Electro Recommendations April 2014

Review: **REPRESS** Another album from the amazing mind of Heinrich Mueller (aka Gerald Donald). Originally released on DJ Hell's Gigolo label and apparently only licensed after Gerald crashed Hell's BMW and had to come up with a means of paying him back. All the tracks first appeared on the very obscure Dataphysix imprint from Detroit, with some releases only reaching the 500 copy mark. Now brought back to life for 2007, "Gesamtkunstwerk" could be one of the best electro albums ever made. Yes that's right, I said it...the best ever! This is almost as important for the techno generation as Kraftwerk's "Computerworld" and "Autobahn" were for many in the 80s. The tracks are all pretty simple, made up of only two or three analogue instruments each, but they seem to hold these timeless melodies that you can never tire of. Other moments are eerie, menacing and downright strange, but still pure genius. You know how a lot of the time when you buy a new record it becomes your favourite for a while, and then it starts to lose a little life? (Of course it's still good, but just not as fresh as the first couple of weeks when you listened to it on repeat). Well guess what? That doesn't happen with this record. I must have listened to some of the tracks on here over a 1000 times and they still send shivers down my spine. It's one of those special albums that just don't seem to age.

Review: Oh how the Pinkman keeps us waiting! The Rotterdam label headed by Patrick Marsman first revealed plans to welcome DJ Overdose into the fold over six months ago. Finally Higher and Higher arrives, adding to the label's impressive releases from DRVG CVLTVRE, Roberto Auser, Creta Kano and Myriadd. Five tracks deep, Higher & Higher is a perfect display of Overdose's many production nuances, with the spirit of John Carpenter running through the brittle and bleak synth scape opener "Sneaking". The mood instantly switches with "Delta Force III", a neck snapping exercise in Utopian electro whilst the rugged "Reinforcements" is the kind of track Helena Hauff would pull for. The contrasts continue on the B Side where the sinister title track almost combusts due to the sheer amount of elements grinding chaotically against each other, whereas final track "The Target" is notable for the amount of space within the mix.

Review: After a fairly overwhelming 2013 of archival releases that was topped off with that excellent Patrick Cowley compilation, Dark Entries seemingly are maintaining that momentum this year with a clutch of new projects. The first is this reissue of the classic Signals From Pier Thirteen EP by Crash Course In Science, which is a name that should be instantly recognisable to fans of minimal wave thanks to "Flying Turns". The track featured on the Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1 compilation curated by Peanut Butter Wolf and Veronica Vasicka and has been reworked by Jamal Moss, J Rocc and Ricky Villalobos in recent years. "Flying Turns" of course features on this EP, and this Dark Entries issue is the first time Signals From Pier Thirteen has been reissued on vinyl since the early '80s and is a must for anyone who likes crude electronics and synthesised beats.

Review: Swedish electro purist Obergman delivers an extensive EP that's so generous you'd think it was a full album... Minimal, undiluted data funk: each of the cuts on here are as sharp as an 80s haircut. Ranging from slo-mo discordance and angular reflectiveness of "Regerlverk" to the dancefloor primed Radioactiveman style jitter-funk "Radio Anstalt" via the syncopated ice boogie of "Haunting Numbers" Obergman has squeezed an exciting array of life forms and narratives from his analogue kit. Stunning.

Review: Four years ago Finnish duo Morphology issued their excellent debut album Urania's Mirror through the Zyntax Motorcity label, and having subsequently graced the likes of Semantica, Central Processing Unit, Solar One and Cultivated Electronics Matti Turunen and Michael Diekmann are undoubtedly ranked as their country's foremost exponents of subaqueous electro. Identity Component sees Morphology return to Zyntax Motorcity for further adventures in the album format, and predictably it's excellent. The opening title track sets the scene, a brief foray through brittle sounding synthscapes that gives way to tunnelling electro grooves daubed with a noticeable degree of foreboding darkness. "Subsurface Ocean" in particular is a highlight, successfully poised between introspective textures and neck snapping drum machines with a vicious bassline to boot.

Review: Inaugurated last year in fine style by Pip Williams, the London-based Brokntoys imprint resurfaces here with another shining example of their electro-focused manifesto from Scape One. The four track Planetoid EP is Kurt Baggeley's first release as Scape One in some time, but will appeal instantly to fans of the project. There's a abstract underbelly to the title track, with harsh textures acting in schizophrenic fashion beneath the stripped back rhythms and mutating analogue melodies. Complementing this "Europa's Secret" takes a pensive approach to the classic electro template, whilst "Distinct Century" is a more bugged out variant and "Right Acension" ends proceedings on a star gazing, ambient tip. More of this please Brokntoys!

Review: Joakim's Tigersushi label gear up for the imminent release of DyE's second album Cocktail Citron with the single She's Bad. There's still a lot of fondness for DyE's More G.D.M. Vol. X contribution "Nike" amongst the Juno review team so the prospect of a new album from Juan de Guillebon is one we are excited about, especially when Tigersushi are describing it as as DyE's "most danceable record so far". Kudos to label and artist for collaring the leering electro-funkateer known only as Egyptian Lover as his contribution really elevates "She's Bad" whilst there is also the little matter of some excellent remixes from Nights Slugs artist Helix and Tigersushi boss Jim Bazooka himself!

Review: You can trust on Canada's Suction to release anything good and anything remotely related to the world of electro. Breaks, house, two-step, you name it - if it's got a fuzzy, squelching bassline it'll have their name on it. This time Solvent steps up to the controls with an electrifying LP consisting of many different styles and influences - an altogether astounding piece of work. Made for the dancefloor but also sensitive to your meditative needs, it'll romp and stomp your senses into next week - check "Sender" and "Pattern Recognitions".

Review: Mixworks is back with another furious, Detroit-based EP of swinging electro and body-stomping techno filth from Japan's CRZ KNY, who comes through correct on the title track and produces a funky, old-school electro cut that still sounds fresh today. Legendary Drexciyan DJ Stingray rewires the original into an inimitable, fast-paced electro-techno hybrid for the next millennium. Those two are the stunners on this EP, but be sure to also check out the Cosmic Remix and "Radiation" for an ulterior shock to the chest.

Review: Icy science courtesy of Towlie Von Der Rauchen's burgeoning Kaften imprint: translating to 'involuntary movements', "Ofrivilliga Rorelser" lives up to its name with an angular groove, static analogue dynamics and an uncompromising distorted punk-funk vocal. Guaranteed to have you jittering and jerking in all manner of robotic fashions, it dances to the rawest, most visceral of classic electro heartbeats. Facit's remix pushes us a little deeper into the 80s with a poignant air of new romance. With a new vocal that croons with a Trentemoller air, it's the perfect counter to the sharp spikes of the original.

Review: Central Processing Unit is increasingly becoming the Steel City's premiere outlet for all strands of electro music, with the recent label debut of Finnish pair Morphology now followed by another fine bow from Paul Blackford. Since his emergence on Ed Dmx's Breakin' Record label back in 2003, Blackford has cultivated a sound that takes its cues from early rave and the nascent strains of Detroit electro. Hard edged and filled with a sense of apocalyptic dread, The League Of Shadows is Blackford at his finest with a triplet of bass heavy, up tempo productions that come across like DJ Stingray given the keys to Kraftwerk's studio tapes.