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London Modular Alliance
Browse the latest digital releases by London Modular Alliance
Various
Review: London Modular Alliance walk it like they talk it, running a synth outlet while also cranking our some of the freshest contemporary machine-led funk. LMA's raw production approach and signature aesthetic is crystallised on their debut album "Complex 2020" bristles with walls of menacing bass, while stripped back workouts like the twitchy "All Over" and the low-slung tonal emissions of "You're Tearing Me Apart" set out their stall when it comes to crafting contemporary electro. There's also a deeper, more esoteric side to their sound and the Detroit-inflected "Broken Remote" and the soundtrack-inspired "Bob's Rotten Head" reinforce the fact that Portable Sanctuary is a true tour de force.
Played by: Paddy Thorne
Various
Review: A confirmed presence within the landscape of UK dance music for the best part of 15 years, Hypercolour has cultivated its own constellation of artists while becoming a port of call for those hitting their peak within pseudo-mainstream house music. It's Patterns compilation series has always offered rare cuts and remixes from its roster of artists and from the get go here a lesser known Zodiac impresses out of the blocks with a banging dub techno joint "GhostNet". Sebastian Mullaert & Boelja go hardcore Swedish bleeptronic in "Who Are You Really?" with FRAK also included with an old school and lo-fi 909 workout "Berga Magic". Roman Flugel hits a sweetspot as usual next to some lowly jackin tracks by London Modular Alliance, a vocal breakbeat number of classical drum and bass refrain by Mathew Herbert to some tongue cheek rave by Luke Vibert and much much more! Approved.
Played by: Juno Recommends Electro
Review: Constant Sound's electro arm, Infiltrate, calls upon the considerable talents and technical heft of London Modular Alliance for a bruising EP of body-popping exploration strapped to a tough n' funky beatdown. "Crack Fox" is as nervy and nimble as the title might suggest, while "Regular Customer" takes things in a hyper-detailed direction compatible with the kind of advanced machine funk you expect from Silicon Scally. "Blinky" follows suit with another artfully woven web of twitchy synth hooks and deftly sequenced drums, and then "Other Worlds" switches things up with some seriously hefty bass pressure pivoting around a dubstep attitude towards space and moodiness.
Review: Initially a party organisation from Belgium, De:tuned has become a record label for reanimating the sounds from electronic music's early days. Run by Ruben Boons and Bert Hermans, it continues with the cherry-picked selections for its 10th anniversary with volume 5 in the celebratory series. Terrace (aka Stefan Robbers) and Nu Era (aka Marc Mac, best known as a founding member of 4 Hero) channel the timeless spirit of Detroit styled hi-tech soul and Jupiter jazz with their stellar contributions. While electro is the order of the day elsewhere, courtesy of legend Carl Finlow on the dystopian electro bass of "Photo Array" and new school heroes London Modular Alliance going further into dystopian and sci-fi aesthetics on the powerful "D6".
Various
Played by: Juno Recommends Electro
Review: Since first pitching up on Hypercolour late last year, hardware fetishists London Modular Alliance has continued to deliver some of the most exciting electro around. Famously, the trio construct their cuts entirely using modular synthesizers, jamming live until they settle on a groove or riff to explore further. That guarantees that their machine funk sits somewhere between the pulsating hypnotism of classic Kraftwerk, the intergalactic moodiness of Drexciya and the harder-edged fodder popular in places like Rotterdam and the Hague. It goes without saying that this EP is packed with killer cuts from start to finish, something that makes picking highlights truly tricky. Really, all you need to know is that it's a must-have.
Review: Three men, no computers and many patch cables: That's London Modular Alliance who follow up last year's wicked Out Of Sync EP on Brokntoys with this new one for tech house heroes Hypercolour: who really seem to be broadening their horizons as a label and good on them we say. The Homegrown EP starts out with the rusty boom and snap of "Civic Society", a deep and moody electro number that treads the same territory as Anthony Rother. "Lucid" hits harder but this is exactly the kind of electro-funk we like; dark, bass-driven and minimal. Finally their ode to the North Devon coast "Saunton" is, in a surprise turn; more on the deep dubstep tip. You can almost hear the lighter going off in the background on this advanced experiment in reefer madness.
