Review: It's hard to believe that Cocoon is celebrating its 20th anniversary, but what's not difficult to grasp is that Sven Vath's imprint is marking the occasion in style. Rampa and Emanuel Satie kick-start this compilation with emotive, tranced out tracks - in particular Rampa's "2000" is particularly poignant - while Cocoon mainstays like Gregor Tresher and Ricardo Tobar up the pace with the musical but clubby techno of "Nostalgia (Is The Enemy)" and "El Eterna" respectively. As always, Cocoon strikes a flawless balance between showcasing local producers and international names; 20 Years is no exception and features frazzled acid from Josh Wink as well as steely percussive bangers courtesy of Planetary Assault Systems and Jacek Sienkiewicz.
Review: This third volume of the Twin Turbo compilation is a timely reminder of Turbo's consistency when it comes to delivering varied dance music. The TRACE7000 remix of Jakwob's "Feel So Good" is a pulsating, acidic track, while Kill Frenzy ups the intensity levels with the swampy electronics and ghetto jack of "Follow Me". In contrast, ANNA's "Artha" is a sleek affair, its linear rhythm supporting tranced out rhythms, while on "Build Up Your House", Hoshina Anniversary delivers a modern take on Chicago jack, with repetitive vocals underpinned by a grainy rhythm. Label owner Tiga also makes an appearance, with Dense & Pika delivering a techy take on his version of Public Enemy's "Louder Than A Bomb".
Review: Techno heavyweights Tiga and Matthew Dear team up again for the first time since 2013's massive anthem "Let's Go Dancing". According to Tiga the Turbo chief "This Is a Dream' is 'an epic poem, an immunity passport to the boundless dimensions that lay beyond the veil of slow wave sleep'. A tunneling and low-slung trip in its original format, it gets some killer reworks here by some of the scene's current luminaries. The ever impressive Terr works her sonic magic once again with a ravey indie-dance perspective, while Russian Nocow delivers two hard hitting and surefire remixes.
Sunglasses At Night (Dense & Pika remix) - (8:00) 126 BPM
Sunglasses At Night (Dimitri Veimar remix) - (6:38) 130 BPM
Sunglasses At Night (Techno Seleba remix) - (5:49) 110 BPM
Review: As Turbo reaches its 20th anniversary, Tiga's label delivers remixes of the track that propelled him to global recognition. First up is Dense & Pika, who turn "Sunglasses" into a relentless, pounding tribal track that only includes the nasal vocal from Tiga's original version. Next up is rising electro star Dimitri Veimar, with rolling 808s, steely snares and the kind of menacing bass that has seen the Russian producer feature on Turbo and Omndisc. In this instance, it's the creepy synth line that remains and helps to make this version unforgettable. Techno Seleba is apparently a pseudonym for a big name dance producer working incognito, but irrespective of who is behind the project, this remix is an eerie, percussive take on the synth-pop standard.
Review: Following last year's collaboration with Kompakt boss Michael Mayer, Kolsch now teams up with another well-known artist. This co-authored release with Tiga starts off in relatively unfamiliar territory: the title track is a fuzzy, chord heavy workout that has an evocative edge thanks to its airy synths. "Still So High" sees the pair revert to type as a buzzing bass supports vocal samples and atmospheric sound scapes, but it's "First Blood" that really captures both artists' style most accurately. A pile-driving rhythm, raw drums and fuzzy, filtered percussive bursts support an 80s synth line that will ensure the latest IPSO collaboration is unforgettable.
Review: Following on from Dogma, his collaboration with Kompakt's Michael Mayer back in 2016, Kolsch now invites Tiga to work with him for the second release on IPSO. It's a great meeting of minds; from the Turbo boss' side, there's an intuitive understanding of dance floor dynamics borne out by years spinning in clubs. It is articulated here by the percussive rhythm that underpins "Hal", while, from Kolsch's side come those frazzled vocal samples and the wide-eyed chord builds. Unite all of these elements and the track is just as powerful as the super computer of the same name from the seminal 2011: A Space Odyssey.
Review: Moveltraxx is proud to launch a new series of releases. They asked some of their favorite DJs to make a mix with tracks from their catalogue. For the first edition, it's over to young french DJ/producer Alex Autajon. Alex is from Lyon and makes forward-thinking club tracks. After a few web releases he appeared on Moveltraxx "Street Bangers Factory" series. His work features skippy, syncopated beats with whirling synths, booty-claps, gunshots and weighty low-end. The mix features selected club hits and rare gems from the label to create this fire mix of hybrid club music featuring music from MikeQ, Feadz, Big Dope P, Nadus and many more. Alex is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut solo release coming out later this year. All tracks are previously released on the label.
Review: The annual Toolroom statement of intent for Ibiza gets off to a raucous start with the good time house Camelphat remix of Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now". Despite this, the compilation isn't all about peak time pleasure. It features deeper nuggets like the sun-kissed deep techno remix of Bicep's "Opal" by Four Tet and the hypnotic break beat techno Kolsch remix of Nic Fanciulli's "Saying". However, Ibiza 2018 doesn't depart too far from the script, and label boss Mark Knight's "We Get High From the Music" is classic Toolroom - a tough tribal workout descending into filtered, vocal-heavy nirvana. That said, they deserve plaudits for keeping a close eye on new artists and the niggling acid and chimes of Peggy Gou's "It Makes You Forget" is testament to that.
Review: Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Tiga is confident that this release is one of his best collaborations to date, up there with his work with Jori Hulkkonen. Certainly, the title track is an unusual affair, with the Turbo boss and Clarian working together to create a left of centre, tripped out acid track. Replete with out there vocals, it's one of the freshest takes on the eternal acid sound you'll hear this year. On "You're So Special", the pair veer further down the paths marked 'inspired off beat techno'; deploying a call and response vocal over a jacking, low-slung groove, it's unusual, entertaining and unforgettable
Review: "!Kollections" banner. Each focuses on a certain aspect of the long-running label's vast back catalogue. The fourth edition, for example, focused on disco. "Reflections", the latest volume, is not as tight stylistically and instead gathers together tracks that tend towards the deep, poignant, beautiful and melancholy. There are many treats amongst the 27 showcased selections, with highlights including an impeccable chunk of string-laden downtempo pop from DJ Tennis and Fink, a dreamy slice of loved-up house warmth from Lone, the bustling, dream house era Mediterranean holiday memories of Mugwump's "God is Gracious" and the thrusting, big room-friendly late night hypnotism of Dubfire's "Dust Devil".
Review: Over the course of the last decade, Swiss stalwart Deetron has been responsible for a string of impressive remixes. Happily, these - and many others you may have missed - have now been collected together on the decidedly epic Re-Creation: Remixes Compiled. As you'd expect, the 25-track set flits between full-throttle, peak-time friendly techno futurism, bustling deep house goodness and more downbeat explorations that defy his reputation as a maker of killer club cuts. Highlights include the loved-up synth breakdowns and jacking, Chicago-style groove of his Juan MacLean remix, a wonderfully retro-futurist take on George Fitzgerald's "Every Inch", a thrusting, stab-happy revision of Quarion and a lusciously jazzy take on Todd Terje's "Alfonso Muskedender". That said, on another day we could have listed another five or six highlights: it really is that good.
Review: Earlier in 2017, the third collaboration between famed North American producers Tiga and Audion came in the form of the Nightclub EP, which saw the duo take on the challenge of executing harder techno sounds - to reflect even harder times facing the world at present. To hammer that message home, they've drafted the big guns to make y'all listen and learn! The masked one Redshape steps up to the plate first and delivers a stomping Detroit rave rendition. Dutch electro fiend Dexter delivers a wonky analogue funk attack that has earned his and Steffi's Klakson imprint much respect over the years. We then go from central European party sounds to remixes with The White Isle more in mind: techno's dark lord Dubfire delivers a rolling, tunnelling and strobe-lit rendition. Next rising South American star ANNA delivers a hard hitting peak time rendition that has earned her releases on Tronik and Terminal M.
