Review: 14 years have passed since Benji B and Judah established their monthly Deviation parties in London. This fine compilation celebrates the club's legacy and sound, which famously touched on all manner of soul-fired musical styles whilst keeping one eye (and both feet) on the dancefloor, with Benj B selecting cuts that never failed to rock the party. Expect a mixture of skewed, bass-heavy beats (Dorian Concept, James Blake, 00Genesis), heady instrumental hip-hop (Waajeed, Damn Funk remixing Baron Zen), Afro-funk (K Fimpong), peak-time UK bass mutations (Pearson Sound, Martyn, Mala), high-grade deep house (Gilb'r remixing Rick Wilhite, Theo Parrish) and a smattering of genuine scene anthems (Detroit Experiment, Maurice Fulton's remix of Alice Smith, DJ SPen presents DJ Technic).
Review: Berlin institution Watergate Records celebrates its 10 year birthday, with this special 50 track anthology of their favourite records. Over the last decade, the imprint has set a standard for captivating electronic music from across the house and techno spectrum, successfully mirroring the club's booking policy. Now up to over 60 releases including a remix of the Josh Wink classic "Higher State Of Consciousness" by residents Adana Twins, and the 26th installment in their acclaimed mix series by Danish legends Whomadewho - this compilation presents some of its most memorable cuts since its inception in 2008. Highlights come from: label staple Mathias Meyer - the Hanseatic hero presenting several tracks including "Love Letters From Sicily" with Ryan Davis, local legends Tiefschwarz on "Fire It Out" feat. Ruede Hagelstein, resident La Fleur getting remixed by Detroit legend Kenny Larkin on "Nightflow" and rising duo Adriatique's 7am remix of "The Spirit" by the ever impressive Butch (featuring Hohberg) amony many others.
Review: Well well well, we seem to have been delivered treat as the legendary Martyn returns with new music via Ostgut Ton Germany. The EP itself is made up of three original heaters, kicking off with the super choppy drum swipes and gnarly bass twists of the title track 'Odds Against Us'. This is then followed in style by the super unique sounding minimal drums tones of 'BC 2', stooped in dungeon-esc energy. The EP is then finished up in style as we take a dive into the swirling synth pools and smooth chord progressions of 'Rhythm Ritual', a classy way to round off a fantastic new body of work.
Review: Brainfeeder as a project have been known to bring together the weird and wonderful, more often than not supplying the world with stunning original music. This latest compilation from them celebrates 10 years of the label, putting Flying Lotus's visions into reality. We explore previously undiscovered realms of futuristic hip hop production, with immediate stand outs being the the unpredictable neurotic drum crunches of 'Delusions' from Little Snake, along with the pulsating drum work and 4x4 flavours of 'Squaz' courtesy of Ross From Friends. Another shout out has to go to FlyLo himself as he teams up with Busdriver for a super skat heavy run out on 'Ain't No Coming Back'. This one is a fantastic listen from start to finish.
Review: For his latest album, Martyn has turned a real-life, near-death experience into one of his greatest artistic statements. Recorded after he was recovering from a heart attack, it sees the storied Dutch producer at his most vulnerable. Granted, there are typical Martyn steppers like the melancholic "Manchester" and the recoiling sub-bass of "Nya", but the album also contains abstract, contemplative pieces like "Voids One", the jazzed-out drums of "Why" and the show-stopping, late night piano piece, "Try To Love You". Clearly, his experience has left him with an appreciation for music in its rawest form and thankfully, he is happy to share it with his audience.
Review: If Mark Knight and Co. aren't busy enough celebrating Toolroom's big 15 year birthday at present (and its global parties in celebration of it), they've also found enough time for another mandatory volume in their esteemed Ibiza Underground series. With another collection of surefire hits and soon to be anthems that are sure to rock The White Isle this summer - this is all you need right here. A wide range of cuts (50 to be exact) that venture into darker territories come from the likes of New York duo Blondes on the fierce and broken "Quality Of Life" (Struction remix), the surprising addition of Scottish IDM wunderkind Lanark Artefax's "Touch Absence" (Intimidating Stillness mix), Dutch techno-bass merchant Martyn on the futuristic "Feel The Magnetism" and American retrovert Matrixxman on the tunnelling acid trip "Horizon". Rest assured that there's faire more typical of the label like Josh Butler, Franky Rizardo, Rick Wakley and birthday guests Booka Shade. For your convenience, the collection comes as two continuous mixes as well.
Review: Given his previously prolific work rate, Martyn has been surprisingly quiet of late, with last year's digital-only GL Outtakes mini-album being his only release of note since 2015. This first outing on Dolly Dubs, then, is big news. Happily, his grasp of dancefloor dynamics remains in tact, with all three tracks sounding like peak-time smashers in waiting. He predictably hits the ground running with "41w", a mutant roller rich in mind-altering sub-bass, hybrid electro/post dubstep rhythms and dub-wise electronics. Then you will find the slack-tuned breakbeats, rumbling (not to mentioned relentless) bass and creepy IDM electronics of "Body Music", not to mention the crunchy, surprisingly bouncy and melodious metallic techno of "Angels".
Review: If the Acht release accommodates Panorama Bar's house sensibilities, then Sieben is sure to be played out on Berghain's main floor. That said, the seventh release in Ostgut's 10-strong series starts with Martyn in reflective mood. With its loose, tribal drums, ponderous vocal and dubby chords, "Jah Bedouin" could be the Dutch producer's own version of Bandulu's distinctive techno. Tobias and Atoma soon pick up the pace though, and their "Physik E7532" fuses steely claps and clanging rhythms with grimy acid lines. Luke Slater ramps up the intensity levels further with Planetary Assault System's "Hama Static", a bleep-heavy banger that will drill its way into your cranium.
Review: You have to admire Ostgut Ton's ambition. While celebrating a decade in dance music with a compilation of exclusive, previously unheard music is now standard practice amongst leading underground labels, few would have the balls to release it with such a killer tracklisting as Zehn. Across the 30 tracks (count 'em!) you get a who's who of Berghain and Panorama Bar associates delivering a quite outstanding selection of left-of-centre techno and deep European house, with Marcel Dettmann, Boris, Virginia, Steffi, DVS1, Martyn, Tobias and Ben Klock all featuring. Highlights naturally come thick and fast, from the spacey electronics, heady textures and hypnotic rhythms of Function's "DX3 Analog Bass Seq", and the rush-inducing, string-laden house warmth of Matthew Styles' remix of Dinky's "Planes", to the picturesque intelligent techno of Doms & Deykers.
Review: It sounds strange to say it, but this is the happiest release that Berghain's in-house label has put out. The title track is full of mournful keys and a pulsing Chicago bass and the groove is positively jaunty. It's hard to imagine how Martyn got to this place, but equally, there is no doubt that this sweet mood suits him. "U1-U8" is more in keeping with the Dutch producer's sound, with haunting chords unfolding over furious break beats, but soon enough, he's back exploring a more contemplative sound and the loose drums and melancholic keyboard solos sound like a freeform version of Smallville/Dial's deep, reflective house.
Review: Releases on Dolly offshoot Dolly Dubs are infuriatingly infrequent, but when they do appear they're invariably excellent. This latest offering - the first for 12 months - is predictably impressive. It's Martyn's second contribution to the series, and his first EP of 2015. There's naturally much to set the senses tingling, from the wobbly analogue bass, dreamy pads and loose, rave-era house breakbeats of flipside "Don't Block The Box", to the pitched-down jungle rhythms, bittersweet chords and notable bass of opener "Done Away". The swinging, spooky and downright chilling "EF40" is pretty darn tasty, too.
Review: That one of this year's best techno albums has been made by a Dutch dubstep artist and is issued on a label owned by an LA hip-hop figure says a lot about the increasingly blurred boundaries within which it operates. Ironically, the backbone for Ghost People is the purist-influenced Berghain sound that has dominated techno production in recent years. In fairness to Martyn, he makes no secret of this, even going as far to equating his European DJ dates to sonic fact-finding missions that informed the album's direction. However, it would be a mistake to assume that Ghost People is merely a replica of unflinching Berlin techno. Instead, Martyn uses it as a backdrop to tease out a range of directions. The title track contains references to the heady rush of rave, while "Twice As" revisits the Dutch producer's love of Detroit techno as sonic blips and spine-tingling melodies are married to more garage-style shuffling beats - perhaps the track's title is a nod to the London 2-step institution. On "Popgun", the producer briefly revisits lurching dubstep territories and there's even a tribute of sorts to Vangelis on the glistening synths of "Bauplan". That Ghost People covers so much ground while remaining close to the filtered rumble of tracks like "Horror Vacui" is an impressive testament to Martyn's supernatural production powers.
Review: After the rip-roaring success of Ghost People, Martyn continues his relationship with Brainfeeder by issuing forth a new track. "Hello Darkness" is burdened with a whopping great synth line and a ruff rhythmic undercurrent, making it both emotional and primal in the same beat. When the heavy drama of the lead synth falls away the track really comes into its own, letting the bassline dread seep out in all its glory. L-Vis 1990 and Bok Bok opt for a stark, strange take on "Bauplan" in the remix department, while Redshape bolts some uncharacteristic clattering breaks onto his version of "We Are You In The Future". Awesome.
Review: The latest artist on Bassbin to have their work brought sparkling into 2013 is Martyn. Sounding as fresh now as it did in 2006, "Cloud Convention" tumbles and soars around perfectly built breaks. As an undisputed leader in creating beats that simultaneously sound huge and robust as well as fallible, each amen has the inbuilt feeling that it all could fall apart at any minute. That's the genius of it though, that it's all so finely constructed yet so uniquely deconstructed too. Or perhaps we're looking into it too much because we're excited about this two track re-release. Either way these are important tracks in D&B history and you could do a lot worse than acquiring them for prosperity's sake. Just as long as you let them out to smash a dancefloor up occasionally too.
Review: Ahead of a forthcoming new album for Brainfeeder, Martyn drops this killer induction into Steffi's recently established Dolly Dubs imprint. The offshoot launched in relatively low key fashion late last year, with Swedish producer Staffan Lindberg at the helm. The addition of Steffi's compatriot Martyn is however big news, with the three track Newspeak EP the Dutchman's first proper release since Hello Darkness, the single that bookended his album for Brainfeeder in March of last year. Long term devotees of the 3024 boss's output should be familiar with the sub heavy snap of the title track which featured on his Essential Mix for Radio 1 last Spring, whilst lead track "Oceania" is a rolling, broken treat.
Review: Having enjoyed a remarkable 2010 that included Onra's superlative album, the LA series of killer ten inches and much more, Dublin imprint All City begin the year with the first in a new series originally mooted by the label bosses back in 2009. Inviting their favourite producers to knock heads and deliver two tracks, All City deliver a statement of intent with Martyn and Mike Slott at the controls with brilliant results! Much like the majority of Martyn's recent work it's pretty hard to categorise "All Nights", his collaboration with LuckyMe's Slott, other than to say it's a techno step flexer that's primed for play in the clubs. Special mention as well, for the prominent usage of cowbell and a vast array of unidentifiable sound effects that add a sonic richness to the track. The next track brings the downtempo vibes of "Pointing Fingers", all reflective textures and soft, dreamlike melodies aided by rattling beat programming and ethereal vocal harmonies. Forward thinking sounds from all involved.
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