Running Back Germany Vinilo y CD

Review: A re-release of two rare and classic tracks produced by Don Disco (aka Projam, aka Lo Soul). "The Whistle Song" is a collaboration with Jeremiah.

Review: Essential fare from the highly respected pairing of Roman Flugel and Running Back, with the ever inventive German artist digging into his personal archives for Gerd Janson's excellent label as Eight Miles High. Consisting of two full tracks and a triplet of B Side loops, Flugel apparently rescued these productions from some old DAT Tapes (hopefully found in his basement) and they find the prolific producer very much "wearing a techno helmet." The fact that the Lost Tracks 12 arrives with descriptive terms such as strange, dark, heavy, loop, high speed, EBM and industrial should offer some indication what to expect. Indeed lead track "Outtake" sounds like the perfect moment deep into the night at Robert Johnson distilled onto record.

Review: After a break of two long years, tech-house scene stalwart Sascha Funke has finally delivered a new EP of typically atmospheric, on-point music. It's his first outing for Running Back after years spent flitting between BPitch Control, Multi-Culti and Endless Flight. Interestingly, what's on offer is more retro-futurist in tone than much of his work, with audible nods to vintage electronic disco, early 2000s nu-disco (think Morgan Geist) and tactile '90s deep house. Our picks of a very strong bunch are rubbery, morse code-sporting nu-disco-goes-bleep house number 'QAM', moody analogue deep house treat 'SEZ', whose creepy chords and spacey sonics are undeniably alluring, and ultra-melodious, Italo-disco-influenced opener 'FEZ'.

Review: Recent times have seen Gerd Janson and Phil Lauer focus on developing their Tuff City Kids project into a fully fledged production unit, with a EP on Delsin complementing the usual raft of remixes the pair get involved in, which include Internasjonal, Phantasy, DFA, Visionquest and Mojuba this year. This new Running Back record sees the pair revert to their other successful ongoing partnership, with Janson as label owner and Lauer as artist. Entitled Laui XIV, this four track 12" is the first solo Lauer record since last year's superlative BIS transmission and lives up to the label's billing as "Post-house-proto-disco-trance rockets fuelled by new wave and sound transmissions from middle-wave Caucasus". Lead track "Tyler" is a particular delight, filled with the sort of effervescent, rich sonic qualities that Phillip has made his name on!

Review: Re-issue of a long lost classic that has been overlooked by many. Running Back is run by Gerd Janson and Thorsten Scheu. This EP is Mute's debut, 4 raw & basic trax for fans of Bobby Konders or Prescription. Only hits, no misses!

Review: This must-check 12" includes two very different takes on tracks from Panoram's recent album, Acrobatic Thoughts, with both Quiet Village and Luca Lozano doing what they do best. The latter's rework of 'Wandering Frames' is the most club-ready of the fare, with the Sheffield-based producer adding alien-sounding Yorkshire bleep, weighty, Rob Gordon style sub-bass, trippy acid lines and Chicago house style drum machine fills to a bouncy-but-rolling, pitched-down breakbeat. It's terrific all told, but arguably even better is the revision of 'Seabrain' from Matt Edwards and Joel Martin's Quiet village project. They re-imagine the track as a tactile, loved-up and immersive affair that wraps sustained ambient chords, yearning electronics, dream house piano motifs, bubbly acid lines and saucer-eyed electronic flourishes around a slow house beat and squelchy synth-bass.

Review: Running Back present the first of two Colliding Stars EPs from the rightly highly regarded Italian techno don Marco Passarani. The title track which is spread out across the A Side delights thanks to a deep jacking groove crafted out of fierce kicks and gurgling acid bass lines. An additional version on the B Side adds plenty of percussive flex whilst "Good Split" is vintage acid heaven.

Review: Gerd Janson's Running Back open their 2013 account with a label debut from evergreen producer Oliver Ho under his Raudive alias. Ho's garnered something of a chameleonic reputation over his 15 year recording history, demonstrating little interest in focusing on one sound or genre. Most recently seen fronting the spiky three piece band The Eyes In The Heat, Ho returns to the Raudive name that scored a great History Clock 12" for the four track Traffic EP. Fitting in snugly on Running Back, expect muscular EBM and house workouts with the detuned pianos and manipulated vocals of the title track likely to garner considerable attention.

Review: Mask-sporting techno titan Redshape (real name Sebastian Kramer) can usually be relied upon to deliver the goods, particularly when it comes to the retro-futurist flavoured outings that he seems to reserve for releases on Running Back. He's once again in a nostalgic mood on 'Release Me (Base Mix)', a jacking slab of acid house/techno fusion piled high with psychedelic TB-303 lines, booming bass and creepy, held-note chords. He explores the track's Chicago House influences further on the more stomping, acid-fired 'Windy Mix', before opting for a warmer and bouncier techno sound on 'Bonuz Me' (check the melodious, looped riffs and synth-strings). Closing cut 'Second Ten', meanwhile, sounds like vintage Mr Fingers updated for the Berlin techno generation.

Review: Way before the world had fallen in love with the decidedly mind-altering riffs and rhythms of "Geht's Nocht", Roman Flugel was making a name for himself under the Roman IV pseudonym. It was way back in 1995 that he made his debut with "Altes Testament", a classic chunk of Detroit-influenced tech-house that was only the second release on Playhouse. A second 12" followed - featuring the brilliant "Green Tea" - but then little else from Flugel's Roman IV moniker. This new four-tracker for Running Back, then, promises to be something of a treat. In many ways, the German label is the perfect home for Flugel's Roman IV exploits. Famed for releasing long, loopy deep and tech-house epics - think Mark E, Move D and Radio Slave - Running Back will no doubt have been delighted to secure the services of their big-hitting countryman. "La Paloma", then, promises much - and delivers. The title track itself is a hypnotic delight - a ten-minute epic that works all-manner of barely-audible samples (distant bells, jazz samples, crackly pianos) into a weighty, late night tech-house groove. But there's plenty more to enjoy, too. The decidedly trippy "Lucy" wraps dubbed-out chords around a relentless subterranean bassline, while "Sa Celenta" takes a leaf out of Mark E's book by focusing the action around a lazy disco loop and bassline. Welcome back, Roman.

Review: Running Back present the second instalment of their Rescue Roman Flugel's Unreleased Material series which sees productions procured from the dusty DAT Tapes of the Frankfurt don's archives lovingly presented for your consumption. Whereas the recent Eight Miles High hand stamped 12" was Flugel in loopy DJ tool mode, this split 10" sees him on classic Deep House form. The A Side contains a pair of cuts done under the Roman IV alias, with the spritely "Happy" coming off like a vintage Todd Terry production. On the flip Flugel and Alter Ego partner Jorn Elling Wuttke revisit the rarely used Holy Garage alias for the equally excellent excavation "Diver Down".

Review: Ame's consistently high quality output, which has been lapped up by house music lovers for many a year now, can work against them. Each release is so consistently good that it becomes the norm, and as such they can sometimes pass you by. Thankfully such concerns are thrown out the window on this 12" on Gerd Janson's Running Back imprint - a remix of 80s art funk oddity "Nature Makes A Mistake" by Son Of Sam. A thumping acid line sets the tone, before a swirling Oni Ayhun-esque synth melody drops in towards the end, bringing things to a mind melting conclusion. The extra production assistance of Marcel Dettmann gives the track some extra thump, while the original 1984 version - only released on a Bain Total cassette sampler and now remastered by Ame - is an unearthed gem in itself. Caps duly doffed to all involved. Superb!

Review: Astral techno cosmonaut Space Dimension Controller serves up his vision of acid on this new sampler via Gerd Jansen's Running Back. The storied producer kicks off with 'Kosmische Conga' which has twitchy and sinewy lines lashing about over mid-tempo drums. 'Echopet' has a dubby feel and nice undulating grocers that are coloured with a prickly 303 that gently weaves its way in and out. 'Minehead' gets more manic as the 303s are louder, brighter, and more manic in their approach and 'Carinacid' then slows down to heavy drums and a mutant acid house and techno vibe that is full of late night menace.

Review: We're very happy to see a renewed interest in Underground Resistance sub-label Happy Records: which is sure known for its fair share of house classics. Quite fitting then that the chief retrovert Gerd Janson over at Running Back saw it fit to issue some remixes of the classic "Sunshine" by Unit 2 aka Raphael Merriweathers Jr. and Niko Marks. KiNK's remix on the A side is a nice modern revision of the track which retains those uplifting trademark pianos but adds some of his thunderous trademark 909 drum machine workouts beneath. On the flip, lo-slung disco pranksters Tiger & Woods do a remix which cuts up and stutters those said pianos (and the vocals) to interesting effect plus adding some nice boompty swagger into it.