Review: In celebration of Hypercolour's 100th release, the highly sought-after KiNK (Strahil Velchev) turned in a milestone For The People EP - delivering four genre-blending bangers. As part of a series of EP remixes, Perc and Bailey Ibbs step up for this edition with a rendition each of the EP's standout track: "Vacation". Perc unleashes a relentless storm of industrial techno like Ali Wells knows how, with Bailey Ibbs delivering a high-end, tech house, funk-infused banger for that perfect offset - and with more to come!
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: Eliphino is a pseudonym for Tom Wrankmore, who has put put music under this guise on Secretsundaze and Meda Fury. He also released on Hypercolour back in 2013, and Maelstrom sees him make a timely re-appearance on the label. The title track is an unusual affair, with a swinging rhythm and glitchy percussion underpinning dreamy melodies. On "Bubbling Glass", the focus shifts to a more electro-based sound, with rolling 808s supporting fuzzy soundscapes, while on "Eddy", he raises the tempo to deliver a frenetic break beat track. Rounding off this distinctive release is the vocal-sampling broken beats of "One Day".
Review: It's been raining Luke Vibert in 2020 with the legendary producer teaming up with Hypercolour for a trilogy of LPs, bringing with it new and neo genres like Modern Rave, and now Rave Hop. restoring some credibility to the lost art of breakbeat and sample culture, Vibert's productions are on point here while exploring different eras of dance music history in the process. Crafted with unique, original and refreshed vintage samples, each track, depending on its element, will transport you across a classic timeline; be it straight up old school hip hop, 90s drum and bass and early chicago house, to soul, disco and jazz before that; all cut up and repackaged in a contemporary and referential approach to rave and its continued legacy.
Review: Spawning the 96 Back project with a surge of EPs for Central Processing Unit, Evan Majumdar-Swift's emerging talents make the leap to Hypercolour! Keeping hope alive with cuts like "Fe Symbolic" and "Party Animal" - going great lengths in perpetuating the legacy of Aphex Twin, Warp and other bleep-era sounds - the EP also touches on elements of deeper dubstep and minimalism in "Cosied By" to other melodic club tracks in "TBQFH". It sees the 96-name added to a fresh cast of labelmates including HVL, Gary Gritness, Asquith and Carlton Doom. Believe the Hypercolour!
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: Following up a couple of great releases for Matthew Herbert's Accidental Jnr, Sydney producer Cassius Select debuts on Hypercolour with a fresh batch of crooked beats and twisted rave experiments. From the jagged and angular dub of "They Shook", the moody knackered house jam "Loose Pursuit" or the brooding grey area groove of "Yut" which calls to mind the crossover experiments of London's Autonomic crew nearly a decade ago. This collection bass heavy and highly urbanised jams all feature a truly UK influence and make a welcome addition to the Hypercolour catalogue.
Review: Israeli tech house heroine Mor Elian continues on with her winning streak with another killer on Hypercolour, her second release for them since 2016's wicked Drum Vortex EP. The Fever A.M. co-head launches a terrific new missive in the form of Persona Non Grata: four servings of killer grooves for any occasion. From the dirty electro funk of the title track and "Xeric Zula" to the tunnelling acid express of "Dysmorphia" and the basic trance induction of "Feral Chime". These sonic weapons truly compliment the Los Angeles/Berlin based producer's great old-school influenced releases of late, on Radio Matrix and Delft.
Review: The legendary Peter Kremier returns with another distinct take on deep house. The Frankfurt native constantly reinvents his sound and can never be pinned down to one particular style - but he's always impressive. Although closely affiliated with local institution Playhouse, his long awaited fourth album (his first in nearly a decade) comes courtesy of British label Hypercolour. Island Time features a bunch of understated house grooves for discerning dancefloors and the afterhours alike. From the glitching minimal funk of "Boppin Lower", the lo-fi jazz of "Gold Tooth", the sunny and hypnotic deepness of "There We Were" that's reminiscent of sounds on his tremendous Another Picture imprint. There's also the moody late night mysteriousness of "Square Down Smoother" that's classic Kremier all the way. All killer no filler from one of the modern masters - you all need this!
Review: Stellar vocal cut here from Alphonse Rozel, who has had previous releases for Klasse Wrecks, Emotional Especial and Black Orpheus. Described by Hypercolour as 'spacey and dusty deepness' and that's pretty on point. Vocals are provided by one Rev Be, which Rozel utilises across these three versions. The deep bleep techno of "Better Weather" in its original version calls to mind the sounds of northern UK sounds from the early '90s, the trippy dub version - or Phazed version - is vaguely reminiscent of Derrick May's studio expriements around the same time with its funked up, flanged out and reversed elements galore. Finally is the more straight ahead and dancefloor friendly bounce of the Abyss version.
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: 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: Since first pitching up on Hypercolour late last year, hardware fetishists London Modular Alliance has continued to deliver some of the most exciting electro around. Famously, the trio construct their cuts entirely using modular synthesizers, jamming live until they settle on a groove or riff to explore further. That guarantees that their machine funk sits somewhere between the pulsating hypnotism of classic Kraftwerk, the intergalactic moodiness of Drexciya and the harder-edged fodder popular in places like Rotterdam and the Hague. It goes without saying that this EP is packed with killer cuts from start to finish, something that makes picking highlights truly tricky. Really, all you need to know is that it's a must-have.
Review: A new DMX Krew album is exactly what we needed to hear on this fine Friday morning. Needless to say, we've been big fans of this guy since his days on Rephlex, and he's clearly respected not just by us, but by certain influential figures in the enlarged techno game. DMX has also invariably represented the UK when it comes to all things 4/4 and, moreover, he's pushed the limits of what that formula can do. This new LP for the excellent Hypercolour, Strange Directions, is a wild and diverse piece of work which feels impossible to boil down to one genre of style. Its fourteen tracks span a range of styles, speeds and vibes, but the crucial thing is that DMX Krew maintains a certain air of mysticism throughout - a lingering sense of psychedelia represents each and every one of these endlessly deep slabs of techno-not-techno. Explore and drift...
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: 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: Keytar-sporting hero Gary Gritness made his name via a couple of fine EPs for Clone's Crown series, before popping up Hypercolour last year with the similarly cheery, synth-heavy Sugar Cane Chronicles Volume 1. This follow-up picks up where its' predecessor left off, with Gritness delivering a quartet of jaunty, jammed-out synth-funk workouts. Opener "Steady Choosin" feels like Dam Funk after a fist full of happy pills, while "Countin' Up With Starr" pairs a chunkier, tougher electrofunk groove with delightfully spacey synthesizer motifs. The space funk theme continues on "Runner Joe's Revenge", where densely layered electronic melodies create a dreamy but floor-friendly vibe, while closer "Pool Shark Loot" is a supremely Balearic chunk of pitched-down analogue bliss.
Review: What a collaboration this is! Two of the modern masters of hypnotic techno (and dynamic live acts alike) team up for some elaborate, melodic and truly entrancing auditory journeys for Hypercolour. Mathew Jonson should need no introduction: the Canadian producer bursting onto the scene in the mid noughties with releases on itiswhatitis and his own Wagon Repair imprint. Sebastian Mullaert also has a long history in electronic music; at one time part of duo Minilogue in addition to recording for Kontra Musik and m_nus more recently and running his great WaWuWe label. Strap yourself in for an epic journey across all its 12 minutes of glory on St "Pollen 4 Life (main mix)" where a medley of dreamy and gliding arpeggios dance away over subtle and minimal elements; a trademark of both respective producers. The dub version is much tougher and darker; aimed squarely at the dancefloor to get into some of those more tunnelling, vortex like moments.
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: Irish tape throb enthusiast The Cyclist adds Bristol house bastions Hypercolour to his discography with this fine four-track 12", Pressing Matters, which features a remix from Pampa and Kompakt legend Robag Wruhme! The title track is a fine example of The Cyclist's warped charm, conjuring bendy bass lines, faltering breakbeats and wavy synth lines over seven delightfully heat-treated minutes. The Robag Wruhme is just as epic, sounding like a lost breakbeat artefact dug up for gleeful 21st century consumption. "Born In '92" adds plenty of pirate radio chatter into it's deep and spectral house bump, whilst Tanaya Harper's vocals lend a palpable edge to the brittle garage swing of closer "Push."
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".
Review: On the Sugar Cane Chronicles Frenchman Gary Gritness follows up a great EP on Clone with some vintage sounding jams covered in the right amount of dust again. With the exception of second track (and highlight) "Stayin' Strong Hard" which is a classic EBM jam that's nice and dark, the rest is pretty optimistic and uplifting nu-disco. "Preachin' Some Tight Game" has the right amount of boogie and analogue soul that would make even Tensnake stand up and notice while the deep disco of "Fly Girls" is worth listening to for the rich tapestries of gorgeous and glistening synths.
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.
Review: With releases on Soma, Echocord and Kontra to his credit, it's fair to say that Clementi is one of the most promising new European producers. The Italian producer's reputation gets a further boost with this release on Hypercolor. More techno-centric than the label's usual output, "The War Inside Me" is a driving, heads-down affair, augmented by rapid-fire percussion and dubbed out drums. "THD" is even more functional, with Clementi laying down a drum-heavy track populated only by razor sharp hats and messy chord stabs. However, there is some relief from this approach, mainly on the stepping title track and the more reflective but still pumping dub techno of "Voila".
Review: After releasing Luke Vibert's acid-heavy Ridmik set, Hypercolour boss Jamie Russell asked the Cornishman if he had any disco-flavoured Kerrier District material knocking about. He answered in the affirmative, and 4, Vibert's first full-length under the alias for a decade, was born. Although the project was initially inspired by Black Devil Disco Club's warped electronic disco (and, presumably, the smoother grooves of Metro Area), a decade on Vibert's approach is noticeably different. While the fluid synths, undulating disco basslines and cheery grooves remain in place, the intoxicating depth of the original has been replaced by a cheekiness more readily associated with Vibert's Wagon Christ pseudonym. It is, then, a different beast than previous Kerrier District outings, but no less entertaining.
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