Review: The mood on the eighth volume of Eps dedicated to celebrating De:tuned's 10th birthday is darker than previous editions. It begins with a new, full-on version of Humanoid's "Stakker" - renamed here as "ST8818r" - replete with coruscating acid lines and stomping break beats. Mike Dred aka Kosmik Kommando's timeless rave track "Biosurvival" also gets an airing, before Luke Vibert slows the pace down with the grinding "The Banter Notes". DE:10.08 also gets extra kudos for including a track from the brilliant - and underrated act - Air Liquide. In keeping with the overall acid-fried theme, they contribute the mind-bending "Strunkelpotz".
Review: It's been raining Luke Vibert in 2020 with the legendary producer teaming up with Hypercolour for a trilogy of LPs, bringing with it new and neo genres like Modern Rave, and now Rave Hop. restoring some credibility to the lost art of breakbeat and sample culture, Vibert's productions are on point here while exploring different eras of dance music history in the process. Crafted with unique, original and refreshed vintage samples, each track, depending on its element, will transport you across a classic timeline; be it straight up old school hip hop, 90s drum and bass and early chicago house, to soul, disco and jazz before that; all cut up and repackaged in a contemporary and referential approach to rave and its continued legacy.
Review: As ever, we have been delivered a real education in future-breakbeat flavours from the Hypercolour team as they invite the wonderful sounds of Luke Vibert inside for a full length, 13 track LP from the wonderful Luke Vibert. The tracklisting is jam packed with goodies, exploring the more experimental side of the breaks genre circle, with the post-rave chord plucks of 'Sky's The Limit' and 90's style bounce of 'Feel One' being two perfect examples. There's variation throughout as well, with the more punchy drum arrangements of 'Ecstacy' and scatty chord progressions of 'Beef' also hitting home well. Overall, it's a great look into the musical mind of Luke Vibert who has put together a very impressive body of work.
Review: Belgian label De:tuned delivers another cracking release after trawling through Luke Vibert's archives. "Balath" sees the maverick UK producer fuse mind-bending acid lines with crisp, up-tempo electro rhythms, while a similar, but somewhat noisier approach applies on "Worry Ledge". There, eerie tones and buzzing acid unfold over a fast, rolling 808-driven groove. "pHIacid" sees Vibert slow down the tempo and introduce what sounds like a mixture between an easy listening arrangement and funfair music, with this unusual fusion daubed in layers of acid. Finally, "Arcadia" resounds to noisy drums and twisted 303 lines. Irrespective of its provenance, the material on Arcadia makes for a fascinating release
Review: Ever wanted to know what a Luke Vibert bassline can really sound like? Look no further than the first few bars of "Batter Bits". It's one half of the tracks Vibert has given this EP split with London-based duo Posthuman of Balkan Vinyl. This second Unitary Covert Sonic Procedures release sees Vibert send in a futuristic slice of hip-house primed by that Kill Bill siren too, next to Posthuman's old school and rave worthy "2 Jack 4 U". Get that extra hardcore touch and Laurie Anderson feel through the gnarly and infected acid of "Hidden Blade. Seriously covert. Undeniably sonic.
Review: Next up on Friendzone we welcome a very exciting pairing as both Mark Archer & Luke Vibert link up for a masterclass in breakbeat production. We kick off firstly with Mark's two originals, beginning with the scattered yet sub heavy rhythmic designs of 'What's The Name', which uses dusty vocal samples over crunchy drum rolls to set us on fire from the off. Next, the higher tempo of 'Pump It' links together smooth chords to give us something completely different before moving onto Luke Viberts two originals. The first of these takes the name 'Phoam', which links together acidic bubbles with slower broken beats, before the more classic 4x4 sounds of 'Acidhouse Ecstasy' calls time on a very interesting project indeed.
Review: This is not the first compilation to drop whose sole aim is to raise funds for NHS Chartities Together - R&S Records and Bass Agenda both delivered similarly epic sets - but "Care4Life" may well be the strongest and most diverse. As you'd expect, each one of the 45 tracks is previously unreleased, and the cast list reads like a who's who of dance music culture. Notable highlights include an ultra-deep, saucer-eyed number from Daniel Avery, an unheard rework of the Chemical Brothers' "Catch Me I'm Falling", a superb revision of Harvey's Locussolus project by Kiwi, Matthew Herbert in jazzy broken beat mode, a rare solo outing from Optimo's JD Twitch, a rip-roaring rave workout from Jas Shaw, and thumping peak-time bangers from Dusky, Eats Everything and Patrick Topping.
Review: Few labels hit the spot like Fracture's Astrophonica. Home to breaksmithery's most innovative waifs and strays, every release writhes in those gloopy, unfathomable pastures between jungle, juke, beats and just straight up sick electronica. This sophomore edition of the label's V/A Gradients series is a perfect example as everyone from Luke Vibert to Sully lay down powerful designs. Every single track is a highlight but you'd be mad not to get mucky with Binga, James and Shafique's "Everfresh", get lost in the dubby wooziness of Groves' "Hennessy Brown", get air punchy to Fracture's technoid thumper "Dropping Yu" or get straight up sexual to BSN Posse's "No Matter How Far"... Ain't no track too steep, Gradients has every single breakbeat flavour you could need this season.
Review: London/Bristol based tech house institution celebrates a decade in the business. They've seen a few faces and phases, tech-wise or otherwise but at the end of the day remained consistent in their pursuit of quality grooves. Alex Jones and Jamie Russell present some great music here and there are many highlights. From electronica legends such as Warp's Luke Vibert, minimal house pioneer Matthew Herbert (with the deep and dusty microhouse of "Downgraded") as well as techno's one time enfant terrible Neil Landstrumm through to new favourites such as Swedish hypnotic techno hero Sebastian Mullaert (the tunnelling "Shadowed By I"), Italian hardware mavericks The Analogue Cops plus up and comers Yaleesa Hall x Malin Genie with the banging' "Buchan Trap". We applaud the label for their ability to keep on the pulse of the ever changing electronic music landscape and heres to another ten years.
Review: Well, this is surely the most special treat this week and we're not surprised it's coming from the Hypercolour mandem. These guys have been on fire over the last three years, releasing everyone worth releasing and even having them remix themselves such as on this new compilation. You have all the big guns: Maya Jane Coles, Kris Wadsworth, Tom Demac, Mark Henning, and George Fitzgerald. But, the best part of it all is that they're rewired and revamped by none other than: Bonobo, Jimmy Edgar, FaltyDL, Mr G, KiNK, Deetron, Matthew Herbert and more! We don't need to go on about how big this is...just enjoy this festival lineup in whatever way pleases you best. BIG and RECOMMENDED.
Kerrier District - "Techno Disco" - (4:40) 112 BPM
Tom Demac - "Four Leaves Right" - (7:54) 120 BPM
Luke Vibert - "Stabs Of Regret" (FaltyDL remix) - (3:52) 95 BPM
Garnier - "Confused" - (10:38) 130 BPM
Lucretio - "Vampire Killer" - (6:22) 134 BPM
J. Wiltshire - "False Awakening" (Tuff City Kids remix) - (6:45) 128 BPM
Last Magpie - "Separation" - (9:09) 126 BPM
A Sagittariun - "Delta House" - (6:33) 107 BPM
Zoe Zoe & Enoah Ballard - "1234" - (5:41) 124 BPM
Losoul - "Time & Space" - (8:11) 122 BPM
Roberto Clementi - "Novism" - (5:56) 122 BPM
Review: London's Hypercolour crew have now become synonymous with quality house and techno, and although they are originally rooted in the UK strain of the genres, recent years have brought along a whole new heap of styles and talent on their catalogue. First up, we should give credit to Axel Boman and the ridiculously hummable tech-house groove that is "Depression 01", followed supremely by a hard-hitting house banger in the name of "Lynn" by the unstoppable Dense & Pika. Other choice cuts on here include Kevin McPhee's nasty "CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN", Jimmy Edgar's sexier-than-ever "Hush", Lucretio's smooth "Vampire Killer", and...of screw it, it's all pretty damn killer. HOT.
Jimmy Edgar - "Hush" (Kyle's Detroit Retro Metro remix) - (6:30) 124 BPM
Tom Demac - "Obstructing The Light" (feat Duncan Edward Jones - original mix) - (6:51) 110 BPM
Review: There's something quite insurmountable about the Hypercolour back catalogue, stretching as it does through vast swathes of quality house and techno material back to 2006. Thankfully the good folk at the label have consolidated some more of the finest gems off those releases and bundled them together for a one-hit fix of high quality gear that sits left of centre. Whether it's Space Dimension Controller remixing Luke Vibert or Rolando tackling A Sagittariun, the tones are rich and diverse on all fifteen tunes, without a single dip in the quality. Our pick would be the angular delights of JoeFarr's "Trapington" with its squashed soul in amongst rough and tumble drum science.
Review: At a time when so many of its early contemporaries are rarely seen releasing these days, Planet Mu's 20th anniversary is even more of a cause de celebre. The powerhouse of uncompromising leftfield electronic music has pulled no punches when it comes to commemorating the time, drawing on the staggering roster including Kuedo, Remarc, Traxman, Falty DL, Machinedrum, Milanese, Vex'd, Neil Landstrumm and so very many more besides, bringing together tracks from the vaults, from forgotten times, some of which have never previously seen the light of day. With 50 tracks to delve into, this is enough of an education to school even the most learned mind.
Review: Oh my, it's number six in the Patterns series for London's Hypercolour! The previous compilations have all been absolute gold, blending house and bass-heavy clusterbombs like there's no tomorrow, so we're pretty psyched about this latest affair. There's plenty of exciting from all over the sphere on this one, namely some new appearances from Analogue Cop Lucretio and his lovely and soulful "Do It Forever" track; an absolutely cracking house-electro hybrid by Marco Bernardi in the form of "Japanese Firecracker", and a whole load of other bangers by the likes of West Norwood Cassette Library, Canada's Kevin McPhee, Luke Vibert and even Smallville's Christopher Rau! Essential comp vibes!
