A page covering my 2nd hand purchases (Part 1)
Legend: purchase month/year: artist - title (label cat no. - year) - price (condition)
Second-hand techno vinyl
07/2024: Various – Expresiones Musicales De Venezuela (Fundación Neumann – 1978) – €5.00 (VG)
An amazing double pack from the pre-authoritarian Venezuela, found at an antiquities market in Estonia. Before the excursion through the country’s folk gems we are guided through various instruments used in the ecstatic Latin sound kitchen. Whereas the ultimate find is friction drum furruco, which emanates truly alien tones. The repertoire ranges from indigenous songs and instrumentals to more contemporary compositions. The compilation was released in 1978 by Fundación Neumann, which was set up by the late entrepreneur Hans Neumann.
10/2023: Monoformia – Zoids 1 / Plug & Play (Sävel SAV-001 – 1997) – €30.00 (VG)
Sävel was a label from Helsinki that operated only in 1997 and during that year managed to issue three releases. The debut came from the Finnish duo Monoformia with a six-tracker. Of A-side’s three variations of “Zoid”, the first and third track are lifting up with techno grooves and “Zoid 1.2” captures intergalactic noise in Sähkö style. Pensive “Parallax” reminds of Dave Angel’s works while “VM Keps” appears with Dopplereffekt stabs and “Free Style” adds jungle breaks to the pot.
08/2023: Salt Tank – ST3 (Internal LIECD11 – 1994) – €4.90 (VG+)
A road trip of progressive with uplifting harmonies, smudged female vocals and Balearic strings. Especially in “Pacific Diva” and “Eugina” the prolific British duo from the early nineties provides excitement for trance folks. Breakbeat driven “Charged Up” is a treat, which gets a dub version by Zion Train. In “Clone”, The Advent appears in the original composition for a rougher ride. A download of this album-length CD is available too.
08/2023: Various – Eesti Populaarset Muusikat (Terra Records EMLP 002-003 D1 – 1980) – €28.50 (VG)
Twenty tracks of pop, rock and soulful disco on an album, which title reads “Estonian Popular Music”. It came out on a Swedish label run by the expat Jüri Lina. Though released on the brighter side of the Iron Curtain, it features mostly artists from the homeland: Singers like Ivo Linna, Heidy Tamme or Kaja & Ele Kõlar, and bands like Radar or Ruja. Four songs are by the one and only Marju ‘Marynel’ Kuut, the Estonian soul and funk diva, who had exiled in 1980 and can be regarded as ‘Western’ that time. Before the departure, she had recorded in the 1970’s over 500 songs in Estonia.
07/2023: N-Joi – Live In Manchester (Deconstruction PT 45252 – 1992) – €3.50 (VG)
A studio live from UK’s prominent rave band of the early 1990’s. Two long cuts of acid house and breakbeat mayhem that produce a real warehouse feel with installed crowd noise. A great pick for revisiting that era.
05/2023: Leevi And The Leavings – Jossain On Kai Vielä Joulu (Pyramid RAMS 553 – 1990) – €14.99 (VG)
Social pop by the Finnish legendary studio band, led by soccer fan and rock romancer Gösta Sundqvist (RIP). Two songs about Christmas blue and adolescent angst, with a sweetly ironically stance by a vital group from my younger years. Their five-CD-box is a real treat for fans.
04/2023: Various – Acid Trax Volume 3 (Needle Records DRUG 3 – 1989) – €9.50 (VG)
Licensed from Trax Records, it’s an ultimate collection of Chicago acid. Here you won’t find classics like “Acid Tracks” by Phuture, but the group’s member Spanky and DJ Pierre are represented in various reincarnations. Stripped down and hypnotic 303 swirl “Acid Pop” by Luminous Lollipop and crunchy slam “Stomach Acid” by Overdose are the highlights in a compilation that is a must for silver box lovers.
12/2022: Willpower – R-Pegio (Relief Records RR748 – 1995) – €20.00 (VG+)
One of Johnny Fiasco’s two releases on the influential Chicago label, displaying his house production skills. Relief’s common harder notes are present, but by sound “R-Pegio” is closer to the works of GU and Boo Williams. The A-side tunes are like deep house twins, while on the flip water world themes “Aquatic” and “Moby Dick” are something to remember.
12/2022: Project X – Project X E.P. (Matrix MR1014 – 1996) – €9.40 (VG)
For many, Matrix is known by Convextion’s legendary EPs, though the catalogue of the Detroit label is worth exploring beyond that. For Project X, the label founder Sean Deason joined forces with Will Web, and accordingly electro breaks (“On Patrol Mix”) open the four-tracker. The rest offers tech house variations, dub minded B2 track “Bigger Trouble Mix” being the winner.
08/2022: Unknown Artist – Countdown Part V (Countdown FFM COUNTDOWN 5 – 1992) – €1.00 (VG)
There is hardly any info on the center label and the runout grooves, but the sticker of Planet Core Distribution hinted that it’s a serious business. By length a mini-LP, it offers dark cinematic stompers that remind of The Mover, topped by a few acid driven tracks. Robust analog stuff from the PCP camp, would bet on Marc Trauner himself.
08/2022: Sinep Corp. – Weird Trax (Labworks LAB LTD 02 – 1993) – €1.00 (VG)
Sweeping 150+ BPM acid from Holger Wick aka Hoschi and Thomas Elers, on their only single “Weird Trax”. Hardcore bass drum on “Untitled” reminds of the Labworks mainstay Cellblock-X, which was co-run by Elers, and the mayhem continues on the B1, until “Swell” switches to ethereal acid trance. The B-side cuts can be found on the much-recommended label compilation “Genetic Error Vol. 2”. Second-hand techno vinyl
08/2022: Reality Feedback – Soundscapes (Deepfried df-006 – 1996) – €10.50 (G+)
Having accustomed to wobbly minimal of Kikoman, who was the boss of Deepfried, the four-tracker by Fanon Flowers reveals the label’s rougher face. The B-side stands out with electro and acid marriage “Scape 30” and the best biz comes with “Scape 40”, razing techno funk driven by bold drums and hiss of cyberbugs.
04/2022: Voodoo Child – Demons / Horses (NovaMute 12 NoMu 32 – 1994) – €8.50 (VG+)
Moby’s techno project with two hard and long tracks. Well, perhaps the BPM experiment “Thousand” is the hardest from him, but gripping acid techno “Horses” is an efficient club tool and “Demons” comes with trancey notes. Both are over 20 minutes long for an extended enjoyment.
04/2021: D-Man – More Extended Versions (800trak 8004 TRAK – 1997) – €8.90 (VG+)
After a twelve of Sandbenders, I’ve picked up a few other releases from the tiny catalogue of the German label 800trak, which used to fluctuate between experimental electro and stripped down techno. The label founder D-Man makes a strong appearance with five untitled cuts where he drops utter minimal jack and shamanic slam, recalling DBX and Gigi Galaxy respectively.
12/2020: Tuning Circuits – No Compassion (Totally Freaked Out Power Electronics – 2017) – €25.95 (VG+)
Dutchman René Bakker was ahead of his time when in 1990 he recorded this raw and distorted insanity under the Tuning Circuits alias. A run of 200 cassettes was discovered a quarter of a century later with a couple of unofficial releases. Difficult to file under any style, just imagine pitched down Spiral Tribe meeting early continental hardcore, even not quite that.
11/2020: P909 – Live (Sonic Records SNC-2036 – 1995) – €6.00 (VG+)
The crowd-stimulating shouts on the A3 track “Even Further” make it clear it’s a live recording of a fierce acid techno session. Prototype 909, consisting of Jason ‘BPMF’ Szostek, Dietrich Schoenemann and Taylor Deupree, was an outstanding US acid techno outfit of the 1990’s. Plenty of acid for sweaty strobe-lit areas in this five-track EP, the last one “Axis” providing some 303 funk treatment.
11/2020: Acid Front – E.C.O. 303 (Muzak MK020 – 1995) – €7.00 (VG+)
Muzak was an Italian label I remember from the reviews in the nineties techno mag Frontpage. Not as known as ACV Records, a mothership of Italian acid and techno, it still had a sizable catalogue in the same style. After copping a double pack by The 4th Dimension some years ago, I returned to the label during a Discogs surfing session. Two acid tracks of about ten minutes each, written by Piercarlo Bormida, the B-side (“Decay Probability”) with over 150 BPM and nasty bass line being a blast.
12/2020: Tim Harper – Toxic Waste (Dance Mania DM047) – €9.00 (VG+)
Knowing several great tunes Tim Harper had issued on Relief, the four-tracker “Toxic Waste” was his first debut that came out on Dance Mania back in 1992. This is an undated reissue and I don’t know if the original was as notoriously bad pressing with lousy mastering. Be prepared to turn up the volume to hear at least something. The tracks are raw and bumpy, being more stripped down in the A2 and B2, the latter (“N’da Rose”) in a Glenn Underground mix is a real earworm.
09/2020: Morganistic – Fluids Amniotic (Input Neuron Musique Ltd. INM LP 1 -1994) – €15.00 (VG)
It’s all about timing. After few years of watching Internet marketplaces for Luke Slater’s only album as Morganistic and finding a suitable one with acceptable price and quality ratio, exactly then the artist’s Mote Evolver label announced a reissue of “Fluids Amniotic”. For techno loving community it’s a treat to have this classic LP available again, as it shows Slater in top form. The A/B sides carry the vibe of Hood and Mills (especially his “Waveform Transmission Vol. 1”) and A2 (“Soup”) recalls Drexciya’s “Black Sea”. The other half is of funkier kind, concluding with rattling dub-driven techno (“Let It Go”) and IDM for the sunrise (“Wonder”). One of the very best techno albums, not only in the 1990’s category.
08/2020: Rick “Hollywood” Pagan – Village D.J. Trac Series Pt. 2 (Music Village Records MV-0035) – €4.40 (NM)
This purchase is related to The Hollywood Impact, a project described a few sections below, and reflects the artist’s visit to the Newark label Music Village. The first part comes with a portion of slapping beats, but remains quite unfascinating in comparison to its twin brother. It’s a raw and jacking EP with six pretty differing versions of “Make Em Sweat Tracs”. Stripped to the bone “Trance Trac Mix” is doing serious damage on the floor and bonus points are awarded to the old school electro version “It’s A Classic Mix”.
08/2020: Various – Grimy Edits Vol. 6 (Grimy Edits GRIME 006 – 2013) – €2.50 (VG)
A lucky find at a charitable record fair in Tallinn: I remembered Rahaan, one of the remixers, from a Stilove4music release and the red vinyl looked attractive too. Had had quick check on Discogs if it’s not a grime record and it turned out that normally quite a few bucks have to be paid for that. So I grabbed the unofficial release that features three soul and funk edits for driving the crowd mad. Over ten minutes of “I Need Help!” on the B-side is a treat.
08/2020: Rick Wade – Night Of The Living Deep (Yore Records yore-002 – 2007) – €2.50 (VG+)
Always on the lookout for Detroit artists, I picked up my second Yore release – the previous one was from Wade too – from a charitable record fair in Tallinn. The four-track EP is smooth deep house as we know from the artist, “Frosnfeathers” being my favourite track in the position B2. The price and quality ratio sounded right to make for a nice addition to my collection.
07/2020: Jumprava – Pilsēta (Мелодия С60 28945 006 – 1989) – €1.00 (VG+)
Long before getting rid of the Soviet Union, Latvia had a few strong synth pop acts, such as Zodiac and Eolika. Jumprava emerged when the winds of change were blowing and made the LP debut in 1988. The album “Pilsēta” came out next year, to bolster the group’s status as ‘local Depeche Mode’. Singing in Latvian, they were influenced by new wave and synth pop greats, such as Blancmange, Tears For Fears, Duran Duran, etc. My favorite tune is synth ballad “Ziemeļmeita” along with “Šeit Lejā”.
06/2020: Adapta – Adapta 1 (Brutalist Sunset Brutalsun 1 – 2011) – €5.00 (NM)
Bitstream is a well-known electro act, but it was new to me that the Conner brothers have been recording under solo monikers too. In the early 2010’s, Dave (as Uexkull) and Steven (as Adapta) were also behind the label Brutalist Sunset. The first Adapta twelve is a journey on electro’s abstract trails, like a heavier take of Hidden Hawaii. Gloomy and seductive tracks, especially the B2 “Duerden Sound”.
05/2020: Tõnu & Raivo – Kahe Mehe Band (Raivo & Tõnu Co RTS-80 – 1980) – €10.70 (VG+)
In 1980, when Estonia was under the Soviet rule, the diaspora in the Free World gathered to the global ESTO festival in Stockholm. For this occasion, two Swedish Estonians, Raivo Parind and Tõnu Sepp, self-released a single with catchy disco soul tune “Sinisilmne unistus” (“Blue-eyed Dream”), supported by the ballad “Mu neid” (“My Girl”) for feeling summer, sea and sun.
03/2020: Madhava – Amber EP (Elusive Records ELU 002 – 1994) – €5.30 (NM)
A spontaneous buy, inspired by a review around the release time. Driving mid-1990’s progressive house with Balearic notes, the excessively euphoric A2 track “Swell” doing the best job. Written by Mat McLean, who appeared also as Son Of God and Rhizome.
03/2020: El Turco Loco – Boleroloco (El Turco Loco – 1996) – €5.99 (VG)
Can Oral, a man of million aliases, performing as El Turco Loco. The four-tracker opens with an eccentric seventeen-minute version of Ravel’s classic, though showing as much mercy that Torvill and Dean wouldn’t be upset. The rest of the shuffle turns pretty loco with electric hip-hop and free jazz experiments.
02/2020: The Hollywood Impact – DJ Tools Volume 2 (Rawhaus Records RH0002 – 1992) – €4.50 (G+)
Got this tip from a 1993 interview of Daniel Bell in the German techno magazine Frontpage, where “DJ Tools Vol. 2” was listed in his TOP 10 of the moment. This is vocal house from the US and my favourite is the B-side’s sleazy opener “Cabeza (Head Job)”, which reminds a bit of Rosario’s “You Used To Hold Me”. I’m wondering if “Vol. 1” was ever released, but I can see on Discogs that the artist Rick “Hollywood” Pagan was busy already from the mid-1980’s on the Newark label Music Village Records.
02/2020: E.O.X. – Acid New York E.P. (Hollis Haus TEN4002 – 1995) – €8.50 (VG+)
The record came out on an offshoot of Tension Records, a nineties influential label that was run by Abe Duque. Two cuts were written by US electronic artists Dietrich Schoenemann and Taylor Deupree, both of them known for exceptional track record as sound designers. The A-side’s acid funk might have well appeared on Khan’s Temple Records in NYC, while the flip’s offbeat spanking and deformed vocals with “acid, New York” on repeat are leading thoughts to Phuture and other classic 303 acts.
01/2020: .xtrak – Multiplexor (7th City SCD 003 – 1995) – €8.50 (VG)
Out of stock when I made an order from Submerge in 1995, this original press filled with genuine minimal has finally landed in my collection. Written by Todd Sines and co-produced by the label founder Daniel “DBX” Bell, the four-track EP parades with cold jack beats. Of course the label’s most coveted releases came from Claude Young’s project Brother From Another Planet but they are going for huge money.
01/2020: Random Access – DJ Tools Vol. 2 (Relief Records RR704 – 1994) – €14.00 (VG+)
Every few months I’m indulging myself with early Relief releases, even when owning a number of them already. Random Access – not to be mixed up with Dutch acid techno act Random XS – released three installments of “DJ Tools” on the label and the second volume is the first one in my collection. The sound is on housier side, pumped up by a Green Velvet remix on the B-side.
12/2019: Panasonic – Panasonic (Sähkö Recordings SÄHKÖ-007 – 2005) – €19.00 (NM)
I belong to the guild of Sähkö collectors, and this piece was missing so far. Original first pressing is very expensive, but the 2005 reissue is fine too. “Murtaja” on the B-side is a rough ride. It’s a shame Panasonic was forced to change its name, even when it didn’t have any adverse effect on the duo’s musical output.
10/2019: Jakosuodin – Putkimies EP (Pulssi pulssi001 – 1997) – €6.00 (VG)
Finnish FM station Radiomafia played it in March 1997 when introducing new domestic releases. ‘Plumber’ (=’putkimies’) techno came with a sturdy, chord driven title track and “Epäkesko” was close to early M-Plant. Still works well.
07/2019: Gary Martin – Black Forest (Teknotika Records GG-28 – 2001) – €4.90 (VG+)
Tight tribal of aliens, the Teknotika sound coined in the nineties, opens the label’s first release in this Millennium. The flip sees two housier takes of “In Rythem”.
Second-hand techno vinyl
Second-hand techno vinyl