Hospital Productions US Vinilo y CD

Review: The addition of Alessandro Cortini to Hospital Productions with this Sonno LP can be lined alongside Ron Morelli and Ninos Du Brasil as examples of Dominick Fernow's enduring capacity to surprise as a label owner. Fans of Nine Inch Nails will be more than familiar with the Bologna-born Cortini who served the long running American industrial rock band twice, though more recently the musician has gained a degree of prominence for his recordings under his own name and the Sonoio guise. The latter project in particular has seen Cortini experiment prolifically with the Buchla synth to celebrated results, making the chosen methods for his Hospital debut somewhat of a departure. Sonno consists of nine truly immersive recordings made in unspecified hotel rooms using a Roland MC202 synthesiser and a delay pedal with the results described as quite aptly as "beautifully restrained yet oddly emotive".

Review: For his last outing on Hospital Productions, Nine Inch Nails collaborator Alessandro Cortini utilized just two pieces of equipment: a Roland MC-202 and a delay pedal. For this follow-up, he's expanded his toolbox a little, supplementing those hardware pieces with two further machines: a Roland TR-606 and TB-303. Musically, Risveglio inhabits a similar space to its predecessor, with Cortini creating blurry, fluid dreamscapes built around semi-rhythmic loops, distorted chords and fuzzy ambient textures. Listeners may struggle to spot the TB-303 - most often used to create ragged waves of intense electronics - such is the unique way in which Cortini manipulates it. Regardless, the Italian's post-industrial, half-awake soundscapes are thoroughly mesmerizing.

Review: Here's something to excite those of an experimental techno bent: a collaborative set from veteran producer Function and drone/industrial sort Vatican Shadow. Given the qualities' of both producers, it's perhaps unsurprising that Games Have Rules is rather good. Like any good collaboration, it tempers the more outlandish aspects of each producer's work, delivering a set bristling with icy textures, bittersweet ambience, dreamy atmospherics and, perhaps most pleasing of all, sprawling techno (see the brilliant "Bejewelled Body"). Highlights are naturally plentiful, from the crystalline mood of "A Year Has Passed" (reminiscent of Selected Ambient Works era Aphex Twin) to the murky textures and spooky electronics of "The Nemesis Flower".

Review: Ninos Du Brazil is an enticing prospect. Formed by Italian experimentalists Nicolo Fortuni and Nico Vascellari, the duo fuses live Brazilian percussion with the low-slung pulse of New York post-punk rock and the droning electronics that Hospital Productions is most famous for. The result is a humid, feverish set that gleefully moves between murky intensity ("Sombra Da Lua"), tropical minimalism (the rain forest hypnotism of "Legios Du Cupins"), full-throttle percussive wigouts ("Sepultura") and loose carnival freakery ("Miragem"). For the most part, the electronic elements are subtle, with densely layered percussion and occasional chants taking centre stage. It's a mixture that makes for riveting listening.

Review: How one appropriates themselves is allegedly what Guy Brewer looked inwards and asked himself regarding his current penchant for techno and experimental music and covering up a somewhat secretive past as part of drum and bass duo Commix. The Appropriation Stories LP addresses this subject head on, for his second full length release on Hospital Productions since 2013's Under A Single Banner. The Berlin based producer conducts experiments merging the worlds of harsh and textural techno (as heard on his respected Avian imprint) with industrial noise mayhem as executed under his Covered In Sand or Alexander Lewis aliases. All in all a compelling listen that provides moments of cerebral listening with adrenalised dancefloor fodder.

Review: Hospital Productions have been around for a hell of a long time, with releases dating back to 1998. For the last fifteen years they've progressed impressively and have grown by expanding their catalogue as far as black metal. Silent Servant, one half of the now defunct Sandwell District label, makes his comeback for the American label with sheer elegance and emotion. Negative Fascination is a true LP, with all the productions representing an entity rather than a collection of dancefloor tools. Tracks such as "Invocation Of Lust", which sway effortlessly across desolate plains of synths and distant melodies, fall neatly into place with others; "Moral Divide (Endless)" being its natural epilogue as ghostly sounds and transmuted effects are caught in a whirlpool of rough, analogue beats. Only certain parts such as "The Strange Attractor" could be bracketed as belonging to the techno realm, with most other tracks containing much more than just club antics. "Temptation & Desire" could only be considered techno in so far as its dark approach, but it's the ingenious sound arrangements that fall between their spaces which make this album a true gem. Highly recommended.

Review: Thus far, Vatican Shadow (AKA techno misfit Dominick Fenrow) has built a reputation as a politically charged maverick, delivering a slew of limited edition 12" singles and cassettes that flit between collage-based oddities, clandestine compositions and intense techno workouts. Remember Your Black Day is being billed as "his first proper album", and sees him shift focus towards a more listener-friendly sound. Of course, he's lost none of his anger and rage - check the breathless intensity of the title track, for starters - but there are more world-weary melodies and subtle musical touches amongst the bleak atmospherics (see standout "Tonight Saddam Walks Amidst Ruins"). Hardcore fans may see it as a compromise, but that would be harsh; in truth, it's arguably his best work to date.

Review: The prodigious Dominick Fernow is a one-man production line for paranoid, scratchy, intense industrial techno, drone and dark ambience. He released three albums in 2012, and this is a swiftly issued collection of alternate versions and outtakes from his most recent outing, the Iraq War-inspired Remember Your Back Day. While "Not The Son of Desert Storm By The Child of Chechnya" and "Remember Your Back Day (Bouthayna Traditions)" are particularly bleak and uncompromising, there's some evocative warmth and plenty of tear-jerking melodies to be found on "Al Qaeda", while "Atta's Apartment Slated for Demolition (Bouthayna Engineering)" is a shuffling, atmospheric delight.