Review: Mexican Theus Mago's "Terremoto Valley Express EP" is a captivating exploration of trance and dance music. This 4-track journey takes listeners on a thrilling ride through driving rhythms, uplifting melodies, and euphoric soundscapes. The EP seamlessly blends elements of classic trance with contemporary dance music influences. Tracks like "Terremoto Valley Express" and "Electric Sun" showcase Theus Mago's ability to craft infectious melodies and driving basslines that wouldn't sound out of place in a trance club. Meanwhile, "Lost in the Echo" takes a deeper dive into atmospheric textures and introspective sounds, offering a brief moment of respite before the final track, "Neon Night," explodes with a pulsating energy.
Review: Darlyn Vlys, head of Polaris Records, returns with a stellar sonic journey in his latest EP for Pets Recordings. Known for his cosmic dancefloor adventures, Vlys presents two meticulously crafted tracks, "Surrender" and "Rampage." The title track leads listeners on an electrifying odyssey with its laser-focused production, seamlessly blending pulsating struts and mesmerising vocoder vocals, urging us to succumb to the dancefloor's allure. "Rampage" introduces a darker, cinematic dimension with its thumping kick, rattling snares, and haunting spoken vocals. This impressive Pets debut showcases the French artist's unique fusion of cosmic energy, dynamic beats, and cinematic allure in two compelling numbers. Surrender to the music.
Review: Christian Nielsen's Elusive EP delivers a powerful four-track release showcasing the artist's insatiable range of sounds and styles, locking in a strong debut on Pets Recordings. Commencing with "Techno Viking," an unyielding and unwavering lead track, it's a metronomic stomper fueled by a concrete kick drum and pulsating waves of sub-bass. We also encounter "Let Me Go," a breakbeat bubblebath that transports us back to the euphoric spirit of 90s rave culture which continues in "On and On" - a stripped-back, lo-fi & jacking house gem. Its pressurised synths, raw-cut beats, and cascading sirens seamlessly blend to create a potent weapon primed for festival dancefloors. Luke Alessi takes up remix duties and with "Let Me Go" he takes the original to new heights, infusing it with nostalgic old-school vibes, rendering it a compelling noughties-flavoured anthem.
Review: Renato Cohen has come a long way as a producer. Back in 2001, he burst onto the global techno scene with the massive party track "Pontape". Fast forward to 2023, and Benzine sees him paint a very different picture. The title track resounds to a chugging rhythm and understated acid tones, while Cohen ramps up intensity levels on "Frito". While it's slower than "Benzine", the building wave of 303s is reminiscent of vintage Hardfloor material. "Wake Up" is based on a more tripped out approach. It sees the Brazilian artist weave in dubby textures over a rolling, drum-heavy rhythm. It's a good 20bpm slower than "Pontape", but it still packs a punch.
Review: To mark the passing of two decades since they first joined forces in the studio, Polish pair (and Pets Recordings founders) Catz N Dogz have put together this 20-track retrospective. A kind of starter-pack for their career to date, it boasts all of their most successful and celebrated tracks, collaborations and remixes. There's much to set the pulse racing throughout - it's a 'greatest hits' collection after all - with our current favourites including the pair's sub-heavy, 21st century hip-hop revision of Chucky 73 ('Bzrp 43'), the all action, rave-igniting rush of the duo's revision of their Thomas Schumacher hook-up 'Hush', the saucer-eyed loveliness of their Bicep hook-up ('The Game'), an insanely acidic interpretation of Marlena Shaw classic 'The Ghetto', and their early, influential revision of Claude VonStroke's 'Who's Afraid of Detroit'.
Review: Hassler is a recently launched alternative alias of COYU, a producer who has long sat towards the top of the Spanish techno pecking order. There's plenty to get the blood pumping on his first two-track outing for Catz N Dogz Pets Recordings label, not least breathless and pumping tribal house opener 'You Got Me', where densely layered percussion, restless sub-bass thrusts and wickedly chopped and effects-laden female voca; samples catch the ear. It's a guaranteed all-action winner all told, but arguably that track that follows, 'Samba Love Boat', is even better. Re-wiring his beats to include samba style Latin percussion while reaching for a deep, addictive bassline, it's the kind of sturdy and sweat-soaked tribal workout that was once the preserve of fellow 'Iberican' producers Chus & Ceballos.
Review: Fresh from a first appearance on Weapons, Space Jump debuts on Pets Recordings. The Birmingham producer hits the ground running with 'Make It', a driving, funk-fuelled tough house romp full of undulating bass, squirrelly synth stabs, kaleidoscopic melodies and early 2000s flourishes. Liverpool newcomers Matrefakt re-cast the cut as a swinging, sub-heavy blast of boogie-house badness before Space Jump returns to round off proceedings with 'Take Me Back'. This one is a touch darker and moodier than 'Make It', with driving beats and weighty bass topped off with restless riffs, cut-up samples and the kind of foreboding spoken word samples that reminded us of Sound Factory-era Junior Vasquez.
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