A confession to start with: the history of soul and funk, and this part of the music world in general, is something quite alien to me. It’s for the experts to say if this record is freshly squeezed tasty juice or just warmed-up bouillon of edits from the cellars. Anyway,Read More →
There is a tunnel. And there is light at the end of it. Or is it the Black Hole when Emptyset takes us to the world of shades? Starting with hardly audible hum “Aleph”, the A-side is filled with evil growling of machines that accelerate slowly – pitching 33 RPM recordRead More →
Drums in excess in the first release of Diskant, a label based in Düsseldorf, the birthplace of Kraftwerk. “Inside Palace” promises musique concrete and abstract noise but then percussion picks up, complemented by bubbling rhythms and subtle strings. Dervishes are spinning, directed by one million sound layers, and signs ofRead More →
Swedish multi-artist Tobias Bernstrup carries the torch that was lit in the Italian Peninsula in the 1980s. Three catchy italo tracks on blue vinyl, whereas the title and “Behind The Wheel” sound like twins because of shared refrain and only some synth variations. The B2, “Into The Night”, is differentRead More →
Stephan Laubner from Germany opens the record with a nicely ticking and smoothly grooving but somewhat unoriginal track, raising fears that he, too, suffers from complications of the minimal virus. Despite of a sci-fi-sounding title, “Space Warriors” is the most laid-back cut of the EP but because of its lengthRead More →
A release from 1996 that feels like having baptised the Transmat sublabel – two fragile, extended sound excursions that hover between ambient and trance. In fact, it’s pure and deep chord-driven Detroit techno with dub motives, like we know from John Beltran or Aril Brikha. With only one difference: drumRead More →
Acid assault from 1993 and Frankfurt. Not the most wanted of five releases by the 100% Acidiferous label. On the A-side “Tank” goes rushing and takes a deep bow to the fans of gabber as BPMs try to break the ceiling. Sounds better when pitched down, although meant for 45rpm.Read More →
Hood, one of Detroit techno greats ended his period of hibernation at the end of noughties and this release is a superb present for the admirers of mature analog sounds. Gurus are sometimes inclined to repetition of earlier works, Jeff Mills being one of the examples. But his pal HoodRead More →
A procession is dragging their feet in a cobbled street, squeezed between dark and ancient town walls. Hooded beings feel the fatigue in their feet and what is eating them? Are they still in a shock about the execution of a despotic landlord or are they ridden with fear after having learnedRead More →
Roska has the debut album out on Rinse and for this special occasion a review from the archives of Masinamusa, from the fall 2009.In Finnish “roska” means “rubbish” but this first association is totally wrong in this respect. Because the release is pure gold. “Concrete Jungle” is a perfectly rollingRead More →