Review: Tel Aviv's Moscoman returns to the always reliable ESP Institute for more of his infectious oddball grooves which continually defy categorisation. Much like fellow homeboys Red Axes and Autarkic, his sound sits somewhere between disco, house, synth pop, punk-funk and even balearic; and indeed that's the spectrum of sounds explored on his new album titled A Shot In The Light. There's some lo-slung, latin infused disco deepness on the "Mexican Cola Bottle Baby", trippy cosmo/psychedelic shenanigans on the hilariously titled "Losing My Wedge", the moody and entrancing journey that is the title track (which pushes the same territory as Barnt or Marvin & Guy) and there's even some darkwave electro: like on the epic closer "Death At The Funreal".
Review: Following a couple of impressive outings on Cosmo Vitelli's I'm A Cliche imprint, well-regarded Israeli producer Moscoman makes his ESP Institute debut. The Tel Aviv native is in fine form, too, delivering a pair of tracks that blend trippy, psychedelic electronics with clear cosmic disco and no wave influences. Opener "Akachi" is arguably the bigger of the two, with swirling effects, tribal chants and bongo-laden percussion peppering a long-slung disco-not-disco groove. "Nobody Else" has a more trippy and trancey feel, with looped, slowly building guitar and synthesizer parts - all drenched in special effects - rising above a hypnotic, drum machine-led groove.
Review: Darmstadt's Benedikt Frey has been one of the most exciting talents in electronic music in the last few years. With releases on local institution Live At Robert Johnson and Barcelona's Hivern Discs in addition to his experimental project INIT (with Nadia D'Alo) he returns once again to Lovefingers' Los Angeles based imprint. This is the second time after last year's impressive The Lobbyist EP. Be prepared for more cosmic, post-Kraut psychedelia of the greyscale kind from Frey on his first ever full length release. Highlights include the brooding industrial punk-funk of "Controversial", the slow burning hypnotic techno epic "H For Hysteria" or the Can styled progressive rock of "Keygrind" which really shows off the diversity. Add to that the the woozy acid tribalism of "Push" or "Patcher" which are perfect for setting the mood early at Offenbach's favourite clubs.
H For Hysteria (Tolouse Low Trax remix) - (5:18) 120 BPM
Private Crimes (DJ Normal 4 remix) - (5:13) 142 BPM
Private Crimes (DALO remix) - (7:24) 130 BPM
Review: Last year, ESP Institute put out Benedikt Frey's debut album and now they offer a remix package that's just as impressive. First up is I:Cube, who reworks "H for Hysteria". Currently riding high on the back of his brilliant Double Pack release, the French producer turns it into a deep, flowing affair, led by subtle acid tweaks and hushed atmospheric chords. In Tolouse Low Trax's hands, the same track morphs into a stripped back, bass-led affair, while DJ Normal 4 offers an idiosyncratic take on "Private Crimes", with deep acid lines and a ghostly vocal sample burning their way through rickety break beats. Rounding off this impressive remix package is DJ Dalo's take on "Crimes", where a spooky break beat sound prevails.
Review: 11 months on from his first appearance on Lovefingers' impressive ESP Institute imprint, Juan Ramos returns with two more chunks of throbbing late night heat. Once again breaking up the rhythms for an altogether groovier experience, virtual A-side "ATKM" sees the producer joining the dots between bubbling techno, rolling proto-house and Young Marco style new age house. There's an extra-humid feel about the track that follows, "Globalizacion Acido", with Ramos gleefully joining the dots between bustling Afro-acid, trippy tropical house, unsettling alien funk and percussive tribal motions. It's utterly bonkers, but also rather stunning. The boy has clearly got talent.
Review: Amsterdam-based graphic designer turned producer Young Marco has previously shown hints of greatness, most notably with a pair of superb 12" singles on ESP Institute that layered picturesque melodies atop huggable analogue grooves. Here, he delivers his debut album, Biology, and it's every bit as warm, imaginative and luscious as his previous work. Each of the album's seven tracks is something of a gem, from the crystalline, new age house of "Sea World" and Vangelis Katsoulis-inspired ambience of "Out of Wind", to the Italo-influenced dancefloor pulse of "Suzaku" and rush-inducing, synth-heavy brightness of "Can You Really Feel It". It's one of those albums that will brighten up even the dreariest of days, and those sets are arguably few and far between.
Review: Ricardo Tobar follows 2017's Liturgia release on ESP Institute with this diverse EP. The title track is an expansive affair, with swirling electronic sounds unfolding over a rumbling bass and rolling, dusty drums. It's a loose, unhurried track that gradually sucks the listener in as it progresses on its way. By contrast, "La Venida Del Mar" offers up a different side to the Chilean producer's production. There, the rhythm is more buzzing and electronic, with a nagging ebm riff shot through with recycled rave vocals and underpinned by filtered layers of percussion. "Birds" effortlessly represents two different sides to this talented artist's canon.
Review: Damien Lynch has been busy of late, serving up a superb slab of electro-influenced experiments for Lunar Disko under the Diamond Dagger alias. Here he returns to ESP Institute under his given name, serving up the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut 12", The Heights. Opener "Brunette" is a deep and softly spun techno shuffler, with quietly spacey stabs, swooshing pads and stoned electric piano motifs enhancing the hypnotic, late night mood. "Forced Relax" is equally baked, but noticeably slower. It, too, sounds like a yearning, early morning transmission from some far-off planet, beamed down by a sleep-deprived astronaut pining for a comfy bed back on Earth.
Review: Following on from last year's remixes of Artificial on ESP, Benedikt Frey returns to the label with some fresh material. "Interlinked" is a robust electro affair, bolstered by steely drums and tweaked acid that support an ominous vocal sample. It sets an ominous tone for the release. The mood remains the same but the delivery differs on "Pilot", where Frey lays down understated bass notes and gloomy atmospherics. While "Interlinked" sees him pick up the pace and resounds to a low-slung groove, it too boasts haunted vocal samples and eerie synths. The fuzzy, murky rhythm of "Pedal to the Metal" closes out this superb EP of electronic mood music.
Review: The development of Aussie Tornado Wallace from a promising deep house producer to a masterful maker of Balearic beats has been a joy to behold. Since first hooking up with Beats In Space and the similarly inclined ESP Institute last year, he's begun to develop a trademark sound that's warm, humid and musically rich. He's still capable of laying down chunky dancefloor rhythms, though, as the hypnotic new age house bumper "Soft Light" - the flipside of this second outing for Lovefingers' acclaimed imprint - so deftly proves. Really, though, it's when he gets more adventurous - such as on the wonderfully evocative Jonny Nash collaboration "Time of Nectar" and decidedly tropical lead cut "Circadia" - that he really comes into his own. Highly recommended.
Review: DJ/producer Mr Ho is the co-founder of Klasse Recordings, while Heap is man behind Vienna's Discuss Throwers parties and online store. Together, they've penned this rather fine two-tracker for ESP Institute, whose tongue-in-cheek label copy promises cuts that are neither, "too salty or too sweet". Happily, it's definitely not bland or tasteless, either. "Collision Resistance" is relatively simple in construction, but surprisingly powerful - all muscular analogue bass, thrusting drums and trippy, late night textures. "Veils Of The Beloved" is altogether more loved-up in feel, with dreamy pads, tuneful marimba motives and bubbling electronic bass. The bassline, in particular, is little short of stunning.
Review: Ricardo Tobar takes the listener to electronic music's outer limits on his latest artist album. Like the aesthetic of that other great producer of Chilean origin, Ricardo Villablobos, Continuidad is a sprawling, vivid affair. It moves from the gritty guitar sounds of "Les Vagues" and "Totem" into the jangling percussive rhythm of "Recife", before edging back into abstraction with dirge-like arrangements such as "Purple Sun, Rising" and "Vestigios". Tobar even touches on psychedelic textures on tracks like "First" - whose detuned guitars and tripped out nuances sound like early Pink Floyd getting it on with Spacemen 3 - but eventually makes his way back to the dance floor with the expansive groove of "Birds". Continuidad is a journey in the truest, most cosmic sense.
Review: Fresh from unleashing an album of the year contender in Young Marco's Biology, ESP Institute welcome Munich trio Tambien back into the fold for a superb second record. The Der Elf single is described by the label as "a beacon of hope in a dark warehouse" andwill be welcome news for anyone that indulged in Drogato, last year's ESP bow from Bartellow and Public Possession pair Marvin & Valentino. Both tracks here suggest Tambien's productions are growing in confidence and range with each release. The concoction of bouncing 909 rhythms, gently bent synths and heavily delayed vocals that make up the title track could easily be mistaken for a production from Mark Seven's Parkway label, and is complemented nicely by the melodically-driven deepness of "Are You In Touch w/ Varan?"
Review: Given the quality of their respective releases, you'd expect this first collaboration between Moscoman and Red Axes to be rather good. Predictably, it is, with both tracks offering the perfect balance between weary late night atmospherics and intoxicating dancefloor shuffle. Opener "Dikembe Manatu" builds the action around a foreboding bassline and dense African percussion, with metallic melodies and druggy electronics expertly layered atop. Virtual flipside "Rage In The Cage" takes a different approach, with sleazy, late night electronics and throbbing analogue refrains contrasting neatly with the trio's unfussy, cowbell-laden percussion. Both tracks sound primed for dimly lit basement spaces and intimate parties the World over.
Review: Xinner has put out Eps for Phonica and Gifted Culture, but Dream Resonator is his first outing as Robotron. In fact, ESP Institute is so taken with his new alias that they refer to him as 'the machine formerly known as Xinner'. Machines still loom large on this release: "Ice" is a raw sounding electro cut, with old school drums crashing in over repetitive hooks and melodic synth lines. On the title track, Robotron sets his sights on a more dance-floor friendly approach. The groove has a pulsating, squelchy feeling and the synth hooks sit somewhere between classic Italo and Legowelt's dreamy West Coast sensibilities.
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.
Review: This is Autre's debut release on ESP Institute, but he fits right in with the label's aesthetic. As the title track demonstrates, this emerging producer shares the same love as Loverfingers' label for freeform dance music. 303 lines spiral gently and atmospheric chords ebb and flow majestically over an off beat groove that sits somewhere between deep house and electro. It's a heady affair, with cosmic keys introduced to make it all the more intoxicating. "Frigo" is just as distinctive: over cowbells and snappy beats, an electronic salsa rhythm unravels, containing enough soul to keep even the most demanding DJ happy.
Review: This is the second outing for Xinner aka Robotron on ESP, and follows 2018's debut, Dream Resonator. Sitting somewhere between electro, techno and industrial, it's an impressive follow-up that showcases his considerable talent. "Exodus" resounds to tough 808s but also features airy synths woven around the robust rhythm. "Kamchatkan" also favours an off centre approach to the dance floor. Built on a minimal, stepping rhythm, its sweeping synth lines are combined with warbling acid that transports the listener to a tripped out electro space that's redolent of Transparent Sound and the catalogue of late 90s underground labels like Groove Pleasure.
Review: Hot on the heels of last year's 1987 long player comes this fine follow-up from Benedikt Frey. Fastlane starts off at a slow pace with the introspective breaks of "Habits" before Frey accelerates headlong into the title track's intense, fuzzy techno. "Gasoline" tells a similar story, albeit with break beats underpinning dense sound textures. However, it's not all intense dance floor tracks. Fastlane also contains enough sonic curve balls to keep even the most impatient listener engaged. These include the low-slung, atmospheric breaks of "Silverblade", tribal techno on "Crank" and the jittery electro beats and wired acid tones of "Trick Shot".
Review: Serial collaborator Mister Ho - co-founder of Klasse Recordings, fact fans - first joined forces with up-and-coming producer Heap earlier this year. Feeling Hopeful is the speedy follow-up to that record, and once again sees the duo in the loving arms of Lovefingers' ESP Institute label. The title track sets the tone, with duo layering twinkling organ motifs and undulating bass atop a chugging, mid-tempo house groove. As if to prove that they're capable of making more obviously cheery music, B-side "Gis Gis" is a spacey, analogue-rich affair, with a fizzing drum machine rhythm underpinning dreamy chords and vintage, late night melody lines.
Review: Back in 2006, Andrew Hogge AKA Lovefingers launched a simple blog in which he offered up one "Fingertrack" a day. To celebrate the tenth birthday of his fine ESP Institute label Hogge has decided to release a series of compilations containing some of the gems he originally shared online. There's naturally tons of fantastic little-known fare to be found on this first collection, which encompasses spaced-out psychedelic style dream pop, groovy disco-rock, thrusting new wave club rockers, throbbing Euro-disco and unashamedly odd but brilliant Balearic fare. Highlights are plentiful but we'd suggest checking Lovefingers' remix of D.E's exoctic and hypnotic "Full Moon", the horizontal art-rock wooziness of Electronic System's "Skylab", the new age bliss of Florian Poser's "Winds" and the throbbing sleaziness of Data's "Data Plata".
Review: You certainly can't accuse Japanese chill-out producer and found sound enthusiast Ground of sticking too rigidly to a well-defined blueprint - the three tracks presented here don't sound anything like each other! In its Original form, 'Follow Me' is a world music-leaning Balearic number, with a hefty bassline, mantra-like female vocal, aquatic sounds, heavyweight hand percussion and an overall hypnotic feel. The Jay Glass Dubs Mix then takes the track into seriously out-there experimental territory, before the EP's completed by 'Ozone House', a percussion- and vibes-led affair with a pronounced Far Eastern feel. If you dig Gilles P or Bonobo, you'll probably dig Ground, too.
Review: Since making his debut way back in 2005, Toby Tobias has released material on some seriously good labels. Here he adds another fine label to his CV via a first appearance on Lovefingers' ESP Institute. Both tracks here are genuine epics, weighing in at well over ten minutes apiece. Opener "Gravitator" is an atmospheric chunk of woozy, mind altering late night deep house, where fluttering melody lines, drowsy chords, dubbed-out vocal samples and bubbly bass wrap themselves around a relentless groove. "Right Turn To Nowhere" is a little bolder and sleazier, featuring as it does trippy acid lines, hardcore-inspired flourishes, saucer-eyed, held-note chords and layered drum machine percussion. Both tracks are amongst the South Londoner's best productions to date, and that's saying something.
Review: Having delivered a couple of quietly impressive solo EPs for Keep It Zen and Saft, as well as a highlight of Disco Bloodbath's label as one half of Al Gobi, Ian Blevins pops up on Lovefingers' ESP Institute with a pair of tracks that the LA label claim will "boost your Serotonin levels". Certainly, "Hannibal" is a definite mood enhancer, with bubbling, high-pitched electronic melodies and spacey chords riding a fizzing, Detroit-influenced analogue house groove. "Welcome Aunt Poly" is an altogether deeper and drowsier affair, with rich, stretched-out pads reclining over a shuffling, cowbell-laden rhythm. It feels like the sort of track that could induce a "moment" when heard at the right time, despite its' relatively simple - if not less delicious - construction.
Review: Japanese newcomer Powder debuted in impressive fashion with the Spray 12" issued through Sling & Samo's Born Free label earlier this year consisting of diverse yet equally trippy dancefloor tools. We were not the only ones impressed, as Andrew Hogge has got his Lovefingers on some fresh Powder produce for the latest ESP Institute release, the five track Highly. Again it's Powder's diversity and her knack for blending the functional with the trippy that really impresses here with opener "Lost Of Light" setting the tone. Glassy textures slip over the taut, minimal groove, with vocal effects drenched in all manner of delay - a most humid and intoxicating production. Tempos vary as the EP progresses, from the slow burning throb of "Manhole" to the cooing house delights of "Humid Wind", yet Powder's qualities remain undimmed throughout. The two briefer cuts that close out the record are quite delightful productions that seem perfectly tailored to opening and ending a mix.
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: 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.
Review: In Waves is the debut album from Lord of the Isles aka Scottish producer Neil McDonald. As expansive as a boat ride through a rain-swept Highlands loch, it starts with the wispy, ethereal ambience of "Airgoid Meall" and "Years Away". The playful, stop-start rhythm of "Liobasta" provides a kooky interlude to the generally deep mood, before "Obar Liobhaite" plunges back in with floaty, serene ambience. That reflective sensibility is again temporarily pierced by the acrid, spiky rhythm of recent single "Weh-In", but in the main, this is a reflective work, best characterised by the neo-classical piano composition, "Gualainn".
Review: Pharoahs have already graced 100% Silk with their brand of disco-inspired synth jams, but these three tracks are infinitely more accomplished. "Ahumbo" combines subtle Afrobeat influences with thick, lustrous bass and the kind of spacious guitar licks that would make Talking Heads jealous, while the dubby feel and atonal percussion of "Island Time" recall Ital's brilliant track "Queens". Finally, the "If It Ever Feels Right" goes in as hard as you could imagine an ESP release going, with thick analogue bass tumbling out of control at 132bpm driven relentlessly forward by a conga-led rhythm, which segues effortlessly into a blissful saxophone breakdown. Unsurprisingly, this is excellent stuff which comes highly recommended.
Review: Dublab affiliates and current no-wave dons Pharaohs return to Lovefingers ESP Institute label to get the dancefloor treatment. The Another Beach version forges the sedate lollops of "Ahumbo" into a lush bass groove that's laced with infectious percussion and majestic splashes of instrumentation that build dynamically and hypnotically. Tornado Wallace's take on "If It Ever Feels Right" is even more floor-focussed thanks to its arpeggiated bass twist and Ame-style construction. Spellbinding.
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: Having broken cover last March to release an album of wonderfully eccentric electronica on Alien Jams, Hoshina Anniversary returns to ESP Institute for the first time since the tail end of 2019. The Japanese producer is once again in cosmic and otherworldly - but nevertheless dancefloor-friendly form, prioritising undulating acid bass, bongo-rich drums, jazz-funk style electric piano solos and alien-sounding chords on mid-tempo opener 'Karakuri'. He brilliantly pitches down the tempo on accompanying track 'Michinoku', quirkily underpinning a clicking, lo-fi drum track with minor key piano riffs and creepy-but spacey chords on 'Michinoku'.
Review: Four years after its original release, tracks from Land of Light's eponymous album get a new set of remixes. Fans of Lovefingers' ESP Institute label may recall the orginal remixes, released back in 2012, and this new set are just as essential. Kuniyuki Takahashi's take on the title track sets the tone, with sensuous ambient textures and gently warbling guitars creating an atmospheric mood. Tambien's version is just as esoteric, but slightly more understated, while Seahawks rounds off this latest remix package with his take on "Bell Rock Outpost". Juddery, slow-paced drums and warm, jazzy piano lines create another beautiful piece of music - tailor-made for those sunset moments.
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