Techno News

Exhausted Modern's debut full-length titled The Year of the Rat is a proof of the thought-provocation that author's name generates. Released on his own Endless Illusion imprint, the album doesn't have all the answers, it simply offers Exhausted Modern's perception of the modern times and also the energy to do something with them. The title, borrowed from the Chinese zodiac calendar, doesn't slip to mere esoteric prognosis, it fittingly and provocatively comments on broken mechanics of society, capitalistic hierarchisation and emotional frustration of its victims. Despite the dystopian character of Exhausted Modern's sound, which ranges from fast melancholia through suspicious calmness to slowly bubbling rage, it doesn't feel like the end of the world. It's critical artistic statement of a person who despite seeing all the darkness, also sees the way out of it.

COVID-19 pandemic infectiousness and the relative necessity to put hard distance between people has brought up a wide range of means to cope with it. For some it went by as nothing happened, some struggled with not being able to be social, some were overly social on social medias, some spent it in a total drugged-out haze. Some, like Leroy se Meurt, used it to actually create something. The 5 tracks presented in this EP are the result of that forced stay in, the push towards the outside and the realisation that, in the end, there's nowhere to go. We recommend to stay locked in, even when this will all be over.

“Unfamiliar Locations” is the solid 4-track EP by Australian artist Mutant Joe that comes as the first Tombolo Records release. Powerful and inspiring beats and samples, melodic lines of those that give you goosebumps on the back of the neck, and even punctual acid gems reminiscent of a good pre-covid raving era. At just 20 years old, Mutant Joe is one of the rising stars of avant-garde electronic music on the electro / breakbeat / techno spectrum. With a sound inspired by US phonk / memphis rap, he has produced artists such as Freddie Dredd or ApocKrysis.

The mastering has been done by Madrid producer Damian Schwarz and the cover has been designed by Javier Rodriguez and Jonathan Castro. Two renowned designers on the scene especially Jonathan having worked on the image of projects such as Boiler Room or De School.

Polynation set to release their debut album 'Igneous' on May 10th through Dutch imprint Atomnation. Stijn Hosman and Hessel Stuut worked on a 2LP that surpasses older work such as Allogamy & Sufi. The new LP is a perfection of their signature of acoustic drum sound, impressive synth work and unheard of arranaging skills / dreamy soundscapes.

Grey Vinyl

Polymorphism Records continue their intercultural and cross-genre work with their third release E Source. Female vocals return to the label with four original tracks by Russian artist Sestrica, who brings in her characteristic emotional narrative. A remix by Konx Om Pax and
a rework by Antwood make up the crew boarding on a galactic grey/silver vinyl.

PM003 takes off with electro-to-techno beats fuelled by a mild, wrapping acid melody in Today We Meet, where the uplifting countdown to launch can be felt. Sentimental Value gets
us deeper into the spatial trip. Darker samples and a heavier bassline give extra gravity to the anthem of the journey across sonic galaxies. Floating to slow, surrounding sounds and loops we land on a calmer planet called Intention. Its tidal sensation is created by an
orchestral combination of meditative vocals and other layers of composition. New Era enters an orbit of elegant syncopation within a rotating reverb stardust. Ancestral beeps subtly acknowledge legacy to be taken forward to the next odyssey.

Musician and graphical artist Konx Om Pax from Glasgow beautifully introduces nostalgia to New Era with playful breaks and scratches, getting us back to our roots in this excursion visiting alien territoires. Sestrica’s vocals from her original track are drawn into the remix as
echoing words rendering a mysterious aura, travelling through a deep trance of diverse yet harmonic rhythms and effects. A journey within a journey.

Canadian producer Antwood’s rework of side A jumps into an epic vortex of more experimental, unexpected sounds. The album-closer builds up towards absolute chaos, to then create a vacuum to emptiness. A supermassive (tribute to black holes intended) drop
leads to the last minutes of the EP: up tempo cyber-influenced sounds that bring us to a bright futuristic landscape ironically far from a dystopian prophecy.

Purely coincidental fact: the last track of PM002’s originals being Crisis Apparition and its homologue in PM003 New Era, hope seems to be peeking through current times to send an accidental message with this first series of the label.

Mind the overuse of Space metaphors; in this year 2021 where humans are going farther and further in exploring new places out there, it is a tribute and celebration to discover new musical journeys like this out here, on Earth.

Environmental sustainability and social justice are core values of Polymorphism Records. Following their strong interest in contributing to a good cause, shown from the early days, all Bandcamp digital sales are donated to projects such as Team Trees or The Ocean Cleanup.meet f B3 E Source side A (Antwood rework)

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French electronic music stalwart ''Umwelt'' has produced some modern day classics throughout his career. After a string of releases for several renowned music labels this time around, the Lyon based musician joins P.E.A.R.L.'s falling ethics imprint and comes up with the thirteenth installment in the series. ''Strange Attractor EP'' is a well balanced EP that showcases several sides of Umwelt's signature style that sits somewhere on the edges of Techno, Electro, Adventurous Electronics and anything in between.

The release opens with a rough machine work-out called ''Nocturnal March''. After this, with "The Collapsing Empire, the sound changes dramatically into one of Umwelt's signature adventures with cinematic electro. The title track (B1) maintains the electro'ish ambiance of ''The Collapsing Empire'' but the french artist adds some taints of paranoia to the mix resulting in a unprecedented dancefloor effort. ''Across The Abyss'' is a treat for anyone that's been into Umwelt cinematic sounding escapades. Three minutes of sweltering synths
beautifully aligning with a scorching bassline.

Few authentic Electro producers from the UK can wear the badge 'legend' with the same level of justification as Phil Klein aka Bass Junkie. Active since the late 80s, Phil has been peddling his own take on Electro almost constantly, either as a solo artist or as part of numerous collabs with the likes of Dynamix II, Keith Tenniswood (Radioactiveman) and Si Brown (Dexorcist). DJ, remixer, live act, and the man behind the killer Battle Trax label, there is nothing this Junkie hasn't done.

With essential releases on labels such DMX Krew's Breakin Records, Andrea Parker's Touchin' Bass, and Billy Nasty's Elektrix; the Bass Junkie sound spans the old school beats and vibes of the Electro genre's origins, to the borderline industrial. From funky to ferocious, Bass Junkie's discography is a must have for anyone claiming passion for the genre - influential, individual, and infectious with every beat.

His 'Low Frequency Fugitive' EP is a welcome return for his Bass Junkie project, after several years working primarily on collabs. The EP brings four new tracks that maintain the Bass Junkie sound that brought him such success and notoriety in the first place, with a healthy dose of evolution too.

This is one Fugitive everyone should try and track down...

Bjarki returns to with another EP brandishing five restructured doses of IDM from another galaxy. Using marching kick drums as a basis, oli gumm takes references from techno, gabber and trance and morphs them into something far less easy to categorise.'oli gumm 2-2' switches frantically between glistening synth cascades and bouncing kicks. 'fork2-2' is a subdued excursion through ominous, trance-inducing strings and skeletal percussion. Opening the B side, '7 filakaramellur lion bar' spirals through warped vocals and acoustic contortions, followed by 'hatann satann', a high speed voyage through a demonic parallel universe. Closing off the EP, 'sleikjó' uses rolling drums to circle around a pit of sparse sonic oddities.

'Dark Shades Of Moscow' EP is a new thriller by Kovyazin D. The track list is headed by a remix of the French hero of electroclash and EBM music - David Carretta. As Dima describes, this release is dedicated to work in solitude, analog synthesizers, secrets and the secret places in Moscow, as well as the utopianism and psychedelicity of everything going on in the world today. Many years of meticulously studying different genres of electronic music, from acid house, electro and new beat to Birmingham techno, industrial and Rotterdam hardcore, have allowed Kovyazin D to form his own unique sound, that you can witness in his live shows and DJ sets. According to the Inverted Audio publication Kovyazin D's music is so universal it can be easily heard in the culmination points of Helena Hauff and Nicolas Lutz sets. His bangers 'Close The Distance' and 'Tales From The Bottle' are a clear example of that.

Berlin collective Patterns of Perception launches its imprint with a first release from Melbourne-based DJ and producer Nali. His Chance Encounters EP features spacious, intricate grooves that dance and parry with luxuriant synths and infectious, acid-tinged basslines. Spotlighting this up-and-coming artist from a country with close links to the collective, PTN01 marks the start of the next chapter for Patterns of Perception, and a natural progression of their mission to share compelling, visionary electronic music. Full sleeve art by Ray Pham.

Silver Vinyl

Electro from 2002.
#minimumcontrol

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Following up on his contribution to the first Five Years Of Tears compilation, Randstad steps up to the bill and delivers his first solo release for Pinkman Records. 6 tracks ranging from twisted industrialized beat trax to brain melting weirdo dance. A great cross-over record for adventurous DJs and fans of the cold, minimal DIY sound of the 80s alike.

To The Other Side is an electronic journey that express the inner visions of sound. Is the first album of The ReLOUD in a limited double vinyl.

All analogue synths + samples from Japan, Ireland, Sicily and the Mars wind from NASA.
It feature singers from Australia, South Africa, America, Europe including the world renown Deva Premal.

Colored Vinyl. 180gr. Triple Gatefold. Hand illustrated by the leading Berlin designer Maddalena Bireau.

Includes the exclusive Lenta Bellezza Vinyl version of 22 Minutes.

Mixed by the legendary Luca Pretolesi, Gianni Bini, Alex Trecarichi, Luigi de Filippo. Mastered for Vinyl by Guiliano Radiciotti.

Tracks by Reedale Rise, The Abstract Eye, LCTR, Moodex, Jonas Bengio and Mr Velcro Fastener. The Time Capsule project, also known as 808 Box, is a project created by Fundamental Records. The six boxes released in recent years include 56 records with over 300 tracks from artists from every corner of the world. Some warehouse copies have surfaced of the 10th Anniversary 808 Box, and these will be available individually. These are new copies in perfect condition, with the original sleeves printed with the images of the classic Roland TR-808.

Yellow Splatter Vinyl

Electro Transmissions 008 is a various artists release, what we call the Xtermination Krew, with tracks by Lowfish, N-Ter, Datawave, Astrobee, T/Error and Foreign Sequence. Very limited units on colored vinyl, packed in a really nice way as we have come to know by the Fundamental crew.

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Finnish sound scientist Aleksi Perälä presents 'Paradox', a double EP landing 15 th of December on . Using a microtonal tuning method known as Colundi - with which his work is now synonymous - he guides us through a ritualistic journey of ten formidable tracks.
Glistening scales cascade over peculiar tones. Aleksi Perälä explores the powers of an alternative tuning system in dance-floor structures, tapping into the veiled potential of his sound palette with stunning physical consequences.
Saccharine and mysterious, 'Paradox' channels elements of Electro, Techno and Italo, ultimately achieving a transcendental form of its own.

Now with a steady accumulation of exciting names in their back catalogue and hammering along their stride, Cardiff-based event promoters and label Haŵs welcomes Aloka to the household. For the imprint’s 7th release comes the interplanetary ‘View Source’ EP, an arsenal of controlled chaos via four essential, dark electro cuts.

The titular ‘View Source’ is a vicious opener, brandishing its pummelling acid and muscular drums with a snarl. There’s no retraction of the hostility when it moves to ‘Blind Spot’, however, whose sinister drones take flight like birds of prey over the percussion and synths that squirm as though they’re being targeted down below.

The flip side introduces ‘Red Shift’, a vehement stomper with a proud disposition and a classic electro beat, its acid-lines flaring up in a temper-tantrum of robotic aggression. Finally, the attack is subdued. The EP finishes on a more melodic close with ‘Enigma’, a drowsy, rich soundscape of atmospherics that seem to fall in slow motion. There’s a real sense of space with this finale; recurrent flares of synths stammer over the languorous bassline, withdrawing and emerging like the gasping embers of a fire in a vast room. A final breath extinguishes the flame.

Electro has many flavours, and Aloka traverses this palette with ease from its gritty peaks all the way down to its melancholic depths.

After shining a light on the rich history of Eevo Lute with two retrospective compilations of Wladimir M. and Florence earlier in the year, Delsin dives deeper in the Dutch techno archives once more by re-masterering, re-cutting and re-releasing Ballet Mechanique's Embody EP. A keystone release containing four tracks of tough, yet emotive electro jams, sounding fresh till the date of today. Originally released in 1996 on Eevo Lute Muzique and definitely one of the highlights when it comes to pure futuristic techno soul. The Embody EP from Jeroen Borrenbergs aka Ballet Mechanique and Eevo's in-house graphic designer at that time made his first public work on one of the most influential techno labels from the Netherlands.

In 2 weeks we'll be shipping the new Ben R. Brown on his own imprint, BRB. Heavy disc containing 3 new productions and 2 remixes.

This a limited edition of 200 copies only, we'll get only a few of these; pre-orders highly advised!

Shortly after the long-player on White Metallic out of the UK, here is Ben's second release on his own BRB. Upgraded to 12'. Special reworks by Black Patterns (Snow Bone) and Loren Steele of Jacktone! 200 only - hand stamped.

Mission Escape: signal incoming...Escaping Earth - file loaded...press enter --> program launched! When things become too much, escaping might help. Take a seat and join the ride with CYRK's first full length musical player on CHILDHOOD. After having released outstanding records on labels such as Running Back, Rawax, Burial Soil, Vakant, Avoidant, Dred, Science Cult, Lone Romantic and their own Time Zero imprint, the seminal Berlin machine funk duo launched their analog spaceship studio once again to tell their most advanced and versatile intergalactic tale to date. Escaping Earth is a story that comes in 8 episodes and showcases Sam and Pascals mastered skills in detailed sound design and arrangement, while always keeping a focus on powerful dancefloor oriented electro grooves. Ranging from Detroit influenced bassline bouncers to slower acid variations, this album will let you dive deeply into CYRK's beautiful musical language and range: a soulful journey from the light to the darkness and back. Above all, this album is at all times pure analog electronic funk and won't let you go from beginning to end. Sometimes escaping helps. This musical story will make you travel the stars with ease. The album is pressed DJ friendly on 2 x 12" vinyl and includes a download copy. A limited edition of 100 numbered copies comes in double colored (red/green) records and will be exclusively sold via CHILDHOOD's bandcamp page as well as the CLONE store. Vinyl to be released on September 13th 2021, followed by the digital release on September 24th 2021.