Review: Collaborating across continents, Gonno and Panorama Bar's Nick Hoppner deliver their second EP for Ostgut. It's an esoteric affair, with "Bangalore" opening the release in deep, atmospheric mode. Unravelling to the sound of ominous bass, layered textures and percussive bursts, it's an expansive, hypnotic serving of modern techno. "Love Lost" is quite a different proposition; it sees the pair drop a slinky rhythm track that provides the basis for sweet, acid-soaked melodies and dubbed out vocal samples. "Start Trying" is different again: they pick up the pace to deliver a warbling Detroit style groove, populated by cool bleeps and shiny synths.
Review: Work is Nick Hoppner's second album for the iconic label that he manages, but despite this reversal of roles, it shows his considerable talent and versatility when it comes to making music. "All By Themselves (My Belle)" is a dreamy pop track, while on "Clean Living" he adeptly mixes deep house synths and floaty melodies with a churning Chicago bass. "In My Mind" is a stripped back affair that breaks into soaring melodies, while on "Hole Head', he veers into broken beats and jazzy chords. "The Dark Segment" continues Hoppner's voyage into the abstract, featuring broken beats and eerie sound scapes, while he heads back to the dance floor with the flamboyant Latino chords and pared back rhythm of "Forced Resonance". It's an assured second album from one of Ostgut's secret weapons.
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: German producer Nick Hoppner has long been part of the Ostgut Ton family, releasing his first material for the imprint way back in 2007. Here he finally delivers his debut album, Folk, a set whose title hints at the warmth of his attractive, melodious and often sumptuous blends of atmospheric techno, deep house and organic-sounding instrumentation. At its' best, the album is simply superb, delivering cuts that feel equally at home seeping from home stereo systems as booming club sound systems. In this category we'd put stand outs "Come Closer", the classic sounding "Out Of", and the dub techno inspired basement hypnotism of "Rising Overheads". It is, though, all good, with Hoppner proving adept at the very specific demands of the album format.
Review: Nick Hoppner is one of the key figures in the Ostgut operation, but isn't noted for putting out a lot of music. Clearly favouring quality over an excessive release schedule, the former MyMy member draws on the classic sounds of house and techno for Peck. The title track is the more current sounding, its heavy drum shuffled accompanied by weighty claps, a soft-focus filter and a lost 'aaaah' vocal sample. "She Parked Herself " is a totally different proposition; featuring the kind of emotional strings that featured on classic progressive house records by artists like Jaco and Slam, while its plunging bassline and rattling snares sound like the deep house of 90s producers like Jamie Read. "Swivel Flick" meanwhile is less derivative but also makes a play of that era's propensity for atmospheric pads and resonating bass riffs.
Review: Electronic music is often defined as being apolitical and entirely self-serving, but in this time of existential crisis for Japan, it shows that dance producers not only have a conscience, but care deeply about the country. There have been a number of initiatives already within electronic music to raise funds for Japanese earthquake/tsunami victims, and the act of helping is the overarching concern here. However, hopefully when you do decide to purchase this Kompakt compilation, you will get the added bonus of ghostly ambience from Marsen Jules and Ezekiel Honig, playful, offbeat house from Efdemin, eerie minimal house from SCSI-9 and Nick Hoppner, and Anontelli's playful electronic pulses - as well as feeling good about supporting a beleaguered nation.
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