Welt Discos' latest delivery is the debut solo record from DJ/producer/radio host Stephen Howe. The Mimesis EP gives us a convincing introduction to his highly musical sound: spontaneous yet tightly arranged, referential yet idiosyncratic, and not afraid to take the odd left turn. From 80s electro dynamism to loopy techno deepness to broken introspection, this is a diverse and surprising set of dancefloor grooves brought together by Stephen's knack for harmony, counterpoint and tone.
Long-time house music producer, DJ and journalist Anthony Teasdale is back with a new four-track EP for London’s Pamela Records.
The lead track is ‘Tango de la Boca’, an uplifting house tune with an unforgettable piano line and a groovy disco beat. Named after the barrio of La Boca in Buenos Aires, the tango feel is supplemented with layers of percussion, electric guitar stabs and moody strings. So far, it’s been played in clubs and on the radio by DJs like Rocky, David Holmes and Richard Sen.
“I think this is the most uplifting record I’ve ever made,” says Anthony. “Hearing those piano lines come in on a club system is a massive buzz.”
Second up is ‘A Pavement in Palma’ – a chilled jazz-house track. Inspired by lazy afternoons in Majorca’s capital, its swinging beat is joined by electric piano chords, live bongos and a bassline you can’t help but move to.
On Side B, we set sail on the good ship disco for ‘Deep in the Forest Something Stared’. Opening with bucolic bird noises – referencing the title – the track adds ’80s-style bass, glockenspiel melodies and soothing strings. It ends with a haunting piano motif that’s well worth the wait.
Finally, we return to 2023 with ‘It’s 5am Somewhere’, which blends old-school Roland 909 drum beats with minor chord synth stabs and rumbling piano melodies – plus an atmospheric breakdown guaranteed to excite any dancefloor.
Anthony says: “The EP reflects the music I’m listening to at the moment – which goes from classic techno to uptempo disco-house (and lots of synth pop!). The fusion of beautiful, often brittle, melodies with percussive house beats sets these records apart. And they sound as good on a dancefloor as they do in headphones when you’re relaxing at home.”
Polish jazz rebels sneaky jesus are back with their second studio album For Chaching Taphed.The highly imaginative quartet out of Wroclaw comprising Maciej Forreiter (Guitar), Matylda Gerber (Saxophones), Ben Łasiewick i(Bass) and Filip Baczyński (Drums) have won fans around the world for their restless, quirky brand of jazz which takes in breakbeats, twisting chord progressions and improvisation as well as a wealth of musical influences.
The band have been touring their asses off ever since they surprised the world with their debut album For Joseph Riddle in 2021. From out of nowhere their debut LP of 500 copies sold out in a month and they quickly went on to sell close to 1,000 CDs of the album. Fast-forward to 2023 and the band are sharing stages with artists such as Ill Considered and Theon Cross.
For Chaching Taphed was created in complete isolation. The group locked itself in a barn at the Museum of Agricultural Technology in Piotrowice Świdnickie. It worked on its sophomore output surrounded by machinery, trucks and carriages. These new compositions mirror the abstract conversations which the group frequently has just for fun. Contrary to For Joseph Riddle, this album is simple and does not rely on ongoing grooves. This enabled the group to be much more experimental. The band was joined by friends Flautist Mariya Mavko on Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) and her playing is sampled in Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace). Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) closes the album featuring EABS' Jakub Kurek on trumpet. His fiery solo is one of the most intense moments of the album.
Spacer Po Nadodrzu (A walk around Nadodrze) opens the album and is inspired by one of the districts of Wrocław. It is a sonic story depicting a walk through Nadodrze late at night. A steady bass rhythm imitates a careful pace and the responding sax line is a spooky theme that might pop to oneʼs head in a moment of uncertainty.
The album's first single Krztusiec (Whooping Cough) finds the group diving head first into their most recent influences. The trackstarts with drum improvisation, rolling into a solid hip-hop backbeat provided by Ben Łasiewicki on Bass and Drummer Filip Baczyński. Sax and Guitar weave steady but dissonant lines, written by Maciej Forreiter after many hours spent listening to the Ethiopian jazz greats. The track takes off right after that. Matylda Gerber delivers a fiery Sax solo, while the group picks up the tempo and quickens the groove. The essence is the middle section, a dubby collective improvisation. Forreiter, Gerber and Baczyński take turns playing both classic dub phrases and fierce avant grade lines. Łasiewicki keeps everybody in check with a steady bassline. The energy slows down until Baczyński's drum solo, which explores phrasing detached from the rest of the tune.
Second single Chiński Sprzedawca Smażonych Kasztanów (Chinese roasted chestnut seller) is a fusion of breakbeats, energized songo rhythms and motifs inspired by South African melodies. Presenting the group with spacious and rhythmic horn lines, guitarist Maciej Forreiter wrote a chord progression while Beniamin Łasiewicki and Filip Baczyński took care of the rhythm section. This first part of the track suddenly drops out and explodes into the dramatic main motif which includes double sax and fierce guitar playing in harmony, plus the rhythm section playing more and more jungle-esque. Powerful guitar and sax solos feature before we return to the main theme with a completely different rhythmic backdrop.
W Klatce z Bykiem (In a cage with a Bull), starts like a race. The music plays with an incredible nerve and when the theme is right on edge it suddenly stops. It is followed by an animalistic growl on the saxophone and a doom metal-esque bash of downtuned, distorted guitars and heavy drums. In this heavy fashion it slowly approaches the finishing line hitting one final metallic clang.
Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) features wonderful flute playing of Mariya Mavko (Kadabra Dyskety Kusaje). Her work in the opening motif evokes sounds of Polish and Ukrainian folklore. This brief mellow moment serves as a contrast to the usual frantic sounds of sneaky jesus. It is an appreciation of thepolish jazz music of the past, intrinsically-linked to folklore. The band took this idea and reworked it into their own unique style.
Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace) is built on top of a lengthy vamp in an unusual 7/8 time-signature. The bass anchors the quartet in a simple line, while the rest of the quartet share an emotional conversation. This track is the most open of the whole project and it ends accordingly. The final burst is a call back to the basics ofspiritual jazzand the whole band shows every emotion simultaneously and gracefully fades out.
Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) is For Chaching Taphed's conclusion and is a non stop assault of heavy horn lines, punk rhythms and noise. The band is joined by the extraordinary trumpeter Jakub Kurek from EABS, who blends in perfectly with sax and guitar. His exchange of solos with Maciej Forreiter is a combination of classic jazz phrasing and discordant clatter. In the same fierce manner the whole group works within the motif, switching up accents and breaks.
In the short space of two years, sneaky jesus has gone from ambitious upstart looking to break out from its home city playing spit and sawdust venues, to touring Europe as well as prestigious Jazz clubs such as Jassmine in Warsaw. In the process, it has delivered two full-length albums that don't stay in lane or pander to established jazz sub-genres as so many groups do. Some artists make the same record twice or even more than that, but not sneaky jesus. For Chaching Taphed shows the band as restless, experimental, fun, irreverent but purposeful as never before.
“A lot of over-hyped improv / jazz projects out there at the moment and Sneaky Jesus are genuinely excellent and out on their own. Drawing on the expansive atmospherics of a barn as the recording's setting, the album immediately pulls you in with the unsettling 'Spacer Po Nadodrzu' and lifts off on 'Krztusiec', effortlessly moving from angular, abrasive jazz to trippy dub and cinematic intrigue. Tempos shift and intensities shift naturally. The whole set warrants a deep listen from start to finish and watch out for two great guest features from flautist Mariya Mavko and Jakub Kurek bringing some mad fuzz licks to the boisterous closer. Brilliant album.”
Quinton Scott — Strut Records
Following on from his 2021 book, Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back), Oli Freke returns with a Synthesizer Evolution A6 zine series.
The invention of the synthesizer in the 1960s changed musical culture and music production forever, giving musicians whole new worlds of sound to play with. Vintage Synths celebrates that invention and its subsequent history by picking out 46 of the most influential, important or most interesting synths from 1939 – 1998. They represent the introduction of a new technology, had a particular impact, or maybe even formed the basis of entirely new genres.
Explore the most legendary synthesizers ever created, including the Minimoog, ARP 2600, Yamaha DX7, Roland Jupiter 8 and more, with detailed descriptions and the stories behind their developmen
Limited to 300 copies, this 2x12" double vinyl VA is the third physical release of the industrial techno label, Askorn Records. Including 8 tracks ranging from dark and tortured slow beats to hard and industrial techno bangers, this release brings together 9 producers from Belgium, UK, Poland, Australia and France: Twan, Dahryl, Mickey Nox, Tripped, 14anger, Draugr, Hel.IV, Ogmah and Hatelove.
A1: Twan & Dahryl - Ammunition
Pure industrial techno banger. 142bpm bomb full of fast rolling drums and screaming synths, this collaboration between
Belgium based artist TWAN and Dahryl from United Kingdom, is a furious dancefloor destroyer.
A2: Mickey Nox - Switching Horsepower
Classic industrial hammer by Mickey Nox from Australia. A crazy 4-4 techno track with his famous stomping kick, strange FX sounds, chopped with some glitchy voices. Sounds like an unstoppable engine.
B1: Tripped - Fat Load
Tripped demonstrates the perfect mix between hardcore and techno into this track, using his famous and indescribable style. Industrial hardcore and destroyed 909 gabber kickdrums, scary synths, amen breaks and terror atmosphere.
B2: 14anger - Bachman
Heavily distorted bass-line, overdrived kickdrum, an acid break and some electrical noises: Bachman is the latest 14anger
banging track. This raw industrial techno track definitely brings some oldschool rave vibes to this project.
C1: Draugr - Discipline
A dark and groovy track by Draugr. He brings his famous threatening atmospheres, spooky bass and catchy drums on
this one. Crunchy kickdrum, radar noises and a perfectly chosen speech about order and discipline.
C2: Hel.IV - Brave & Thick
Hard, dark and punchy as usual, let's introduce Hel.IV from Paris. Deep and hard kickdrum with catchy drums patterns
surrounded by a screaming distorted vocal sample, and an epic and menacing synth.
D1: Ogmah - No Feelings, Pure Wrath
New harsh and scary bomb by Askorn's founder, Ogmah. A slashing and industrial beast with some shrill highs drums,
creaky and industrial FX sounds, and a long break with scary vocals about sins.
D2: Hatelove - Snakebyte
A slow and dark track with a deep as hell atmosphere, produced by the one and only Hatelove from Poland. Full of filters
automations, psycho and spooky noises, banging drums and crazy sound design. Angering af.
The artwork is an engraving by the artist Daniel Girault from Brittany in France. This is the result of a dark and disturbing
abstract design engraved on a hard metal surface, made by cutting grooves into it with differents sharp tools. After being
drowned into an acid bath, this metal plate is finally pressed with black ink on a thick paper sheet.
Release Sustain, a London-based underground label, is pleased to introduce a new EP by Moody Waters, the label's founder. "Beneath the Moon" is a four-track EP that offers a refreshing blend of deep techno and house sounds. With steady beats and intriguing vibes, "Beneath the Moon" is a versatile addition to any DJ's collection. This EP explores an underground sound that combines the essence of house and techno, making it an enjoyable listen for those interested in electronic music in 2023. Don't miss the chance to check out this latest offering from Moody Waters and and awesome remix from Fred P. Grab your copy of "Beneath the Moon" and discover why fans are appreciating this new release from Release Sustain.
Mickey Nox is back with his latest original EP 'Strictly Commercial'.
Four new hammers all hand made by his Ghost Producer (Read credits). After testing 'Lines' successfully on his 2022 tour. It then kicked off the rest of the production once he returned back in the studio. Techno Tourist. A piss take done well that will blow the doors off. Slammer and Corruption & Lust come in more typical Nox Fashion. Still No fillers though. Own it on marble pink wax. #f*&kinghammers only
Vier Dekaden elektronisches Unwesen können das Electro-Urgestein Jacky Meurisse nicht stoppen. Dass sein neues Album „EX VOTO“ dennoch wie ein Vermächtnis klingt, liegt einzig im musikalischen Spektrum des belgischen Einzelgängers begründet. Denn Meurisse nimmt uns auf seinem achten Signal Aout 42-Longplayer mit auf einen Streifzug durch seine stilistische Prägung: New Beat, EBM, Techno, New Wave sind die Fasern, aus denen SA42-Songs seit Äonen gewebt werden. Dabei stets durchlässig genug, jederzeit moderne Strömungen aufzunehmen und in den eigenen Soundkosmos einzuarbeiten. Hört Ihr die Signale?
BLUE-BLACK COLOURED VINYL! LIMITED TO 100 UNITS
Irakli’s new album is due to come out October 2023 on Live at Robert Johnson. Mechanical Moon is a retrofuturistic adventure of beautiful compositions and pulsating rhythms which are weaved together over the span of eight tracks.
We are immersed into evocative atmospheres, full of intricate textures. This is techno where you close your eyes and board an ocean liner that slowly rises and floats towards the moon.
Happy human with sad eyes roamed the neon-lit streets of the artificial island. This section of the metropolis had been designed as a necessity more than any other amenities. It had been allocated a budget surpassing the one for waste management in a city housing over a billion inhabitants.
Society had managed to eradicate love, yet it still grappled with untamed primal instincts such as dancing, sex, or violence. The island provided a discreet haven, away from the prying eyes of telescreens that silently stared into all souls. Similar to Las Vegas centuries ago, it was a safe space where anything was fair game.
Once there, night time lasted all day. Everything retained an analog essence. Music emanated from vintage record players. Amidst the laughter and tears, the artificial glow of the mechanical moon had become the last reminder of life outside.
A life so repetitive that he had been consumed by the desire to transform into a machine or a human satellite. Yet, breaking the cycle in such a manner remained impossible. And so, he wandered for hours on the island, among the weary faces.
Happy as one could be.
Teichmann + Söhne’s »Flows« is not so much the result of a collaborative process as it is a process in itself. Over the course of nine pieces, the Gebrüder Teichmann—Andi and Hannes—and their father Uli repeatedly find common ground between the very different musical styles, sound aesthetics, and subcultural codes they have internalised throughout their lives. The source material out of which the album evolved was culled from several recordings of rehearsal sessions in preparation for the trio’s concerts that took place between the years 2012 and 2022. The three added only a few overdubs to those recordings but edited them rigorously to both preserve and transform the spirit of their unlikely collaboration. The combination of Uli’s background as a versatile jazz artist and multi-instrumentalist with his sons’ penchant for dub techniques, modular synthesis, and live sampling as well as their interest in electronic dance music take on ever-different shapes. »Flows,« released on the occasion of Uli’s 80th birthday, is as joyful, lively and free-spirited as its makers.
It took the three musicians decades to get together to jam. Uli and Lu, the mother of Andi and Hannes, ran the legendary Jazzclub Kneiting between 1978 and 1983 while he also made a name for himself as a musician who, besides jazz, is knowledgeable in a plethora of music styles from all over the world and has an instrument collection to match. Naturally, Andi and Hannes rebelled against this versatility by opting for simplicity. Already as pre-teens, they formed a punk band and once they got a whiff of the burgeoning techno scene, strayed even further from their father’s path. They eventually moved from their native Regensburg to Berlin where they made a name for themselves with a slew of releases on seminal labels like Disko B or Kompakt before starting to more regularly collaborate with musicians from the realms of Contemporary Music, Improv, and Sound Art. Even after Uli had finally contributed some saxophone licks to the brother’s 2011 »They Made Us Do It« LP, it indeed needed someone else to make them do it, i.e. finally get together to reconcile their musical differences in a creative way.
Finding out that the three had never performed together, Yoichi Osaki from Berlin’s iconic Miss Hecker venue, a focal point of the city’s so-called Echtzeitmusik (real-time music) and Improv scene, scheduled them to play their first concert on April 1, 2012. Even though the date was chosen deliberately, things got serious very quickly and this first joint concert proved to be the first of many. It also laid the foundation for »Flows« since the three would start recording their rehearsals. Revisiting the roughly 90 recordings, some of which clock in at a full hour, after ten years of playing with each other then started what Hannes describes as a »form-finding process.« It was a holistic one and involved all three of them, extending also to their choice of cover artwork, a piece created by Lu, who died in 2016 and to whom the album is dedicated. For the collage, she had used photos of the place where it all began, Regensburg, and the river that flows through it, the Danube. This made the piece, coincidentally created around the time Teichmann + Söhne started playing their first concerts together, correlate perfectly with the working process of the three musicians on a visual level.
Similarly, Teichmann + Söhne can be thought of as a human-musical collage. It is a meeting of three different musicians who all have in common that they have occupied alternative spaces and perfected a variety of musical styles and subcultural codes throughout their lives. When those flow into each other, this necessarily creates something that is as unique as the nine tracks collected on this album. While it is mostly Uli who takes the lead on pieces like the appropriately titled »Im Zwischen« (»In the Inbetween«), the brothers respond by live sampling his playing, thus serving as a creative interface between acoustic sounds and electronic responses. This in turn provides a framework in which Uli can improvise on a variety of acoustic instruments like the saxophone and the clarinet as well as a mandolin and glockenspiel or even percussion. This indeed makes their music flow—across different generations, between different musical ideas and genres, into previously uncharted territory.
It's all aboard for Stasis' second 12" on De:tuned. Steve Pickton is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the early UK techno scene. Here he returns with a new 3 track EP of carefully selected and previously unreleased DAT tape tracks from the heyday of 90s electronic music. On offer a uniquely lush and sentimental style that resonates with the 313 Motor City sound. Sweet memories are the greatest kind of nostalgia!
Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis and pressed on 180 gr vinyl. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!
“Hellframes" ist ein halsbrecherisches Album, auf dem Game Over weiterhin ihren rasenden, verrückten Thrash Metal abliefern und gleichzeitig das Songwriting aus der Komfortzone herausschieben.
Eine hektische Mischung aus thrashigem Wahnsinn, Punk-Attitüde, ansteckenden Melodien und einigen gruseligen, obskuren Atmosphären. Textlich sind einige Tracks eng miteinander verwoben und erzählen die Geschichte eines Priesters aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, der einen okkulten Kult ins Leben rief, der in der Neuzeit durch Technologie wiederentdeckt wurde und unaussprechlich Böses aus der Hölle entfesselte. Andere Songs tauchen in die Tiefen der menschlichen Existenz und des Geistes ein - Sie erforschen Schmerz, Angst und die unerbittlichen Kämpfe, denen wir uns jeden Tag stellen.
It’s been a hot moment, so we can’t wait to finally announce the next EP on our Awkwardly label, “a hack is a foul“ by dadan karambolo.
Safe to say he’s been on our radar for a while, so we’re mighty excited to welcome the Wroclaw-based producer on AWK005. After a strong debut release on his co-owned SPLOT imprint, an equally solid LP on Regime Brigade as well as contributions to various compilations, dadan is back with his signature moody, bass-bin shaking sound.
Hitting the sweet spot somewhere between dubstep, grime, breaks and ambient techno, these 4 tracks provide a somber yet seductive quality that invite the listener to get lost in a hazy amalgamation of stylistic elements. Rest assured, this combination of low end and rhythm heavy explorations contains the right formula to cause some damage on the dance floor.
DJ picks ups and plays by: DJ Voices, EMA, Ehua, Kassian, HAAi, Ila Brugal, Jaye Ward, Mani Festo, mi-el, Nala Brown, Om Unit, Peder Mannerfelt, Pinch, Stenny, Sybil, Tom Ravenscroft, Toumba et al.
Initial Code presents his first EP, - Iteration Of A Dream - released on Brussels based label X/Y/Secret. All tracks are promising to be a thrilling exploration of groovy, loopy, and mental techno, featuring a remix by Raar. The remix pushes the original track into a deeper, more fast-paced universe, with an unique sound design and an abundance of energy. This EP is a true timeless tool that everyone should add to their collection.
Discos Perdidos - which translates as Lost Records - is a new series started by Lisbon label Paraiso, dedicated entirely to releasing archival music that, for a reason or another, never saw the light of day. The first outing on this adventure into the unknown is by none other than the legendary portugal-born, london-based techno instigator The Advent aka Cisco Ferreira. The three tracks on this EP were written in 1998 and were meant to be released on a label that another Portuguese techno legend - Jiggy - meant to start running, but other projects got in the way. Fast forward to early 2023, Jiggy showed the Paraiso crew the DATs containing these gems - immediately entrancing - and both him and The Advent agreed to give Discos Perdidos the honours of putting them out. Titled Shiolas, this three-tracker opens with 'Don't Do It', a relentless techno banger that, albeit its four to the floor drum pattern, feels swingy thanks to cleverly programmed percussion and claps. A concise but extremely effective bassline and synth lead guides the energetic smasher, with cut-up vocals, timely placed filters and hi hats giving it a final shimmer. It's followed by the Piano Mix, with an equally strong and raw arrangement and a new element - an alien, sound-sculpted piano that gives it an extra sense of urgency. The closing track 'Jacker' has more abstract leanings, although similarly dancefloor-ready, featuring an off-kilter yet driving conversation between stabs and bells in a display of expertly crafted dubby yet visceral sound design. A piece of dance music history is recovered - techno is now a story told more accurately.
Teakup is Lauri Reponen, the Columbus, Ohio DJ, producer and torch-bearer for the city’s proud Techno heritage. Following in the footsteps of Columbus originators, Titonton Duvanté, Archetype and Todd Sines, Teakup has spent the past decade forging a sound of his own via a genre alchemy that embraces genres past and present. Hardcore’s staccato samples and chopped breakbeats, UKG’s crunchy triplet hi hats and mellifluous House melodies combine in novel forms. Titonton’s wonky Tech House takes, Todd Sines’ stripped minimalism and Archetype’s broken rhythmic exploration are more key ingredients in the Teakup stew. This recipe has cooked up a massive cache of unreleased tunes as well as previous 12”s on is / was, Residual, Shut Off Notice and Lauri’s recently-minted TKP imprint.
Compiled from over 200 demos, Signal 23 has Lauri flexing a new level of genre-mastery. The title track explores Spiral Tribe’s ripping, psychedelic Freetekno. ‘Valve’ is cutting-edge rhythm hypnotism. ‘Felopzd’ loops into ecstatic trippy crescendo and ‘Pad Thai Mystic’ takes you on the spiritual voyage of late-night food delivery in middle America. Four modes, four hitters – to warm floors, open hearts or split psyches.
Marcus Belgrave's Gemini II album has never been reissued before with the original artwork, but here it comes with a Japanese Obi-strip and featuring prominent musicians and legends like Wendell Harrison, Phil Ranelin, Roy Brooks and Harold McKinney. This is a diverse record with plenty of spirituality and a loud and proud sense of blackness. The standout tune 'Space Odyssey' is the best known, not least because it was later covered by pioneering Detroit techno talent Carl Craig. Next to that tense cosmic workout are two parts of 'Gun Finger' which are both horn led and upbeat grooves, the seductive sounds of the title tune and free-bop jam 'Marcia's Opal'. 'Odoms Cave' is a tender and introverted closer.
Kreuzbergkillers let loose their first release, a double dose of peak-time, club-ready heat for the dancefloor from Sven Von Thulen and Spencer Parker, complete with a remix from the highest of heads, Shed.
Take to the A side for a rolling house/techno hybrid from Berlin native Sven Von Thülen, backed with a totally on form remix from the one and only Shed.
On the flip you’ll find a bassline heavy, peak time house jam from Spencer Parker, in original and dub form.
