After picking up “Off The Chain” a few years ago, I’ve been aware of Vin Sol as a hard-working master of sweaty tracks but it took a while to retrieve another one from the Californian producer. His return to UTTU this autumn is a suitable occasion to warm up everybody beforeRead More →
As a DJ collective, Meltdown Deejays has been around since 1993 when it was set up in the Finnish town Vaasa. Last year saw the Meltdown’s debut as a label with Vesa-Matti Kivioja’s (Ostrobothnia Power Discs, Ljudverket) “Miller Street Sessions”, a five-track EP between acidic floor action and experimental soundscapes.Read More →
In 2017, Stefan Schwander has returned to the limelight with his Harmonious Thelonious project, when new releases have appeared on Kontra-Musik, Versatile and most recently on The Trilogy Tapes. “Ayranman EP” was published already in the summer and it marks the artist’s return to the Düsseldorf label Disk, formerly knownRead More →
Until lately I didn’t have a clue about the Irish label Xerophkz and its founder Conan O’Donnell. Exactly up to the moment I discovered his latest EP with bold references to the 313 area, in a record that genuinely deserves attention of Detroit heads. A new offering from the Dublin residentRead More →
Keith Tucker – Detroit Saved My Soul (Mint Condition MC013 – 2017) In a three-tracker that originally appeared on the Glasgow label Seventh Sign Recordings in 2005, Keith Tucker of Aux 88 and Optic Nerve fame opens with a solid techno narrative “It’s A Mood (Detroit Saved My Soul)” thatRead More →
Revivals are happening all the time and it’s difficult to say when one ends and another begins. However in 2017, there are some signs of trance factor making a return to the floor. Thus it’s time to recall the glory days of Harthouse, a Frankfurt label founded in 1992 byRead More →
[Updates on December 17, 2017 and September 19, 2019 – see the end of the post] After a wider audience has (re)discovered Drexciya through reissues on Clone, it’s time to pay attention to other notable moments of the nineties Detroit electro. Direct Beat makes a much-anticipated return in 2018 whenRead More →
Nachtzug – Unspoken (Vortex Traks VTX 005 – 2017) Nachtzug’s five interpretations on the theme “Unspoken” are in line with the blueprint sound of Vortex Traks, when the German duo offers lulling midsummer electro with melodic pads and smooth synth sequences. “Unspoken 3” sounds soRead More →
As everyone would guess, Detroit’s electro and bass label Black Bottom Records got its name from the area located on the city’s east side that was named Black Bottom by French settlers because of its fertile and dark soil. For the label, the ground has not been too fertile becauseRead More →
Enfant Terrible offshoot Gooiland Elektro comes with sweeping cuts between distorted techno and acid, from four artists who like it raw. Out since April this year, “Unruhe” is a loud compilation that begins with “Endzone” from Zarkoff, a Croatian artist whose machine escapades are reaching Ekman’s levels. Thereafter Roberto Auser,Read More →