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This release by Matrixxman & Echologist showcases sturdy Techno rhythms that have happened when these two stalwarts got into the studio together. Acidic tones, thumping bass drums and adventurous FX sweeps. From rhythm driven Techno cuts to the more oddball bits, ''The Black & White EP'' proves to be a versatile yet energetic package.

Optimo Trax presents a 4-track EP from Germany's Mathias Schober, head honcho of Berlin's Lossless label. As always we prefer to let our artists do the talking. Here's what Mathias has to say about this release -
The idea behind all tracks on the EP was a simple setup of drums and one synth that would do a main sequence/sound, yet there's a lot of detail in all of them. 'In A Certain Way' features a 808ish beat with a main sequence coming from a tiny monophon synth called Atmegatron - 8Bit love, it turned out being much more music than I thought it would be when I set everything up.
'But What Rules Are Made For' is the same setup but the sequence is a 101 and so are all the washed out fx synths. On 'Is To Break Them' I went a different route, I had the dub, delayed stabs synth first as I was messin' with my Moog and a Space Echo - which btw is used on every single track I release, if you haven't noticed yet.
So I was trying to build something around those stabs in order to fit the track to the others and so I ended up with another sequence coming from my Moog. As there was still space on the record, I decided to add an ambient version of 'Is To Break Them', I love the ambience on this track. I hope that my love for dub sounds is obvious enough on these tracks. Happy I found such an excellent home for the EP!

Marco Bailey's 5th full-length album, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show.

By maintaining a consistently high-quality output that does not merely ride the wave of current trends, multi-faceted producer Marco Bailey has managed to survive through decades of mercilessly shifting adjustments to popular taste in dance music. From his beginnings in the late '80s spinning eclectic sets comprised of everything from punk to old school hip-hop, to his present interest in pure unadulterated techno, the Belgium-based DJ and producer has won over audiences with his keen knowledge of how to squeeze the greatest physical and emotional impact out of a few well-placed elements, along with his instinct for seeking out the most innovative and resilient kindred spirits (his impressive number of professional friendships includes artists as diverse as Markus Suckut, Jonas Kopp, Alex Bau, Edit Select, Speedy J, Steve Rachmad and many more). These combined talents have led to his formation of several different labels: MB Electronics in 2001, the 'limited edition' label MBR in 2013, and lastly the new Materia Music label begun last year. His similiarly named event series, Materia, has also been a truly worldwide 'state of the art' summit for advanced techno artists.



The full-length personal releases by Marco Bailey, which stretch back to his mid-'90s period as a trance producer, have been gracefully arcing and anthemic affairs composed of individual tracks that follow that same blueprint. He is now about to drop his 5th full-length album overall, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show. Of course, an epic running time alone is not the marker of a great audio experience, but an epic running time in which one loses track of time completely is - Bailey accomplishes this feat by never rushing the payoff; by organically building up each track until listeners are fully immersed in his alternate universe.



This skill can be heard on banging, sweat-saturated tracks like 'Ash', 'Genetix' and 'Hasai,' but also on comparitively gentle pieces like 'Klauth' (which straddles the line between disciplined electro and something more dreamlike and weightless), or the blissed out 'Suoh,' which feels like a fresh snowfall in audio form. Low-key cuts like 'Rex,' driven by echo FX and other windswept sounds, form natural counterparts to busier tracks like 'Ruth,' with its spring-loaded sequencer attacks, or 'Reboot That Device,' which is ingeniously driven by a psychedelic organ whose sound evolves with various filter settings. Minimalist vocals are occasionally injected into the mix - i.e. on the 'The Darkness' - to impart a subtle message of constant, ongoing expansion into unexplored galaxies without and within. It's as good a definition of the artist's musical mission as any.

Detroit producer Norm Talley shares his debut album, Norm-A-Lise' on FXHE Records. Having started his career when disco was king, Talley's real life influences over his 25+ year career have included the originations of house through various iterations. His reference points as one of the original members of the West 6 Mile Detroit crew and his dedication to his Analog only studio position him as one of the more dynamic Detroit artists who's finally taking the time to release a complete project for his long awaiting fans.

The album features 14 original tracks with influences of disco, house, and beyond taking his signature infectious style deeper. On top of all of that, the album includes a track written by FXHE label boss Omar S aka Alex Smith featuring L 'Renee.

Berlin based producer ''Synthek'' is a renowned name within contemporary Techno. Besides succesfully running his label Natch Records, he has been also a resident at the infamous Tresor.

For the seventeenth installment in the string of Attic Music releases, Synthek (Luca Landolfi) comes up with a staggering EP that contains a lot of adventurous drum patterns, bold arrangements and swells of daring FX.

On the A side we find ''Loser'', which is a brave cut of spherical yet moody techno that uses a buldging percussion line and otherwordly fx to create an ominous vibe. ''Uneven Mind'' is an exotic cut with tough drum sounds that uses a hypnotic synth swell that cuts throughout to create an alarming atmosphere. French producer and Concrete resident Antigone comes up with an uplifting (eight minutes long) remix for ''Uneven Mind'' on the B side which is beautifully orchastrated throughout.
''Faithless''is a percussive cut with intense FX blips.

Step Time Orchestra was the collaborative work of producers Jori Hulkkonen and Toumas Salmela, who began producing music together in the nineties whilst studying in Oulu, Finland. Whilst all their friends would be getting up early to go to university, they would only just be going to bed, having spent the night listening to house records from New York, drinking Whiskey and programming their MPC 2000!

Step Time produced a slew of tracks during this time, some of which were licensed and pressed on 12" singles during the late nineties/early noughties on labels operating in North America and Europe, but not everything they made saw the light of day. Heavily influenced by labels like Ibadan and Spiritual Life Music at the height of the New York House Scene, 'Jazz Error NYC' and '2am in Africa' were never signed, not fitting the profile of their other releases at the time, they were left in the drawer and sadly forgotten!

Skip forward to Winter 2016, and FBNM's Lorenzo, whilst over on a DJ excursion, visits Jori in Finland. Keen to keep working together, he presses him for something uniquely special. Magically, the Ajos E.P jumps out of the drawer into Hulkkonen's hand, and as it turns out, it has aged with a rather remarkable grace. Written using a combination of MPC sequencing and an Atari ST powering vanilla Cubase for some midi programming duties, it features the sounds of the Italian made Siel Opera 6, an Alesis S4 Rompler and other vintage Roland, Yamaha and Kawai Synths. They went full out on this one, even finally learning to play keys for that jazzy piano action. It was recorded live through a soundcraft analog board with outboard Fx, creating a sound that transcended it's time to feel remarkably fresh today!

The Ajos EP is named after an area in their native city of Kemi, Northern Finland, which is where they wrote and produced it in 1999.

Alternatively titled: 'Homoswavesailors', Jack Cccoy's 1984 film about the birth of windsurfing details, through the gaze of the sport as a pre-historic ancient ritual, the exploits of a few of the sports originators. Backing up the clear 80's blue visuals of waves white washed wind blasted FX, is a variety of original pop and synth music made by the films' composer, Chris Eggleton. There are no song titles, rather each track is spiced-up with wind and wave sound fx, which were originally meant to act as sound accents for wave sail action in the film. The pop songs are beach-spiked hits, sounding like New Zealand's flying nun rock, or blasted out prince chorus funk, but with added film sound fx, the essence of the silver screen begins to creep into the medium of audio disc! The synth music on Tradewinds sounds as if Tangerine Dream made inspirational beach movie tracks during the height of their 'Firestarter' period. The mix is arranged by Pacific City, so that the summer doesn't crash and burn. For the first time in history, Pacific City Sound Visions presents: the original motion picture soundtrack to 'Tradewinds' on vinyl LP. Break down..... shake down..... ya busted......

Label Honcho Fabio Monesi return on his own platform with a two-tracker. If "Ancient Gate" is a raw-punchy-electro-house tool, "Wishing On the Stars" hark back to the classic sound of some of the greatest Fxhe Records.

With Adryiano and Kastil on production duties for their Loskober alias (which first emerged through Soul Notes in 2013) the 15th SAFT release has some serious sounds on it.

Apart from the two originals this time around the label has acquired remixes from the likes of 'Keita Sano' and Berlin based Australian 'Andy Hart'. Ranked 38th is a slab of tough disco tainted sample house with tight drums and a catchy phrase to highlight the dance floor nature of the opening track.

For the sophomore track Japan native Keita Sano rewords the title track in an original fashion using the main elements while layering this with outlandish percussion and elevating FX.

On the B side we find the modern classic sounds of 'Lake Michigan'. This is a piece of dance floor oriented music in the vain of the much appreciated sounds from the motor city heydays. Touching pads collide beautifully with the spacious bassline and the courageous drum work.

For the B2 position, Berlin based 'Andy Hart' cleverly reworks the sounds of 'Lake Michigan' to a more contemporary house track without losing the central focus of the appealing bassline

ST173 is the first Various Artists effort on Kastil's STALE imprint. The 3rd installment of 2017 showcases the most active artists from the STALE stable (Kastil & Irazu)

Kastil opens up the record with the noteworthy tones of ''Carucci'' while Madrid based Irazu offers a wild adventure that's constructed around his usual paranoidsynth work and frantic fx with Introversion.

Basel native Ben Kaczor is offering a piece of Acidic Techno on ''Sick Acido'' and Desroi explores the dystopian side of electronic music with his ''Disprocess''

Rare disco find from Singapore. Re-mastered by Alex O Smith

Parisian 'Von Grall' contributes a new records four track counting EP to the Planet Rhythm black series.

'Tracking Happiness' is a lush piece of esoteric Techno that spans over six minutes and showcases Von Grall's artful approach to contemporary eletronics.

'Case History' is a percussion laden cut that delicately changes further on with slabs of FX while maintaining it's mystic atmosphere. 'State of Being Violin' is a state of the art piece of techno music completed by deep percussion and moments of wild FX. 'Self Portraits' serves as the closing track.

This cut showcases taints of experimental electronics and dystopian techno. A bonus track called 'Better Places' is included in the digital release.

Ekoplekz returns with his fourth album for Planet Mu, in the shape of 10-tracker "Bioprodukt". The unique lo-fi, woozy sound of Bristol's Nick Edwards stays intact while he veers towards the nineties for inspiration: the bleep and bass sound of the north of England is one touchpoint and the acid gurgles of the 303 are another. While the murky lo-fi production levels and evocative melodies remain, they are now bolstered by a more muscular rhythmic chassis. Snappier kicks and snares mingle with dense layers of percussion and deep undulating sub-basslines adding a funkier edge, as typified by opening track "Elevation" where playful beats interlock with breezy keyboard flourishes to create something uncharacteristically upbeat. Similarly, the gentle, fluid motion of "Slipstream" and "Calypzoid" represent some of the most appealingly chilled grooves in the Ekoplekz canon to date. But the darker-edged material remains. "Expedition" has a pensive, percussion-heavy feel whilst "Acrid Acid" is a dirt-encrusted slow-mo techno meltdown. "Transcience" displays the Ekoplekz trademark dub-fx in full flight over a driving lo-end, before "Descent" leads down to the final section, where the beats fade out, replaced by rippling layers of spectral ferric ambience on the epic "Low-X Over", before finishing with the radiant looped stasis of "Denier Daze". The albums shifting, mperfect patterns and muted colours are visually mirrored in the beautifully realised sleeve by the Print Project.

A new My Rules release from the always on-point Justin Van Der Volgen featuring two previously unreleased remixes that showcase his varied and unique style.
The A-side sees him take both the original and Spencer Parker remixes found on the the 2016 Shit Robot single Lose Control and through editing, blending and layering of FX concocts one serious bomb of a mega mix .
Think classic DJ bootleg remixes on legendary labels like Razormaid, Disconet and Hot Tracks.
The B-side is an altogether different affair where Justin dispenses with all of the original music and only keeps the vocal from Felix Dickinson's 2014 acid jam 'Burning Flame'.
What comes out the other end sounds like Lee Perry and Murk made a tune once they got back from a sleazy NY after hours.
Early plays and support from Gerd Janson, John Talabot, Tim Sweeney.

One of the core members of the Apollonia family is the mastermind behind the label's latest release. Shonky steps up with his first solo EP since 'Plombiére' which dropped in July 2016. Full of funky flavours and that distinct 'Shonky style', the new EP consists of four brand new tracks produced exclusively for Apollonia. Each track emanates its own unique vibe, while reppin' Shonk's irresistible groove. On side A we have 'Tyrolien', a jaunty number with bright tones and a tight, rolling groove. Shonky injects it with a series of unusual FX and what sounds like an wizened old creature, speaking about 'the foulest stench in the air'. It's a superb combination and sets the EP off to a great start.Next up is 'Beat Street' which has a heavier set of beats, which stomp down as a marauding b-line gets to work. Tiny fizzes and cheeps in the background add depth, sounding like robotic birds at play in the wild. The track is minimal in its make up, but deep and engrossing, classic Shonky material.Flip the vinyl over and we have 'Torro Rosso', a bold, stomping workout with fresh percussion and a jovial analogue riff. As the bubbly low end percolates way down below, the beats pump the track along and an extra layer of analogue funk enters the fray midway through. The final track is titled 'Serpent a` Sonnette' and swithes the vibe. It's loose, meandering and twisted, with a hypnotic bassline and super sharp percussion. This one is going to get the dance floor locked into a groove, as it progresses a sweet, chirpy melody brightens the mood. Feel the glow!Once again Shonky demonstrates his ability to produce groovy dance floor cuts that have their own unique fingerprint; danceable, unusual and utterly captivating. Grab the new EP now!

Another fresh collaboration between Omar-S and L.A.'s Nite Jewel on "Confess To U." The vocal mix is a melodic house track with playful vocals courtesy of Nite Jewel. On the flip is the "The Three Stooges of Hamtramck Mix," which strips down the vocals and focuses on the hand percussions and lightly added sax - real smooth for summer!
Some copies are 1-sided double-groove copies that play backward. they are limited:

Planet Rhythm usual Yan Cook teams up with fellow Ukranian artist ''Mays'' for a tough collaboration record named ''Old Friend EP''. On the opening-track 'Fixed' the tone is being set for this being an utter dancefloor effort with the extended use of FX and modulation. 'Old Friend' resumes in this fashion bringing a glitchy atmosphere of some kind together with matches chords and outlandish drum work. The B-side opens up with the futuristic tones of 'Coder' which is based around tough synth arpeggiators and ferocious kick drums. 'Tesla' continues down the road of futuristic Techno with it's strong and extended FX works and intrusive synthesizer sounds.

UNKR enslave dust-coated synthesizers, dilapidated drum machines and rusty FX boxes to craft 4/4 tunes for their impatient overlords. Their vision is clear - they will make techno, they will make house, they will make electronica, and you will listen and dance. It's not yet clear if BUNKR is the work of one frenzied human or many lazy individuals but we do know one thing - the ringleader is one James Dean, who previously released as Lost Idol on labels such as Pork Recordings, Nature, Final Frontier and Cookshop. Following a prolonged spell of writing music at slow tempos, Dean initiated BUNKR as a reactionary desire to speed things up. Too much time had been spent just sitting around - it was time to stop sitting and start dancing. True to their vision, here we have 'Cloud Chaser', a bubbling jam backed with a huge remix from Shan, who flips the mix with dramatic strings, sprinkles of magic dust and massive amen breaks. No less impressive is 'Juno's Revenge', a track you'd turn up on your headphones while taking a nice afternoon stroll on the moon, on a sunny morning after a long interplanetary rave. Igor Tipura delivers the rework, complete with a marching percussion workout and acid chemtrails that will send you right back to 1993.

Echoe returns for its first outing of 2017 and fifth release since starting in earnest last year. ECHOE005 marks the first remix package in the label's discography, offering up four stellar remixes of Francesca Lombardo's "Remembrance" song. A clear stand-out in the label boss's inimitable repertoire, "Remembrance" has been given the rework treatment by house and techno stalwarts: Cassy, Laura Jones, Jade and La Fleur.

Cassy offers up the first remix, focussing her reinterpretation around an enormous and insistent bassline, murky and dense in equal measure, that rolls from start to finish. Undulating hats inject further energy, doubling in pace strategically whilst complimenting the 4/4 groove. Utilising the originals' emotional resonance, Cassy creates soft textures and refined arpeggiated patterns, adding a further dimension to the track's impassioned narrative.

Laura Jones's remix comes in the form of a low-slung, jazzy drum work-out, adorned with sub-heavy kicks and a snarling low-end that offers much of the track's sonic weight. Gentle bell-like keys float alongside modulated synth stabs that filter in and out of focus, whilst Jones's drum programming becomes progressively more and more frenetic.

Jade's reimagining sees a broken beat take the reigns, leaving space for soft percussive rhythms and an earth shaking low-end that pushes the song into ghetto house territory. Hi-hat pick-ups and jittery vocal cuts provide further momentum before the groove lands on sturdy 4/4 terrain. Jade's deftly arranged breakdowns, punctuated by panned drum fills and granular FX, adds welcome tension to the track, making a return to rolling drum-patterns and buzzing bass-sequences all the more rewarding as they come back in.

The final remix comes courtesy of La Fleur who delivers the most peak-time, club focussed material on the package. Staying true to the original's hook, La Fleur brings melody to the fore, whilst deploying snappy drums alongside chilling atmospherics and tech heavy stabs, set to keep dancers moving into early hours and beyond.