Review: Having kick started his career internationally through the likes of Blood Music, Boys Noize Records and a now faded electro scene, Hoshina Anniversary has ebbed his way into the catalogues of DJ Lyster's Youth label, London's Alien Jams and ESP Institute. Jomon presents the artist with a sixth album and third release for Love Fingers' label, and it presents a unique blend of downbeat electronics and industrial jazz to acid techno tracks, harder edged breakbeats and avant pop that all feature Hoshina Anniversary's inherent exotic touch. And for something straight out of the blocks we recommend the house groove and playful hauntolgies of "Rokumeikan".
Review: Bartellow aka Benedikt Brachtel returns to ESP Institute with remixes of tracks from his 2017 album, Panokorama. First up is Florian Kupfer from L.I.E.S, who turns "Sala Sensei" into a teased out lo-fi jam, with cavernous filters cascading into epic drops. Gilb'r from Versatile also opts for a dubbed out take on the same track, but it has a softer, more shimmering approach as a dub groove chugs away in the background. Given their reputation for making lean, linear club techno, it comes as no surprise that Skudge's take on "Clypp" is an expertly streamlined, tracky affair, but this is a largely out-there remix package, as evidenced by Ground's warbling, sub-aquatic take on "Clypp".
Review: Norway has always been a place for left of centre music - including a significant period during the 90s when it was one of the world's deep house hubs. As Lost In Lindos demonstrates, it remains friendly to those who make music on the fringes. "Bleusa" is an understated but expansive house groove, its pared back beats supporting balmy chords. "Forus Echo" is more uptempo, but just as idiosyncratic, as skipping beats and ticking percussion supports dreamy synths. On the title track, Nygard retreats to an atmospheric, down tempo place, while he leads the listener into a hazy, ambient finale with the swirling electronic plumes of "?ylie".
Review: Osaka's GROUND is no newcomer to the world of experimental electronics, with the artist's last official EP having come out all the way back in 1995 as a self-releases 7" on the forever-defunct 595-76-8239 Music. Sunizsm is his debut LP, with a few of these tunes already out in the last few months on separate EPs, each one of them backed by a series of killer remixes, of course. The LP as a whole, however, is a startling beauty, dipping and diving from dance music to the abstract, rich in Ground's Japanese aesthetics. "Logos", one of the tracks released already, is a tripping bundle of percussion and Eastern vocal chops and, among our other favourites on here, there's also the off-kilter chimes of "Hanasai", the moody bass tones of "Feel It", and the hypnotic journey that is "Sunizsm" itself. House-not-house for the DJ-not-DJs.
Review: Lovefingers seems to be struggling a little with what to write on ESP Institute's distinct centre labels. For this Juan Ramos 12" - the producer's first for the New York based imprint - he's posed a question: "what colour Speedo should she wear this summer?" By the sounds of the fuzzy, broken beats, popping electronics, tribal percussion hits, drunken melodies and stretched out chords that mark out "Last Of The Natives", we'd suggest a rich shade of green. That said, if you also take the woozy, intense and cluttered - but nevertheless impressive - flipside "Enemy Of Enemy" is friend into consideration, dark brown might be a better option.
Review: A year on from the woozy, experimental oddness of their simply titled debut EP I, Guido Zen and Joel Martin re-ignite their Vactrol Park production partnership. II sees them exploring similar sonic pastures, offering up moody, atmospheric, analogue-heavy workouts that join the dots between krautrock, drone, ambient, leftfield techno and curiously distorted, dubbed-out experimentation. The hypnotic, slowly unfurling opener "Tired & Feathered" is probably our pick of the bunch, though similarly epic, slo-mo closer "Grottaferato" - a creepy exercise in sparse, dubby electronics and Ket-addled rhythms - is not far behind. "Hump", a trip into the furthest realms of the duo's collective subconscious, is also strangely fulfilling.
Disturbed By The Possibility Of Someone - (8:23) 86 BPM
Clocking A Moving Wave - (10:50) 100 BPM
All At One Point - (6:35) 160 BPM
Review: Lovefingers' ESP Institute delivers more delightfully oddball grooves, this time courtesy of Vactrol Park; a London based duo featuring Kyle Martin and Guido Zen. The latter having previously collaborated in Brain Machine and with Not Waving's Alessio Natalizia. The dark and trippy cosmic vibe of "Stars Quivering Slowly" sets the mood just nicely. "Disturbed By The Possibility Of Someone" is truly nefarious; its slow motion hypnotic groove quite possibly being the best example of what heroin house would sound like. On the flip is more of the same, but "All At One Point" is an epic imaginary soundtrack in which the protagonist rises up triumphantly to the light, returning from his or her near death experience. Epic stuff!
Review: Munich trio Tambien come through with their most high profile release yet, gracing the esteemed ESP Institute with an excellent two track excursion in the shape of Drogato. Formed of Public Possession founders Marvin and Valentino and their Munich pal Bartellow, Tambien first emerged on a killer white label release last year before inaugurating the Public Possession label in final style with the Robusto / Sexalitat EP. The sonic themes explored there - straight to tape analogue techno throw downs where robust, rumbling drums duke it out with sinuous basslines - might not seem immediately suited to an ESP release but you can't fault the two productions on Drogato. The title cut implements the sort of psychedelic qualities amidst the rhythmic intensity that clearly appealed to Lovefingers but it's the 12 minute "Dois" that really impresses, swaggering at mid tempo, teasing out a classic breakbeat over a backdrop of sound rich in emotion and colour.
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