Review: Hyperdrive's label debut was a biggie that brought together old and new-school techno on one fizzing EP. The follow-up comes soon after and this time makes no bones about being a Rave Revival. Anthrophia's 'The Voice' kicks off with what is a hefty breakbeat cut with edgy rave stabs and slamming bass. Dimension 23 - 'Fascination' (Seb G mix) then takes a more stripped-back approach with turbocharged synths layered up over silky drums. Centuras brings plenty of bright, euphoric prog energy to the urgent drum funk of 'Jizz' and last of all Dimension 23's 'The Eagle' then kicks out more dusty old-school breaks with machine gun synth fire. A potent EP, make no mistake.
Review: No whimpers, all bangs... Monika Kruse's Terminal M brings another four Richmonds our way, as the label celebrates its silver anniversary (25 years) of releasing. Ignacio Arfeli and Kaspar bring Portuguese fire and German glaciations to a unipolar techno A-side each, with 'Never Look Back' shooting a hideous glower at Orpheus especially with a "don't you ever look back" jet-breakage of the sound barrier, precipitating a massive techno drop, of course. A felt sense of continuation is heard on the strobing 'Masterpeace' by Chris Bekker, before 'Alhalma', where Drumcomplex and Frank Sonic lead us to a cruddy close.
Crackazat - "Can't Blame A Soul" (Mana dub) (5:51)
Beatsbyhand - "SARS" (6:24)
Review: Kid Fonque presents the sixth instalment of his label Stay True Sounds' compilation series. Showcasing the best of South Africa's dynamic musical talents, this 15-track volume of intense deep house and Afro house cuts is not to be passed over. Highlights on this 12" sampler edition of the wider comp include 'We R 1', a technologically driven, syncopated, trippy Kalahari jam by China Charmeleon and Hypaphonik; and 'SARS' by Beatsbyhand, a hollering ambient amapiano mystery.
Review: Christian Rinderman, aka C-Rock, has been a key figure in Frankfurt's house scene since the 90s, consistently delivering deep and funky tracks regardless of fleeting trends. His first release in 1995 included the club favourite 'Funky Dope Trakk,' which quickly gained support from local and international DJs. Ricardo Villalobos, among others, played the tune relentlessly for decades. In 2012/13, C-Rock's own label Lo-Fi Stereo remixed and reissued the track, but those versions have since become rare and sought-after. Now, 'All That Jelly' is reissuing the four original versions, freshly remastered from the original DATs, ensuring they'll remain dancefloor staples for the next 30 years.
Review: Alexis Cabrera has always liked to subvert expectations and cross traditional genre lines in his work. He does so again here on the On_NRV label which brims with inventive spirit. 'Mi Housa Es Tu Housa' is a vibrant minimal house cut with some fresh synth sounds looping through rolling and infectious drums. 'Balas Que Pican Cerca' has a more abstract cosmic feel with menacing sci-fi pads and unreeling drum funk. 'Expiration Pain' has a steely aesthetic with rugged and textural synth motifs looping up through the mix and last of all, 'Under That Blue Sea' is a more balmy cut that allows you to catch your breadth amongst some deeper grooves.
Review: Gaston Cabrera, an Argentinian producer on the rise, delivers a captivating four-tracker for Exarde. 'Romance Electro' sets the tone with pulsating synths and driving percussion, conjuring a dark and hypnotic atmosphere. Cabrera's sound blends house and techno with a touch of Italo-disco, creating a unique sonic tapestry. 'Baile Y Drama' picks up the pace, its infectious groove and swirling melodies leading the listener on an exhilarating journey. On the flip, 'Atmosfera Yonki' is a masterclass in sonic manipulation, its haunting textures and disorienting soundscapes evoking a descent into the depths of a Buenos Aires nightclub. The EP closes with '7AM', a melancholic yet uplifting exploration of intricate rhythms and introspective melodies. With its diverse sounds and undeniable dancefloor appeal, this EP is a testament to Cabrera's talent.
Review: The latest EP from the Lonely Planets label co-founder Caim plunges you into an innovative soundworld of ancient myth and futuristic techno brilliance. The title cut 'Medusa Hunter' weaves hypnotic rhythms with smouldering, Goa-inspired melodies that are driven by venomous basslines that evoke suspense and intrigue. 'Hypno Gravity' is a weightless cut with balmy neon pads and silky beats that lure you into a trance where time fades and consciousness drifts. 'Adonis From Space' is another supple and stylish sound with ambient pads adding scale to skeletal rhythms. 'Desert Planet06' shuts down with a masterful blend of dubby undercurrents and aquatic sounds.
Spectrums Data Forces - "Darkness In My Head" (6:04)
EC13 - "Profundo" (Interludio) (0:49)
Wicked Wes - "X1000" (feat Space Frogs From Saturn) (5:48)
Review: Granada's Cosmic Tribe know the definition of "electro" in its broadest sense; their new Xtrictly Electro comp keeps the dystopian sound endemic to the genre's most present incarnation, but refuses to restrict itself to one tempo: the standard 130-ish that has sadly infected the otherwise genius genre as a necessity. An international splinter cell of spec-ops and mercenaries are recalled from retirement here, as we hear Calagad 13, Nachtwald, EC13 and many more mechanoid ilk lay down all manner of slick utilities, making up a morbid multi-tool. 5zyl brings further lasery Lithuanian steeze on 'Vilnius Bass', whilst Spectrums Data Forces betrays the existence of a sinister corporate entity, whose business model works towards the object of instilling 'Darkness In My Head' through giant, killer mozzy basses.
System Check (Melchior Productions LTD remix) (10:18)
Destino Caminante (Flabbergast remix) (6:42)
System Check (Flabbergast remix) (5:51)
Review: Minimal house legend Thomas Melchior and Montreal's Flabbergast duo bring their skills to remix Calcio Club's cool System Check EP. Melchior is one of our favs when it comes to silky, deep, minimal house and here delivers a remix that retains the original's groove while smoothly transitioning into lush synth vibes. Flabbergast's Guillaume Coutu Dumont and Vincent Lemieux have a sound just as distinctive and offer two remixes that push micro-house's limits. Their tracks feature mind-bending effects, Moog-style synth hooks and a burst of percussion that all lead the remixes to a new level of dance floor ecstasy.
Review: Not everyone 'gets' house. First, there are those who dismiss it as mindless 4x4 schlock; then, even amongst those who ostensibly enjoy the moods that the genre lays down, there are still individuals who fail to appreciate the subtleties that glue the spaces between the beats, or the musicality that holds the tunes together as opposed the lacks thereof that might make them flop. Whatever the case, Calisto's Definitive Classic (TM) 'Get House' is an ahead-of-its-time house pioneers' artifact, coming as an early example of what some might call tech house, albeit nowadays most would simply assume is acid or breakbeat. Indeed, to truly be able to appreciate the differences betweem genres, you have to just, you know, kinda, just 'get it'.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Shining Of Life Flutemental (unreleased version) (11:01)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Lambros Jahmans remix) (5:15)
UNDUB (Space Ritual dub) (10:40)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Space Ritual dub) (11:15)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Some 20 years ago, Japanese producer donned the K.F alias (the initials of his given name, Kiyotaka Fukagawa) and delivered the astonishingly good 'Shining of Life', a sun-soaked Balearic house treat shot through with Japanese nu-jazz musicality, gospel-influenced vocals and expansive, life-affirming piano solos. This EP offers up previously unheard 'Shining of Light Flutemental' takes. Calm's own 'unreleased mix' retains some of the key elements of the 2004 original while adding morning-fresh flute solos and starry sounds seemingly inspired by Detroit techno. The 'Lambros Jahmans Sunset Mix' is a dreamy and immersive interpretation underpinned by an Afro-house style beat, while the 'Space Ritual Dub' is an almost entirely beat-free soundscape. On 'Undub (Space Ritual Dub)', the same producer wraps echoing flute and piano motifs around a tactile, hand percussion-driven rhythm track.
Shining Of Life Flutemental (unreleased version) (11:01)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Lambros Jahmans remix) (5:15)
UNDUB (Space Ritual dub) (10:40)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Space Ritual dub) (11:15)
Review: Some 20 years ago, Japanese producer donned the K.F alias (the initials of his given name, Kiyotaka Fukagawa) and delivered the astonishingly good 'Shining of Life', a sun-soaked Balearic house treat shot through with Japanese nu-jazz musicality, gospel-influenced vocals and expansive, life-affirming piano solos. This EP offers up previously unheard 'Shining of Light Flutemental' takes. Calm's own 'unreleased mix' retains some of the key elements of the 2004 original while adding morning-fresh flute solos and starry sounds seemingly inspired by Detroit techno. The 'Lambros Jahmans Sunset Mix' is a dreamy and immersive interpretation underpinned by an Afro-house style beat, while the 'Space Ritual Dub' is an almost entirely beat-free soundscape. On 'Undub (Space Ritual Dub)', the same producer wraps echoing flute and piano motifs around a tactile, hand percussion-driven rhythm track.
Review: Exemplary nu-disco wax from the German Kaskadeur crew, lending a much-coveted plodders' energy to two sonic units by disco's twin queens. The slow churn of 'Kaskadeur 08', the eighth in the eponymous series, is characteristic of much contemporary techno-disco, betraying a capacity to urge foot, leg and hip movements in the listener and yet still without so much as a hint of histrionics: a must if you want to leave so much as a scent of cool in today's scene. The mysteriously named 'AN' and 'NE' play back like electrochromic disco hits of yore, though their source material is various, making this a special case of not just editing, but remixing: the A's 'Hearts Run Free' by Candi Staton and the B's 'No Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross are make for great uses each.
Review: Two techno knights in shining armour, Joseph Capriati and Indira Paganotto, rise to a collaborative challenge on their latest split vinyl single. Brought to their resident Artcore Records, 'Ananda' and 'Mantra' are spiritually intoned yet no less hard psy-tech towerers. Paganotto is said to have laid down the exotic vocal chops on 'Ananda' directly and the final product hears these laced through a blossoming, emu-synth rising action and a stuttering pre-drop. Perfect fits for the larger club or festival stage, these twin tracks work the careful balance of grave and utopian sound.
Review: Anorax has got a vital 10" here featuring a stone cold classic Balearic house tune from Don Carlos in two different mixes. First is the Paradise mix which is as Ibiza as house music gets - the swirling pads, the subtly joyous feeling in the piano chords, the blistered bassline. It all immediately transports you to the White Isle and gazing out to see as the sun sets and the party ratchets up a gear. On the flip is a Lute Mix which brings some more mellifluous melodies and makes the drums a little more bouncy. Both are brilliant.
Review: Don Carlos should by now be known to most house music crate-ologists as Carlo Troja from Verase, Italy -not Euvin Spencer from Kingston town. Alas, confusion still runs rampant over the ambiguity surrounding the Don Carlos name; if only they'd heard just how great this new EP from the former North Italian nuff-sayer truly was, they'd never forget the difference, of course! 'Italian Paradise' is a fresh, still dripping-wet house EP out via Groove Culture; its lightweight organ triplets, electric piano smears, and lens-fogged sunglass strings are what makes it *it*: a more than suitable release for hammock skygazing and/or wooly garment shedding.
Review: This is a four-track sampler taken from parts one and two of the One Hundred and Fifty Steps VEP series which is all about exploring the rise of 150 bpm dubstep, a sound that characterised by fast basslines, broken rhythms and heavy halftime pulses. From VEP pt. 1, L.A.'s Carre delivers pacey wobblers and then Berlin's Formella debuts with playful breaks and more wobbly bass on 'Dripstep'. VEP pt. 2 features Leipzig's Old Man Crane with their intricate, syncopated style shinning through on 'Grey' and Valencia's Andrae Durden then shows class with a Kryptic Minds-inspired low-end powerhouse.
Review: Originally released in 2023, this record quietly turned heads with its singular blend of UK-rooted rhythms and forward-leaning sound design. Now reissued, it finally gets a second life and the wider attention it deserves. The producer, a longtime figure in the scene with more than twenty releases under different monikers, brings a depth and precision that only comes with years behind the boards. 'Fathom' opens with a fast broken beat that feels equal parts urgent and submerged. The textures are mechanical and murky, like a deep techno transmission beamed up from under the floor. 'The Cusp' follows with a completely different angle. This one leans into the IDM side of things. It's spare and skeletal, filled with deep bass swells and a structure that feels more like a shifting sculpture than a club track. On Side-B, 'Markers' blends fast dub mechanics with intricate programming. There's a trace of Autechre here, but filtered through a system more grounded in soundsystem culture. It rolls and unravels in unexpected ways. 'Trooper' closes it out with cinematic flair. Strange melodies stretch through space, evoking science fiction landscapes and distant worlds. It's not just club music. It's sound architecture for curious minds and adventurous ears.
Review: Bogota's DDE Signature Tracks is the imprint run by the Discos del Espacio Record Shop crew and now it unveils its second outing in the form of 'Force Control', a four-tracker from the UK's Tom Carruthers. Carruthers brings his signature raw, no-frills take on vintage house music and channels the early spirit of acid house with a fresh yet faithful twist. The EP serves up rugged, late-night rhythms steeped in tension and groove as skeletal drum patterns arrive with an industrial edge. Though a stripped-down, floor-focused journey that nods to the genre's origins, this is also a fresh take on the classics that is packed with high class machine soul for underground heads.
Review: Tom Carruthers is a genuine prodigy - a prolific producer of undeniably excellent techno, electro and house music whose expertly authentic nods to dance music's shared part belie his youthfulness. He's released on L.I.E.S in the past but has mostly put out music on his own Non-Stop Rhythm label. Here he makes his bow on the reliable Craigie Knowes imprint with a predictably good four-tracker. Predictably he's delivered the goods, first joining the dots between Joey Beltram, Chiago jack and LFO on 'Rhythm Control (XTC Mix)', before layering mind-mangling analogue electronics atop a heavy TR-909 techno beat on 'Zeta Wave'. 'Revenge' is moody, rolling and hypnotic, while 'Psyche' sees him once again pay tribute to his favourite genre of all, turn-of-the-90s bleep & bass.
Last Night (feat Harriet Brown - MAD vocal mix) (7:11)
Last Night (6:27)
Phone Sexting (5:23)
New Life (5:19)
Review: One-man dance music production line Tom Carruthers - a regular contributor to L.I.E.S and the man behind the admirable Nonstop Rhythm label - makes his bow on Make a Dance's M.A.D imprint. Fittingly, the fast-rising duo kick things off with their take on title track 'Last Night', delivering a vintage-sounding house cut featuring sublime lead vocals from Harriet Brown that sits somewhere between Frankie Knuckles' turn-of-the-90s productions and Larry Heard's late 80s deep house jams. Carruthers' gorgeous instrumental original mix follows. Over on side B, 'Phone Sexting' sees Carruthers blur the boundaries between proto-house and early Chicago jack tracks, while 'New Life' is a picturesque slab of deep techno loveliness.
Review: Rico Casazza is Italian-born but currently based in Prague. Here he returns to the Moving Pictures label with another new electro and techno exploration full of his trademark sound designs and high-speed grooves. 'Climax' opens with deep, dobby drums and fizzing static that snakes around the mix while chords bring melancholy and 'Remind Me Pls' twitches with acid deftness and more optimistic chords. Moving Pictures founders Roman Rai and Taino step up with their own remixes. The former flips 'Climax' into deep space trip with lush layers of silky synths and emotive breakdown,s then Taino reconfigures it as a hot stepping house cut with choral vocal swirls and a rubbery bassline that brings the bounce.
Review: The third edition in Ten Lovers' Coin series hears Marcello Cassanelli, Caruso and Helen McCormack fuse churnout disco, chicken pickin' guitar and Rhodes solos, in an extravaganza of fresh, sartorial dance music. Never pressing too hard, Cassenelli's 'Starlight' and 'Tropical Breeze' go easy on the master channel, with unhurried pan flutes, roiling strings and twizzling G-synths stuck loosely to a soft but firm electro-tropical backbeat. 'Dream Horizon' is a brilliant outerlude on which to close the side. On the flip, Caruso & Helen McCormack allude equally to the Manchester Street Soul scene of the late 80s with 'Have & Hold', whose razor-edge r&b vocals and low-slung progression lend the record a surprise twist. Their 'Love You More', meanwhile is lushness personified, before Caruso's 'Central' chugs magnficently towards the run out groove with oozing synths and glitterball glamour.
Review: Jackies Music Records celebrates a successful first year with a new special edition vinyl record, featuring five iconic numbers from the back catalogue. Retrospectively looking back, we're met with five still-fresh ones from their ambitious 2024, includeing handpicks from Todd Terry, Piem, CASSIMM, Angelo Ferreri, and DJ W!ld. Embodying the mood of mid-dance tension, at which point we're likely well into the mix and sweating our glands off (such paradoxes are not impossible), the best of this pick have got to be Terry's 'Heartbeat', a swarthily knocking groove complete with an angelic, cardiovascular vocal, and W!ld's lo-fi hip slip, 'Underdog', the lyrics on which we'll be spending at least a good week trying to decipher.
Review: Esuoh Limited's third outing takes the form of another various artists offering, and it explores an on-point mix of garage, house and tech. Ale Castro gets things underway with the bubbly bass motifs and retro stabs of 'IDWTAD' with a vocal refrain repeating the line 'I don't want to talk about drugs'. Hurlee's 'Spectral Echoes' is a super breezy house cruiser with sugar chords and more widescreen smears adding the oil to the drums while a simple, effective vocal hook brings the soul. There is a darker, more heads down energy to Housewife's 'Jus A Lil Bit' then Midas Field's 'Groover' brings class, jazzy magic and plenty of fist pumping fun.
Review: Topping up the Rotterdam techno label TH Tar Hallow comes Casual Treatment (Melvyn Ortega), a newcomer to the imprint based in Berlin. Essentially a mini-album, this 27th addition to TH Tar's Hallowed annals makes clever use of sentimental track titling with ultra-mechanical, nigh unfeeling sequencing and sound design, to rather ironic effect. For example, 'It Warms My Heart' opens with a totally frozen-over aortic groove, while the closer 'Remember Me' transmits equally cold sounds to distant polar receiver-markers. In all seriousness, though, this is a great release, one which opens up properly in the latter half.
Review: Cave's Street Carnival 2024 EP is a blistering journey through the pulsating realms of techno, offering two original tracks and two stellar remixes. 'Skolopender' kicks off the EP with its relentless bassline and hypnotic percussion, promising to ignite dancefloors with its raw energy. Ben Sims' remix of 'Speleon' injects the track with even more intensity, making it a surefire weapon for peak-time sets. On the flip side, 'Street Carnival 2022' delivers tribal vibes with its intricate rhythms and primal energy, while Carl Falk's remix of 'Tambores' pays homage to classic loop-driven techno, delivering a relentless groove that will keep the crowd locked in. Overall, 'Street Carnival 2024 EP' is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on any dancefloor.
Review: Since making her production debut last year, Courtney Clarke AKA CC: Disco has released a handful of inspired and colourful singles which the boundaries between styles. The Lisbon-based Aussie is at it again here. She begins with the sun-soaked ambient shimmer of intro track 'Feel The Peak', where decidedly Balearic classical guitar flourishes catch the ear, before heading towards peak-time dancefloors on the wide-eyed dancefloor synth-pop flex of 'Touch The Vibe', which sounds Pet Shop Boys' Chris Lowe after a fistful of happy pills. She lays down another atmospheric interlude before going darker and moodier on the psychedelic nu-disco throb of 'Me Gusta Is Dead (Period Pain Mix). The new beat-meets-proto-trance throb of 'Yes Papi (Miami Daddy Theme)' completes a fine EP.
Review: Statica's debut release, 'M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly', showcases the label's dedication to serving up diverse techno sounds. This split EP, STATICA001, opens with two intense and dancefloor-ready bangers by the prolific Central Intelligence on the A-side, and both are packed with visceral drum energy and synth unpredictability. The B0side features Madrid-based Victor Reyes, who delivers two reflective but also emotionally charged 4/4 workouts that create a compelling contrast that embodies Statica's "Forces in Equilibrium" ethos. Inspired by the unique butterfly-shaped nebula Minkowski 2-9, this release is a fresh and impactful fusion of power and sensitivity.
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