following up to three albums on kompakt since 2011, the latest being signs under test (kom321/komcd119) in 2015, los angeles based house and techno producer john tejada returns to the cologne-based imprint with his thirteenth full-length, dead start program - an eleven-track journey spanning a prismatic array of styles and patterns, from john s signature soulful techno tunes to the further mazy, hypnotic motifs of his trancey electro hybrids. be it solo or through a host of multifaceted collaborations, tejada keeps himself busy on all fronts in and off the club environment, be it by contributing the 44th number in fabric s seminal mix series, playing drums for detroit legend daniel bell (as dbx), testing the limits of acid with tin man or joining forces with the hilarious self-proclaimed disinformationist reggie watts as wajatta. since his beginnings and the drop of his debut 12inch, waxing , released through his own label palette recordings over twenty years ago, john has been carving out a lane of his own combining and assembling elements from all ends of his wide-spanning spectrum of reference in a way that allows a more direct transition from the realm of the mind to the circuits of the machine, as confirmed by the deliberately limited studio setup used in the making of the present album. navigating across the lines, from the arrhythmic machine spook of the album s opener autoseek via the straight out thumping and jacking pulse of hypochondriac and heavy-lidded breakbeat of sleep spindle onto the kosmische-infused vibrations of telemetry, vibrant slo-mo inertia of loss and wistful club-ready winds of duty cycle and heal, john threads his way through genres and tempos with optimal chameleonic effect. cloaked in a beautiful sleeve art courtesy of johns long time friend juan mendez aka silent servant another key contributor to the los angeles scene worldwide

femur s second release goes deeper into totally unsettling, dark and gloomy sounds. this time with one of our most valued fellow artists celldöd. we are proud to press the track -terrorbalans- for the first time on vinyl. it had been previously released on cassette by celldöd himself on his own platform brutal disciplin. he has also included two unreleased tracks, the machine-like -svart sira- and -socker-, dirtier and naughtier. the closure to this second reference is a magnificent remix by swedish duo fishermen, originally released on brutal disciplin, too.

way back in 1996, at the height of the widely acknowledged golden period for electronic music, d-saw a.k.a andré winter released a true classic on hamburgs highly influential superstition label. track 10:30 stood the test of time, becoming widely regarded as a key moment in european techno music history, despite its modest impact at the time. now, 20 years later, andré revisits the source material courtesy of some killer remixes on oliver huntemanns senso imprint. hamburg’s own h.o.s.h. (holger behn) delivers an epic twist to the cut, widening out the spaces and adding his own techy signature to the original. re.you offer up another flavour altogether, maintaining the iconic synth pulse of the source but introducing an infectious, driving groove. dubspeeka throw a bit more grit in into proceedings with a tough, machine funk mix, while andre winter himself reworks his classic into a slow burning groover that effortlessly showcases the elements that make this track so timeless.

ian blevins is the keeper of the jewel in the crown. this is his second offering for the esp institute. picking up right where we left off, side a unleashes another explosive big room belter with resume a driving rhythmic monster that takes advantage of the whips and cracks in ian’s drum machine arsenal, while warm chords lay a foundation for a quirky lead melody and rubbery pulse to dance upon. akin to hannibal, blevins esp institute debut in 2015, the arrangement here toys with us before revealing the true guts of the track—this time characterized halfway through by a punctuating gangster piano hook. on side b, poor old head utilizes ian’s signature drum styling we’ve come to adore, but here he establishes swells of melancholy via bending notes that meow and purr, beautifully ebbing and flowing though an array of incongruous dial tones and bells—shakey and barely out of sync, yet cradling a loosely drawn chord progression. these two songs will smack you up before they rub you down.

this march the london based art editions and experimental electronics label we can elude control presents a new 12 inch by the sound artist and sculptor tom richards. through his custom built array of hardware richards has developed a tense percussive language, crafting immersive rhythmic compositions that explore aspects of structure, tonality and variance. his loop based patterns evoke a purist machine aesthetic reminiscent of a vintage analogue sensibility in collision with a super-modernist compositional approach and an exploration of post-techno ritualism. his production process focuses on a live improvised approach working across several custom made devices to built a rhythmic composite of interlaced tones and cyclical pulses.
including cd with live recordings by tom richards.

with its corroded, live recorded sound and relentless machinedrum, le coq is a trip to the shadowy, not to say drunk side of dance music. as an acid statement this track is right on the money without ever submitting to any ground rules of vintage acid. truly envelope-pushing electronic wizardry with a dark edge. stripped down to a bare minimum, the flip side hollywood goblin evokes the linear pulse of early body music, while the lead synthesizer adds a touch of cabaret voltairesque arpeggio magic. universal rejection was established in stockholm, sweden in 2011. the label is the collective effort of a closed circle of friends sharing the vision of a parallel universe trough raw, down to the core electronic dancemusic. every new release is a code. it represents a piece of what universal rejection is, and proves that the label will be in constant flux while at the same time always remaining true to itself.

the debut release by molly wagger is the single >weekend<. the original mixes a forlorn and melancholy vocal with an uplifting major 7th piano driven backing. to complete the release we also include the live favourite >molly<, an ode to one of the band members cat. all elements are tinged with a grey-skied but undeniably optimistic scottish pulse which makes it all the more an interesting listening experience.
richard norris in his time and space machine guise take things into 12 inch territory with his remix on the flip side. we gave him the balearic brief and true to form that is exactly what he has delivered, a touch of granite and dark edinburgh afternoons mixed with some ibizan post sunset haze.

amelie lens on decks for gu44: antwerp. 2cd including unreleased tracks. softbook