Review: As well as being a vocalist for peerless disco outfit Hercules and Love Affair, Aerea Negrot has a great sideline in more tech and dub-influenced songwriting. Following on from last year's debut single "All I Wanna Do", BPitch Control drop her latest collection of songs this week and they're a revelation. "Miss You" sees Negrot feed her vocals through a vocoder and duet with herself over a slow and sultry waves of synth pads, while "Right Body Wrong Time" channels the golden age of Chicago with her commanding vocals dipping in and out of a minimal-jack beat. "Childhood" is equally fascinating, with Negrot's swooping vocalisms strongly recalling Liz Frazer of the Cocteau Twins mixed with Grace Jones.
Review: Ellen Fraatz must be one of the hardest-working women in dance music. She's been making music for 20 years, now, and there's little sign of the quality dropping. There's predictably much to admire on this brand new three-tracker, from the melancholic chords, impassioned vocal wails and electro-influenced grooves of opener "Butterfly", to the wonky, late night tech-house assault of "Come To Me", whose distorted synths and sludgy bottom-end are complimented by distinctly foreboding chords. Best of all, though, is "Freak The Night", a jaunty fusion of deep house, acid and tech-house complete with warm, woozy chords, shuffling rhythms and punchy electronics.
Review: The calibre of contributors to this remix album is a sign of the high regard that Bpitch boss Ellen Allien is held in. Aux 88 depart from their trademark electro sound for a tight, stabby techno take on "Ever", while Bodycode brings his eerie organ sound to the spacey "Dream", straddling this seemingly disparate mixture with snappy percussion. Meanwhile, Kassem Mosse delivers a beautiful, chiming bell and breathy vocal-laden take on "Our Utopie". There are also some fine left of centre versions, like Tim Hecker's organic ambient version of "Sun the Rain", John Roberts's gradually unravelling, tripped out melodic interpretation of "Should We Go Home", and the piece de resistance, the Ripperton take on "My Tree", which progresses from dense drums and foreboding trance riffs into soaring electro bass and epic indie guitars.
Review: This latest album by Bpitch Control boss Allien is a long way from the label's minimal, sometimes trancey roots. It sounds like the author has grown up musically, and LISm flows through a series of mood pieces. Although this special edition divides the whole 45 minute piece into discrete chunks, this writer listened to the work as one continuous track, and this is how it works best. Beginning with what could be the sound of demented monkeys wittering away, it moves into jangly guitars and blissed out vocals, before a series of isolationist bleeps kick in. From there it moves from late night jazzy sax, dense drones before kicking back into deep, ethereal electronics. It's a major artistic triumph for Allien.
Review: Like her last album, The Kiss sees Ellen Allien explore an alternate route than the skewed, rough and ready minimalism she made her name with. Indeed, "The Kiss (Extended Version)" deploys an old school Chicago bassline with mysterious synths and a jacking rhythm. "Need" is less memorable, but Allien has the good sense to draft in Redshape for remix duties. The masked producer drops sweeping synths and a powerful, pulsing bass to lend the track some extra menace. Bpitch has also commissioned German duo Snuff Crew to rework "The Kiss" and they don't disappoint, using playful cowbells, mournful strings and a powerful, pulsing bass to create an unforgettable retro-style remix.
Review: This latest album by Bpitch boss Allien is a long way from the label's minimal, sometimes trancey roots. It sounds like the author has grown up musically, and LISm flows through a series of mood pieces. This writer listened to the work as one continuous track, and this is how it works best. Beginning with what could be the sound of demented monkeys wittering away, it moves into jangly guitars and blissed out vocals, before a series of isolationist bleeps kick in. From there it moves from late night jazzy sax, dense drones before kicking back into deep, ethereal electronics. It's a major artistic triumph for Allien.
Review: Berlin has by turns been a minimal, dubstep and purist haven over the past decade, but the latest release from Ellen Alien hints at something dingier. Taking inspiration from the low-slung rhythms and tape hiss of L.I.E.S, the Bpitch boss contsructs a grungy, acid-caked groove on her own edit of "Free Nation". It's a similar tale on "Delta Zoo", where violent bass licks lurch under grainy riffs and crackling percussion. If Alien's edits represent Berlin's seedy side, then Thomas Muller's versions of both tracks imagines a modernist veision of the German capital. Booming drums and dramatic claps fuel this approach, but the murmuring vocals suggest something untoward still simmers beneath the surface.
Review: Amotik rose to prominence with a series of Eps and an album on his own imprint, and it wasn't long before his linear, hypnotic tracks caught Ellen Allien's attention. Daya, his debut release on Bpitch Control, sees him serve up more of the same crafty dance floor music. There's the title track's dense, tribal drums, while on "Aage", a similar approach is audible, as the Berlin artist drops a linear dance rhythm. On "Peeche", Amotik adds some chilling chords to his heads-down sound, while he changes tact on "Baya", where atmospheric synths swirl over a more gentle but still dance floor focused track.
