off-key limited is a new subsidiary label of off-key industries whose aim is to give exposure to new artists alongside established producers and to bring a wider range of genres with less of a focus on the dancefloor. each release will be strictly limited and will not be repressed. we start by raiding the off-key vaults to unleash a series of releases entitled >the dust off<, featuring material written in the off-key studio over the years by matt o brien and various collaborators and associates. matt kicks off the ep with >a new page turns<, a bangin dubby detroit techhouse cut driven by a low slung rhythm and analog stabs dripping in reverb, overlayed with a melodica riff which calls to mind the smokey refrains of augustus pablo. next up is >untitled< by newcomer mat gates, a beatless slice of electronica whose understated melodies conjure up thoughts of late summer evenings of times gone by. on the flip, o brien and gates combine under the artist name kimble to bring you >epiphany<, led by a shimmering melody underpinned with haunting strings which combine to form an electro track of rare beauty. this diverse ep is completed with mat gates second contribution, >in a hole<, a drum n bass track with a disjointed, skeletal rhythm, sub bass drops and fragile, melancholy melody.

underground trip vol. 1 is the first vinyl realease by artist carmine cioppa aka sleepover for klebmusic label. on side a it features two nice versions of beatz and pieces. the first one is a very clubby banger that contains classic house vocal samples on a great bassy modern beat. loud! a2 is a hypnotic drumbeat flavored with an old school punchy piano that finds its way into a drop, to chill for a second, and then make everybody jump up and scream when the drums build up to start booming again, for younger crowds. so far, real dancefloor, and we could think it is already enough for this 12inch to be bought right away. but its when we listen to the flip side that we find the real nice surprise: deep in the underground is a wondefully laid track that really reminds us of the 90s club sound of epic labels like bassline and big big trax. on this beautiful classy tune, organ, background samples, bass and rhythm section melt into a very special old fashioned atmosphere that takes us back in time, and the piano solo by sep sarno gives it a great passionate touch. jazzy, groovy, sturdy classic deep house with a very modern finish that will always be a gem. timeless.  

too smooth christ returns to supergenius records and widens his singular approach to introspective dance music to new musical horizons. infinite fall dmz is a slow house jam built around a hypnotic and endless fm pattern and a strong chorus bass, emphasized by a myriad of shiny bittersweet 101 sparks. pheqs125, originally made for tsc current live act, triggered such keen reactions in clubs that we decided to cut it down. its an acidish banger, elaborated around a 303 pattern, a rave detuned bassline and a b-more breakbeat, tickled by synthetic voices. with its rainforest chords and melodies and its muffled breakbeat, the eponymous track with you in mind is a love declaration between balearic house and old-school jungle / idm. etoile closes the ep with its uk bass vibe, a combination of tribal drum patterns and a grime beat and narrative bassline which will attract you in some mysterious caverns where the magic monsters hide.

born in cameroon, vicky began banging the drums at the age of 9. by 13 he had moved onto bass and within a couple of years he was playing every night from 10pm to 5am in the castel douala cabaret. at the age of 19 vicky moved to paris to study banking and commerce and cram in even more music. he took classes at Épinay-sur-seine conservatoire music school and it was here that he met bandmates of his dikalo project. word spreads and he soon becomes one of the most sought after bass players in the afro arena. his session work features on many scenes stars, manu dibango, eko tala am, kemayo, sammy massamba, toto guillaume and many more. a chance meeting with the gibson brothers also see him play on two of their hit albums. in the 80s vicky moved to the us for spell and excels as a session bassist and touring musician. we pick up the story in 1981. with his stature as a musician and bass player riding high he takes a detour to nigeria to record with the afrodisia label in lagos. the thank u mamma album is the result. it is repressed for the first time, here in 2018 on the revitalised afrodisia label. musical proceedings open up with the heartfelt ode to his mother thank u mamma, smooth pop meets afrobeat boogie. marina driv slows things down with its smoldering jazz. side two opens with its not serious a catchy vocal number underpinned with funky guitars and striding basslines. stormy rain is lazy guitar jazz swansong. we close off the album with the ever so funky you. slick funk grooves powered along with a dose of slap bass. as a side note vicky actually plays left handed but with a upside down right handed bass. this upside-down precursor making his effortless slap playing even more impressive. vicky went on to record a two other albums and still tours and plays as an ever-in-demand session musician.

following on a trio of successes with established talent, for our fourth release manhigh takes an excursion to lesser-known regions with experimentalist desroi. previously known from eps on his eponymous imprint and total black the german newcomer quickly caught our attention. beginning with the opener, ‘indifferent’, we are introduced to his heavily sculpted, hypnotic sound world, where a rolling, repeating rhythmic framework is echoed in the higher registers with heavily-filtered delay loops, and a melodic lead line taken deeply into dub provides both a centerpiece and the basis for many other elements. another relatively new talent currently rising quickly to wider notice, phase fatale’s relaunch of ‘indifferent’ stays resolutely in his own world, a grinding, banging amalgamation of distortion, punishing in its resolve and propelled by mutated elements of the desroi’s original piece. his idea of ‘apathy’ invokes entirely more aggressive emotions than the word’s conventional usage, tightly winding bleeps around a rigid sequence kept in motion by constant effects and sporadic drum hits, which then transforms at is halfway point with the entrance of harder kicks driven by an open hat. ‘sopor’ induces trance states more than it does sleep, sophisticated applications of delay effects and patient acid combine for a deep, inward-looking hypnotic state with momentary shifts in rhythm and color evoking the ephemeral nature of dreams.

a strange confluence of sound that sounds part krautrock synth label brain records, part hyperdub. techno haze and synth wormholes with spectacular sound design that has banged at berghain and soundtracked winter night drives. greenspan is known mainly for his work with junior boys and jessy lanza and taraval is a longtime touring member of caribou, but both have released several 12” and eps of electronic exploration over the past few years. inspired by synthesizer minimalists like jd emmanuel, cluster and john carpenter, the two attempted to create a type of dance music with hardware that was indebted to their influences but did not feel intrinsically retrogressive. the idea was to make a type of raw synthesizer and drum machine music that could be listened to beside the hypermodern techno of pearson sound or actress. the cover art is a tribute to a mysterious mural that looms over the hamilton ontario area where the album was recorded. each of the five tracks on the ep were edited down from much longer recording jams which were done with hardware sequencers in real time. the recording was done completely off the floor with no overdubs or added material after the fact.

having remixed depeche mode and dj hell as well as releasing a new fixmer/mccarthy single with douglas mccarthy (of nitzer ebb), 2017 has already proven to be a productive year for terence fixmer. with the new force ep, the berghain resident follows up on 2016 s beneath the skin ep (o-ton 97), offering four stylistically different but congenial techno scenarios for club use. the record s eponymous track on a1 doesn t think twice: the initial signal horn starts as sudden as the staggered kick drum rhythm, reoccurring throughout the cut s 6-minute playtime while sustained and oppressive screams from a synth, extra multifaceted ebm percussion and synth drones add to the overall sombre atmosphere of ôforceö. the musical vibe distinctly changes with ôsidewalkö which puts more focus on synth melodies û like its predecessor a techno cut per se, but with a stronger accent on hypnotic motifs. on b1 ômelting planetsö emphasises the kick: clocking in slightly slower than the other three tracks û at 122 bpm û the bass drum here sounds extra vivid, ever-present and spot-on, just as if terence was playing the drum kit sitting right next to you. with additional percussion and swirling melodies ômelting planetsö is a lulling, mesmerizing meditation in dub techno. ôstriking patternsö on b2 links to the best moments of force ep s a-side, combining bone-dry bass drum hits and distinctive brazen, banging noises, pulsing synths pads and sizzling surface sounds.

los angeles droid behavior celebrates its 15th anniversary with a two-part release from its principal artists. over the last 15 years, droid behavior constructed, developed and institutionalized the west coast techno scene with their lauded event series interface. the label droid recordings fol- lowed with the launch of its first release -negative 01-, a compilation of l.a. producers showcasing new perspectives from north american techno. the forthcoming compilation negative 02 explores the label s vision from the voices that have laid its foundation, from the dark and strange, to the slightly experimental, to streamlined dance floor tools. part 1 of the compilation delivers 4 tracks from l.a. techno stalwarts, leading with label head drumcell. with releases on clr, dystopian, detroit underground and his own experimental label bl__k noise, drumcell s channels his diverse sound into a pitch-black banger in -dividing- a thick chugging track with an undercurrent of hypnotic stabs, pads and vocals.. the second track features one of the techno s most celebrated artists - truncate. also known as audio injection, david flores turns in the ultimate dj tool with -down,- a mastery of sequence subtlety layered on this introspective production. droid cofounders and vrv label heads rai&#769,,,z contribute the most entrancing arrangement for negative 02 - -ephemeral beings- which warns of social decay and encourages positive change via this and dark and beautiful composition. longtime droid resident viktor carrillo offers his debut release for the label with -coma walk- an ingenious application of the goa sound in conjunction with clever fm synthesis which makes for highly effective mix addition. a second release will follow to celebrate this anniversary, featuring more from the droid family including luis flores, hyperactive, subversive and aaron litchke.

kings of tomorrows place in electronic music history is well assured. one of the alias for new york legend sandy rivera, k.o.t. helped define the early 90s new york house sound with a series of key releases that climaxed in 2001 with the global smash finally - truly one of the house music classics. happily, sandy rivera is still making killer, soulful house music and this latest release on poker flat recordings continues to showcase his immeasurable talent for groove.kaoz is a bumping, attitude-full jam rich with thick, punchy drums and a driving synth pulse - topped off with a stunning spoken word vocal from divine essence.kaoz dub does a lot more than strip the track of its main vocal elements - the groove is rebuilt as an edgy, tension-filled underground house banger - breaking down into a devastating bass section. dario d attis the swiss born dj and producer whos also known as the funk ensemble - delivers a fine remix that perhaps draws on some the 90s influence that k.o.t. defined, producing a bumping, building epic track that seems destined for heavy rotation amongst those in the know

the cd included in this vinyl edition features the 15 tracks in the same order. mr oizo (aka quentin dupieux), the french producer and pioneer of modern electro alongside daft punk, air and cassius simply can’t and won’t stop working. having released 5 studio albums, 4 osts, a multitude of eps and directed 6 movies over the past 20 years, the ‘godfather’ is back with a new album. and this time, he is not alone as the tracklist features an impressive selection of quality guests: peaches, boys noize, skrillex and charli xcx among others. this new release will be a new occasion to further explore the mind of one of the most fantastically uncommon artist today.

jonas friedlich, better known through mistress recordings and carl gari, releases his first solo 12- on molten moods. the versatile 4 track ep starts with the rather straight -bo s breakfast- that begins with a polyrhythmic 303 bass line leading into a catchy garage-ish chorus, kicking in out of a clear sky but fittingly. -bus driver- is a wicked trip, the combination of the long acid build up and a nicely chopped vocal bit is irresistible. a proven, tested (and molten moods certified) club banger, regardless of its rather untypical breakbeat. track number 3 called -praise your name- aces groove through perfectly cut vocal samples and a fancy reference to 90s hip hop and drum n bass aesthetics. the next and last piece on the record is the eponymous -deskjet-, which is inspired by friedlichs conceptual sound art installations using printers. here rather restrained synthie lines are underpinned by a powerful kick and psychedelic tape delay noises. the 12- vinyl is handstamped on both sides. mastered and cut by scape mastering. artwork by paul bernhard.

mysterious brooklyn label and production crew getting in the game with some techno and ebm bangers. all are re-workings of recognizable or obscure classics. “looping blood” the clubbiest of the ep builds around a controlled bleeding loop and blossoms into a spiraling unstoppable groove accented by crashing reverbs and jackin drums. “alaaarmed” is a pounding re-edit of tommi stumpff, early german minimal punk not unlike nitzer ebb. “take two” is a great remix of front 242’s epic industrial classic “take one” dubbing out the lyrics for an instrumental approach. “open bar” puts the scissors to skinny puppy’s early 80s classic “last call” looks like the aptly named effective weapns label certainly providing some hot jams for this fall. fans of dark entires, minimal wave take notice

with the new sublabel ourselves established under the roof of the well-known o*rs crew from leipzig, a new label has been launched which can without a doubt be called a matter of the heart. production, graphic design, promotional shipping, in leipzig truly every single step remains within the family. with the now appearing compilation imagination the newly born baby ourselves directly presents itself in the best possible light. kicking off the sampler is düsseldorf-based artist sello. the house track characterized by its analog drums, deep chords and snotty bassline completely places his bet on deepness. in his very own catchy way, it sure is the perfect entrance into the musical debut. the second track of the release, a collaboration of jan ketel and his partner in crime siggatunez, shines through its very dynamic and driving buildup. the title being a graceful tribute, it carries the name of the eponymous berlin club farbfernseher. nevertheless, such a warm and dreamy house track might as well serve as the perfect commendation for the first open airs of spring. the flipside impresses with a ruff and dirty club track by berlin-based producer braunbeck, which self-ironically manifests itself particularly through the self-recorded vocals. as a true humorous banger, the track adds even more musical depth to the already outstanding release. the completion of the compilation and therefor also the most technoid track of the release is contributed by perel. a tool-like classic, standing out through its massive kick and hi-hat called felene hischer. nasty, groovy and timeless, just how we like it!

all track are written and produced by alessandro sensini and carlo battistini
tracks description:
a1 - raining: calma opens up with a hypnotic rumbler! snaps and claps take us in, before the eery synths and floating pointesque keys punctuate and a squelqchy, distorted bassline rumbles beneath the surface, making you feel like you re at a party in a haunted church. a2 - cuattro: calma takes us on a tropical trip, with an infectious sun-filled groove looping over incessant layers of beat patterns that weave in and out of the track teasingly, driven along by a banging bass drum to keep you nodding. b1 - mr amarè: calma shows his love for acid house with an epic, ever-evolving influenced roller that blends together nearly every percussion instrument you could ever dream of. crashes, symbals and a cowbell drive it along, underscored by a seriously funky bass line and mysterious vocal sample that emerges halfway through tying it all together nicely. b2 - cuattro /juju & jordash rmx): juju and jordash take over the remix duties for calma. the dutch duo add their deep trademark sunshine inflected beats and sturdy basslines to the already tropical loop, while infusing swirling synths and strings that lead us in and out of the breakdowns and on to a late night, chilled-out dance floor.

imyrmind debuts on tartelet with a four-tracker ranging from banging mpc techno to contagious latin house and laidback jazzy wonk. after finishing a degree in architecture and relocating to berlin earlier this year, imyrmind stepped up his game with the release of his solo debut on astro & graef s money $ex imprint. this november will see the release of the beatsmiths second solo venture on tartelet records. the opening track tong po is imyrmind s take on techno, inspired by the villain from jean claude van damme s 1989 cult classic kickboxer. a heavy pitched kick drum, fuzzy melodies with generous use of tape delay and a badass bass line dropping around the three-minute mark makes this a peak time candidate. wanja 9000 slows down the pace. dusty jazz samples and wonky beats with sloppy turntable cuts add a nice live feel to the track. on the b-side upturn sets the mood with classic salsa percussion infused with an epic brass and piano hook that could very well stem from the infamous palmieri brothers or one of their contemporaries. embrace your inner latino and follow your hips. the last track of the record number seven completes the circle with venturous drum programming, layered melodies and plenty of early morning ambiance. imyrmind is scheduled for a three week australia, nz and asia tour in november alongside long-time collaborator glenn astro.

before birthing his blasted acid house identity bobby draino drummed for various synth-punked groups around vancouver, and some of that scorched earth live energy bleeds through the five primordial bangers comprising his vinyl debut, *brain drain*. tracked live through one channel of a space echo straight to his computer, draino’s mo is overdriven drum machines saturated with gritty fried acid, bass damage, and blown-tone sequencer patterns, fused into a radical and weird debased mutant house. the eps five tracks are the cumulation of two years of demo workshopping, tr-606 and 303 autodidacticism, warehouse party spelunks, etc, all savvy tactics for developing a shredding, progressively singular style, which bd has in spades. one of the most awesomely wrecked and raw silk slabs to date. a west coast wiz worth watching. mastered by eric hanson. edition of 430.

profound audio is back at it with a smashing new 12inch from monstar - and its one of many to come from this quickly rising talent. following up his devastating debut single, put ya hands up, monstar constructs two bangers of epic proportions. both harder & bastard have been inflicting massive damage in the dance and are currently receiving heavy club & radio support from some of the top taste-makers in the game. leading off the single, monstar delivers an anthem of a track that does exactly what it says on the tin. harder encompasses xxx female vocals, heavy-hitting drums and roller coaster-style, fluctuating basslines with enough sub to have your brain shaking inside your skull - what more could you ask for? a peak-time, dancefloor destroyer thats guaranteed to send the crowd into a frenzy! on the flip, he shows no mercy once again with bastard, a full-force, tearout dubstep number that will undoubtedly shred your bassbins into pieces. battering drums roll over ferocious, wobbling bassline combinations that fire at you in hyper-speed, leaving you no choice but to brock wild! this one is absolutely rough!

another superb love record filles with trancey atmospheres and epic breaks. this is one that will go off in the club at peak time. the a side is the ultimate banging club record that is both a very uplifting track and also a straight forward steamer. the flipside hot n old is a rather hard katy perry bootleg with a very mysterious intro that will leave you dazzled once the drums kick in. also this side is very atmospheric and trancey again. perfect for the winter, the roaring bass on this is enormous.

the journey starts with epic pads and deep-space melodic strings that flow into rolling drums on the intro, building up into the massive anthem . the drop delivers big, bad, wobbling basslines & retro analog synth stabs that fire over heavy assaulting beats, making this an absolute dancefloor smasher destroying everything in its path and taking no prisoners!
the flip side jumps off with a futuristic atmosphere of high-pitched strings, pads and funky percussion hits while hinting a classic hip-hop sample. wide-open, ravey synths creep up and build into the drop that hits with pounding drums and filthy punishing basslines moving in perfect balance to break free just long enough for the vocal to remind party people in the house what time it is. guaranteed to get the crowd going mental - this one is a banger!

ulysses dj career began in 1991, when he started his universitys first techno radio show. shortly after graduating he returned to his hometown and became a player in the late-90s electro scene in new york, running some of the earliest large-scale electro parties in new york. guests included legends such as alexander robotnick and arthur baker, as well as recent stars like i.f., miss kitten and the hacker and adult. ulysses is not only about party promotion, however, and a close look at his diverse musical career will quickly shatter this misconception. although a long-time advocate of obscure disco and classic techno, ulysses is currently best known for the piano house anthem robotic hypnotic adventure from his neurotic drum band collaboration with john selway. in addition to the ndb ulysses collaborates with thugfuckers holmar filipsson as filipsson & ulysses, who are releasing soon-to-be classic eps of emotive electronic disco on internasjonal and bearfunk records. ulysses still continues to chart his own musical path with an incredible ep of dark pop for internasjonal spesial in the works, as well as some new club-friendly dance tracks on wurst and his solo debut for throne of blood. the acid reflux ep represents the diversity of ulyssess talent, from banging acid tracks to moody downtempo and grooving electronic house. to round things out ulysses recruited prins thomas to deliver an unprecedented nine-minute rerub of >acid reflux< that preserves the originals 303 groove but injects a heaping dose of cosmic atmosphere and live instrumentation into the mix. essential

side a brings the original sound of chicago acid sharply back into focus, subtly reusing the elements that made those records so special whilst bringing the sound up to date with modern production techniques and banging drums whilst maintaining the wigged out alien sounds of the time- for fans of everyone from todd n tadd to eddie fowlkes to sleep archive. the flip side brings a truly amazing track from rei loci again- playing with all manner of spaced out fx laden elements, and underpinned by the subtle interplay between machines- dreamlike, deep, intense and epic in all the right sense of those words this track sees rei moving into a more mature and complete phase in his production