Review: Given that he occasionally performs D&B sets under the Sterngucker alias, we shouldn't be surprised that Stefan Streck's latest Micronaut missive draws influence from the early days of jungle and UK hardcore. The whole EP is something of a retro-futurist treat, if truth be told. Opener "Earlylate", for example, sees him employ both vintage, New Jersey garage style organ chords and house-tempo, jungle style breakbeats, while "OldNew" is a pleasingly saucer-eyed fusion of UKG inspired two-step beats, Inner City style synth stabs and nu-disco electronics. Elsewhere, "Undercover" sounds like pitched-down early liquid funk and "Smallbig" boasts the kind of sweeping melody lines reminiscent of progressive breaks veterans Hybrid in their pomp (whilst being a little rougher round the edges).
Review: East German producer Douglas Greed is back for Jena institution Freude Am Tanzen, following up great releases on Infine, Gigolo, Kindisch, Lebensfreunde and BPitch Control with some driving late night tech house on "Enemy": the track covered in a nice layer of dust and rust plus that bouncy Juno style bassline works a treat on this dark horse. Elsewhere, "No Talking" dives a bit deeper into more sublime and dreamy territory much like fellow countrymen Robag Wruhme or Roman Flugel can at times. The EP ends in style with "Gdur", a bouncy, uplifting and up tempo groover featuring shiny and erratic arpeggios over skittering hyperaware rhythm patterns plus rolling bass.
Review: Magic Edition, Taron-Trekka's second full-length excursion, draws together tracks originally released on a trio of EPs (Purple Magic, Yellow Magic and Black Magic), between 2014 and 2016. Given that those three 12" singles contained some of the experienced German duo's most inventive work, it's not surprising that the material sits well together. It's largely melodious and musically rich, with tracks giddily blending elements of deep house, tech-house, acid, electro, IDM, jazz, soul and techno in its' myriad forms. Much of it is hard to accurately describe stylistically - never a bad thing in our book - but it's all hugely entertaining.
Review: Eating Snow are two Freud Am Tanzen mainstays Mooryc Zimmermann & Douglas Greed, who collaborated on their debut self-titled album last year and now it's time for some solid remixes. First up "This Emptiness Is Mine" gets a makeover, first by Andhim, but for our money it's Finnish Berlin expat Kiki whose gutty and grinding EBM rendition rocks harder. "Gravel & Trees" is up for the taking next and in our opinion Kevin Over (Mobilee/Truesoul) delivered the most inventive perspective on this stripped down and dusty deep house remix. Finally, Marc DePulse's remix of "The Cut" gives the track some brooding and atmospheric progressive house flavour.
Review: Six years since his last album, the Studio 10 LP, the Energetic LP sees Mathias Kaden referring "to both his musical roots as well as his current experiences as an internationally travelling DJ". There are now some remixes from the album available, lead track "Soulmakers" gets three new renditions by Swiss legend Deetron whose main remix injects some trademark high-tech soul into the mix while retaining Zoe Xenias affirmative vocals. The "Bassapella remix" is quite a handy DJ tool too. "Tangerine" gets a dark and tunnelling techno makeover by Spain's UNER while "Wisdoms" gets a sinister and rolling retake performed by Leipzig's king of the groove Daniel Stefanik.
Review: Jena's Freude Am Tanzen are still going, more power to them. Label mainstays Taron Terreka are up again and deliver some ultra deep house excursions on the Black Magic EP. The title track is a restrained and dubby number, perfect for winter after-hour parties. The rest of the EP follows in suit, with "Monofile" keeping on with the gloomy, dusty minimal house vibe until those organs come in, giving the track some glimmer of hope! "Distance" is oddly hypnotic in its mysteriousness and restraint, kind of sounds like Baby Ford's stuff. "Red" is emotive and bittersweet, not as grim as the other tracks; no doubt influenced by early the Sound Signature sound.
Review: While he may have been knocking out largely impressive singles for over a decade, German producer Mathias Kaden is still a little unheralded. This is particularly surprising given the quality of his 2015 album, Energetic. Here, one of the highlights of that set, "Rawtone", gets the remix treatment. The Staygold Remix is rather fine, offering an attractive but undeniably floor-friendly mix of rolling, cymbal-heavy grooves, spooky strings, watery melodies, and impassioned vocal samples. What really makes the remix, though, is the bold and booming bassline, which impressively drives the track forward. Excellent stuff, all told.
Review: Mathias Kaden is a long time alumnus of the Freude Am Tanzen family out of Jena, learning the ropes from the very best; namely the Wignhomy Brothers. His recent long player Energetic originally came out in mid-2015, but now gets the remix treatment from an all-star cast. "Energie" gets a re-rub from Kompakt main man Michael Mayer, who turns it into one of those dark and melodic journey tracks that will fit into the current status quo of similar tracks by the likes of Life & Death and Innervisions. Dresden dusty house hero, the Uncanny Valley affiliated Cuthead, gives "Korokana" a nice urban flavoured rework and the mysterious Redshape gives "Clarity" his trademark rusty and reductionist sound. Let's not forget Nick Curly's contributions; he gives "Get Phunky" a dose of the Mannheim sound. Its driving, percussive tech house groove is relentless and there's a dub version for those of you less keen on Aquarius Heaven's vocals.
Review: After this album's rocket ship intro we're subject to a bevvy of spaced out, trippy beats, liquid basslines and cosmic synths. To a back drop of future music, vocals in "Get Phunky" and "Soulmakers" wax lyrical about the good old days, while tracks like "Rawtone" lets the drums and percussion do all the talking. The smooth tone of Sophie Taylor's vocals offset the screaming synths in "Clarity", while "Wisodom" sees dubbed out piano chords sing a euphoric progression. Get yourself to Berlin and live this music to blood orange sunrise.
Review: Yellow Magic is the latest in a series of EPs on the Wighnomy Brothers' label by this German duo. Following on from this year's "Purple Magic" release, they have decided to give their studio trickery a different shade. The title track is a tracky, stripped back affair with vocal samples whispering in and out of the arrangement. It's exactly the kind of track one would expect Robag Wruhme to play. "Consoli" follows in a similar vein, but "Trsnumak" ushers in a change of direction as rattling percussion and menacing organ playing are introduced. Although billed as a bonus track, "Segelboot" also impresses, with its jazzy keys and insistent bleeps.
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