Review: While Alden Tyrell initially rose to prominence with Italo and electro-influenced work on Clone during the early 00s, the Vorm Variaties series has seen him explore a tougher, more techno-oriented sound. This approach is audible from the get-go on this compilation: "Lash Out" sees him loop a vocal sample over punishing kick drums and a steely rhythm, while on "Game Theory", he deploys shimmering synths and vocal snatches over a Levon Vincent-style groove. Meanwhile, on tracks like "Angular' and "Sherman Paradox", Tyrell goes tougher, with its lean percussion and corrosive chords calling to mind the work of Mike Denhert. It's an impressive artistic shift.
Review: Alden Tyrell continues his voyage into the heart of techno purism on this fourth instalment of the Vorm Variaties series. "Interceptor", with its gated chord stabs and relentless steely percussion, sounds like it was the byproduct of Berlin basements rather than the Dutch West Coast. On a similar tip is "Poly Zes", which sees Tyrell occupy the same kind of heads-down, stepping techno style that was pioneered by Mike Dehnert and his Fachwerk label. The biggest surprise however occurs on "Covert"; clearly influenced by the raw 90s techno of Rob Hood and Jeff Mills, it's an inspired, somewhat analogue rhythmic workout.
Review: The third instalment of Alden Tyrell's 909-centred, techno-basedVorm Variaties series gets a digital release. "Payload", with its clanging metallic bass and pumping rhythm, is a proper warehouse techno affair, similar in style and execution to the type of cavernous but deft approach that you would expect to hear on a Peter Van Hoesen record. On "Take it Slow", Tyrell heeds his own advice; the groove is less insistent, but a similar clanging bass and high-pitched tonal loops are still audible. This combination ensures that the Dutch producer will keep his audience focused on these effortlessly crafted dance floor techno tracks.
Review: Alden Tyrell keeps the pressure up with the second instalment in his Vorm Variaties series. "Sherman Paradox", with its heads down rhythm and soaring but sinister dub chords, is redolent of Fachwerk at its most utilitarian and has more in common with Berlin than the Dutch west coast. On "Angular", he continues to explore this approach; the percussion is razor sharp and the chords sweep in like dark storm clouds over a city skyline. It contains no trace of Tyrell's Italo-inspired past, but if you're looking for heads-down basement techno, then you have come to the right place.
Review: Vorm Variaties (sic) is a new series from Alden Tyrell, which is due to yield a total of five records. In contrast to his Italo-inspired records, this first instalment is pure warehouse techno mayhem. The aptly-named "Lash Out" is built on concrete kicks and a sledgehammer rhythm, with Tyrell deploying a stuttering vocal sample to great effect. "Game Theory" isn't quite as visceral, but it does uses similar tactics: the backing track is tough and jacking and there's also a looped vocal sample, but his love for melodies resurfaces in the form of an infectious, churning chord sequence.
Review: The legendary Dutch producer Martijn Hoogendijk aka Alden Tyrell (of Clone Records fame) teams up here for some main room bangers with Berlin based American Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent: who has had a productive past decade recording for such respected imprints as m_nus, Ovum Recordings and Kompakt in addition to running his Delft and Valence imprints - where he records as acid expert LA-4A. The Detente EP brings the furious warehouse style bounce of the title track (featuring some relentless drum work!), the dusty and greyscale dub techno workout of "Dutchless" and the totally heads down and strobe-lit affair of "Wallfall" that is reminiscent of Jell Mills seminal Waveform Transmissions series.
Review: To celebrate 250 parties, Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter, the residents at and organisers of Mister Saturday Night, have put together this wonderful compilation. It starts with the offbeat folk of Menelik Wossenatchu's "Tezeta" and the glorious, soulful disco of Soul Bros Inc's "Pyramid". The compilation veers back towards electronic sounds on the stripped back deep house of ESB's "On Cue" and the bleepy "Aches" from Baba Stiltz. FaltyDL's "Hardcourage" bridges the gap between the abstract and dance-floor structures, Marcellus Pittman drops the acid-soaked Detroit house of "There's Somebody Out There" and Kerrier District delivers the lush electronic disco of "Let's Dance and Freak".Then & Now is a wide-eyed, freewheeling compilation that captures the long-running New York party's essence.
Review: Dutch mainstay Alden Tyrell has turned his hand to many a different form of vintage house, techno and electro in his time, and on this occasion he's up on regular haunt Clone with some Dance Mania-inspired riot-baiting material. "Wurk It" makes a convincing case for the revival of ghetto house in the wake of the footwork explosion, going for maddening insistence in his vocal hook to get all asses wiggling, while the 303 is taking no prisoners either. "Some House" is excitable in its own way, matching any sample bashing with an equally catchy organ line that makes for an addictive and wonderfully simple house dish. The "Dub Mix" of "Some House" is no softer, instead choosing to lay off the wild splatter of speech and let the musical elements do the talking.
Review: The name Alden Tyrell will be more familiar to long term advocates of the Clone Empire rather than those who might have been introduced to the myriad of Dutch labels in recent times by EPs from Untold and Blawan. That's mostly because the Dutch legend hasn't exactly been active of late in the old releasing records game, preferring to slip out the odd remix or concentrate on mammoth tasks like remastering the back catalogue of Drexciya for Clone. Those not so familiar with Tyrell could do worse than change that by starting with the two heaving slabs of monolithic techno that make up this mammoth contribution to the Clone Basement Series! There's a touch of Fachwerk to the growling tunnel-like groove of "Rush" which is offset by the rising key stabs which no doubt helped influence the title, while the excellently named "Tntus" sounds like it would consume your every last sense in the perfect environment - a dark, cramped basement with little light and plenty of speaker racks.
Review: One of Europe's biggest electronic music parties sets out an impressive taster for this year's event. Mixed by French DJ/producer Brodinski, it moves from the deranged, siren-led "Slope" by Joe, through the swinging techno of Randomer's "Bring" and the chord-heavy groove of Brendon Moeller's take on Appleblim & Peverelist's "Over Here" before moving into more raw forms. This is articulated by the rough analogue jack of Marquis Hawkes' "Outta This Hood" and the firing, lean techno of Robert Hood's "Protein Valve (Edit 1). Brodinski also deserves kudos for dropping the grainy, surging bass and crisp drums of Claro Intelecto's rumbling electro killer, "Tone"
