Unterton Germany At Juno Download

Review: Three releases deep and Ostgut sister label Unterton remains consistently surprising in their output; launching with remixes of tobias, the label subsequently secured the first original output from Lauer and Gerd 'the word' Janson's Tuff City Kids project. That latter release was prime Panorama Bar material and a favourite of the Juno office and now they present something wholly different in the form of Manhooker. Comprised of producer Guiddo and vocalist Mavin, Manhooker's music presents a lighter side to the stern techno associated with the Ostgut Ton empire, inviting you into a "merry world of post-disco and proto-house, mirror ball fantasies, baby powder dreams and rays of sunshine".

Review: The first of two promised Darkhaus volumes from veteran Sheffield trio The Black Dog arrives on Ostgut Ton's Unterton imprint, and predictably, it's something of a belter. "Council Flat Emptiness" is a rolling piece of analogue techno funk bathed in a wash of cascading dystopian synth textures; it's preceded by the "Stripped" version which pulls all the decorative elements back to just a simple combination of raw bass and lysergic stabs. Luke Slater makes a welcome return to his LB Dub Corp alias with his remix; giving it an industrial overhaul with mammoth kick drums, it puts everything except the juggernaut bassline into a digital blender, slowly building up to a crescendo of whirring bitcrushed noise which mingles with a surprisingly funky melody. In a landscape full of increasingly dry techno, The Black Dog are a consistent breath of fresh air.

Review: Gerd and Phil land their first set of original Tuff City Kids tracks in style, taking the controls for the second release on Unterton, the newly established offshoot of Ost Gut Ton. The Bobby Tacker EP has Janson and Lauer crafting three tracks of beefcake house with one clear purpose in mind, and executed with the skills they've honed over countless excellent remixes under the Tuff City Kids banner over the years. Lead track "SFS" wastes no time in playing its trump card; a glossy, thick synth line that pulses all the way through the track while the bottom end comes on all rugged and antsy. Meanwhile "Bias" exercises an air of restraint, letting a simple beat unfold while a tense string edges in from the side hinting at the fearsome techno line that growls in the lower register, imbued with the DNA of dub but twisted to a malevolent intent. Finally "Begger" kicks off on some booming Chicago drums slowed down to a modern cruise, but once again it's a powerful lead synth that rules the day.