Category: electro

REVIEW: Arcanoid, Jimmy Edgar+Ideograma, Plant43, Annie Hall – 10.X. (SEMANTICA 10.X – 2017)

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This year, Semantica Records’ glorious decade in music is celebrated with the anniversary series, a journey through global techno, involving artists from Sweden to Japan, from France to Argentina for mostly four-to-the-floor, tripping tracks. The ten-vinyl batch is now peaking with “10.X.”, dedicated to electro that has not been an uncharted territory for the Madrid label, if to recall thematic tunes from Ed Chamberlain, E.R.P., Boris Divider and many others. Gladly the contributions from all artists  – everyone of them has previously appeared on Semantica – are diverse on their own way. Spanish producer Arcanoid opens with a symbiosis of synthwave, […]

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REVIEW: Dez Williams – Forlorn Figures In Godforsaken Places EP (Mechatronica MTRON003 – 2017)

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Still when the influence of Dez Williams’ track “Only Way I Know” on the recent Mechatronica sampler is hard to disappear, the producer from Holy Island off the Welsh coast returns to Berlin’s electro imprint with a new EP, which is the label’s first solo effort after two mini compilations. Although qualified for conceiving nasty acidbangers, from the very beginning Williams’ special love has belonged to electro and here we have another proof of his trade skills. “Xen” opens as a standard electro track that would match I-F’s classic output with growling 808 and laser sword stabs, the vocal part providing […]

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REVIEW: Vertical67 – Morphed Reality (Brokntoys BT18 – 2017)

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Thomas Pahl is a visitor from Berlin on Brokntoys. When he’s not exactly busy at Vortex Traks, an electro label he runs together with Naks, Pahl is making music under the Vertical67 alias. The project’s first digital tracks came out about ten years ago and “Morphed Reality” is Vertical67’s second appearance on the London label, after contributing with acid-soaked frosty funk “Distortion” in recent mini compilation “The Glowing”. The A-side is dedicated to swerving uptempo cuts, the opener “Far Away Lights” rolling on coarse 808 kicks while wriggly 303 and subtle vocoder action furnishes the title tune. The B-side rests on the […]

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NEW VINYL: DJ T-1000, Inga Mauer, Silicon

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DJ T-1000 – The Polymath EP (Third Ear – 2017) A strong reminder from Alan Oldham that he is not only an illustrator much in demand for sleeve designs, but a techno producer of experience. Already in the nineties, his Generator Records stood for Detroit’s rougher sound, with an impressive roster. Oldham has relaunched the DJ T-1000 alias with “The Polymath EP”, offering on the A-side no-nonsense classic techno. With thematic voice samples, the track “Liquid Metal” could be DJ T-1000’s anthem of the decade and especially the exclamation ‘I’m back’ in “Shapeshifters” may tell a bit about the future intentions. The B-side’s “Air Berlin” […]

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REVIEW: /DL/MS/ – Rogue Intent (TRUST29 – 2017)

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TRUST from Vienna calling with “Rogue Intent” when Dan Lodig, who was behind last year’s Lok44 EP, returns to the label with Martin Sovinz under the project name /DL/MS/. TRUST is regarded as electro outlet and while the duo is not going to dispute its style preferences, their peculiar view on combining mechanical beats and voice samples offers a few surprising, quality moments. Inheriting some elements from IDM, the rather lingering opener “Indisciplinado” is difficult to categorise when it travels from artsy surroundings to sticky bars with hardly audible background voices. The next track “Yep” starts with hollow medieval drumming and Oriental strings […]

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REVIEW: Galaxian – Blowback (Foul-Up DOWN3 – 2017)

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This has been waiting to happen, a truly remarkable release on Foul-Up, a Danish-run label from Berlin that launched in 2016 with “Limerence EP” by Misantrop, a project by the label founder Nicolai Vesterkær Krog. After a LP from Metalized Man earlier this year, the third release of the label keen to explore the electronic fringes enters the electro cluster with an eight-tracker from Galaxian, which is a mask-wearing alter ego of the UK producer Mark Kastner. Galaxian’s proven industrial take on the genre is reflected in the convulsive opener “Truth Seizure” and in abstract thrusts of “Parasitic Seduction”, sounding like a […]

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REVIEW: DJ SCSI – Tech 4 Life – Face Da Nation (Hard Beach Entertainment HBE005 – 2017)

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Another gem has landed on Hard Beach Entertainment, with the label’s second EP from DJ SCSI who is making a leap from relative anonymity to deep appreciation in electro community. Initially regarded as ‘new’ artist, DJ SCSI actually debuted in 1997 for the Detroit label D-Bass but thereafter the alias holder Gari Romalis virtually remained silent – up to the beginning of this decade when he returned with a number of techno and house EPs, as I just found out. “Tech 4 Life – Face Da Nation” is a perfect showcase of Romalis’ talent and opens with “Communication”, a ‘+6%’ […]

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REVIEW: Kovyazin D & Moralez – The Night Watch (Eidetic EIDE02 – 2017)

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In recent years, Brokntoys has been a trusted platform for inspirational electro, often in its melodic form, and now the label expands the horizon with a techno-inclined offshoot called Eidetic. The sublabel’s first physically available release is the second by the catalogue numbers and comes from Russian producers Kovyazin D, who has previously been part of M>O>S and Chiwax roster, and Moralez, co-founder of the St Petersburg based label Mosaique and co-operator of a club of the same name. The duo has succeeded in creating a stimulating four-tracker that is linked to Chicago-bred acid house and The Hague’s synth mania […]

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REVIEW: Various – MTRON002 (Mechatronica MTRON002 – 2017)

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In the second vinyl release, the young Mechatronica imprint sticks to the sampler format, which enjoys wide popularity in electro nowadays, and summons four acts for another release to nicely taps into the label’s debut from the last year. Extraordinary opener comes from Dez Williams, a Welshman from Holy Island, who has been behind a variety of tracks – from acid bangers to experimental electro. Now Williams is creating a total shake-up with “Only Way I Know”, which may feel difficult to digest at first instance but the love for the jolting track with steely vocoder is coming quickly, pushed by a […]

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The best of 2016 in a mix

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Tracklist Sven Grünberg – Hingus, I Osa (Мелодия / Bureau B) David Morley – Presto (De:tuned) Ioannis Savvaidis – IBM 2870 (Lower Parts) Puto Anderson – Domingo de Paz (Príncipe) Eomac – Same Heart, Same Breath, Same Life, Same Death (Bedouin Trax) Tanzania Soundsystem – Ngono Kijiji (Highlife) Reade Truth – OMM 0910 (Path Records) Population One – Detroit City At Night (Metroplex) Gut Nose – Enjoy Thy Flesh (Styles Upon Styles) Nikolajev – Live Cut (Mutant Disco) (Collect-Call) CT Trax – Toxic (Dixon Avenue Basement Jams) Brassica – Wryders (Feel My Bicep) Kareem – Meyrink (Noiztank) Mumm – Cell […]

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