Review: It's all kicking off with this latest Hypercolour outing, as we see Carlton Doom land in top quality form with a truly fiery display, unloading three dizzying originals, exploring a wide spectrum of dancefloor ideas. We begin with the earth-shattering drumlines and sub sweeps of 'I'll Be Fine', a mind-boggling twist up through explosive subs and subtle background glitches. Next, 'Cesspool' delivers an either deeper exploration of modern breaksy themes with just as much potency, before the icy synthesiser lines and warm bass bulges of 'I Miss You' gives the EP a truly emotive round off to close.
Review: Hypercolour boss man Alex Jones gets weird & wild on this Infin EP with four starkly different numbers that somehow all come together. "Infinity", the darkest, and hardest of the four, kicks out at a badass tempo for the heavier tech house heads out there, with something breezier, funkier and uplifting yet equally strange in vocally in "Gwilliam". As if cutting and screwing some lost Crookers tracks from the late 2010s "Passe" has squat rave written all over it, with vocoder of the year effect going to "Pressure Wash" and its distant drum pattern. An EP made unique by its oddball vocals and higher tempo beats. Wickedly strange
Review: With a background in running record stores, Jerome Hill is also the brains behind the Don't and Super Rhythm Trax labels and one of the UK's finest techno DJs. Hill brings all of these influences to bear on his debut album, Flow Mechanics. There are wild acid excursions on "Walk The Plank" and "The Doctor Will See You Now". On "Deafening Lull", he fuses noisy bass and ticking percussion with an irresistible electro swagger, while in contrast, "Afterlife" resounds to raucous break beats and a funk bassline. "Stax Had The Funk" and "More Chicken" sees Hill take Chicago jack as a starting point. He proceeds to integrate clanging rhythms and dark bass pulses with dreamy chords and trippy 303s - realised seamlessly by a proper underground hero.
Review: Following acclaimed releases on Dekmantel, Aus Music and Ninja Tune, Jack Hamill aka Space Dimension Controller is back this week with a fantastic new release of London's Hypercolour. The Cro2ma EP is a three-tracker featuring Detroit elements and bleepy bass that you've come to know and love from the Irish producer. From the contemplative electro of the title track, to the minimal hi-tech funk of "IG00158" and the deep, acid-tinged techno of "Highborne" which closes it out on an emotive tip - it's altogether highly accessible yet intricate in design.
Review: Ukrainian DJ & producer Roman Kurhan aka Monotronique follows up impressive efforts on Livity Sound, Banoffee Pies and Opal Tapes with a debut on Hypercolour. There's four tracks by the Kharkiv-based artist on the Uh Oooh EP, serving up modern electro beats in the face of the devastating effects of war on his city and country. We particularly enjoyed the bouncy martian breaks of "I Want That", the deep computer funk of "Magic Bliss" and the bass-heavy the title track with its Detroit sci-fi vibes.
Review: Ste Roberts is a key part of the Hypercolour operation. After a succession of records on his own Set imprint, he now makes a debut on the renowned UK label. The title track opens his account in mesmerising fashion, as frazzled tones unravel over a shuffling, swung rhythm. On "Victor's Mezcal", Roberts goes deeper, with a pulsating, throbbing groove and dense bass underpinning blips, tones and metallic groans. It sounds like a modern, slightly more menacing version of Eddie Richards' late 90s/early 00s vision for tech-house. Roberts then proceeds to bring the house down with the hoover sirens and rolling drums of "The Hiding Spot".
Review: A confirmed presence within the landscape of UK dance music for the best part of 15 years, Hypercolour has cultivated its own constellation of artists while becoming a port of call for those hitting their peak within pseudo-mainstream house music. It's Patterns compilation series has always offered rare cuts and remixes from its roster of artists and from the get go here a lesser known Zodiac impresses out of the blocks with a banging dub techno joint "GhostNet". Sebastian Mullaert & Boelja go hardcore Swedish bleeptronic in "Who Are You Really?" with FRAK also included with an old school and lo-fi 909 workout "Berga Magic". Roman Flugel hits a sweetspot as usual next to some lowly jackin tracks by London Modular Alliance, a vocal breakbeat number of classical drum and bass refrain by Mathew Herbert to some tongue cheek rave by Luke Vibert and much much more! Approved.
Review: Gary Gritness returns to his regular haunt, Hypercolour, for this highly conceptual long player. In essence, The Legend is a soundtrack to a 'cyber-funk' tale of street hustling, and unsurprisingly, Gritness has found a way to respires this through the medium of electro funk on "Back with a Vengeance" and "Bent Cop Hustle". On "Big Marcus Knows the Score", he shows hitherto unimagined levels of depth with a mournful, synth-laden piece that's not radically dissimilar from Carl Craig around the time of Landcruising. "Laser-Sighted Smoke" reveals another string to his repertoire as he drops a subtle, Drexciyan workout, while the delectable "Fishnets and a Nine" sees him end up in an electro-tinged easy listening world.
Review: With releases on labels like Hotflush and Drumcode to their credit, Dense & Pika bring it back home with Amber: after all, Hypercolour was set up by Alex Jones, one half of the act. The title track focuses on dreamy hooks and blissed out vocal samples, before the pair's insistent, stepping beats kick in. It's atmospheric, but also tailor made for the dance floor. On "Hard Light", they opt for a somewhat different approach: here, the tempo is faster and the rhythm more percussive, but the pair leave enough room in the arrangement for cosmic laser stabs that sound like they were taken straight from a sci-fi thriller.
Review: Taraval aka Ryan Smith already has two releases to hie name onText, and in places on No Coast, you can hear why his work fits in so well on Four Tet's label. The most apparent example of this style is "Stan's Loon", where a busy percussive track plays host to a cacophony of electro-acoustic tones. It's off the wall, but still manages to maintain its sense of groove. A similar aesthetic is audible on "Kima Jima". Detuned tones and frequencies flit about over a swung rhythm. On other occasions however, the Californian artist goes down a tough techno route, evident on the creaking, noisy workout that is "Topaz's Way" and the droning, tunnelling title track.
Review: Within DJ culture, there's been plenty of discussion over the years about particularly tracks and EPs being more suitable for dancefloor spaces of different sizes. On this EP, Falty DL has decided to take the bull by the horns and serve up a trio of tracks tailor-made for different rooms. Thus, he begins with the throbbing, warehouse-friendly techno hum of "Big Room", where swirling, rave-era riffs ride a bombastic, kick-drum heavy techno beat, before dipping the tempo, breaking up the beats and reaching for the early hardcore samples on "Medium Room". Fittingly, he finishes with "Small Room", a dreamy, drowsy and more intimate affair rich in lilting flute-style melodies, eyes-closed vintage house vocal samples and gentle, dub-influenced hardcore-era breakbeats.
Review: Since first bursting onto the scene back in 2011, The Cyclist (AKA Derry producer Andrew Morrison) has gone from making dusty, dystopian techno to delivering intriguing albums that defy easy categorization. He's at it again on Sapa Inca Delirium, his fourth full-length in total and first since 2014. Beginning with the dark, feverish ambience of "Go Back" and spiraling, acid-fired, tribal-tinged throb of "Inhale/Exhale", Morrison saunters between impressively atmospheric cuts that variously touch on drowsy early Krautrock ("Inti"), braindance style insanity ("Forest Surge"), Balearic broken beat ("Skateboarding in the Jungle", "When We All Break Down"), lo-fi soundscape jazz-house ("Sapa Inca Delirium") and drowsy downtempo beats ("Antiexist"). It's a gently trippy and imaginative fusion of sounds and styles that's not only expertly executed, but also extremely impressive.
Review: Having spent the best part of a decade producing and releasing music at a furious rate, Tom Demac took a step back in 2015. Two years on, he returned earlier this year with Sink Or Swim, a two-track missive on regular home Hypercolour. Six months later, he's decided to repeat the exercise with Bark Or Bite. The title track, a typically Germanic chunk of loose late night techno that layers a hushed and hypnotic groove with spacey synthesizer motifs and effects-laden vocal hits, is particularly strong. That said, we're particularly enjoying the bustling, intergalactic electro vibes of "205 GTI", where fizzing electronics and yearning synth lines cluster around punchy drum machine hits and an elastic analogue bassline.
Review: Following a release on its sub-label, Nick Harris brings his A Sagittariun project to Hypercolour. The title track resounds to cinematic orchestral flourishes and moves rather skilfully from rolling break beats into dance floor friendly kicks. "The Pathway" offers no such musical distraction and centres on tough, insistent kicks, a succession of filtered breakdowns and splintered percussion. To mark his appearance on the label, Hypercolour have commissioned US producer Matrixxman to rework "The Pathway". Taking the tempo down, his version has a cavernous, spacious feel. The kicks feel like they are submerged, but Matrixxman keeps the dance floor focus thanks to the use of rickety percussion and wild horn stabs.
Review: Since making his debut back in 2015, J. Albert (real name Jiovanni Nadal) has gleefully drifted between labels, making appearances on 1080p, Cult Trip and Black Opal along the way. Given this track record, it's perhaps unsurprising that Hypercolour have snapped up this on-point three-tracker. There's much to admire throughout, from the punchy, broken house rhythms, lilting deep house chords, hardcore style breakbeat fills and eyes-closed vocal samples of "Don't Hide It", to the Derrick Carter-goes-bleep analogue funk of closer "Vista". Sandwiched in between you'll find the superb "Xtra Sauce", an early Basement Jaxx style fusion of crunchy, U.S garage-influenced beats, fizzing chords and warehouse-friendly late night aesthetics.
Review: Demac has been releasing music on high-profile labels like Aus, Drumcode and Hypercolour for the past decade. As Sink or Swim shows, this is because the UK producer is adept at creating highly distinctive electronic music. The title track is a case in point; it features skipping drums, lithe percussion and frosty melodies, but underpinning these elements is a brutal, oppressive bass. It's the contrast between these two elements that makes "Sink.." so impressive. On "Mayfield Road", Demac moves in a radically different direction. Gone are the straight kicks, replaced by razor-sharp 808s, spacey pads and the kind of futuristic undercurrent that Detroit producers normally lay claim to.
Review: Three men, no computers and many patch cables: That's London Modular Alliance who follow up last year's wicked Out Of Sync EP on Brokntoys with this new one for tech house heroes Hypercolour: who really seem to be broadening their horizons as a label and good on them we say. The Homegrown EP starts out with the rusty boom and snap of "Civic Society", a deep and moody electro number that treads the same territory as Anthony Rother. "Lucid" hits harder but this is exactly the kind of electro-funk we like; dark, bass-driven and minimal. Finally their ode to the North Devon coast "Saunton" is, in a surprise turn; more on the deep dubstep tip. You can almost hear the lighter going off in the background on this advanced experiment in reefer madness.
Review: London/Bristol based tech house institution celebrates a decade in the business. They've seen a few faces and phases, tech-wise or otherwise but at the end of the day remained consistent in their pursuit of quality grooves. Alex Jones and Jamie Russell present some great music here and there are many highlights. From electronica legends such as Warp's Luke Vibert, minimal house pioneer Matthew Herbert (with the deep and dusty microhouse of "Downgraded") as well as techno's one time enfant terrible Neil Landstrumm through to new favourites such as Swedish hypnotic techno hero Sebastian Mullaert (the tunnelling "Shadowed By I"), Italian hardware mavericks The Analogue Cops plus up and comers Yaleesa Hall x Malin Genie with the banging' "Buchan Trap". We applaud the label for their ability to keep on the pulse of the ever changing electronic music landscape and heres to another ten years.
Review: Famously, Guy Evans has been producing music since the early '90s, though it's only in the last few years that most of it has seen the light of day. Like his previous full-length, Unearthed Trax, sophomore album Concentric Rhythms is also made up of vintage tracks rescued from the archives. There's naturally much to enjoy, from the fuzzy, full-force Detroit techno assault of "Concentric Rhythm", and the glistening, intelligent techno melodiousness of "Through The Galaxy 93", to the balls-out acid onslaught of "Fresh Horizons" and intergalactic D&B madness of "Banzappa Dub". Happily, Hypercolour has also squeezed in "20 96", a 16-minute trip into the furthest parts of the techno galaxy.
Review: Well, this is surely the most special treat this week and we're not surprised it's coming from the Hypercolour mandem. These guys have been on fire over the last three years, releasing everyone worth releasing and even having them remix themselves such as on this new compilation. You have all the big guns: Maya Jane Coles, Kris Wadsworth, Tom Demac, Mark Henning, and George Fitzgerald. But, the best part of it all is that they're rewired and revamped by none other than: Bonobo, Jimmy Edgar, FaltyDL, Mr G, KiNK, Deetron, Matthew Herbert and more! We don't need to go on about how big this is...just enjoy this festival lineup in whatever way pleases you best. BIG and RECOMMENDED.
Review: Sweden's Sebastian Mullaert is now receiving his dues a after a long stint on the techno scene. From his days in minimal techno duo Minilogue (and let's not forget their previous forays into trance) to running the brilliant Wa Wu We imprint - it's fair to say he's a modern legend. Who'd have ever guessed that Mullaert would make an appearance on vibey London institution Hypercolour? "Windmaker" is typical Mullaert; moody and melodic, hypnotic and deep. Not many can record a live jam and capture results so epic. Ukrainian deep house hero Vakula is on the remix front, exploring another side of his recent pursuits in techno music; this one is seriously smoked out dub techno.
Review: Luke Vibert has made many great records over the years, but few are quite as well crafted as his 2004 debut album under the now familiar Kerrier District alias. Inspired by a mixture of Metro Area, Black Devil Disco Club, cheap synthesizers, early New Jersey garage, Italian house and, of course, classic disco, it remains a touchstone in the development of nu-disco. This timely reissue features freshly re-mastered versions of all ten tracks from the original album, plus the six tracks which made up 2006's Kerrier District 2 12". These include the loved-up, late '80s loveliness of "Ce Porte", the 808 cowbell and vocoder laden "Disco Nasty", and a typically eccentric Ceephax remix of "Sho U Rite".
J. Wiltshire - "False Awakening" (Tuff City Kids remix) - (6:45) 128 BPM
Last Magpie - "Separation" - (9:09) 126 BPM
Review: London's Hypercolour crew have now become synonymous with quality house and techno, and although they are originally rooted in the UK strain of the genres, recent years have brought along a whole new heap of styles and talent on their catalogue. First up, we should give credit to Axel Boman and the ridiculously hummable tech-house groove that is "Depression 01", followed supremely by a hard-hitting house banger in the name of "Lynn" by the unstoppable Dense & Pika. Other choice cuts on here include Kevin McPhee's nasty "CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN", Jimmy Edgar's sexier-than-ever "Hush", Lucretio's smooth "Vampire Killer", and...of screw it, it's all pretty damn killer. HOT.
Review: At times, it really does feel as if DMX Krew must make tune sin his sleep; wherever we look, we find a new EP or album form the man, and all of the highest calibre, too! This time, the long-haired UK techno soldier lands on the ever-excellent Hypercolour with a hefty nine-tracker made up of eerie, slithering techno and cinematic electro. The opener "Spiritual Encounter" is almost enough in term of quality - check those Drexciyan waves - and the res of this beauty develops in similar fashion, from the gorgeous strings od "Bombay Mix", to the grizzly synth-led beats of "Daylight Saving", and the heavy, Detroit style of "Computational Paradigm Shift". Class, through and through.
Review: Luke Vibert donned the Kerrier District moniker last year on the tremendous Kerrier District 4 album on Hypercolour, and here are the remixes. He's done alright; look at who he's got on board. First there's the Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer remix of "Sexspurt", which is long and as liquid and tripped out as you'd imagine. Bulgarian hardware maverick delivers the goods always on his funky, fierce and soulful rendition of "Techno Disco", it's quite brilliant actually. Finally the now legendary Rene Pavlowitz dons the Head High alter ego for a slamming warehouse rave makeover of "Come On Kerrier".
Review: Roman Flugel has stayed at the top of his game for nearly 20 years because he possesses the uncanny knack of reinvention. On this release for Hypercolor, he manages to stretch that diversity out over the course of six tracks. From the glorious melodies of "Teenage Engineering" through the rolling 808s of "Church of Dork", the gushing acid tones of "Make it Happen" into the sublime deep techno of "Picnic for Players", this release covers more ground than an Argentinean scrum-half. Monday Brain is one of the most well-rounded and stylistically assured records that the veteran German DJ has released to date - and that's really saying something.
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