Review: Second time around for Syncbeat's "Music", an influential early UK electro workout made by members of legendary Manchester outfit Broken Glass and mixed by local hero Greg Wilson. This surprise Running Back reissue includes all three of Wilson's original 1984 mixes. There's the wonderfully deep and glassy eyed Afro-electro/synth-pop fusion of the Original Mix, the Bobby 'O' Orlando-influenced shuffle of the "Remix" and the stripped-back, delay-laden edit brilliance of the dub style "More Music". Fresh reworks come from German house stalwart Boris Dlugosch who tidies it up and beefs it up whilst retaining the loved-up vibes and chanted vocals of the '84 original. His two DJ tool style revisions - the bodypopping "Bonus Beats" and sunrise-friendly "Tribal Reprise" - are also superb.
Review: A decade ago, the Dekmantel crew threw their first party in the Dutch capital; two years later the record label followed. For their decennial anniversary, Dekmantel Records are releasing 10 very special EPs over the course of 2017. The fourth release in their celebratory series is a collection of new material from some of the label's favourite artists. This fourth edition brings together their love of electro and wave influenced grooves by the likes of Los Angeles electro legend The Egyptian Lover, who serves up the aptly titled "This That Old School" which proves to all the bandwagon jumping wannabes what 'real' electro is. Staying on that retro flavoured tip are the Antinote affiliated Syracuse & Epsilove doing some acid infused analogue jack by way of pop on "Scubatomic Love". Finally, they look locally with the Red Light Radio affiliated/Rush Hour 'analogue adventurist' Interstellar Funk: who pursues some retro/balearic vibes on the sublime "EFX Harmonix"
Review: Dusty, slammed down disco-house cosmiq. Whatever you wanna call it; space western discoteque pop from the techno future is still fun too. With dub trailing atmospheres streaking across the face of tracks like "The Light", all three here surf the skywaves of Detroit techno and Chicago house, lifting key notes and aquatic stabs from somewhere deeper in between too. Ripping key-tars and twangs bring the funk in "Volpi Polari" with "Fluto" going to Eiffel tower heights of Jean Michelle Jarre trance and '90s warehouse beats to lift you high.
Review: Ame's consistently high quality output, which has been lapped up by house music lovers for many a year now, can work against them. Each release is so consistently good that it becomes the norm, and as such they can sometimes pass you by. Thankfully such concerns are thrown out the window on this 12" on Gerd Janson's Running Back imprint - a remix of 80s art funk oddity "Nature Makes A Mistake" by Son Of Sam. A thumping acid line sets the tone, before a swirling Oni Ayhun-esque synth melody drops in towards the end, bringing things to a mind melting conclusion. The extra production assistance of Marcel Dettmann gives the track some extra thump, while the original 1984 version - only released on a Bain Total cassette sampler and now remastered by Ame - is an unearthed gem in itself. Caps duly doffed to all involved. Superb!
Review: Sync 24's label delivers a killer electro release. For the first time in a long time, Carl Finlow dons his Silicon Scally hat. "Deodexed" is everything we've come to love from Finlow's electro project - spiky rhythms, heavy sub-bass and steely drums unfolding to the sound of tense bleeps. Spain's Boris Divider also delivers a lesson in stripped back electronix, with "Primary Function" focusing on firing, minimal riffs, eerie synths and dry 808s. Morphology's "Dark Star" is deeper with melodic synths lighting the bleepy acid path, while the 303 is also a hot theme on label owner Sync 24 & Deixis's collaboration, with rolling kettle drums underpinning acid licks and a breathy vocal.
Review: The underground's most serious retroverts: Josh Cheon & Co. keep on doing their thing but we're most curious when they unearth new talent. Following in the footsteps on Linea Aspera, Summerian Fleet and Inhalt is now the Montreal based Solitary Dancer. Some of you may remember their eponymously titled debut E.P. on Midland's Graded imprint in late 2016 after the track "Desire & Apathy" was featured on his Essential Mix. Starting off with the afterhours noir house of "Anything" which is the perfect soundtrack to night of secrecy/desire and debauchery, there's then the brooding minimal electro bass of "Losing Touch" executing yet more stylish sleaze. If that wasn't enough, Montreal's favourite daughter Marie Davidson lends her sultry vocal talents to the bold nu-italo excursion "Emails 2 Myself".
Review: Hyperdub's resident freaky styler DVA throws down a sizable six tracks of loose-limbed cuts that further branch his sound out from his UK Funky roots with typical creative flair. Lead track "Mad Hatter" best demonstrates this, starting life on a live drum stomp before snaking into a broken funk while off-key bass wobbles and manically frayed hits of percussion do the nasty around the snappy beat. Throw in a completely unexpected boogie sample breakdown for good measure and it's clear DVA is having fun in the studio. "Chilli Burrito" is equally deranged in the most essential, party starting of ways, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Review: By Steffi's own admission, State was recorded after she had 'freed' herself from a personal situation. This explains why the Dutch producer, who now feels more comfortable creatively, has made a third album that is more experimental than its predecessors. In places, it sounds influenced heavily by early 90s UK techno and electronics - in particular "All Living Things" is a dead-ringer for B12's Detroit-focused abstractions. At the same time, it still contains echoes of her previous albums. The warm, warbling bass on "Schools of Thought" could easily fit into the Panorama Bar's deep house releases. Counteracting this link to her past is the hyper-speed title track, where she channels Stingray's pacey electro funk, and the jittery, discordant techno of "Mental Events". It all adds up to an impressive, mature work.
Review: Omura sees Fracture and Sam Binga explore the futurist sounds of electro, and are said to have taken influence from acts such as Drexciya and The KLF. The LP is the result of 72 hour studio sessions and virtual collaborations, between their respective homes in Bristol and London. Feel the brooding sci-fi beats of "Advisory List", icy and glacial dub techno aesthetics work their way into "Lake", then bounce along to the dystopian ferocity of "Termites" or the nefarious computer funk of "Conditional".
Review: Next up on the Lobster Theremin mini-empire is Shedbug, who debuted on the label last year and has since gone on to release on 1? Pills Mate. Hope starts off in raucous form with the robust acid breaks of "Aciidmuzik", before Shedbug takes a diversion to drop the morbid, ominous bass-led disco of "One Day Later". "Rubber" shows a more considered side to his canon as it veers off into esoteric, break beat-led deep techno, while on the title track, break beats also abound. This time they underpin mesmerising synths that take the listener back to the blissful trance of 90s acts like Legion of Green Men.
Review: Garnering a name for himself with a stream of releases on labels like Cultivated Electronics and Central Processing Unit, Silicon Scally and his sound this time around is keeping a ghetto spirit alive within electro that's not too short of a wry, subtle humour. With its catchphrase titling, it's fun to imagine the sounds of this Skoda Banger EP come from nights out in a coupe whip, flexing the backstreets of Liverpool on a midnight blitz through city's badlands, clubs and underground. In Sci-Fi style, it's as if the bleepy synth lines in the title track represent a four-wheeled drift down main street, or something of a highway cruise control in "Mind Splitter". Banging EP.
Review: Sebastian Voigt may be a newcomer, with just three Eps to his credit so far, but it sounds like he has been making and releasing music for decades. The title track on this release is an epic electro affair, all flickering strings and robust 808s reminding the listener of classic Detroit-style electro like Lost Trax. On "Lamm", he puts his focus on the dance floor, with crisp beats and clanging metallic percussion underpinning pulsing acid, while on "Rua Ferreira" he fuses high-pitched acid tones with a bubbling bass and blasts of brittle percussion for a techno track in the Speicher vein.
Review: Hotflush head honcho Scuba returns to his esteemed imprint, following up hot releases by Liverpudlian newcomer Or:la, scene stalwart/acid freak LA-4A and the experimental electronics of Munich's Pyur. Under his SCB alias, he is probably best known for 'heads-down' style grooves and definitely more on the aggressive side. The dusty and dank "Test Tubes" is warm-up music for clandestine warehouse raves, while "Freedom For The Fifty" sees him offer up an impressive perspective of old school, Detroit style electro. From here, you start to see that it's a really diverse yet cohesive offering: with the hypnotic dancefloor drama of "Oration" showing something more consistent with his label's overall sound, while the evocative and life affirming retro electronica of "Laboratory Conditions" closes out the EP in style - something you would have heard at one of those legendary raves under the M25 back in the early '90s.
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