Rush Hour Holland Vinilo y CD

Review: Niels Nieuborg has long been a player on Holland's live music scene, largely working with ex-pat musicians from Carpe Verde and Surinam. This superb three-track EP marks his first recorded output and includes collaborations with vocalists Americo Brito and Orlando Julius. The latter stars on two up-tempo chunks of boogie-era Afrobeat that sit somewhere between the Moog-driven brilliance of William Onyeabor and the up-tempo urgency of vintage Afro-disco. It's arguably A-side "Nos Magia", featuring Brito's distinctive vocals, that really stands out, though. Spacey and incessantly funky with fizzing electronics, urgent Clavinet lines and crispy Afro-funk guitars, it's not only a killer club cut but also a thing of rare beauty.

Review: Detroit techno originator Terrence Dixon serves up another of his stunning albums on Rush Hour after making us all wait seven years since the last one. That one, Theatre of a Confused Mind, was as Population One, this one is under his own name, and it is another exploration of afro-futurist techno that could only come from the Motor City. The drums hit hard, but there is always soul in the synths. 'Reporting From Detroit' brings street-level angst and tension where 'Star Garden' explores the cosmos above, while moments of deep self-reflection are encouraged, nay mandatory, during tracks like 'Growth & Development.'

Review: Rush Hour have released some killer reissues in their time, and this mini-album from Ben Cenac of Newcleus fame, released under the Dream 2 Science moniker in 1990 is no exception, sounding like a conscious response to the warm, soul-flecked offerings of contemporaries Bobby Konders, the Burrell Brothers and Lamont Booker. Amazingly, Dream 2 Science still sounds remarkably fresh, 22 years on. The production, in particular, is terrific. While many house records of the period sound clumsy and dated, there's a timeless quality to the intricately programmed drum machine rhythms, the drifting chords, warm analogue basslines and cute vibraphone melodies.

Review: Recently Interstellar Funk (real name Olf van Elden) has used his Artificial Dance label to offer up a range of new and old tracks that doffs a cap to "wave" music - that hard-to-define, synthesiser-heavy style that first emerged at the turn-of-the-80s and has been evolving ever since. "Artificial Dancers", his first compilation, continues this trend by gathering together personal favourites and rarities that spans 40 years of wave music. It's a brilliant collection all told, with highlights including the moody dancefloor brilliance of Clan Of Xymox's "Stranger (Demo)", the Human League's exceedingly rare 1979 tribute to JG Ballard ("4JG"), a killer live recording of "Dias Cortas" by EBM kings Liaisons Dangereuse and the Norwegian eccentricity of Det Gylne Triangel's wayward post-punk synth-pop classic "Maskindans".

Review: Terrence Dixon's announcement of plans to retire from techno with immediate effect earlier this year have typically gone without any further explanation, though it's been heartening to see his final round of projects surface over the course of 2014. Having already committed a killer Population One 12" to Metroplex, Dixon delivers another fitting parting shot in this LP for Rush Hour, who took their name from his classic Pop One production "Rush Hour". Theater Of A Confused Mind is a powerful statement from Dixon, expanding on the sci-fi themes of previous Population One material and posing several cryptic questions. Dixon's own voice introduces the album on "Out Of Control" and as matters progress those trademark queasy lines of melody begin to take control - "Inner City Circus" being a stand out of this set.