STEPHAN BODZIN Vinilo y CD

Review: German artist Stephan Bodzin has done a fine job of keeping himself at the forefront of the melodic techno world, not least with his always boundary-pushing live shows. He takes that energy into the studio when cooking up his scintillating club tracks, too, and always has. This reissue on his own Herzblut label revisits one of his many stand cuts. 'Valentine' is a wonky one with creepy bass and mysterious melodies over crunchy tech beats. 'Papillon' takes flight like its butterfly namesake, with elegant leads and rubbery bass all doused in glorious melodic rain that has a sci-fi edge.

Review: A first-time remix LP of Stephan Bodzin's Systematic classic album - 'Tron Caligula Marathon Man' - containing stellar new reworkings of the tunes made between the years 2005 and 2006. Raxon (Ellum, Kompakt), Mathew Jonson (Wagon Repair, M_nus), Elax, Fedele (Ex-Agents Of Time) and Hannes Bieger all make appearances, lending gloomy and gargantuan extra credence to a time-honoured techno masterpiece.

Review: Stephan Bodzin has a long and illustrious career in the field of German tech house, and while he may be still very much active in delivering new material like last year's Boavista album, it's nice to be reminded of some of his early classics. Following on from the reissue of 2006 12" Valentine comes this, the mighty Kerosene. It's a record very much of its time, capturing that crisp, digital sound which soundtracked countless parties big and small, but taken out of context it's plain to hear how it hasn't aged a bit, sounding as seductive and immersive as it did back then.

Review: Given that it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the 2021 Stephan Bodzin album that shares its name, it is genuinely great to see 'Boavista' finally get a single release. Nestled here on side A, Bodzin's original version is utterly gorgeous - a smooth, life-affirming slab of picturesque house bliss full of rising and falling synthesizer lead lines, trippy mid-range motifs, drowsy chords and crispy drums. Innellea wisely chooses to focus on the more hypnotic and uplifting elements on the accompanying flipside remix, wrapping elements of Bodzin's original version around a trance-inducing groove. Throw in some bold, rush-inducing, progressive trance style riffs, builds and drops, and you have a genuinely terrific remix.

Review: Marc Romboy and Stephan Bodzin make for one of the most celebrated duos in techno. Here their 'Atlas' tune gets a remix from Ukrainian duo Artbat & Shall Orin on Systematic. They're artists at the heart of the modern melodic techno movement. Their remix here is a one-sided 12" that is designed for the main room. The percussive energy and sweeping synths build and build over the driving, rubbery beats. Its serene, well-designed, and a surefire standout cut that will get hands in the air on plenty of the world's biggest stages.