mirror box is the solo analog synth project of dallas musician sean kirkpatrick. with an extensive resume that includes keyboard duties for kill rock stars 00s noise rock band the paper chase as well as his concurrent projects, dark post-punk-synth-rockers nervous curtains and darkwave duo little beards, mirror box is kirkpatricks first foray into the purely electronic realm. blending together elements of giallo moodiness, dub texture, techno propulsion, a passing nod to your favorite wave music, and a flare for the kosmiche, mirror box debut release, minimal compliance ep, is a tour de force of the veteran musicians exploration of a wide range of influences and experience. released by dallas-based gavin guthrie (tx connect)’s tru (texas recordings underground), the 5-track ep kicks off with the immediately-gripping title track. a huge mid-tempo 808 beat drives the menacing moog bass while cosmic synths explore the skies over gritty, urban terrain. the body, grounded by its stuttering and singular bass line, is an expansive reworking of a track from little beards debut album which features nan kirkpatrick on the release’s only vocal appearance. side a closes with destabilized agent, a retro-futurist dream that effortlessly voyages from sagans cosmos to a melodic minimal wave refrain. while the first sides lush synthesizers and sophisticated syncopation are somewhat of a departure for tru, a label that has so far defined itself by bringing the electronic sounds of texas underground warehouse scene to dance floors across the sea, the flip side of the record is where the four hits the floor. grifter react opens with a hard kick and electro zaps, letting the rhythm take the lead until a distorted bass finally enters to provide the hook. minimal compliance ep finale, critical blitz, weaves together all of mirror box finer elements into a concise mission statement

dylan cameron made his debut release in 2016 on the austin-based holodeck, which has made a lot of noise the last couple of years with releases by marie davison and s u r v i v e. the inifinte floor album set the stage for things to come and tru welcomes dylan to the stable with the dark and minimal purgatory ep. . purgatory features 3 dark and heavy techno cuts starting with dark sorcerer and leads into lost souls on the a-side and continues into the b-side with trojan horse, all weaving in sharp synths and shuffling rhythms not unlike some of dj rush’s or even jeff mills’ best productions. chicago meets detroit meets germany. all tracks meant for the floor and none that disappoint. celsius rounds out the ep with it’s minimal tech-house leanings with oscillating tones, making it a great beat track for layers or to be played in a minimal techno set.

texas recordings underground follows up the first various artists cyber tex ep with the texas intrumentals ep, featuring deep techno from 4 well-respected producers from the lone star state - convextion, brooks mosher, ill76 and submersible machines al contribute. check!

tx connects gavin guthrie is a horror soundtrack enthusiast and regularly djs gigs with that premise. so its no surprise that hed produce an ep that implements these themes.the t.r.u. halloween ep is a special edition ep that collects and compiles 5 tracks from gavins inner circle that range from 80s era horror soundtrack chase scene music to dark techno. with the recent surgence of survive and stranger things, this ep fits right in the pocket and is slated for a halloween 2016 release.