Sound Metaphors Germany Vinilo y CD

Review: Tom Chasteen is an LA-born mega-musician who is widely credited for helping to spurn the San Francisco rave movement of the 1990s, not least by founding the Exist Dance label. Masquerading under various monikers such as Eden Transmission, High Lonesome Sound System and Voodoo Transmission, many of his tracks are cemented in the rave music canon as some of the most pivotal, thanks to their pushing of a rather psychedelic sound. Suitable for the looking-back era of the 2020s, the new EP by Tom, 'Selected Productions', zooms out of that era and into the present, re-homing in on some of that artist's later works when the SanFran heyday was over. Downtempo, full of international influences, and retaining that scratchy 'lifted from vinyl and remastered' sound, this is spiritual lyrical miziricle music for the dancing astral traveller.

Review: Sound Metaphors has lined up a bunch of killer EPs to drop in quick fashion and this one from Data features several different versions of one fantastic single. 'Extroscopic' is deft techno with nimble baselines and light synths that float through space on the Extroscopic version while the dub is even more warm and bubbly. 'Extroscopic' (Trancextro Scopie) has more trance-tinged chord work and then Anatolian Weapons turns out a more psychedelic version with silvery percussive chatter and last of all a Deep Mix that is indeed a heads down back room techno trip.

Review: The cornerstone of a certain (unforgettable) trance moment in time, Eden Transmission's 'I'm So High' was *the* tune to peg the LA and San Fran rave scenes indelibly to the PI's corkboard of dance music. Eden Transmission were only one alias of an ever-evolving, planarian duo - Michael Kandel, Tom Chasteen - whose works as Voodoo Transmission, High Lonesome Sound System and Up Above The World could equally have been deemed just as significant projects. But we prefer 'I'm So High'. One of the best to do it with breakbeats, the 'Ubud' mix of the title track hears what sounds like a bazaar gathering of psychic townsfolk, set against urgent whispers, which hydrolyse against a reso-peaked lead. And by far the best tune is 'Powertrance', which startles us with its wireless charge of mega-heavy breaks and robotic C-shell sendups, whisking us into psycho-cyberspace.

Review: Francesco Farfa's iconic 1991 club EP is reimagined three decades later here with fresh remixes by four of Berlin's top DJs and producers. Their various different takes make for a versatile selection of dancefloor tools crafted by DJs, for DJs, ensuring it fits a variety of occasions. The A-side features Trent's deep, big-room darkness, complemented by Juan Ramos' trancey rework which mixes in key elements from the original. On the B-side, E-talking delivers an uplifting progressive remix while Hamsa strips it down for a more minimalist, enhanced version of Farfa's classic theme. A must-have selection of reworks here.