Although still fundamentally a niche area, it feels like the idea of raw, analogue house and techno has never been more in vogue. Whether it’s a reaction against the corporate homogeneity of “EDM”, the proliferation of Traktor and Serato in DJ booths, increased use of integrated hardware and software systems like Maschine or simply a desire to create electronic music in a way that tweaking parameters inside software cannot match, we seem to be in the midst of a reaction against computers and a desire to re-engage with old fashioned processes. At the forefront of the house and techno arm of this trend is the Restoration imprint, run by Berlin-based Italian duo The Analogue Cops, who, through their own productions, some high-profile collaborations with Blawan, and their Third Side project with Panorama Bar resident Steffi, have turned themselves into almost militant defenders of the hardware-only approach.

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