Techno Vinyl New Releases - News

Perc (aka London based Ali Wells) returns with 'Bitter Music', his third album following 'Wicker & Steel' (2011) and 'The Power And The Glory' (2014). As before the album will see a release on his own Perc Trax imprint, giving Perc the complete creative control needed to realise his vision of what should be a milestone release for both himself and Perc Trax.

Originally a very inward looking album when work started on it in March 2016 the extensive political change happening in both the UK and around the world forced the album to widen its perspective. By the time the album was finished in December, it was clear that the sentiment of tracks such as 'Look What Your Love Has Done To Me' was as equally applicable to the micro-politics of person relationships as it was to concerns for the future of a country in a state of flux.

Pre-production for the album begun at Eve Studios, a residential studio just outside of Manchester, UK which specialises in collecting and restoring equipment salvaged from the sadly defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The palette of sounds created during these sessions lends the album the sound of early electro-acoustic experimentation, especially evident on tracks such as 'Wax Apple'. Live instrumentation also plays a larger role on this album than on any previous Perc releases with Wells playing piano on many tracks and Ian East's flute playing featuring on 'Chatter'. The album also features a number of vocal collaborations including one with Gazelle Twin. Post-production, mixing and arranging was done at Perc's North London studio before the album was mastered by Perc Trax's regular mastering engineer Matt Colton.

Sonically the album takes in everything from strung out vocal treatments to the type of warehouse rabble rousers Perc has made his own since his very first releases. More dance floor focussed than his previous albums yet pulling from a wider range of sounds 'Bitter Music' shows a development and maturing of Wells' music that could not have been foreseen just a few years ago.

Delicately balancing the personal and the political, 'Bitter Music' stands apart from most recent techno albums as it continually pushes outwards rather than concerning itself with the microscopic refinement of already established sounds. It is an album unafraid to take chances from an artist continually looking for his next step forwards.

DJ feedback so far::

Ben Klock (Klockworks) - "The thought that counts for me 4/5"
Tommy Four Seven (47) - "I'm loving those fucked up soundscape moments. Classy album. Big up Ali!"
Dax J (EDLX) - "Whole album is fantastic!"
Logos (Different Circles) - "Raw!"
Paula Temple (R&S) - "Looking forward to playing a few of these this weekend."
Clouds (EDLX) - "Nice work Ali"
Ivan Smagghe (Blackstrobe) - "Absolutely love the more experimental tracks."
Xhin (Stroboscopic Artefacts) - "Nice one, thanks!"
2000 And One (100% Pure) - "Oh yes, superb sounds in here, thank you!"
Bas Mooy (Mord) - "Wicked! Great stuff Ali, really like it!"
Kwartz (Pole Group) - "Heavy stuff as always, love it. Thanks."
Exium (Pole Group) - "Good stuff, thanks"
Ansome (Mord /Perc Trax) - "Amazing work Ali'
Gary Beck (Bek Audio) - "Some outstanding tracks here, After Ball and Unelected in particular. Will give a good thorough listen over the weekend, thanks Ali!!"
Kriz (Token) - "Will give this some decent listening time thanks will def play 'The Thought'"
Lag (Mord) - "Loving this, especially Spit!
VSK (Power Vacumm / Planet Rhythm) - "It is just amazing, Spit and Unelected are dance floor killer, and love After Ball and Wax Apple also... Thank You very much for the Great Music!!!"
Thomas Heckmann (AFU) - "This time more into the experimental realm, but interesting and I like it"
Alex Bau (Credo) - "Strong album. Has got a clear focus but is still versatile. Really good!"
Mondkopf (In Paradisum) - "Ali's music is always a step ahead."
Kyle Geiger (Cubera / Drumcode) - " Great stuff! A true album that plays like an album instead of a collection of tracks! Gonna listen to this full through numerous times!"
Joe Farr (UX) - "Very engaging, but also banging. Lovely."
Mr Jones (Unsubscribe) - "I Have the honor the play this one for a while now, And "Look What Your Love Has Done To Me" just killed the floor every time ;-)"

Orphan Swords see the reissue of their License To Desire' LP on limited edition vinyl on Aurora Borealis on May 15th. The Belgian duo bring a heady, fog shrouded sonic maelstrom to the label, perfect for the post-truth era.

What sort of music is this What genre do we file it under Hard to say. It sounds like a record that Aurora Borealis should release. There's chaos, there's unhallowed chanting, there's some fierce rhythm and there's undeniably some abuse of electronic equipment. We'll leave the definitions up to the listener, but with titles referencing demons of Goetia and the world's oldest profession we'll let the good times roll.

Formed in 2013, Orphan Swords is a Belgian electronic duo. Their music, described as a brutal hypnosis' by Ransom Note, has been released on Desire Records, Clan Destine and Idiosyncratics. Idiosyncratic is indeed a description that perfectly fits both their releases and live performances. Recently back from the US, they have shared bills with acts as diverse as Oathbreaker, Andy Stott and Vatican Shadow.

Their new collaborative side project Black Swords with Stuart Argabright of Black Rain (Blackest Ever Black) was released on Vienna's Noiztank label. "The ten-minute Marchosias'...builds into a droning blur with surging drums, echoed, incomprehensible vocals and all sorts of sharp edges. "Asmoday" conjures its own mass of screeching, cackling distortion, but adds an icy sense of melody through a few sustained synth riffs, and fixes everything to a rolling kick. "Hooker" is the most subdued thing yet from Orphan Swords, but it's no less potent. Its steady bass thrums and light, hazy swirls of harmonized noise make for a supremely soothing comedown." - ResidentAdvisor

Ultra-rare D.I.Y minimal / synth-pop / industrial / darkwave album from 1986!

Kozmonaut was the personal project of a young & talented Canadian musician called Michael Gutierrez, who moved to San Francisco in the early 80s. Influenced by Kraftwerk and German culture / electronic music, Michael recorded the Flieg' album all by himself at his garage studio, using the pseudonym of Hans Schiller'.

1000 copies were pressed on his own label, Vier Productions Inc, but they were never distributed or sold at the time, with virtually the entire pressing being discarded, as Michael, a perfectionist, was not satisfied with the spelling mistakes on the cover, among other things. In 1989, Michael, along with Pieter Ziegelmeier, formed the famous industrial / electronic band Kode IV.

Sadly, Michael contracted AIDS and passed away in 1994. All the contents of his garage (tapes, albums, synths and recording equipment) were sold for cheap or ended up in the street.

Fast forward to 2010: An adventurous record hunter (Christian Peintner) finds a copy of the Flieg' album at a thrift shop in San Francisco. At first, he thinks it's a German album but after some investigation, he discovers the name of Michael Gutierrez which leads him to Kode IV and then to Peter Ziegelmeier. He visits Peter who tells him the real story of Michael Gutierrez aka Hans Schiller and Kozmonaut.

Flieg' is an excellent album, a crossover of a wide range of styles from early Industrial (paving the way for Michael's later sounds with Kode IV), to Synth-Pop, Experimental Electronics, ambient and Dark Wave. Michael uses the vocoder very effectively and in one of the songs, Tidal Meditation', he recorded the Golden Gate Bridge fog horn to use it as a sample.

*Original artwork with spelling mistakes corrected.

*Insert with liner notes

*Free digital download coupon.

Artik becomes the second artist involved in the COUMSC serie. Distorted crushed beats, rawness and some driving soundscapes behind this five track EP inspired on the Asimov's trilogy "Foundation".
Hand stamped and hand numbered black vinyl limited edition of 100 copies, lacquer mastering plus exclusive digital download.

In the CAST tradition, includes 4 far reaching and artist signature tracks from Axkan, Pinion, Dolgener and iFormat.

// Axkan delivers a highly experimental and punishing work for CAST. A dark environment is developed through the use of analog machines droning and screaming in the background whilst the beats tease the listener by never pushing over the edge of anticipation. Great builder to open with.

// Pinion delivers us back in time with his CAST. Classic sound, acid drenched, broken beat madness with a timeless approach. There isn't much more to say besides expect to find this tune popping up in a warehouse near you.

// Dolgener delivers a peak time floor smasher with his CAST. Relentless and unforgiving in every sense. Top notch distortion and noise atop heavy pummeling beats lead to a breakdown and build which will ensure the dance floor turns into a riot.

// iFormat delivers a dark brooding basement track for his CAST. This grungy piece contains syncopated hooks, dusty drums and stomping bass drums which create a type of hypnosis for the dance floor.

a megaphat record !!! already supported by oscar mulero, james ruskin, surgeon, jim jones, ...

Deconstructed EBM from the Nous affiliate Spoiled Drama kicks off the new Science Fiction compilation - 10 tracks of crazed machine grooves further diversifying the Science Fiction's exploration into synthetics. The opener driven simply by an obnoxiously saturated digital drum machine and a mechanical body music bass loop simultaneously hints to late 80s darkside Chicago roots with hard flanged hi-hats and a detuned string machine.

Across four bristling cuts, he is the first to represent the label's dedication to classic techno with a modernist twist. Human Image further refines Manni's flair for constructing hypnotic techno that surges with detail. The four tracks provide a vivid dip into the dancefloor, placing you firmly in front of the speakers, head first into a manic dance. With previous releases on Black Sun Records and Perc Trax, as well as support from the likes of Surgeon, himself an inspiration for the label, Manni is the perfect artist to launch Leyla into the world. From the blistering roll out of 'Symbiotic' to the hypnotic pound of 'Bring The Brave In', the swung rhythm of 'Pascal's Gambit' to the cavernous inferno of 'I Was Desire', Human Image is a reflection of the bodily pleasures of techno. It is what you'd see if you could hold a mirror up to dancing devotees at any rave worldwide. It is, like Leyla's own occult origins, both light and dark. Leyla is a brand new label dedicated to recapturing the authentic feeling of techno from a specific era while retaining a modern touch. It's a platform for the music to grow with inspiration from a wide range of styles - industrial, folk, electro. Leyla brings it all together for a new generation.

First lp release. Recorded live on 23th october 2015

3TH records is a Berlin based Techno and Electronic imprint founded in 2013 by Ascion, D. Carbone and Lucindo.

* The first vinyl of the year is the first step towards knowledge, after the last step we had moved into the darkness.
We've fallen many times and we reacted, we moved forward. For this reason the forthcoming release is called 'La Caduta Di Lucifero' ( The Fall of Lucifer) as homage to the white energy to come and the end of all evils.

* Produced by the acclaimed Codex Empire and the young, talented artist Unconscious.

* A dark and obscure texture with melodies to touch the inner places of the soul. A record designed for vinyl collectors as much as DJs

* The EP comes with a Codex Empire remix which gives the missing dance attitude to the vinyl.

* 'If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another'. Epicurius

Luciano Lamanna & Cosimo Damiano, known together as Assalti Industriali, release a split EP on Love Blast. Four tracks of heavy acid techno, an assault to the dancefloor on 4/4 to put your head into the speakers.

The 10th Modal Analysis release is the second full EP of the label's co-founder, ANFS. Mass EP demonstrates ANFS unique sound aesthetics, offering tracks to satisfy the most demanding music-heads. Mass#1 is a sadistic composition of distorted percussions and basslines hitting hard in a slow rhythmic groove , while Mass#2 stands closer to the dancefloor thinking norms, without though leaving behind any of the creepiness of Mass#1. On the flip side, Mass#3 brings back the mood of a horror movie soundtrack, with bleepy riffs on the leading sequence. Finally, Mass#4 is another rhythmic industrial composition, which connects Mass EP with the traditional eastern influences that can be found on ANFS debut release, Ground EP.

Cem Oral (jammin Unit) with Thomas Mahmoud and Gerald Mandel
Bitcrushed Noise, Experimental Beats, HipHop

For almost two decades Dave Paton has been dredging the recesses of his mind for electronic inspiration. The findings have been fantastical, freakish and formidable; all ways of describing his latest outing. "The Great Pretender" straddles electro and techno, staggers between ambient and IDM and swaggers to its own bawdy beat. Rasping rhythm patterns are rinsed in ragged roars, charcoal chords are conjured before being crunched as The Wee Djs has his fun across five tracks.

Debut release by Shredder on own label Tropical Goth. Limited to 200 copies.

Third chapter of the superb project run by Sciahri (Opal Tapes / Ilian Tape) and Emanuele Porcinai (on Contort as WSR)
Limited copies only

Third chapter of the project run by Sciahri (Opal Tapes / Ilian Tape) and Emanuele Porcinai (on Contort as WSR). UNKNOT03 features explorations of dense and warped rhythmical textures ('Strain', 'Vapor'), combined with fast-paced and propulsive pieces ('Lockt', 'Corrosion'). The sound palette remains consistent with the previous releases, where raw synthetic sequences are deployed to shape grooves and melodic lines and to ultimately create alienating artificial soundscapes.

* Inaugurating the New Magnus Opus series of limited edition vinyl EP's on Khemia Records are two dynamic producers at the vanguard of the future techno I Hate Models and Vittorio Di Mango.

* On the Solar Side I Hate Models delivers 'Cyanure Dance' an epic voyage of full emotional intensity with an insistent acid bass line, psychedelic punk wave distortion, stratospheric arpeggios and ethereal vocals courtesy of the artist himself.

* On the Lunar Side Vittorio Di Mango present 'Epilessia' aimed straight to the jugular, a peak-time dance-floor destroyer constructed with machine gun precision over crystalline snares and opiated vocal reverberations.

* Between them they form the Nigredo Edition.

ussell Haswell strikes bone on this 2-track, 20 minute follow-up to the napalm massage of 'Conceptual nO!se' for Poland's Bocian label, and his fearsome split with Pain Jerk for Editions
Mego. It also marks his return to the catalytic Diagonal imprint after the deviant blatz of his '37 Minute Workout' LP in early 2014, which was hailed at No.11 in The Quietus albums of the year so far. 'Double A' renders Russell at his slyest and most honest, presenting spasmodic, un-edited improvisations belying influence from the pivotal epoch of diamond-cut '80s freestyle, industrial and Detroit techno. Depending on your perspective, they're either splintered, tetchy DJ tools or skeletal nO!se inversions. Either way, they bristle and spark with a compulsive nervous energy and disciplined impulse control that's Haswell to the core: challenging, uncompromising and bloody crucial. On the A-side, 'Foxy' sparks manic hi-hat chatter and bruxist squall masticated with unpredictable intensity, angled and affective like a box of knock-off fireworks hoyed at the 'floor. Stand back and watch 'em scatter. On the flip, the mercurial sleight-of-hand at play in 'One Take Dub No Edit' gestures the hard-ass chops of 12' bonus beats and the show-off breakdown edits of Carlos Berrio or The Latin Rascals. A non-stop, one-shot flashback to a vital time when futurist Latin freestyle and industrial funk were the dancer's choice. The 12' vinyl is due to arrive on Diagonal around the same time as Russell's incredible collaboration with Philip Best's consumer Electronics for Dirter, all surely cementing his position as one of the world's most valued and necessary techno mutants.