fernando sanz has been steadfastly dedicated to the craft of beats and breaks since he was a young sprout of 14 years in the sun baked southern spanish port city of algeciras. under the imprint orbe records, sanz has cultivated his own thriving techno community as artist and label head. since 2014 orbe records has been lashing the block rocking techno of sanz’s comrades eduardo de la calle and steve stoll, but mostly of sanz’s own prolific moniker, orbe. as dj and producer orbe keeps the mood surreal and dreamy while deploying understated drum machine patterns to hammer the platonic solids that keep his beloved community in tact. his forthcoming 3-track “hohenheim” ep for the barcelona label, lone romantic, keeps the orbe buzz rolling. “hohenheim” kicks the record into motion with the resounding thuds of a multilayered big-room kick while bright synths and sharp edged sci-fi machinery climb the walls in obscure and narcotic patterns. “shimano’s tribute” is a study in the fundaments of techno that lull the listener with an extended 4x4 intro into a state of high mental absorption, just in time to drop the centre piece of the track, an eloquently ovular stutter sliced percussion sample. “edelweiss” sets the record on a outward course for somewhere between the hypnotic dance floor bliss of a pre-dawn sunday morning and the impending angst beholden to glimpsing the dystopian sprawl of civilisation when flying out monday morning.

the daydream family is growing up, following a solid fourth various, this fifth release welcomes a new talented quartet from all over europe: casey spillman, worker union, noah skelton and stevn.aint.leavn.

the recipe is unchanged: spacey pads, galactic synths, warm rhythm and strong beats for a dreamy trip across house music. once again, all is gathered to make a perfect four tracker that grooves between deep, micro and techno.

entering the easy jet is the swiss black belt academy from ozelot. zurich is the place, ozelot is the name. we are really happy to introduce the iceman to you. manuel fischer takes the a-side and calls it his own for this time. prioleau and the iceman use the flip side for some weirder and more weed infused tracks. as long as you are happy, you are happy. we are happy. this is just the beginning. keep the fire burning. viva.

special remarks connect4 kit ltd to 250 copies (out of 500): you might be curious about what we’re gonna give you as a present this time: included in the release pack (first 250 copies only, once gone , it s gone) you’ll find a full connect4 kit as we always like to play with numbers, right? tracklist a1. 004a1 a2. 004a2 b1. 004b1 b2. 004b2 shortinfo: here we are for the 4th round of apparel wax and a crazy one indeed for all the lovers of the vinyl masked man, a release that expresses 4 different nuances of house. few words are needed to describe the debut of the vinyl with a1 track which is a rarely powerful combination of 2.0 dance music and 80’s vibes, a proper slap in the face to kick it off! our unknown dj then shifts to a more sensual mode with a2, where funky guitar shades and smooth chords blended with the vocals that drag us on a more intimate level of listening to keep on traveling on a lower tone. b side starts with a track guided by weaving jazzy rhythmics dialoguing hectically with samba and some jungle environmental recordings, creating a super personal interpretation of brazilian jazzy house, while to end up the 4th trip on wax planet, b2 blesses us with some more classic vibes with a sharp string’s melody and a rich bassline guided silently by a rhodes piano and some pungent and melancholic female vocals, to end it up in style.

dext recordings has reached it’s landmark 10th release, and we now enter our next phase with this very special 2 track ep from a vital part of our label: bodyjack. aside from his collaboration with special request at the end of last year, this is chris’s first new music under his bodyjack alias since the summer of 2016 (his “cobra effect ep” for us). his time away has helped him refocus, and its clearly paid off “nataraja” (hindu for “lord of the dance”) is one of those tracks we can’t actually describe, but it’sbodyjack on rare form. his signature quirky percussion & synthwork is stripped down more than on his previous work, but this is one works in so many situations, we can’t wait to hear what you think. on the flip, “tandava” (the name given to the dance of nataraja!), is a peak-time detroit bass style workout with booming drops and razor sharp edits aimed right at the floor.

n our extremely talented artist pool we have the luxury of being able to work with local icelandic talent and for our 6th instalment in the lagaffe series we managed cook up a long awaited collaboration with a close friend and producer intr0beatz. intr0beatz has been known in the local music scene for quite some time and became one of the most iconic hip hop producers in iceland with the group forgotten lores. after the scene evolved and took changes intr0beatz reinvented himself as a house music producer. with intr0beatz you never go wrong. a long time hip-hop producer went housey on us, and he got the groove. house and old school hip-hop have a lot in common sampling and chopping old disco/soul tracks is the foundation of both. so this came naturally for him. the four-tracker includes the tracks dumpin (a1), mystery ride (a2), tapas (b1) and desco (b2).

is / was is incredibly proud to introduce the enigmatic, insanely gifted, man-of-many-vibes himself, teakup. hailing from ohio, our man is yet another in a long lineage of shut-in freak-beat enthusiasts from the humble state. with a style referencing the melodic funk and swing of titonton duvante and the broken, advanced-beat wizardry of archetype, teakup steps into this proud heritage with a 4 tracker of various vibes sure to sate even the most discerning of dweebs. “lose my mind” is of the swung and jacking nü haus variety popularized by the will & ink lads. “shimmer” soothes with soft pads and throbbing bass while simultaneously spanking you upside the head with cracking snares and corrosive claps. “darkcore 2020” indulges in sci-fi breakbeat antics, earning the much sought-after status of “banger”. lastly, “i don’t fkn kno” slinks along in the timeless tradition of low-slung n’ swung house groovers. welcome to the sound of teakup.

it was said that the craft was so large that one could walk for days without touching a wall. that instead of the glowlights above, there was only one, and somehow it split into the many we have today. and in the floor of the ship, there were rushes of water, hallways so to speak, that entire men could float down. and so they did.
depth over distance is bringing new talent to the limelight with its second release. a collection of cosmic grooves spanning 5 original tracks conjured by young bristolian mcgregor.
going from solid crunchy house grooves (light years from you) and an ethereal mix of breaks, pads and crisp percussion (reality) on one side of the vinyl, to a more extrapolated back side: wanna e, with its unexpected groove and drops, ready to tear up an unsuspecting dancefloor, closer feeling like a timeless breakbeat classic and with 1997 (vocal mix) forming an elegant, emotional last note of the ep.

during the eighties it was possible to observe an italian fascination with the mysterious far east. this can be found across art, design and music in italy during this time, in subtle or obvious ways. specifically there are italo-disco records that proudly show this influence, some of the best known being: fun fun – -living in japan-, koto – -chinese revenge- and city-o – -rose of tokyo-.

following in this theme is fancy – -null null-. not to be confused with the famous euro-disco artist behind -slice me nice-, this fancy is a one-off project from italo-disco icon raffaele fiume, the artist and voice behind many great italo-disco hits, such as: helicon – -you ... see-, malcom & the bad girls – -shoot me- and ralph river band – -strange vibration-.

adding to the original tracks of the 1982 release is a totally ecstatic and powerful remix from betonkust: one of the most talented and exciting dutch producers of recent years. also included is an instrumental edit from hysteric, for those who find the unique vocals challenging.

....and we d sleep out under the stars, didn t even need a blanket... victor valiant is a musical pairing of two friends who ve been meaning to go in the studio for many moons, but life has always got in the way. keith tenniswood and suade bergemann give you seven tracks of sublime funk and sonic experiments coming straight from suade s mega studio deep in the northeast of england. recorded last year over two 3 day sessions, it’s the next release on keith s asking for trouble label aft003. cut and mastered between the two producers they have executed every level of production for this double pack vinyl release. asking for trouble is keith tenniswood (radioactive man’s) recently birthed label and home to the emissions from his studio and treasured time spent with producer friends. suade bergemann is a newcastle-based producer, mastering engineer and founder of techno label adapted vinyl. he collaborates with steve legget and is a resident at free rotation.

the wait is over as eric prydz returns under his pryda alias to offer up four tracks of classic pryda gold. rich in sonic goodness, weighty arps, hard-hitting kicks and swelling synths it s a stand out e.p. for the 39th offering from the pryda catalogue. as ever, there s an expert exhibition of musicianship and production on display in each of the tracks, a depth of character to the music that will sound monumental on any system they re played on. both dark and magical at the same time it s a real journey of a record and is sure to do damage whenever, and wherever, it s dropped. die cut, spot u.v generic pryda sleeve.

from playing acid house at the legendary haçienda to residencies at a number of the world’s super clubs and a grammy nomination, sasha s career trajectory is pretty much unparalleled. his contribution to electronic music in the 90s is synonymous with the rise of progressive house. as a producer, his vast discography includes a number of studio albums, remixes for madonna and the chemical brothers and soundtracks for computer games, whilst a long list of acclaimed mixes are heralded by many as some of the greatest of all time. as well as his work as a highly visible public figure, he has an extensive history of mentoring other artists behind the scenes, running his own management agency and a studio in new york whilst introducing a wealth of acclaimed artists via his last night on earth imprint. here, across 4 plates of vinyl, all but 4 of the 20 tracks on sasha s fabric 99 mix are available in their full-length glory. featuring his own exclusive track smoke monk (fabric mix), his moog-apella edit of george fitzgerald s echo forgets, and his fabric1999 remix of baile - amae feat. felicia douglass.

having produced a wealth of some of the most lovingly referential and consistent music of recent times, the tracks making up palta og ti på den tolvte Ø are slightly harder to pin down to exact genre markers. each song is busy yet never overcrowded with elements, building concise and playful grooves which if forced we would say positions them somewhere in the ambient space between jazzy-improv-house and dubby, hypnotic electronics. that s as absolute in adjectives as we would ever care to be... expertly crafted both technically and musically, we are more than excited to be able to present this to you as our fifth installment.

heya. varvet strikes again. this time with no less than techno veteran ben pest. ben who just started his own label over worx and before that releasing tons of records on labels such as bonus round, don t, i love acid just to name a few. he also released under the name black e together with cristian vogel on vogels sleep dept imprint. bens ep is 4 tracks of complete and utterly funky techno madness that will be hitting any dancefloor or twisted mind right in the stomach. first limited press is on solid green vinyl since this is bens favourite colour.

the brooklyn duo of bryce hackford and joakim teamed up again, this time as joyce, 2 years after their debut as jhack. a two track 12inch featuring a thumping and heady psychedelic deep house groove, in a classic prescription zone, on the a-side (bubbles). on the b-side, die siesta is a tribal ode to the balearic art of napping, a moody live percussion improvisation jumping down the bpm and floating on filtered piano chords.

long time friends (since flex vienna 95) patrick and luke joined forces on blumoog music and came up with this crafty and dynamic four tracker ep. patrick pulsinger opens the project on the a with two ingenious and uplifting tracks reminiscent of his old ‘sluts’n’strings &909’ days with an acidic twist. 25 years have gone by since patrick pulsinger made history and put vienna on the map by founding techno avant-garde label cheap records and with productions like ‘dogmatic sequences’ on disko b and pioneering sequential- minimal-techno soon after with the huge lp ‘porno’ also on disko b. on the flip side luke m.r.e.u.x is consistent with his fine style. dry percussions and rubbery bass in b1 ‘cerebral fix’. a darker approach in confession b2 with a relentless 5 minutes of techno trip that will not let you catch breath.

limited edition of 2000 copies on transparent blue 180 gram vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve. the electronic music duo groove armada released their fourth album “lovebox” in 2002. the album includes some of their best tracks, ramping through genres from rock ’n’ roll to the psychedelica and ska. it also features collaborations with artists like neneh cherry and richie havens, who ads some soulful voices to the whole. opener “purple haze” introduces us to a giant guitar riff and highlight “madder” takes the groove out of the clash’s “magnificent seven”, before moving on to the raps by m.a.d. they’re incorporating a lot of samples in the fine structured melodies of soul/funk/rock and hip-hop. after playing at club nights for years andy cato and tom findlay joined forces and created their debut album northern star and breakthrough hit “at the river”. it was the start of a collaboration that brought them hits like “my friend” and “superstylin’”.

volume 11 of the masterworks music journey comes in the form a four track e.p. of edit gold from russian producer, valique. ‘it s hot heavy boogie edit opens up proceedings, laying down a guitar driven, synth boogie gem, heavy on the squelchy top lines, weighty bass and full-frontal female vocals. think about it not too long edit then takes you into peak time disco territory - sun drenched, beefed up, filtered and phased for maximum dancefloor vibrations. flip it over and you re hit with an infectious guitar lick and bumping bass from the off on one chain makes no prison edit , before that killer vocal joins the party. finally, rounding off the e.p. hypnotizing wanna be free edit treads a more late-night path with a hypnotising vocal sample coupled with panned cosmic pads and percussion, sure to entrance any crowd it s put before.

clandestine boogie are back, enlisting omsk s sunner soul to provide the goods for their third release. the title track voyager 84 sets the scene perfectly drawing you in with dreamy swelling synths, fizzing hats, and chunky hits alongside choice lo-fi vocal snippets & cosmic top lines - smooth as you like! kim and buran then steer things on a funkier flex with their take on voyager 84 . staccato guitars laid over the top of a heavy bassline, succulent pads and spacey keys provide an intergalactic disco journey with you strapped in the front seat. on the flip side sunner soul team up with fellow russian producer, scruscru. spring mood picks up the tempo working bouncing arps and wobbly synths behind a thumping rhythm - a killer slice of disco tinged house as we move into those sunshine months. closing out the e.p. it s peak time, boogie laden, blissful goodness in the form of joy . funk-fueled guitar licks, an instantly catchy melody and the perfect amount of effects to enhance those build ups and break downs lay the foundations for a sure fire summer hit!

the 20th release from nina kravizs seminal &#1090,,,,,,,&#1088,,,,,,,&#1080,,,,,,,&#1087,,,,,,, imprint is an homage to some of the most uncompromising manifestations of electronic music imaginable. tracing sub-cultures from the 90s to the present day, &#1090,,,,,,,&#1088,,,,,,,&#1080,,,,,,,&#1087,,,,,,, 20 interrogates the boundaries of tempo and form via hardcore, gabber, acid techno and ambient. a mix of unreleased material and essential gems, the ten-track compilation visits &#1090,,,,,,,&#1088,,,,,,,&#1080,,,,,,,&#1087,,,,,,, regulars, esoteric masters and relative newcomers on a voyage to the extremities of a global underground. &#1090,,,,,,,&#1088,,,,,,,&#1080,,,,,,,&#1087,,,,,,, 20 continues the tradition of gatefold double eps as a conceptual album. all of the tracks are selected around a particular story, a trip, and presented as a continuous sonic landscape. all of the tracks are structured in a way that they can be mixed one with another an endless amount of times making a continuous loop, a trip, that needs only end when the party stops. kraviz works without release dates or deadlines, enabling her to achieve a certain sound bank to shape the story, unmasking the thoughts and unraveling like a dream.

just in time for summer, rnt drops a 3-tracker of tropical heat from brazilian outfit balako. although relative newcomers, their production prowess has been known to their rio de janeiro musical community and beyond for some time, and is on full display here. the a-side showcases their knack for modernizing the canonical brazilian mpb sound, from the deceptively demonic build of batuque, to the acidic-leaning lilt of deixa acontecer. the flip side takes a hard turn left of field with honey honey honey, a 9 minute opus of afro-brazilian disco insanity, primed for those balmy summertime roof parties.

framework recordings is back with a very special, limited run vinyl ep that features five fantastic artists in oliv, o’hana, blurred, fred and ground16, and deep house doesn’t come much finer. first up is the low key oliv, part of the heady party collective bedford crew. his ‘submarine cruise’ is an effortlessly atmospheric dub house track. sandy shakers, balmy pads and an astral lead synth line all ooze underground class. o’hana is another emerging producer with an already well formed sound. his gorgeous ‘lune’ is another prime bit of deep house with analogue kicks and hits, subtle vocal samples and cavernous pads that melt into the horizon.
blurred are a young italian pair from labels like lapsus, safe music and hotfingers and keep up the cultured dub house vibe with more deeply enveloping grooves and dusty hits. the chords here are smeared in the background and sure to find favour with the more intimate dance floors out there. then it’s to impressive new swiss artist fred for ‘mw.’ it’s deep and house-y again, but this time it drives forward on huge kicks, with acid lines and icy hi hats bringing the energy while yawning synths soften the edges. closing out a tasteful package are swiss pair ground16 with ‘3rd street.’ cosmic in nature and with wide open pads, this house groove is another analogue beauty with warmth, smart vocal snippets and dreamscape pads. these are timeless deep house cuts that are deceptively simple and superbly executed.

emergent russian producer legit trip is the next up on jack s house, serving up four slices of sleek, crisply produced tech house to work across a variety of scenarios. -answer- keeps things simple and effective, letting the bassline take the weight of the track and keeping the beat locked on course for maximum dancefloor efficiency. -organic- has a lighter, more rolling feel to it that nods to the outdoor, day time terrace crew, while -what- has a deeper bump that yearns for dimly lit basement vibes. -you got me- has an easy going house flavour to it that should slot nicely into the warm-up, but don t be fooled - there s plenty of weight in that low end to do the damage at any time of night.

if peace, love, unity and freedom are some of the pillars of house music “follow me” is a call to action. this vocal driven cut instantly become an anthem and one house music’s most revered songs. although they did not release more than a dozen singles, aly-us made their greatest impact with the 1992 single -follow me.- produced by kyle smith and written by smith with vocalists eddie -super- lewis and william -kaylin-x- jennings, the deep and uplifting track became an early- 90s house classic and continues to be one of the most memorable tracks out of the vast strictly rhythm catalog. original mix on the a, and dub on the b-side. available for the first time as a 7”.

with the masters at work name under contract elsewhere at the peak of their career, kenny dope and louie vega had little choice but to work under other names for their strictly rhythm projects. hardrive became popular, largely thanks to the iconic ‘deep inside’ whose vocal hook (from, barbara tucker’s ‘beautiful people’) and bass line helped made the track become one of house music‘s most memorable hits. “sometimes a record just manages to capture and distill the true essence of what this is all about and deep inside is one such record, it bears all the hallmarks of golden era masters at work, all the signposts of what was happening in nyc s clubs in the early to mid 90 s were there within it s grooves. you know a record is good when it s still being, quite literally, hammered nearly 25 years later”. it’s no surprise even kanye west would sample this classic to make another chart topping track! this one s a straight up essential for any self-respecting house music aficionado. availble for the first time as a 7”. original mix on the a, dub on the flip. you know what to do!

you know when the dj drops something so special you’re mentally forced to ask for the track and the reply you get is ”its my own unreleased track”. that’s how i (art alfie) stumbled upon all three of these. about ten years ago i witnessed van rivers & the subliminal kid (peder mannerfelt) turn berghain upside-down with the dark techno epos ”mars attacks”. around the same time i had the luck to see nils westerlund boogle minds with the broken beat psychedelics of ”suspiria” at a stockholm open air. last but not least, a couple of years ago i heard ”thicker than blood” for the first time, like the sirens in greek mythology, it lured people on to the dance floor at stockholms classic summer hot spot f12. i’ve been playing these tracks ever since and im beyond happy i get to share them with the world at this point. //art alfie

desroi debuts on avian. shifted s avian label returns to fore with a heady, five track offering from german producer, desroi. in keeping with the label s finely tuned aesthetic concerns, the music draws from a reduced palette – keeping the colours muted & the tone driven and direct, focusing instead on drawing out pleasing textures & subtle rhythmic anomalies via intricate use of delay and reverb, to arrive at a sweet spot between dance-floor potency & the more cerebral posits of the techno genre. tethered at the base by cavernous low end, heady drum machine programming drives the work – often married with a single warping synth motif shifting about the sonic periphery, modulated carefully across the course of the recording s run time to create both moments of heads down introspection & outright hysteria. like much of the best work on the label, the music has a diy quality that belies its complexity, but at the same time lends to its undoubted effectiveness. desroi s ability to harness the full force of such a limited collection of elements is testament to the producer s skill as an artist within the genre, creating a powerful sense of cohesion on his avian debut.

cong burn continues to exercise one of the most promising instincts for future-minded music on this, their third release. it s surprising they haven t done more previously, considering the maturity of their curation, but either way the quality remains at an all time high here, leading in with some light and liquefied 4/4 sonics from chekov before pirouetting into one of duckett s illustrious abstractions around the techno blueprint. label regular lack is back on side b with the stern and punchy -track 3,- and then haddon finishes the record off with -anabiosis,- a densely textured, slow creeping trip of a track.

vinyl only! derek carr follows up on his album contact on subwax excursions ?and a plethora of high class eps with this four-tracker of techno soul goodness. this is dereks debut release of ferox. not available digitally.

following fine scalpel-focused outings from ltj and les inferno, many of many aliases stefano de gama returns to samosa with a trio of subtly tooled-up disco edits. a-side -son of slave- sees him join together bits of soulful disco-era classics -slide- and -son of slide- to form a tasty new whole. while heavily compressed and noticeably chunkier than either of the original tracks, de gama s version is loose enough to please those who think edits should merely be dj-friendly re-arrangements. turn to the flipside for the lolloping, low-slung afro-funk goodness of -1972- and the throbbing peak-time disco celebration of filter-sporting closer -star buk-. this too boasts booming drums and bass, but also enough musical looseness to avoid the usual disco-house pitfalls.

in the studio prototype 909 was a group that rarely agreed on a clear idea of exactly what they were trying to accomplish. the entire project was an experiment, and every time they hit record there was nothing better for them to do than to just try stuff. whenever it came time to put together an album they would go through what they had recently done and nd the tracks that seemed to fit together well, or that at least sounded like they were made by the same group. that left on the cutting room foor some really amazing worst that somehow just didnt fit their goals at the time. at schmer, we remember. p-909 leftovers have schmer written all over them. these four tracks were all recorded live in the studio in between their three studio albums 93-97. brenecki ( half of ontal ) provided his remix inspired by one of them. hyperdrive and -datafash- were recorded shortly after acid technology was released in 93. they come from the -lets make acid technology vol 2 approach-. that would have made a really cool record had they done it but they decided on making transistor rhythm instead. anoisenyc aka the tracs that dietrich hates is what you get when you let jason go nuts on a doepfer maq-16 ( they never made that mistake again ). bobo is possibly the most prototypical p-909 tracks ever: it took three guys making their own tracks simultaneously almost ignoring what the others were doing but somehow mixing them into a flow to make this one, but it all comes together nicely in the end. its amazing that they never released it before. you ve enjoyed the wait, now enjoy your new prototype 909 while it still is new!

the very first release of 2018 from eureka!, is the well known parisian sampling master s3a (sampling as an art) with his perfect definition between underground quality emotional house music and dancefloor efficiency. he released from lazare house records, hold youth, concrete music, local talk, phonogramme and faces and with his background culture based on a solid knowledge of house music, soul, funk made him one of the most promising house artist of the french scene. mountain charr contains 3 tracks in completely different styles. doop doop is definitely a sound of s3a, with characteristic vocal cut up by adding powerful horn section and melodic piano loop. emotional m1 is classic yet warm and cosy low deep groove track that is playable regardless of a time or place, from lounge to dancefloor. to complete the package we have denials , a more down tempo offering, but its melody is fascinating and yes, sexy. this ep definitely brings you his predominant sense of sampling.

over the course of the last decade, black pepper label boss jose manuel has proved to be one of electronic music s finest contemporary alchemists, conjuring percussive, intoxicating and otherworldly musical treats for such labels as tusk wax, kinfolk, kill the dj, optimo trax and music for dreams. the genius of manuel s productions lies in the italian s ability to conjure cracking cosmic compositions out of a diverse range of global rhythms, instruments and influences. rarely has this been more evident than on his debut release for nunorthernsoul, a four-track serving of dancefloor mysticism that puts mind-altering rhythms and saucer-eyed instrumentation front and centre. track, for example, the light and dreamy wrapped sumptuous balearic synthesizer chords and melodies around gentle hand percussion and drifting zambian vocals on the sublime journey in lusaka followed by the feverish, trance-inducing african rhythms, delay-laden chants, psychedelic acid lines and jangling jew s harp motifs of intense opener journey in lusanda , a ritualistic afro-cosmic onslaught ripe for peak-time plays. if the ep opener is all about being flat on your back and staring skywards, the follow up is all about druggy, heads down sweatiness! manuel s deep love of indian music is explored on journey in mumbai , where exotic sitar lines, fluttering clarinets and echoing, densely layered female vocals rise above a thick, tabla-fired groove. it s naturally hugely evocative and atmospheric - a fine dose of emotion-rich spirituality capable of inducing hallucinations in the straightest of listeners. to complete the ep, our hero travels even further east for journey in osaka , a fittingly percussive exploration of japanese music s past and present that also includes audible nods towards the poly-rhythmic drums of west africa. it s a superb combination of traditional instrumentation, 21st century electronics, heavyweight rhythms and mood-enhancing melodic flourishes. like the rest of the journeys in...ep, it s both hugely alluring and impeccably produced

nyc based label and radio show ethereal beatbox returns with 4 fresh cuts home cooked right here in the big city by two of its natives.
side a introduces the mysterious bowery hotline - a born and bred new yorker, crate digger, and crafty producer. starting things off right with tough and slappy b’more style rhythms and an ode to saucy diva vocals, “you tha one” is sure to shake any floor into submission. track 2 brings an irresistible boom-chicka mover “fanfare track”, perfectly blending rave, house, and that sweet snap of our favorite drum break of all time.
on the flip pastel voids label don metropol (c.perez) delivers a distinctly brooklyn sound with two house, techno and hip hop infused instant classics. “we accept ebt” is a guaranteed hype constructor nodding to euphoric moments of rave and chugging rhythms of inner city life. on a more contemplative tip, perez delivers “half court”, closing the ep with a kinetic reflection of his native sunset park and its vibrant streets.

casino times return to omena with a second ep, recoded. for those of you that could not get enough of decoded , released in 2017, here s four more tracks - all winners...

finnitus 7-inch time! finnitus edits #3 is yet another serving of incredibly dodgy bargain bin tracks trimmed into submission and ready for the floor. side a s klabb & babb is a space disco heater, while side b s eroding in africa is your standard below-par bony m-esque afro flirt, made into something you can dance to.

opening track in the b kicks off proceedings in no uncertain fashion. it s 100% wall shaker material, the type of techno music best paired with strobe lights and towering speaker stacks. it mesmerises with its low-slung undulating bassline and detroit rhythms before giving way to some riotous old school essex stabs and sharp claps. no messing, this is a certified 3 am red light burner! track 2 chocolate biscuit accelerates proceedings! beginning with unfussy drums and a robotic, bleep-heavy melody driving it off into a wonderfully off-kilter direction. its arpreggio d rhythms may be brutish and wrestle a growling sense of menace out of the track, but the overall feel, however, suggests considerable care and attention has been paid to make it sound this way. there s clearly an uncommon musicality at play here to make something this complex feel so simple. the bpm drops next on jenny s hall but from the offset, there s enough funk and thrust in the motorised synth line to get bodies gently grooving without the beauty getting lost in the slower loop. this is blissed out, psychotropic techno - the kind of track where it feels like you re floating and falling at the same time, but all the while making sure you still remain fit for purpose on the dancefloor. ian blevins takes on remix duties this time and the berlin-based dj/producer offers up a sleek peak-time banger that fizzes, bubbles and percolates. he gives the rhythm on jenny s hall less space to swing and ties it to a tight motorik beat turning it into a slice of shiny, modern techno but with extra shoulder-checking force. its vibe drawing from a sense of outsider-party fun with a wry smile, and a knowing wink running throughout before bringing the package to a suitably left of field crescendo.

newest episode on cdt & la chinerie s -nation techno- special series. like it was done on sister -nation house-, it was time to focus on italy. this compilation of 8 tracks by 8 artists gives us an overview of the italian scene and its different components. from the finest -italian- techno with it s atmospheric pads, repetitive, progressive and mental sequences to more audacious stuff between techno, idm, electro, breakbeat & breakcore.

from the church to the library, it’s now time for “a sweet excursion”, courtesy of our favourite french funkateers, dj soulist & fulgeance aka souleance, offering up three tasty edits to feed the dancefloor. “a sweet excursion” is released on excursions on limited three-track vinyl 12” only.

seth troxler continues to showcase the work of chicago great k’alexi shelby: after an ep on his other label tuskegee music and a remix for sean miller on this imprint, shelby now steps up to play it say it with a trio of excellent club cuts. k’alexi shelby is one of the windy city’s most venerated heroes. he’s put out six albums and almost 60 eps since the late eighties, all of which have helped evolve and establish the chicago house sound around the world. next to remixing acts like the pet shop boys and derrick may, he runs his own k klassik and 321 labels and remains as vital as ever. the perfectly titled ‘groove with us’ opens up with a cut and paste style, funky disco loops and plenty of filters all bringing the loose house funk. it’s a playful and timeless tune that is designed to blow up the ‘floor and most certainly will thanks to its unbridled energy. the dynamic and driving ‘so chicago’ then slips into a slick house groove, with great percussion, more big string samples lighting up the track and a knotted bassline that keeps you on your toes. suspenseful and explosive, it’s filled with authentic party vibes and a real sense of fun that will ignite any set. last but not least is the excellent ‘black sunday’, which takes uplifting preacher vocals from a church sermon and backs it with gospel singing, an old school baseline and raw energy that will get hands in the air. it’s a definitive piece of authentic house music with real heart and soul. this is an expressive ep of house tracks that embody the instinctive and emotive spirit of the genre to perfection.

chicago house pioneer dj sneak and russian export tripmastaz have proven themselves to be a formidable pairing since their first ep landed on sneak’s imprint, i’m a house gangster, in 2014. in july, they add to their joint discography with a three-tracker dispatch on cassy’s burgeoning label, kwench records. the label’s sixth release, cassy takes a step back and gives this collaborative duo yet another outlet to showcase their dancefloor fodder, which follows releases on kaluki music, mr. nice guy, reptile dysfunction, ovum recordings and, of course, i’m a house gangster. extraterrestrial intelligence reminds fans of not just their deftness in producing tough house cuts, but also their prowess at manipulating the roland tb-303 to deal a solid smacking of acid. ‘ufo’ reaches out to roughen up the humanoids of this planet with the 303’s distinctive squelch and those clattering drum machine rhythms – a track that’s guaranteed to get you twisted. gruff vocals on ‘click thang’ break through as a tough bassline ensures your participation on the floor, and ‘last daze of dizko’ maintains momentum with a thumping bassline that any peak-time burner should possess.

205 recordings is back in 2018 with more previously unreleased gems from the heyday of hardcore/jungle. this time around, it s back to 93 with four tracks of serious darkness from dj wax, a well known dj/producer of the time responsible for the classic tune -moments so dark-. -lostwax ep- features two freshly unearthed tracks which have never been heard before in any form: the moody-yet-uplifting -808 darkness pt2-, and the absolutely relentless -thunderbirds are go-. also included is a previously unreleased remix of a track off dj wax s darkwax ep, here titled -not for sale-. finally, for those without the original, a freshly remastered version of “moments so dark” is included, as played back in the day by grooverider, ray keith, dj ratty, simon bassline smith, and many more hc/jungle dons.

the label’s latest offering comes from hamilton himself, who teams up with panick panick! label owner noha, offering a collaborative ep that is a fitting snapshot into the work of both individuals. the nohamilton ep gets underway with ‘lip service’, a rough-and-ready track with firm emphasis on a grinding, hypnotic loop that easily surpasses your average dj tool. highly finessed and progressing steadily, it’s the perfect example of how to do less with more. looking towards more sun-kissed planes, the duo deliver the ep s a2 track, a more heads- down cut that’s loaded with good-time grooves from the get go. sure to work a charm whenever it’s unleashed, ‘bored of life’ serves up an intriguing insight into both producers’ boundless studio output. romanian duo sit culminate matters with their ‘lip service’ rework. consisting of cristi cons and vlad caia, the pair have been excelling consistently, with both their resident advisor mix and latest release on the iconic sushitech label proving a potent reminder of this. taking the listener down the rabbit hole once more, they inject archie hamilton & noha s original with an eerie sheen, also adding an off-kilter baseline that’s hard not to get lost in. a suitably groove-led but unconventional interpretation, it closes off the ep with the sort of distinction we’ve come to expect from moscow.

this one has been a long time coming. great 12”s never get shelved at lddlm, time is not the essence. benedikt frey has been part of the extended family since his remix of car’s idle eyes and we crossed paths a few times at robert johnson in frankfurt. init, his project with his other half nadia d’alò, has seen releases on neighbours such as hivern or correspondant, our door was naturally open to their pretty personal brand of “off-kilter techno” as ra says. stereometric is almost a definition of init’s acid mind. failing their own tricks, heavy atmosphere and unusual restraint. nuts is almost an instrumental extension of the title track, when your head finally hit that window pane. wheels slows the rush down, wandering on an imaginary khyber pass. this is only deception though, mindwork being a real exercise in post-goa trance. hope you enjoy the trip. see you after the summer.

salsoul records have always stayed one step ahead of the game. since the labels inception in the early 1970 s the imprint s focus has been firmly fixed on presenting the most cutting edge dance music sounds and in the process the label has been instrumental in creating legends and shaping the landscape of contemporary club culture throughout the original disco era and beyond. it comes as no surprise that many of todays labels and artists cite salsoul as a fundamental influence on them and their output. the labels music has been endlessly rediscovered, sampled, re-edited and appreciated over and over again, your favourite dj s and selectors undoubtedly reach for tracks from the catalogue each time they play. this is why salsoul continue to collaborate with the best labels and artists out there today.

the next release on leading french label zone is a very special one indeed from long time friend of the label and pioneering electro figure kittin, the artist formerly known as miss kittin. her standout original comes with an equally impressive remix from truncate. a long time stalwart of the electroclash scene who has put out many seminal singles, kittin has famously collaborated with the hacker and felix da housecat and mixed up new wave and techno in arresting new ways for decades. her albums have always been hailed as hugely accomplished and the prolific and innovative frenchwoman has worked with numerous top labels. now back once more in 2018 with her first solo single in some time, she is in fine form. her offering here, ‘eacid’, is a timeless piece of deep techno with brain melting bass and twinkling yet menacing keys. her own vocals are twisted and chopped up into wordless forms that add layers of intrigue and the whole thing is brilliantly broody. a breakdown at the mid point allows you to catch your breath as her voice refracts round the airwaves, then the icy hi hats and rumbling drums and bass land again with subtly uplifting, light emitting chords rising in the background. all in all, this is one of kittin’s most special and evocative tracks of recent times. remixing is truncate, the deep techno artist who runs a label of the same name and has released his killer wares on 50weapons. his version is more wild and flailing, with the keys becoming more manic, the drums darting about all over the place and the voice becoming more paranoid and trippy.

with new track warschauerstrasse , claudio ricci has created an expansive seven minute workout of twisted synths and deep house drums. the first remix comes from long time techno heavyweight timo maas and the prolific and inventive basti grub. their singular remix speeds up the original and layers in fluttering toms and percussive sounds as well as broad, groaning synths and the distant sound of a bustling city at rush hour. sudam label boss and ibiza based artist kintar flips the track into something spacious and haunting. eerie keys and sweeping synths keep you on edge as the rubbery techno groove rolls on into the night. bulgarian based metodi hristov loves to experiment and has a distinctive techno style that gains support from the likes of richie hawtin, carl cox and adam beyer. in his hands the track becomes a peak time tech banger.

lord of the isles four-track “infras” ep, on the barcelona imprint lone romantic, demonstrates macdonald’s continued mastery of tone and timbre, mood and groove. the title track kicks off by intertwining stringed synthtopia with an acidic staccato grounded in a rich low-end pulse. “w5 alpha” continues the all-enveloping warmth of “infras” base layer with a deliciously disparate palate of sounds, driven by a celestial arpeggio and a dusty collage of breaks. the b-side sets the listener loose in a garden of synthetic vines that pierce the long-decay smothering of bass with “q-bit”, a track that maintains equal kinship with the bouncing exploration of a dance floor as with the cool tones and discrete resolutions of an henri rousseau painting. “three times eleven” reads as a tribute to macdonald’s early fascination with john carpenter and vangelis soundtracks, combining emotive synth arpeggios and cyborg vocal washes in a fly-by depiction of an eerie and beautiful sonic landscape.

following a standout appearance on dvs1’s mistress label with his “just pain” track, the man from minneapolis, doubt, returns to don’t be afraid for the first time since 2014’s “poor dog” ep. in the interim he has continued to record on disposable commodities under the doubt moniker, whilst also exploring experimental and ambient sound under the name time heals nothing.
for his most inclusive outing to date, doubt mines the outer limits of minimal house music whilst still maintaining the vibe of alienation and melancholy that characterises his work. the mood of “april” is euphoric and carefree but dig deeper and the fragile beauty also suggests an impending and ominous apocalypse. “what is happening” and “samusex” counterbalance the a-side’s brief suggestion of joy with a mood closer to doubt’s previous work. the title track meanwhile recalls the work of labels like ifach and trelik with a swinging, stripped down dub sound.