Techno News

2022 Repress echocord 20th anniversary special release

This vinyl series celebrates artists who continue to inspire the echocord journey, from 2001 to 2021 and beyond.

Over the past two decades, the Kenneth Christiansen helmed echocord imprint has been at the forefront of the dub-techno scene, discovering and developing sophisticated artists globally.

The twelve-track release is an exploration, from energetic dub techno, with cuts like Luke & Jeff Hess’ “M1 Dub”, grad_u’s “Pacific Lair”, and Idealist’s “Ride” to more esoteric passages with Forest Drive West’s “Signals”, Mikkel Metal’s “Lakam Dub” and Brendon Moeller’s “Slow Return”. Heavy dub vibrations resound in Babe Roots feat Another Channel’s “Gunman” and Deadbeat’s sub-driven “The Old Doom and Gloom” while Fluxion turns it to a jazzy, dub house wave with “Slide”.

“To me music is life, thank you for your support keeping the sound of echocord resonating” –Kenneth Christiansen

Repress

Van Bonn presents with 'Control' his debut album on his label Van Bonn records. Control is the strong and logical consequence of his earlier releases. The Album presents 13 tracks at the edge of techno and dub. Van Bonn takes the opportunity to present an album full of drive, groove and power without losing the sight for his elegant musical vibes. He also opens his musical spectrum for new influences towards vocals, ambient sound scapes and dub step.

MixCult presents LO-FI sublabel CRYSTAL MUD focused on limited edition lathe cut 7" discs.

Dub Techno Music in Dubplate Culture. Highly Exclusive.

Emerging from beneath the Seine, Parisian outfit EZEPH resurface with their debut release. The French duo are no strangers to working under heavy pressure: after a long expedition spent submerged and isolated, they are finally ready to showcase their unique sound to those at surface level.

Title track Observance features a solemn sermon on the direction of society, delivered over a deep, shuffling dub techno riddim. On the flip the vocal is cut, leaving a raw chugging, high pressure version.

Greek wizard Echonomist arrives on TAU with the ‘Modern Wonder’ EP, featuring three original cuts and a remix from Ditian. Echonomist has been deep in the game for a long while and it’s safe to say he is Greece’s top DJ and producer of our times. He is an all-rounder whocan DJ, produce and perform live with confidence and panache. After his exciting contribution to Dixon’s Transmoderna release alongside tracks by Ame, Trikk and others, ‘Modern Wonder’ sees Echonomist‘s debut with the TAU family.
Opening with ‘Eyes, the EP gets off to a dramatic start as moody synth lines and a driving bassline take us into the new wave zone. Echonomist demonstrates his flair for arrangement here, with a carefully arranged track that could almost have been performed by a band. The atmosphere is gloomy and emotive, taking us for a ride into the night as flickering neon reflects off the rain covered streets in a sleazy part of town.
The title track is next, raising the energy levels somewhat with punchy beats and a searing atmosphere. Female singer Iokatsi delivers a brief vocal over the breakdown before the track continues with its melancholy yet heartfelt narrative.
‘The Touch’ follows, taking us further into realms of synth heaven. The main riff is gnarly, with electro-fied beats and a simple yet catchy rhythm.
Echonomist adds a perfectly placed synth way up high to complement the low end, creating uplifting moments that juxtapose the gruff bassline.
Finally Ditian’s ‘Snake’ remix of ‘Modern Wonder’ closes the EP. This a deep, dubby rework with heavy emphasis on the bass to begin with. Ditian takes the main vocal and chops it into pieces, using “You’re trapped” to increase the tense, chilling atmosphere. Detuned piano keys add to the macabre feeling as Ditian rolls out a nasty, haunting rework.

Whether it’s bouncy UK garage styled beats, deep dubstep excursions, skippy house, trip hop or even footwork stylings, his vision is set firmly on creating music which takes the sounds of genres like dub, downtempo, dub-techno and early dubstep in different directions but together and cohesively.

The echoes of Stillhead’s previous alias DFRNT seem to get louder here as he takes another foray into the world of deep electronic music.

Since his days of releasing deep post-dubstep as DFRNT, Alex Cowles has been crafting his sound in multiple genres and since 2014, his Stillhead moniker has carried that torch over 4 albums and a number of EPs. His newest album “Restraint And Reverb” will be landing on 12th August on double heavyweight coloured vinyl. Released on his own Brightest Dark Place label the full 12-track album will be available in both physical format and digitally.

Vinyl Only. Limited

MixCult’s NO REPRESS sub label is represented by artists who characterize a very clear vision of what refined music is. This first release of year 2022 is a Various Artist compilation featuring Dub Tech House virtuosos: Dan Goul, Genning, Dubtommy, Komey & Anas M. Each producer provides a zest, leaving a very personal signature of groovy-ethereal and energetic cuts. This EP feels borderless, eradicating the limits in which DJs can use the tracks it contains. Definitely a must have for those elite-class sound explorers.

As the year draws to a close TAU unveils its latest release, with German duo The Cheapers handling business this time around. On this two-tracker we also get a rework from highly respected producer Dave DK, best known for his releases on labels such as Pampa and Kompakt.
The EP starts off with the title track, ‘Poem’. Throbbing bass frequencies intertwine with a sonar-esque fm-bell to establish a serious, purposefulmood. A chilling, detuned vocal sings in Spanish intermittently as The Cheapers tease in a variety of unsettling effects. This unusual, yet stirringcut epitomises the TAU sound, emotive, deep, dark and moving.
Next up is ‘M10’, a stoney-faced rumbler with more strange atmospherics and eccentric production. This is the sound of two experienced producers enjoying themselves and flexing their musical muscles. Relatively simple in its architecture, ‘M10’ shifts and evolves steadily, the energy building in subtle waves keeping you engrossed from start to finish.
Dave DK steps up to remix ‘M10’, giving it more bounce and an assertive rhythm. The pace is quickened, though the morose mood remains.
Dave’s ability to cultivate solid dancefloor movers is clear here as he demonstrates his knowledge and experience with an uptempo reinterpretation.

Left of leftfield dub and techno excursions.

Remix by Rainstick of Blazer Sound System.

To celebrate its first anniversary Lempuyang firmly stakes its claim amongst the forefront of deep techno labels with an outrageous line-up consisting of eight of the most respected heads in the business, all doing their stuff across four pieces of vinyl. Among the highlights are the growling menace of Sa Pa's 'Randomer', Gradient's fizzy, dubbed up 'Dopamine Rain' wearing its Basic Channel influence on its sleeve, the ghostly rave stabs of Deadbeat's 'Planterwald' among a sea of radioactive white noise and the clear, sculpted linear grooves of 'Growing Pains' by Bluetrain. That said, there's no weak link among the eight cuts and put together into one coherent package it's more than the sum of its part.

The Idealist is one of the many projects of Joachim Nordwall who has a long history in Swedish experimental music running the quintessential iDEAL Recordings record label since 1998, as a member of the psych-drone duo Alvars Orkester, avant punk rock trio Kid Commando and ritual drone rock group The Skull Defekts and through his many solo recordings and collaborations with people such as John Duncan, Aaron Dilloway, Mika Vainio, Mats Gustafsson, Leif Elggren, Gabi Losoncy, Mark Wastell and Christine Abdelour.
As The Idealist, he has been delving into an amalgam of experimental techno, dub and industrial music since 2006. His new A Lion Is A Lion And Not A Lamb continues this perspective unabatedly, conjuring up six tracks that shimmer with an almost psychotropic intensity, sometimes including acidic touches, dwelling in a confrontational minimalist musical stance where repetition, bursts of gorgeous noise and dubbed out skeletal rhythms make for wayward yet driving grooves at home on the dance floor and a set of headphones alike. The Idealist looks for engagement within rhythm, in its almost purest
form.

The majestic Aliens Don't Boogie was an instant banger when it was released back in 1999 and has been a regular in the bags for some of the largest DJ's in the techno scene for years. Now some of the big names in the Dub techno scene make their homage to this classic and do so with style.

Firstly we have the don of the Russian techno scene Andrey Pushkarev transforming it into a ultra-deep hypnotic voyage. The Icelandic techno youngling Waage brings his hallmark dub influences and creates an after- hours delight from the source material. On the flipside, it starts with a remix from the brothers Mark & Matt Thibideau. The Canadian sensations are on their A-game with this one; creating a delicately structured atmospheric yet groovy take on the original. The release is completed with a deep and trippy remix from the Icelandic dub techno legend Octal Industries.
Thule Records is considered by many to be a pioneer in the field of dub-influenced techno music, and has been a starting point for many of Iceland's most renowned electronic musicians.

The mystical Elijah Minnelli steps away from his own imprint for the very first time, with a sublime 10" for Accidental Meetings with his trademark dub-folk sound...

There's not a huge amount of information surrounding the illustrious Elijah Minnelli, but after a run of highly sought-after 7"s with his own label, Elijah Minnelli debuts on Accidental Meetings. An exciting match-up by any means, Elijah's unique style is in full blow, with extra added hazy reverb & delay.

Turbo Recordings presents its grandest achievement yet, a reimagining of Plastikman's 1998 magnum opus "Consumed", Transformed as a new collaborative composition between original artist Richie Hawtin and musical genius Chilly Gonzales. This is an album three decades in the making, brought into the world by Executive Producer Tiga. A masterpiece of restraint, depth, and music as architectural vision, "Consumed" was profoundly influential, defining the soon-to-emerge minimal movement. Shortly after its 20th anniversary, Chilly Gonzales was inspired to compose accompanying piano pieces (counterparts) for each of the tracks and shared them with Tiga, who became the conduit between both artists and led the project to fruition on his label. Hawtin mixed the new combined work, allowing each artist their own space within the project,more of a sonic conversation between them than a conventional collaboration. Consumed in Key will be available as a deluxe triple vinyl LP. The artwork is a reinterpretation of the original album's, flipped to black and white and with the cutout size transposed to the dimensions of a piano key, the die-cut in the white outersleeve revealing a shiny black foil stamp on the black innersleeves.