Search:unc

The highly anticipated new release of Guy Mantzur's label Moments contains an exceptional collaboration of the two legends Audio Junkies and Sahar Z. The Israeli dreamteam managesonce again to sail into uncharted soundscapes, displayingtheir skillsetwhile giving usa glimpse into their musical world. The works connect the dots between styles, fusing indie dance, breaks, psychedelic, and progressive elements into an integrated conceptual work of art. 'Variants' indicates what is to come in this musical endeavor, combining skillfully executed warm melodic stretches blended carefully with a driving beat. 'Come2gether' carries an uplifting melody providing a soul-stirringnostalgic moment, perfect for any dancefloor.

This vinyl version of the release brings the warmth of an audiophile-worthy audio quality and delivers an additional track. Come2gether (Delta Mix) is an exclusive version, bringing an edgier take on the exquisitely put-together material. Dig in!

Lisbon’s Welt Discos brings you the latest charming confection from Rory Bowyer, whose Rube Goldberg Series label has become synonymous with this strand of upbeat, modern house music. Following hits on Partisan and Free Voyage, the Bob’s Your Uncle EP features big 4/4 groovers on the A and delicately poised breaks and downtempo on the B. Restraint and flare are here in equal measure – check the patient build-up on the title track or the blissful breakdown in the monster ‘Horizontal Horizon’. Musicality, groove and a quick wit – Rory’s recipe for any occasion.

One thing that is written in stone even in these days of near endless uncertainty is that when Topical Disco unleashes one of their vinyl releases they are a no questions asked, must have. For a label which regularly dominates the top spot of the download charts they still consistently manage to up the ante for their vinyl drops. It’s no wonder at all that the previous editions have gone on to become collector’s editions, disappearing from the shelves as quickly as you can say here today, gone tomorrow.

Volume 24 easily keeps this incredible run of club vinyl masterpieces going strong. Packed across two side of black gold are tracks from newcomers and scene heavy hitters alike Toscana, Toby O’Conner, Charly Angelz and Frank Virgilio.

The mysterious Toscana leads the way with the wonderfully enigmatic ‘The Girl With The Red Hair’, a six and a half minute slice of pleasure packed Balearic disco. Incessant, warm and inviting it combines a divine groove heavy bassline, funky guitar licks and a subtle percussive backbone with a rather brilliant stand-out guitar solo. This is a track which is guaranteed to fill those summer dancefloors.

Next up is Toby O’Conner who is returning to Tropical Disco after his lauded ‘The Heist / 1920 EP’ with another high energy slice of disco goodness in the shape of ‘Cave Of Gold’. Again this is classic Tropical Disco, combing both live chops with jazz overtones as throbbing club ready drums provide the framework for a bubbling bassline, subtle keys and sax solo’s aplenty to weave their magic. Expect jazz inspired shapes to be thrown on dancefloors across the globe when this one drops.

Over on the flip is Charly Angelz, another artist who has been making a considerable swirl on the disco scene of late. ‘Mother Phunk’ is very aptly named with an absolute gem of a bassline front and centre as classic funk vocal chops, vibey pads and guitar stabs all combine perfectly with earworm strings for anther sure fire floor filler.

Closing the EP out is scene stalwart Frank Virgilio. Hailing from Napoli Frank has been behind a virtual disco smorgasbord over the five years including regular chart bothering appearances on Tropical disco. ‘What We Love’ tips its hat to the golden era of house music, think 90’s Soulfuric meets MAW. Vibes abound here from the classic drum sounds right through to the divine ethereal percussion which adds that touch of class. This is another track which will sound just perfect on the golden Isle this coming summer, did some-one say Ibizan boat party? We’re onboard!

Nearly 10 years on since his last solo LP, Berlin techno icon Marcel Dettmann arrives on Dekmantel with an expansive album captured in a flash of inspiration.

In many ways Fear Of Programming is a reflection on the artistic process – the critical hurdles one has to overcome, the constant strive for originality, the ability to capture inspiration in its pure moment of inception. Bar the closing title track (and we all know Marcel loves a surprise closing), these 13 tracks came together during a period in which our hirsute host was able to immerse himself in studio practice and set the intention to record an album’s worth of material every single day. From the resulting mass of work there were many options to choose from, and Fear Of Programming stood out as one of the most complete statements on Dettmann’s approach in the here and now.

Unconcerned with an overarching concept, it was the work in the studio which drove the musical direction. No labouring over knotty arrangements, no painstaking mix downs – just honest expression, a moment caught, a groove locked, a stroke of synth sent pirouetting over a cavernous bed of texture. The results are varied, and while you might well hear plenty of bruising machinations in line with the techno Dettmann has made his name on, there are plenty of other shades expressed across the album.

Ambient sojourns, beatless epics and angular electronica have equal footing with strident, floor-friendly workouts. Standout piece ‘Water’ offers an icy ballet of swinging minimal and drip-drop melodics fronted by Ryan Elliott on lesser-spotted vocal duties, urging, ‘give me a sign, just a little something to let me know that you’re mine’. It’s playful, but still underpinned with the sincerity that comes with Dettmann’s work.

Running on instinct, Dettmann presents an honest version of himself in the here and now, speaking through the sonics and not over-thinking the results. His decades of experience helming a thousand techno parties speak for themselves, while his evolution as a musical entity through collaboration and his own BAD MANNERS label demonstrate his appetite for change. Indeed, the working method which resulted in the album also spurred him on to create a live set beyond his well-established DJ practice. Without resorting to a conceited overhaul, Fear Of Programming opens up the idea of what Dettmann represents in the modern techno landscape.

SAISEI founder Junki Inoue continues his vital archival work uncovering the riches of Japan’s distinctive electronic music scene and bringing them to new audiences around the world.
The PMA EP compiles four dynamic tracks recorded around 30 years ago by the duo of Shigeru Nakamura (drums/vocals) and Mikio Kato (synths) aka B-2DEP’T.

Nakamura and Kato’s first album as B-2DEP’T, Products Plus, appeared on cassette in 1993 on Trigger Records, the predecessor label to Transonic (given a retrospective on SAIS004). Its bright yellow and blue retro-futurist artwork – which is echoed in the design for this reissue on SAISEI – matched the sounds held within: inventive, out-of-the-box dance music blending overseas influences with an idiosyncratic Japanese sensibility.
Two tracks from Products Plus appear on this EP, All tracks re-edited by Junki Inoue and regular collaborator Yuzo Iwata for vinyl extended play and available now for the first time on vinyl. ‘Clockwork Giant Panda’ appearing in a version co-produced with Yoshinori Sunahara (ex - Denki Groove), merges a breezy US house groove and bassline with twinkling, almost parodic Japanese keys that act as a kind of meta commentary on Western perceptions of Japan (a concept pioneered by Yellow Magic Orchestra). The two parts of ‘BSMH’, or Body Sonic Mental Health from ‘Products Plus’, were originally remixed by Daishi Hisakawa of Tanzmuzik, who draws on darker sounds from Europe and the UK: restless Depeche Mode synth harmonies spiral above a pacy EBM pulse, with robot vocals intoning the titular slogan. The package is completed by the unreleased track ‘PMA’, whose driving, bass-heavy mood falls somewhere between Sheffield bleep and the ambient techno of early Biosphere.

SAISEI is a Japanese word which translates to ‘reproduction’ and ‘to play’ (as in playing records). Japanese culture is widely known for its traditional nature just as much as it is for being forward into the future and this label’s concept does justice to exactly that. Having started digging for records as early as 16 years old, Inoue delved into productions from 1990s Japan to uncover these native gems. SAISEI’s core concept is to recapture and reintroduce unique pieces of Japanese electronic music onto vinyl, to an audience it never reached before as most of this music was only released in Japan.

With UPGRADES, Fogata Sounds imprint nearly 20 years of collaboration between Troy Berkley & Krak in Dub. This opus follows half a dozen maxi 45's and 300 gigs across Europe, from the One Love Festival to the underground sound system nights. The vocalist and the producer skills take you on a journey into “Sound System” music, from Early Roots to Future Dance-Hall, oscillating between Dub and Jungle. Those styles appear like solar polaroids , bringing images to the minds of neophytes and music lovers. 12 effective and original tunes mixing analog instrumentals like in “Life pon the line” or “CrystalBall” to the uncompromising Stepper from « Roll Call ». Featuring the big tune « Matta » and to singles « Dub plate Dada » et « Sound and Power » feat Sr Wilson.

Born and raised in the heart of the French Alps, and now residing in Paris, DJ Physical’s sound is one of a harsh romance. Perhaps it was the beauty and serenity of the snow-covered mountain tops and the ferocious nature of French techno moulding together that spawned his ‘Raw Poetry’ aesthetic; an emotive blend of dark and light that feels like it could belong in concert halls and theatres as well as underground clubs. Now the Parisian local serves up five deadly cuts of brooding electro and techno for 1Ø PILLS MATE.

‘Not So Human’ delivers the influence of trance on the contemporary techno soundscape, but doesn’t over-do it. Trance-licked, not dominated, the uncompromising cut of wave-driven techno is the perfect accompaniment for when you want to take things up a notch. ‘Sex Club’ maintains DJ Physicals’ fascination with Raw Poetry - brimming with breaks-driven breakdowns, spine-tingling atmospherics and low-pressure basslines that highlight the variety of influence the emerging producer brings to the table.

Acid synth-lines and lively trance-inspo create an altogether lighter mood as we flip the record on ‘Mortal Dance’, before ‘Easy Dancer’ changes its tune altogether with a pounding cut of progressive, freaky electronica.

Closing the release is ‘Go Further’ - misty electro, Southern-trap samples and those distinctive, high-culture ambient interludes creating a sense of emotive mystery. A well-rounded release with plenty of left-turns, this is DJ Physical’s ‘Raw Poetry’ at its finest.

Eight years after Cuthead's "Give'n'Take", it's Sneaker's turn to put together four of his favorite tracks for Uncanny Valley's compilation series. The artwork is once again by Planetluke com aka Luca Lozano. "This record is a vista of my world where music inhabits the air between people. As an exchange of genius, emotions, gestures - even conventions, rituals, and love. Dedicated to L.B. BaD, whose music I inhaled and whose records inspired me on my quest for deepness. You will be missed!" (Sneaker) Besides L.B. BaD's wonderful "Late In The Evening (Music's Seeping Thru)" you'll get three absolute bangers on top. The Optimistic Misanthropes are Mystic Bill, VeXaTioN and Sneaker himself. One of the most influential Chicago House DJs, true to the underground for over three decades now, and once part of the Trax Records roster... Mystic Bill. VeXaTioN already got to know him back in the days but is currently hailing from Mexico City. His track was born in Los Angeles and remixed by Sneaker in Berlin. Also, Left Unknown's "Maedchen" got the jacking Midas touch from Sneaker, a touch you've come to recognize. Behind the one-off project is Saxonian Gnista aka DJ Detox and somebody who wants to remain incognito. Jacob Korn however is well-known since the early days of Uncanny Valley and is above all Sneaker's best buddy at TailOut Studio, Dresden.

There was a time when a person would pick up an instrument to compose yet another song for a loved one. A sad figure humming into a microphone, pronouncing the most basic words and forms to convey quantity, quality, fact, statistics and similar sounds describing pain, loss and sorrow. The human brain would perceive the melody sad and perhaps within herself feel a sense of melancholia.

In another parallel world a new composition would then appear. But not one composed on a wooden built instrument, no, sounds made into structures and tables that would assists the listener into providing an additional context and meaning through digital synthesis and quantised harmonies. But who could really tell if these sounds were real? Or where they just sounds impersonating an idea of something?

Rhyme nor reason is as abstract in its shapes and ideas as it is concrete and elegant in its narratives. A carefully crafted wooden cabinet with an over-whelming amount of different drawers and hidden compartments. Each box storing blissful arrangement; a fluorescent stone, a paper note saying something about lunch, some collectible objects, a forgotten token or perhaps an autograph, all so very vibrant and joyful for its possessor.

Deleted files stored on rapidly rotating platters coated with magnetic material. Small, easy to loose SSD memory cards of recorded corrupt files and digital artefacts. Software engineered compositions trying to grasp the shared belief of an upcoming future, vivid and uncertain; birds, waters and long lost recollections. A release unconcerned with the literal depiction of things from the visible world. At least not for now.

The light is at the end of the tunnel. The light is shining bright because of love. The love is the answer to the darkness + the remedy for the experience which might bring unclearness and letting drown in the metaphorical swamp which every single human has felt during the journey they are on. The EP by the Switzerland based mastermind Dan Piu is dedicated to the love and to the love only. The tracks that were produced from the artist’s creative inflow are from the year 1995 to our present days and are telling the story of hope and compassion. Starting from A side we have a demonstrative rollercoaster which is ‘Selfish War Machine’ gracing before the ‘Made in Japan’ which is inspired by the early arcade machines and the ethos they were bringing with them. Side B starts with seductive house number straight up from the year 1995, followed by Robotic tool ‘Robota’ and finishing off on the perfect and soul caressing track going by the name ‘Equinox of Ceres’. This precise body of work which has found its home with Sakskøbing is pure and direct message of love, in a way when things are seem bleak the light can be sparked again. The answer how this spark gets obtained is the four-letter word which is mentioned frequently in this text

Drawing from a strong history of electronic influence, Tomashevsky has created his own underworld of foreboding techno. We enter this EP with Incoherent, which exudes ominous sounds - reminiscent of murky radar blips that may be heard deep underwater in the metallic bowels of a submarine. Bubbling electronic delays remain adjoined to these metronomic blips and oer lateral, spontaneous movement around an otherwise sturdy song structure. Jittery melodies scatter nervously under lead elements, remaining disjointed and resulting in increased energy and a darkened excitement.

As we move through the EP, we face ups and downs, both in tempo and mood. Leading on from the first, Rollback is destabilizing, energetic and mean in all the right ways. Wobbling low ends open into a mood of uncertainty, held in place only by the stability of the drums. Rollback suits a peak-time club atmosphere thanks to the gritty synth leads and fast-paced feel.

Ending with the two tracks on the B-side, Tomashevsky still seeks to surprise. Rejected seems to be a distant relative of the Incoherent, following the synthetic blip structure but allowing snares and other percussions to build more prominently. Finally, we arrive at the closing track which marks itself as more obscure. Leaning on kick drum patterns initially reminiscent of electro/breaks, the use of half-time tempo gives a change of pace and a platform for a slightly different song structure and mixing potential.

Mesmeric and entrancing, these songs give any DJ or listener to chance to turn mind chatter o and lock into a hypnotic groove. Drawing on classically techno foundations, Tomashevsky has tipped his hat to the founders of the genre whilst adding his own flavour and subtle techniques that make this EP shine.

SAISEI founder Junki Inoue continues his vital archival work uncovering the riches of Japan’s distinctive electronic music scene and bringing them to new audiences around the world. The Sounds Of Transonic compiles six tracks recorded in Tokyo between 1991 and 1995 and released by the pioneering Transonic label, founded in 1994 by Kazunao Nagata and active until 2004.

Transonic’s catalogue is a glittering roll call of the scene’s major players, whose inventive and genre-blending work established forward-thinking house and techno in Japan in a way that would shape the country’s electronic sound for years to come. Transonic was instrumental in giving exposure to the work of these artists with its emblematic series of CD compilations, released over a short couple of years in the mid 90s. Beginning with 970-1450km/h, Feedback and Range, the series also included The Roots Of Transonic, featuring music from parent label Trigger. Alongside these compilations came much sought-after solo albums each packaged with striking cover art that makes the discs a visual treat for collectors to this day.

The Sounds Of Transonic brings together six tracks from the catalogue into one breath-taking package. The influence of hi-tech jazz and machine funk from Detroit is undeniable in ‘Dream Trance’ (Mind Design) and ‘Blasting Soul’ (Interferon), while ‘Under The Ground’ (Palomatic) and ‘Chelsea’ (Suzukiski) are permeated by the artificial intelligence and trip hop emanating from the UK at the time. The compilation is bookended by two tracks by Nagata himself (as Organization): ‘Space Ball’, a Model 500-worthy chase through the cosmos, and ‘Call’, an eerie echo of Kraftwerk’s telephone, transmitting expectantly out into the void and, finally, receiving its celestial answer.

With The Sounds Of Transonic these formative pieces of music will now be available internationally and, for the first time, on vinyl.

SAISEI is a Japanese word which translates to ‘reproduction’ and ‘to play’ (as in playing records). Japanese culture is widely known for its traditional nature just as much as it is for being forward into the future and this label’s concept does justice to exactly that. Having started digging for records as early as 16 years old, Inoue delved into productions from 1990s Japan to uncover these native gems. SAISEI’s core concept is to recapture and reintroduce unique pieces of Japanese electronic music onto vinyl, to an audience it never reached before as most of this music was only released in Japan.