Review: It's been a long time between drinks for Eirik Seu Stokkmo, who returns to Prins Thomas' Full Pupp label after six years without a release of any sort. There's plenty to get the pulse racing throughout, from the hybrid classic deep house/Scandolearic space disco flavour of 'Horizon' (all cascading melodies, driving bass, glassy-eyed chords and colourful synth sounds), and the squelchy, intergalactic goodness of 'Aereo' (whose lead line reminded us of another Full Pupp release, Magnus International's terrific 'Kosmetisk'), to the alien-sounding Scandolearic house beauty of 'Barchetta'. Prins Thomas' remix of 'Horizon', a slightly darker take with more jacking drums and echoing lead lines, is also predictably impressive.
Review: The latest artist to hop aboard the Full Pupp Express is Oslo native Annweiler. His debut EP is quietly impressive, showcasing a trademark sound that sits somewhere between the classicial sci-fi futurism of Detroit, the melodious deep house brilliance of Larry Heard and the colourful, saucer-eyed nu-disco that's long been associated with the producer's home city. Opener 'Slight Twist' is deliciously intergalactic, with echoing bleep melodies and shimmering chords rising snappy machine drums and a wonderfully retro-futurist bassline, while 'Periodic Pleasure' sees Annweiler opt for an even deeper and more loved-up house sound with pleasingly impressive results. Best of all though is closing cut 'A Blessing in Disguise', which reminded us of both Soichi Terada and Dream 2 Science.
Review: Ida and Naomi return as SYNK for a full EP on Full Pupp, following up an appearance last year on the label's 15 year celebrations compilation with the track" Lykkemaskin". An intoxicating, bass-driven and percussive cut aimed squarely at afterhours dancefloors, "Ting Skjer" also receives a welcome rework by label boss Prins Thjomas, who takes the track down a tribal acid rave path. Other offerings here include the tripped-out tool mix (which was terrific in its own right) as well as the blissful atmospherics of "My Ambient Soul" ending things on a beatless tip.
Review: Despite its somewhat tongue-in-cheek title, Flint Eastwood further consolidates Full Pupp's reputation as a leading purveyor of modern electronic disco. The work of Anders Hajem, who usually records under the Clastique and DJ Username pseudonyms, this two-track EP is a heady, tripped out affair: the title track, which has undergone an edit by label owner Prins Thomas, resounds to tight, steely drums, hypnotic electronic textures and an irresistible, rolling bass. "Spaghetti Westirno" follows a similar path: cavernous dub filters, jagged guitar samples overlaid with reverb and a lopsided groove that keeps on rolling, making for a surefire modern disco classic.
Review: It's time to hop aboard the Full Pupp Express once more. This time round, our drivers are SGurvin and Krass, two producers making their bow on Prins Thomas's long-running label. 'Subway Rails' lives up to its name, delivering a hypnotic, body-rattling ride full of whizzing percussion, moody riffs, rave-igniting electronics and jacking beats. The pair's love of dirty analogue basslines and mind-melting electronic motifs is explored further on the techno-tempo sweatiness of 'Trespassing', while 'Clouds Building Up' is an insanely fast, mind-bending stomp through pulsating, dark-room techno territory. If that's not enough to set the pulse racing, we also get a tidy Prins Thomas rework of 'Merging Flora' that adds ghostly synthesizer chords, broken computer electronics and spacey dub techno pads to a squelchy but driving groove.
Review: Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in outer space, as Full Pupp regular DJ Sotofett teams up with fellow Norwegian Rex Ronny, AKA Ronny Nyheim of PsyPal Records, to produce a seven-tracker whose titles alone should give you some idea of what to expect. Italo, cosmic disco and Krautrock are the primary sources on inspiration here, with several of the tracks largely beat-less. If it's dancefloor ammunition you seek, then head for 'Cerebionical Sweep' or 'Thermoplastic Flush', but even those two are strictly warm-up or weary 6am material: really it's an album that's best served a) whole, b) horizontal and optionally c) herbally relaxed.
Review: A most enigmatic producer, Pandreas is a name that surfaced in 2012 and not again until 2017. It was his Back 2 School EP on Full Pupp that brought the artist to attention again which happens once more with this Bulgaria EP. What makes this EP interesting is the release of its lead track "Bulgaria" in 'demo' form which Prins Thomas subtly refixes with two functional drums tracks to match the original's heavy percussion. Pandreas then reenters deep and slow-mo Balearic mode with "Looping Stade D'Originale" in an EP that has us once more intrigued by the sounds of Pandreas.
Review: The latest missive on Full Pupp's digital-only Ekspress sub-label comes courtesy of relative newcomer Fjeldheim, a Denmark-based Norwegian producer making his debut for Prins Thomas's long-serving Scandi-dance imprint. The headline attraction is definitely title track 'So & Such', a fantastically infectious chunk of kaleidoscopic, retro-futurist house in which sparkling synth lines and woozy electronics ride an old-time Chicago house bassline and snappy drums. Prins Thomas naturally does a terrific job on his epic accompanying remix, a more acid-laced affair that gradually builds towards a colourful, rush-inducing conclusion. Bonus cut 'Parisian', a melodious mixture of vintage deep synth-pop motifs and booming synth-bass, is also rather good.
Review: Here's something to get the blood pumping: a surprise collaboration between Norwegian space disco sort Jarle Brathen and party-hearty Italian twosome Hard Ton, whose productions tend towards the camp, muscular and synth-heavy. In its original form, 'Master of Disguise' sits somewhere between Visage style new wave synth-pop (the Hard Ton twosome providing vocals), colourful Norwegian synth-disco and throbbing Italo-disco. Full Pupp label boss naturally steals the show remix-wise, delivering a killer 'Megaedit' of Rodion's Patrick Cowley and Giorgio Moroder-inspired remix - all pulsating, arpeggio-driven bass, sweaty percussion and sparkling electronic flourishes. Also worth a listen are Philipp Lauer's glassy-eyed Balearic disco rubs (vocal and instrumental variations are available), and Prins Thomas's dub style 'Megabeats' DJ tool.
Review: Christian Engh continues to plough his own Scandolearic space disco furrow, updating the sound defined by Prins Thomas, Lindstrom and others in the noughties for the 21st century. For proof, check 'Ctairs', the title track on the Norwegian's fourth EP for Full Pupp. Build around deliciously glassy-eyed, delay-laden synth stabs, flowery electronic melodies, jacking drums and an all-action bassline, the track is as rushing and life-affirming as anything that's come out of Norway in the last few years. He opts for a more spacey, techno-influenced peak-time sound on the equally as impressive 'Initial State', before imprint boss Prins Thomas cannily turns 'Echo' into an off-kilter chunk of deep and dubbed-out electro quirkiness.
Review: Last year, Bjorn Torske was so inspired by the sound of a seashell being hit that he created a track called 'Ramma', which he's now remodelled and remixes himself to create this excellent suite of tracks. Opener 'Bommelom' is typical of Torske's more percussive fare of the last few years, with delay-laden drums, layered percussion and foreboding bass building incessantly atop a sturdy rhythm, while 'Rukenissens Hevn' is a deep house meets dub disco interpretation of 'Ramma' by Trym Svodsnes. Arguably best of all though is 'Tom Rull', an epic chunk of Scandolearic dub disco warmth that's as saucer-eyed and melodious as any classic Italian dream house jam.
Review: Prins Thomas's Full Pupp reached their 15th birthday in 2020, an event they've been celebrating all year via a series of five EPs. Now, all five get conveniently bundled together in album for the benefit of anyone who hasn't been paying attention! The album's 23 tracks span a fair range of musical ground, from straight-up deep house (see Marius Vareid's 'Acidus') and shimmering nu-disco (Pandreas's 'N.M.') to leffield electronica (DJ Fett Birger's 'Blot Fis | Hvite Linbukser', floaty prog (JaddaJaddaPlay's 'Flagrende Gevanter') and haunting cosmic/Italo disco (Tarje & Are's 'For Rubicon'), making for an enjoyable and varied listen.
Review: Prins Thomas's Full Pupp label turned 15 in 2020, and here's the final installment in a series of five various artist EPs (Vols 1-4 plus, confusingly, 'FPXX15') they've been releasing to mark the occasion. As with the other volumes, all four cuts are brand new productions from label regulars, and as per the label's MO generally, all four blur the boundaries between deep house and nu-disco, with Jarle Brathen's 'Vaguely Wavey' probably the pick for house floors, and Velferd's 'Returning' the one to head for if you're in search of some of that shimmer-y, sparkly 80s Euro flava. Scandi-disco at its best.
Synk - "Lykkemaskin" (Prins Thomas mix) - (4:58) 131 BPM
Review: What we have here is the fourth in a series of EPs marking the 15th anniversary of Prins Thomas's Full Pupp label, though it should be stressed that all the tracks are brand new, not back catalogue favourites. So successful has Thomas been in carving out his own particular "Scandidisco" niche that, after 15 years, you probably have a pretty good idea what to expect here already - suffice to say that fans of the label are unlikely to be disappointed with this latest salvo, and with seven tracks on offer, coming from as many artists, there's no faulting the VFM on offer either!
Review: Some 16 years after launching, Prins Thomas's Full Pupp label continues to champion distinctive dance music made by Norwegian producers, and those from elsewhere who call the country home. The latest is Oslo-based Bulgarian Ivaylo, who follows two EPs for the imprint with a suitably impressive album co-produced by the Full Pupp supremo. Featuring a suitably cosmic, off-kilter take on deep house rich in quirky instrumentation, drowsy motifs and mind-altering effects, the eight-track set sees Ivaylo flit between space disco-influenced positivity ("Landing"), shuffling, loose-limbed positivity ("Norr?n"), sleazy late-night heaviness ("Sofia Dub"), Scandeolearic grooves ("Skandinavis") and skewed retro-futurism (the analogue-rich "Hus").
Review: The third volume of Full Pupp's 15-year birthday celebrations sees the label's friends and close associates delivering a wonderfully varied dance floor EP. Iben Elster is a relative newcomer to Norway's scene, but "Kong (Ibens Overdub)" is an alluring slice of dubbed out disco. Meanwhile, label owner Prins Thomas drops an acid-heavy, breakbeat-led take on Magnus International's "Sitronsyre" and Skatebard goes down a deep techno direction with "Bim Bam", where a rolling rhythm and snappy hi hats underpin floaty melodies. Wild Flowers' contribution is different again, as "Magic Johnson" drops a mysterious-sounding house groove that's redolent of classic Nu Groove.
Review: Prins Thomas continues to celebrate the 15th birthday of his essential Full Pupp label via a second EP of previously unheard cuts from Norwegian dance music royalty old and new. Telephones kicks things off with a typically warm, humid, percussive and carnival-friendly chunk of kaleidoscopic house goodness (the rising, melodic brilliance of "Betongbonus"), before Marius Vereid takes us much, much deeper via the deep bass bass, hypnotic beats and drowsy chords of "Acidus". Rising star Christian Engh reaches for weighty sub-bass, tough beats and sparkly, warehouse-ready riffs on the rather fine "Schmoo", while boss man Prins Thomas rounds things off by applying his distinctively Scandolearic dancefloor touch to Mental Overdrive's previously unheard "Day".
Review: For 15 years now Norway's Full Pupp label has been a constant source of redefined disco, rhythm and electro music thanks to a funky fruit salad of artists like Prins Thomas, Magnus International, Oyvind Morken and Blackbelt Anderson - to Lindstrom, Telephones and Chmmr over the years. From that list, Blackbelt makes it back to this anniversary comp with a '70s Jamaican dub inspired house loop alongside the mighty loose but banging and woozy "Blot Fis I Hvite Linbukser' from Fett Burger. Everyone' favourite Bjorn Torske sends in some low end funk and delayed guitar rhythms in "Ramma", with syncopated Latin vibes, shaky pianos and frantic percussion in "Metro Part 1" by Doc L Junior.
Review: Next up on Prins Thomas' ever reliable imprint is Bulgarian-born, Oslo-based DJ/producer Ivaylo - the man behind Bogota Records. He presents his second EP for Full Pupp here entitled Rumba Bulgara. As the name suggests, these are a bunch sweltering latin percussion workouts delivered with a distinct Balkan style - and they're pretty fresh. From the bass-driven shuffle of the title track, the hypnotic drums make a welcome return on the more minimalist and deeper "Delicate Tom" while final track "Percusial Acident" is a disjointed and off-kilter groove attack that's sure to get the dancefloor off the grid.
Review: This will mark the seventh release by Magnus "International" Sheehan on Full Pupp. The Oslo-based producer returns with a deep and entrancing polyrhythmic workout on "Cosmic Cow Session" which even the label itself says harks back to the sounds from the turn of the millennium - think Danny Tenaglia and Junior Vasquez at Twilo circa 2000. Daniel "Blackbelt" Andersen then provides a remix, the latin tribal aesthetic returns on the hypnotic tool "Cosmic Rhythm Session" similarly impresses and probably the most structured track on here appears last in the form of "Cosmic Jam Session" - a groovy acid nu-disco workout that works those magical rhythms from before into new forms.
Review: 'Try new things. You may regret it. It might backfire. Do it anyway.' Norweigian imprint Full Pupp present here a beautiful ambient album by local artist Even Brenden aka Chmmr, following his debut album 'Auto' back in 2017. Here he delivers a new collection of music to inspire half an hour of your life. The sophomore album Try New Things features (in order of appearance): the lo-slung hip-house of "One More Day 2 Play", the chilled beats of "Adult Land #6", the neon-lit '80s boogie of "Nfo Love Song" and the sublime daydream balearica of "4Cc". Absolute bliss on offer here from Prins Thomas' ever impressive Full Pupp imprint.
Review: Four very solid deep house cuts here from Oslo's Mats Frantzvaag. Aptly-titled opener 'Beginning' is a mid-paced groover with filtered synth sweeps and a vaguely disco-ish feel, and would sound fantastic combined with big speakers and sunshine. 'Annan Dag Versjon' is a more stripped-back affair centred around an understated rumbling b-line, crisp percussion and barely-there vocal snips, while 'Going There Someday' heads even deeper, with jazzual sax flourishes, before 'Bolgehouse' plays us out on a more contemplative, post-club kinda note. No big room drama here, just finely crafted grooves built for true house music lovers.
Review: Hamar is the island town in Norway that birthed Prins Thomas, and here he teams up with two local producers with backgrounds in the skwee scene for a split EP on his own Full Pupp label. He graciously lets his guests go first, with Melkeveien bringing us blissed-out Scandolearic throbber 'Thirst Issues' and Sprutbass blending flutes and electro synths on 'Reddik'. Then it's Thomas's turn, as he serves up 'Bybass', a breakbeat-driven funker with more 80s-sounding synths, and 'Ansjless', a much housier drum cut that nods to vintage Chi-town and gets ever more frantic as it progresses.
Review: It would be fair to say that Tom Dragebo isn't one of Oslo's better-known producers. The How Long EP is his first release for six years and could well contain his strongest work to date. There's a druggy and dubbed-out feel to opener "How Long", where grizzly, rock style vocal samples and ragged acid lines ride a groove partly inspired by Prins Thomas classic "Fehrara". Fittingly, Thomas makes the track looser, warmer and more loved-up on his accompanying "Discomiks". Dragebo's love of TB-303 acid lines and LFO style bleeps comes to the fore on "Perler For Svin", which comes backed by a ridiculously wild, wayward and distorted Prins Thomas interpretation. Great stuff all told.
Review: We aptly described CHMMR's 2017 debut album, Auto, as a "gorgeous LP that spans just about every corner of the electronic dance framework that resides left of field". The set's picturesque Scandolearic eclecticism makes it ripe for remixing, so it's no surprise that Full Pupp boss Prins Thomas has decided to commission a swathe of reworks. This first volume contains two tasty new reworks of album highlight "Pretty Space" by daydreaming Norwegian house hero Telephones. The first, the "Energized Mix", wraps the Running Back regular's usual sparkling synthesizers, glassy-eyed electronics and tropical textures around stabbing bass notes and bustling house beats, while the second (the "Gren Fatarik Oo-mox Dub") delivers Bjorn Torske style drum-laden late night sweatiness by the bucketload.
Review: Intriguingly, Full Pupp boss Prins Thomas has chosen to open this second set of remixes of tracks from CHMMR's charming debut album, Auto, with two previously unheard cuts, rather than reworks. "Fast Forward", is a deliciously glassy-eyed chunk of electro/Telle style synth-pop fusion that's cheerier than a stockbroker on bonus day, while "Solo" melds jazz-funk style synthesizer solos to intergalactic ambient chords and Steve Riley style high-end arpeggios. Both are, naturally, ace. Prins Thomas's two Diskomiks versions of "0x60" are naturally both superb. The first sees him gleefully dance naked through rush-inducing Scandolearic disco territory, while the second ("Part 2") is a delay-laden drum dub rich in layered hand percussion and feverish African influences.
Review: Arguably the most notable thing about this third volume in Full Pupp's "Splits" series - aside from the fact that it's really rather good - is the appearance of Doc L Junior, one of the unsung heroes of Norwegian dance music (he first started DJing and producing music in the '90s). His contribution, the quirky dub-disco/Munich Machine/Erot fusion of "C'est Ca", feels like a long-lost gem from the "Bergen Wave" era of Norwegian dance music. It's great, and about the most Norse thing you'll hear this month. Elsewhere, Frantzvaag doffs a hat to vintage Those Norwegians releases on Paper Recordings via the low-slung, filter-heavy disco-house of "Saitama", while MI re-edits "Sampletune" into a suitably celebratory chunk of left-of-centre disco cheeriness.
Review: Norwegian Pandreas last appeared on local imprint Maksimal with some spacey nu-disco business. He's finally hit the big time: if an EP for local powerhouse Full Pupp qualifies? We sure think it does. The Bergen native throws down a wicked EP following up great EPs by Velfred, Chmmr and label boss Prins Thomas. High octane opener "Trommer Traumer" gets things off to a good start, title track "Back 2 School" is a bleepy jackathon using a sick 303 acid bassline. "Ohm" is cruise control that holds the suspense before you can drop a bigger tune and finally "R.G." is the deepest of the bunch: lo-slung and perfect for the early evening or sunrise set alike.
Review: Prins Thomas's pleasingly varied production career takes another twist here. Having variously helped to define the Scandolearic disco sound, paid tribute to wonky krautrock workouts and recorded some of the best ambient music of the last few years, the Oslo producer has decided to take a different path on "Edmond". An epic split into two parts, "Edmond" combines dense, Sotofett/Bjorj Torske style hand percussion work, electrofunk influenced synths and the producer's usual picturesque melodies to predictably brilliant effect. There's more percussive fun to be had on the wonky, bass-heavy and trippy flipside "Montague Grant", which smothers layered tribal percussion in trippy acid lines, delay-laden synth doodles and deep space chord sequences.
Review: It's been a long time between drinks for Bergen-based producer Velferd, whose 2010 cut "The Aspen's Turning Gold" - later reissued with fresh remixes by Hell Yeah Recordings - has become something of a Scandolearic disco classic. There's something rather fitting, then, about his first single for seven years appearing on Prins Thomas's Full Pupp label. Happily, opener "The City That Drowned" is something of a stunner - a warm, evocative and breathlessly melodious fusion of tactile bottom-end, spiraling synths and sun-bright electronics seemingly tailor-made for summer dancefloors. Elsewhere, "Never" is a piano-heavy Scandolearic house roller, while the wonderfully positive "Through The Valley" sounds like Talamanca System jamming with Hans-Peter Lindstrom. It's good to have Velferd back.
Review: Norwegian nu-disco dude Magnus International is back on local institution Full Pupp. Prins Thomas' label claims that he has earned his stripes in Oslo's disco scene. After a hiatus from recording, he donned the producer's cap resolutely for his debut LP, Echo to Echo in 2016. Now, Magnus' studio is open for business once again and these four tracks roll on into the world from Oslo's shores. The galloping, neon-lit groove of the title track (remixed in this case by Chmmr) really nails the Pupp sound to a tee, as does the driving and wonky techno (yes!) of the dynamic opener "Fluted Oval". We also had a fondness for the deeply ethereal and atmospheric slow burner "Mirepoix" which really closed out this impressive EP in bold fashion.
Review: Even Brenden's CHMMR project is giving the Scandinavian scene a renewed sense of freshness and subtlety when it comes to hazy, downtempo beats. The producer is back on Norway's sublime Full Pupp imprint with a gorgeous LP that spans just about ever corner of the electronic dance framework that resides left of field. Auto is a gorgeous piece of work, from its slow, lingering sense of euphoria that spans the entirety of its ten tracks, to the elegance and precision of the melodies themselves. Balearic might be one way to describe this colourful composition of sounds, but we believe that it goes much further than that, and actually resides in the enlarged house domain. This, of course, is for your slower, and perhaps earlier sets...and by early we mean early hours.
Review: The latest Norwegian talent to join the Full Pupp family is Laars, a producer previously known for his involvement with Norse disco band Tog. The two tracks showcased here neatly fit into the Scandolearic blueprint, with Laars layering rising, blissfully Balearic synthesizer melodies over a chugging, arpeggio-style groove on brilliant opener "None". He flips the script a little on "LYSaR", clustering fizzing, intergalactic electronics, deep space riffs and jammed-out Clavinet lines around a rolling, cowbell and bongo heavy rhythm track. Willy Nickerson handles remix duties, first serving up a loose, dense, druggy and pitched-down interpretation of "None", before turning "LYSaR" into a spacey chunk of Afro-disco madness.
Review: Two years on from his last appearance on Full Pupp, Even 'CHMMR' Brenden returns to Prins Thomas' label with three more distinctive chunks of Scandolearic disco/house fusion. The undoubted centrepiece is title track "Media Vision", a thrillingly sparse and analogue-sounding epic built around slo-mo drum machine rhythms, thick acid bass, lilting melodies, stretched-out percussion sections, and occasional ghostly synths. Those looking for more upbeat, peaktime fare are well catered for on the A-side, both by the grunting, warehouse-friendly synth-house pump of druggy opener "Understand", and the cheery, piano-sporting bounce of midtempo anthem "User".
