum n' bass, the producer focuses entirely on atmosphere and unusual rhythmic ambientscapes, leaning into electro when beats do pick up. Largely, though, this is a project that encourages sublime awe at the cosmos through huge synthwork, rather than drawing attention to its beats - a common trope for ASC. Favourites of ours include 'Orbiting Neptune' and 'Galaxies', both of which prove ASC has much more up his sleeve than most of his EP bits might reveal.
Review: Back in 2002, the Detroit Electronic Musical Festival concluded with something rather special: a rare live performance from the Aux Men - an expanded and upgraded version of legendary Motor City electro outfit Aux88. This must-have CD presents that performance, complete with the original introduction from Eddie Fowlkes and DJ Bone, from start to finish. Full of spacey synth sounds, heavy beats, weighty bass, it's effectively a whirlwind trip through the history of both electro and Detroit's contribution to electronic music history. Thus, we get killer versions of 'Planet Rock', 'Shari-Vari', YMO's 'Computer Games', tons of Kraftwerk classics, a breathtaking interpretation of Art of Noise's 'Moments in Love' and rip-roaring takes on foundational tunes by Cybotron and Funkadelic..
Review: Emotional Response present something intriguing and oh so fresh from Cherrystones, who has most commonly been spotted recently lurking about labels like Bahnsteig 23, but in fact has a legacy reaching back to the late 90s. This new mini-album is reportedly the result of a pointed retreat to Scotland - a period of semi-isolation with minimal distractions from the serious business of analogue synths and reel-to-reel tape. There's a lot going on, from the slinky, boogie-licked groove of 'Amaziac' to the sludgy, wave tinted 'Rave Digger', but throughout the common theme is one of rough, upfront waveforms - maximal sounds with lashings of character, wielded with glee by an artist knee deep in their craft.
Review: Big up to the Equalized label for making it to #010 without ever putting a foot wrong. The label's eponymous production outfit takes care of this move into double figures with another direct to dance floor and hand-stamped 12" with two forceful bangers. 'Track 1' brings the heat with cantering drums and lashing percussion all run through with caustic synth textures. 'Track 2' is another high octane and chunky techno rocker with pent up energy and subtle hints of warehouse funk.
Review: It's very much a case of expecting the unexpected when it comes to Omar S' FXHE label and this latest effort is no exception. In the US the gap between hip-hop and dance music culture is even wider than it is here in the UK, only not in Detroit and its unique export, namely ghetto tech. FULL BODY DU RAG whips up an idiosyncratic but thoroughly addictive combination of ghetto, house and garage, hip-hop and jazz across eight tracks here, the borders between the genres being fluid at all times. Omar himself makes an appearance on 'Juice', a speedy but classy dancefloor workout, half tech and half house, that along with the hilarious but irresistible 'Trillionaire' boasts a skippy garage swing to the beats to boot. At the other end of the BPM spectrum we get 'Pussy On The Map" (feat NLGHTND) with its r&b strains, only nicely warped and sonically corrupted. Probably best of all is 'FBD X CERT', almost a moody grime exercise until a four to the floor rides roughshod through such conventional plans. Raw, racy - and utterly essential.
Jean-Michel Jarre X Armin Van Buuren - "Epica Maxima" (5:16)
Jean-Michel Jarre X Nina Kraviz - "Sex In The Machine" (take 2) (5:04)
Jean-Michel Jarre X NSDOS - "Zeitgeist" (take 2) (5:08)
Jean-Michel Jarre X Irene Dresel - "Zeitgeist Botanica" (5:45)
Review: He might be in the autumn of his career but Jean Michel Jarre remains an innovator in the field of electronic music. His last album in 2022, Oxymore, was another pioneering exploration of rhythm and sound that has now been reworked alongside a series of collaborators all picked by the man himself. The nine-track selection brings wholly new perspectives to the originals which he calls "a vibrant collection of musical dialogues." An immediate standout for us is the track with Nina Kraviz which is crunchy, distorted minimal techno, while 'Epica Extension' with Brian Eno is laced up with otherworldly melodies. A great work from a mix of great artists.
Review: This is probably K-rAd's most summery outing to date - from the tropical twinkle of Braga Juice to spacious, dramatic synth sweeps and lavish deep bass on 121_Not Dropping 2, this is all music that has a sense of space and movement that demands open air for fullest appreciation. On the other side, 64_Really Doing Bong Beat has a dubby rockers vibe that's at once jubilant & reflective, a perfect balance to get lost to on the dancefloor
Review: Workshop is one of those labels that has always operated at the fringes of genre. Deep house and techno are the loose starting points in many cases, but artists never fail to veer off into the shadowy nether worlds that surround those basic forms. Kolorit does that here with two intriguing cuts all with the same name. The first has lumpy scattered drums, scraping sounds, ticking hi-hats and freaky noise samples all peppering them. The second has haunting chords sequences over a ticking sound that is coated in hiss and crackle. It's late night and mysterious. The third has clattering percussion and shimmering synths that rise and fall and build in tension and intensity.
Review: Furthur Electronix has always been a highly recommended label but they seem to be in a purple patch right now with a wealth of essentials releases all dropping in quick fashion. It is Kreggo who steps up this time with a new limited run 12" that follows his last on the label last year. The Milan based artist is eclectic and throughly underground and is the brain behind the Art-Aud label and the cult Secret Rave series. His electro sound here is raw and rugged, with bumping drums, fixing synths and flashes of acid all making these standout cuts.
Review: Lag brings his distinctly textured techno to Swedish label Pohjola here. 'De Intros' fires out of the blocks with tightly stacked kick drum pressure under synths that peel off the groove and flashes of urgent laser. 'Kolibri' is a more stripped back cut, with rusty textures and prickly metal skating over a rubbery groove that seems to float as it races on wards. There is plenty of energy in the pounding, off-grid kicks and hits of 'Ples Sloevna' which has vocal stabs and urgent sirens again adding to the intensity while closer 'Kolo' is more scuffed up broken beat techno machismo.
Review: LNS and DJ Sotofett explore a new direction on their latest EP, 'The Reformer,' released on Tresor Records. Moving away from their debut album, the duo fuses digital artifacts, scanner sounds, and vocoder voices with melodic colors that radiate across cold electro landscapes. The opening track, 'Reform,' takes a deep dive into the electro sound, while 'Plexistorm' blends synthesised strings with arpeggiated acidic bleeps. 'Electric Terraforming' uncovers charged energy sources for life on another planet, and '909 The Controller' features washes of dub over a skipping beat, with a slow, rippling melody and percolating synths. The vinyl version includes exclusive locked grooves by DJ Sotofett.
Review: Maahrt is the debut self titled EP from a mysterious producer about whom we know nothing.His new 12" opens up with an eerie bit of slow motion and cosmic techno with tortured pads. 'Clag' is another twisted mix of sinewy electronics and broken beats for dark back rooms, while 'Noma' then picks up the pace with a more weighted bottom end dragging its heels through an industrial wasteland. 'Noma' (A Strange Wedding remix) is more ready for club deployment thanks to its chugging groove and a final Odopt remix layer sin more melody, rickety drums and cosmic energy.
Review: While NPM's first release, which dropped earlier this year, was a classical-tinged drone EP courtesy of Giulio Aldinucci, this follow-up from Brighton-based Mause explores a simultaneously melodious, skittish, picturesque and acid-fired sound that sits somewhere between ambient techno, IDM and Rephlex-style "braindance". He first opts for a deep and beautiful sound on the thoughtful 'LocriLogAcid Seq', before ratcheting up the tempo (and minor key melodies) on the sprightly 'SeqtuningMLogAcid'. Over on side B, 'Strimsang (Beacon 4)' bustles, bubbles and spits impressively to avoid easy categoriziation, while 'Sunday Multi Acid Seq20d' is high-grade IDM/ambient techno fusion that reminded us a little of Holovr's similarly 90s-inspired works.
Review: Chicago's Sam McQueen was a sometime collaborator with Detroit legend John Beltran on the Indio project, which gives you a fairly good idea of where he comes from artistically - think 'hi-tech soul'. His new EP Moments In Time comes out on Furthur Electronix sub label Altered Sense, and it sure is a fitting home for McQueen's sonic aesthetic. From the majestic arrangement of the title track and its glassy-eyed feelings, more melancholic and bittersweet undertones are to be experienced on the evocative "Exhale" while "Manifest Our Destiny" provides the sort of Motor City drama that would make even Carl Craig stand up and notice.
Review: Back in February, Detroit Sound Odyssey put out the first part of the Better Together EP and it found Mexico-born but Detroit-based Isaac Prieto hook up with several different artists including Javonntte and Moppy. Here he goes it alone for part two and blows up with an all new electro that is part electro-funk, part ghetto, part cosmic wig out. 'Go For It' (feat Loren) is punchy drum-led tacker with a brilliantly knackered bassline and pinging 909s. 'Hesitant Hand' (feat Ali Orlandi) is quick and supple techno with razor sharp hi-hats and synth details that have a mind of their own. 'Rasta Pasta' (with Moppy) slows things down to a deep beatdown then it's off to the stars with thumping house curveball 'Interstate 90 Highway' (with Javonntte). What an EP.
Review: It's silly but true that anything which has the words Detroit on it will immediately get more attention than something that doesn't. 99% of the time though the music lives up to that reputation as is the case here with a fourth offering from Detroit Sound Odyssey. It's a four-tracker that sees Isaac Prieto hook up with different collaborators on each tune. Moppy and 'Double Bass' open up with a well-swung house kick and deep bass combo while the machines get a little more unhinged on 'What Do You Want' with G&J. Javonntte brings his signature depth to 'Imperfections' and Ali Orlandi adds a heavyweight downbeat headiness to 'I Like That'.
Review: If you've ever been luck enough to attend the Freerotation music festival than plenty about this remix package will make sense. Not least the interpretation by event co-founder and modular synth hero Steevio, here delivering a remix on vinyl for the first time. Bringing in elements of jazz, ambient, field recordings, dub, house music and - albeit barely audible - subtle shades of tech, it's a sophisticated package that fully buys into the theory of electronic sounds being a form of high art. Running the gamut from the stepping, poised but decidedly free spirited 'Lucid' and Deadbeat's tense, drone-y take on'Sam Gimignano', to the lush keys and white noise of Andrea Cicheki's redo of 'Siegfried 2.0' and Dr Nojoke's beautifully blissed out smoky house, it's as dense as it is accomplished.
Review: Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.
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