Prolific Belgium techno superstar Charlotte De Witte’s record label KNTXT was born in 2019 and named after her iconic techno club concept KNTXT, hosted in the renowned Brussels-based venue Fuse. With the genre’s underground spirit at its core, De Witte’s label sends listeners on a deep, hypnotic voyage through the sonic spectrum of techno space. Artists to release on her label include Monoloc, Alignment, ONYVAA and Charlotte De Witte herself.
Review: Fusing hard techno, acid and trance into compelling new forms, there's a definitive old school streak permeating through Acid Asian's return to KNTXT (via Charlotte De Witte's RPM). With the lead cut making classic use of tremolo effects across its synth line, "New Statement" turns in a round of acid matched by its 90s neo-gothic inspirations. "Journey" keeps on a bleepy, trancey tip all the more, while "Valley Of Dreams" delivers an experimental ambient breakdown that sounds like an army of shoguns getting ready for war.
Review: Hot on the heels of his Close Your Eyes release, Francesco Pierfelici aka Alignment returns to KNTXT. As the title suggests, his latest EP is inspired by 90s dance music. The title track unfolds to a frenetic pace. Centred on a galloping rhythm, it breaks into the kind of hypnotic MC chatter that wouldn't sound out of place on early hardcore. "The Sound" is just as pacy. Powered by a squelchy bass, militaristic claps and crescendo-inducing snare rolls, it also features a grinding Hoover riffs and a rap that is nothing short of infectious. As always with release on Charlote de Witte's label, expect Old School to raise the roof whenever and wherever it's played.
Review: Following releases on KNTXT from powerhouses like Monoloc, Chris Liebing and label owner Charlotte de Witte, comes a release from Alignment aka Francesco Pierfelici. As you might expect from de Witte's label, this is a no-nonsense affair; the title track is built on pounding drums and a visceral rhythm that features garbled 303s. On "Reverse", Alignment revisits 90s hardcore to drop shrieking synths over a peak-time, banging rhythm track, while on "Automatic Control", he remains focused on the golden age of rave, with a haunting trance melody unfolding over a storming arrangement. Leaving the most intense track to last, "Inner Voice" is a rough, visceral banger.
Review: Alignment returns to KNTXT with a release that really lives up to its name. The title track is a peak-time monster that combines epic trance hooks with pounding kicks - and is sure to cause mayhem whenever it's dropped. On "Disconnection", Alignment delivers mesmerising synth builds over a thundering, rolling groove, like classic Eye Q interpreted by Thomas Heckmann. "Frequency" sees the Italian producer put his focus on dramatic crescendos that unfold over a juggernaut rhythm - exactly the type of track that label owner Charlotte de Witte will spin. It's only on "Radioactivity" that Alignment takes down the intensity levels a few notches to drop a discordant tribal track.
Review: Next up on Charlotte de Witte's label is Alignment, with a hard-hitting release. The title track is a heads-down affair, resounding to concrete weight kicks, relentless filters, and some ponderous vocal samples. However, Alignment shows demonstrates a different approach on "Dream State" and the combination of pumping rhythm and dramatic building riffs are sure to appeal to anyone who likes the darker end of the trance sound. "Multiverse" presents a more frenetic take on that style, with euphoric riffs supported by pounding kicks and a throbbing groove. Rounding off this high-octane release is "The Way", where Alignment veers into a more evocative but still powerful direction.
Review: Maintaining his consistent schedule, Alignment delivers another storming EP for KNTXT. The title track is powered by a pounding hard tech rhythm and features coruscating filters that build to a powerful crescendo. "Deep Space" sees Alignment adopt a different approach. Centred on a pulsating groove, visceral riffs screech as synths swirl dramatically overhead. "Dance for Me" could be Alignment's version of 90s hard house, with turbo-charged drums providing the basis for riotous hoover riffs and sultry vocal loops. Last but by no means least is "Fight For A New World". Underlining its idealistic title are euphoric trance hooks that billow their way over a pummelling rhythm.
Review: Continuing its run of signing new artists, KNTXT has snapped up Amazingblaze for a debut EP on the label. The title track is already a firm favourite of imprint boss Charlotte de Witte, and it's not hard to understand why, with its sample-heavy peak arrangement peppered with hardcore stabs. On "Inner Fire", Amazingblaze maintains the fast tempo, with a frenetic, pulsating rhythm underpinning high-pitched vocals. "Flashback" revolves around a throbbing groove, chopped up with funky break beats and tranced out chords. Closing out this impressive release are the wild acid shrieks and visceral hardcore rhythm of "Neutron", which sounds like a hyper-speed take on classic ebm.
Review: Amazingblaze has only put out a handful of releases, but the fact that Can't Stop is being released on Charlotte de Witte's label is reflective of the following he commands. Similar to most releases on KNTXT, it's a high-octane affair. Trance motifs and mesmerising acid lines light up the title track, while Amazingblaze pays tribute to happy hardcore on the high-pitched vocals of "Got the Vibe". "Enter The Rave" meanwhile, draws on a darker side of 90s dance, with frenetic break beats underpinning the kind of rave stabs last heard on T99's classic "Anasthasia". Continuing this theme, "On the Grind" fuses rapid fire MCing with dramatic builds and drops.
Review: Techno powerhouse Charlotte De Witte did not let the pandemic put her off, and she bounces back with a huge new EP. "Doppler" is a pounding, peak-time affair that resounds to dramatic rave hooks and a relentless bass. On "RPM", the KNTXT boss takes influence from 90s acid techno to deliver layer upon layer of gurgling 303 lines that unfold over a pounding rhythm. While De Witte's focus is entirely on the peak time, her approach is more nuanced than most producers in this field - an approach that is audible on the title track's combination of searing acid and intense kick drums.
Review: For the fifteenth release on KNTXT, owner Charlotte de Witte takes the helm. "Satori" is somewhat different to the sound that de Witte is known for; while still commanding the dance floor, the chanting samples and accompanying acid blips stand out from typical big room techno tracks. Similarly, "Kali" draws on the legacy of 90s dance, with de Witte mining the Goa sound to create a buzzing slice of tech-trance. The Belgian producer continues in this vein on "Universal Consciousness", where breathy vocals are fused with squelchy 303, while "Ahimsa" sees de Witte draw on ebm influences to deliver an acid-heavy banger.
Review: Techno superstar Charlotte de Witte returns to her KNTXT label for a banging release. The title track sets the tone for the EP with its wild, tweaked acid lines and insane rave stabs unfolding over rough kicks, while on "The World Inside", there's a variation of this sound with a ponderous vocal sample set to wild 303 lines. On "There's No One Left to Trust", de Witte channels the energy and intensity of Frankfurt Trax in a contemporary setting, with repetitive stabs combined with bruising kicks. Meanwhile on "Common Era", she drops another banging acid workout and the drum-led "Wahr Ist Sie Dann" confirm her status as big room champion.
Review: Belgian techno heroine Charlotte de Witte presents the first of a new double EP here. On the subject of the release, De Witte says that this duality is essential to explore her interests, both as a producer and DJ, and it was only natural to release them simultaneously for release on her ever reliable KNTXT imprint. The Selected EP features three stark and austere expressions in main room, peak time techno such as "Form" and "Time" - all featuring the signature grunt of the Roland TB-303 throughout, while final cut "Amar" is a sublime and soothing ambient cut that's perfect to close the EP out.
Review: Charlotte de Witte returns to her own KNTXT label with another big room release. Both in its title and sound design, there are dystopian undercurrents at play; "Sgadi Li Mi" features an apocalyptic mixture of gritty acid lines and tribal chants - playing out over one of de Witte's typical tribal rhythms - while on " Return To Nowhere" she fuses haunting looped vocals with a similar rhythmic backdrop. While "Emsemble" appears to summon up lost spirits thanks to its fusion of snaking rhythm and ghostly chants, the closing track, "What's In The Past" offers hope for the future thanks to de Witte's use of mesmerising choral loops.
Review: Charlotte de Witte recently remixed the 90s classic, The Age of Love and its influence looms large over her latest EP. The title track has echoes of that sound, with epic trance melodies entwined with tough drums and mesmerising filters. In a similar vein is "Soma", although this sounds like de Witte was inspired by the deeper end of the sound, with dreamy, Eye Q-style hooks fused with a high-paced rhythm. "Stigma" is the toughest track on the release, as the Belgian techno superstar drops a banging drum track, but the trance sound is still audible and its looped melodies sound like a slightly more reserved version of the timeless "Orange Theme".
Review: Apollo provides a reminder that when it comes to big room techno, Charlotte de Witte has few peers. The release gets off to an epic start with "Missing Channel", where pounding drums and acrid 303s provide the backdrop for a ponderous vocal sample - like a fusion of Pump Panel and Jam & Spoon's vocal trance. The title track is similar in approach, with de Witte fusing ghostly vocal samples with distorted kicks and relentless percussion. "Mercury" also features vocals, but this time they augment a menacing undercurrent that de Witte conjures up with grainy 303 lines. Following these intense club tracks, the Belgian powerhouse brings the release to a close with a haunting, outer space-themed ambient jam, "PPC".
Review: Drawing on the influence of hardcore and grounding it in a raw style, "Overdrive" is a stomping, techno affair. The use of breathy vocals also makes it Charlotte de Witte's most accessible track to date. It may indeed be the track that ultimately projects the techno DJ into the mainstream arena. Of course that doesn't mean de Witte has forgotten her underground audience, and this is audible in the inclusion of "High Street". Powered by stomping kick drums and continuing her love of hardcore, she drops the kind of insistent hoover riffs that are sure to light up any dance floor.
Review: For the latest release on her own label, Charlotte de Witte returns to her underground roots. The title track is a dense, rolling techno track peppered with insistent acid lines and a hypnotic vocal refrain. "Pria" also features the sound of the human voice. On this occasion, it's in the form of a chant that unravels over an acid-trance backing that calls to mind 90s classics like "Desert Storm". In a release full of surprises, de Witte leaves the best one to last. "Abada" is an evocative piece of ambient music featuring a spellbinding vocal - further proof of the KNTXT owner's musical evolution.
Review: Hot on the heels of her Overdrive release, Charlotte de Witte drops two fine remixes of the EP's highlight, the high-octane "High Street". First up is the Amazingblaze version, where acid lines are integrated into epic synth builds and the busy vocal narrative. De Witte has been a supporter of Astrix's tracks in her sets, so it's no surprise that she lent on his talent to deliver the second remix. More understated than the Amazingblaze reshape, it resounds to a pulsating, throbbing groove and a buzzsaw acid riff. Already road tested by de Witte in her sets, like the original, these new versions are sure to have maximum dance floor impact.
Review: Keeping sub-Goa and acid trance roots firmly intact is one Indira Paganotto who brings her fully fledged rave sound to Charlotte De Witte's KNTXT label. Channelling basslines from a classic trance era while keep deeply inspired by classic acid techno, there's something undeniably fresh and unique about the four tracks on display here. With cut up vocals and tunnelling basslines a feature throughout Himalaya, get your breathy trance textures from the title-track, next to techy percussive tips in "Sultans Of Mountains". With acid tearing its way through this EP all the more, "Takeshi" burns with more of a synthy tip, while "Cobra" really shoots the breeze that lost ravers in a forest dream about. Trance record of the year!
Review: The latest release on Charlotte de Witte's label has a deep personal meaning. The Work of Inox Traxx, it is reflective of the producer's 'inner state' and was written in response to personal challenges. But to paraphrase the evergreen house classic, to address such issues, 'music is always the answer'. The title track is a case in point. Over lead-weight kicks, Inox Traxx delivers a beautifully mournful vocal - making for a deeply personalised but dance floor-primed track. "Close" is an intense affair. Centred on a throbbing bass and a swung rhythm, it features fragile vocals. "Titles" is more esoteric - on this occasion there are no vocals. Instead, Inox Traxx drops a pulsating, tranced out track that builds and ebbs continuously.
Review: Monoloc aka Sascha Borchardt follows last year's release on Dystopian with this firing four-tracker for KNTXT. On "Sum", eerie tones unfold a pummelling rhythm track and firing percussion - Borchardt makes it stand out thanks to some deft drops and builds. "Left the Planet" sees him focus on a similar approach, with a focus on steely kicks, but on this occasion, the synths sweep in like a thick, poisonous fog. "Sky Is Broken" is a slower jam, with the German artist dropping waves of gurgling acid over a bass that rumbles at a mid-pace tempo. "Fender" is set to a similar pace, but this time, the maverick techno artist draws on that sombre synth that accompanies the death-pace beats.
Review: Passeport boss ONYVAA debuts on Charlotte de Witte's label with this fine peak-time EP. "The Way It Is" is based on pounding kicks and features searing acid lines and chopped up vocals running through the arrangement. Meanwhile on "Lucid", the US producer focuses on tribal drums, with a clanging, steely rhythm underscoring deft filters and a series of wild 303 builds. Meanwhile, "LXD" sees ONYVAA incorporate wild rave builds and eerie vocal chants into rolling break beats, while on the title track, this fast rising producer delivers a pounding acid-heavy workout that's inspired by 90s acts like Pump Panel.
Review: Pawlowski is welcomed into Charlotte de Witte's KNTXT label with the Final Outsider EP. Playing up on tonal techno elements that bring both rave, nu-techno and trance elements to the fore - "Final Outsider" is a bona-fide hit that sounds as if it's been lifted from a lost Danny Rampling classic with some classic 90s pan-pipes and Christmas time chimes. "Space Odyssey" holds down some classic trance piano sounds next to some technofied carols and voicals while the strings, synths and and killer gabba beats and delivered to the max in "Space Odyssey". Legendary stuff.
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