Hello,
This October has provided us with an abundance of outstanding albums, and it's been harder than ever to pick our release of the month. In the end the accolades had to go to Martyn's brilliant 'Ghost People' full-length, which evolves his sound far beyond the techno/dubstep fusion he championed with 'Great Lengths'.
Don't miss the runners-up though: Scuba's monumental 'DJ-Kicks', Planetary Assault Systems' 'The Messenger', Alva Noto's 'univrs', and Strut's fantastic 'Factory Dance' compilation to mention but a few. We'd also like to point you towards Plastikman's Arkive series, which would have by far exceeded the limits of this newsletter in its 11-volume splendour. |
FEATURED RELEASE
Two years ago Martyn set a landmark for the fusion of dubstep and techno music with 'Great Lengths', his debut full-length, which combined the emotionality of Detroit synth workouts with the subtle twists and turns of modern day rhythm programming.
Now Martyn has returned with his sophomore album, and his choice of a label alone - Flying Lotus' sublime Brainfeeder imprint - makes it clear from the outset that the Washington-based Dutchman has not chosen to merely rest on his laurels, but instead take the style he helped to create to a new level.
The album does have its floor-pleasing, chord-driven moments of funky techno, such as the album's hit single, 'Masks' or acid banger 'Horror Vacui'. The swelling synth layers of tracks like 'Distortions' further recall Martyn's finest works, such as 'Elden St.' and 'Vancouver'.
Opener 'Viper' (which follows on the Spaceape-starring intro) however makes it clear from the start that something special is going on here: foregoing a kickdrum in favour of flanged bass stabs, Martyn layers electro-esque synth arpeggios, LFO bleeps and sparse drums in such a sublime and unusual fashion that Actress might be the only one of his peers able to match his idiosyncrasy.
The electro references return in 'Bauplan', Martyn's take on instrumental 80s synth pop, as well as in 'We Are You in the Future', the album's confidently anthemic final track, which provides an elated breakbeat closure to an outstandingly advanced and diverse album.
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ESSENTIAL EXCLUSIVE
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Certainly one of the most unusual albums you will hear this year, Swedish producer Axel Boman has worked with data from sonified decaying radioactive isotopes collected by the Radioactive Orchestra. Ambient tones, melodic electronica and rawish techno, great tracks with nerdy physics touch. zero" exclusive!
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TECHNO / HOUSE ESSENTIALS
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Maxi-Single released 31-10-2011 on Tresor
Man with the Wave Mike Huckaby simply calls this confidently single-sided release 'The Tresor Track', but rest assured, this marvel of puristic, heart-felt, chord-driven Detroit techno should work its charms in an other club, from Beijing to Buenos Aires, as well. Simply perfect.
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The unlikely pairing of Bok Bok and Tom Trago teams up for an EP on Sound Pellegrino, and not quite so surprisingly the pair's common denominator turns out to be jacking Chicago house. Six tracks of how Dancemania could, and perhaps should, sound today! Recommended.
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Sandwell District finally releases its fantastic 'Feed Forward' compilation in digital format. Even if you have this on vinyl you will need this on your hard drive, as your wax copy will undoubtedly have suffered from heavy rotation by now. Brilliant, timeless future techno by Regis, Function, Female et al.
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A true master of the dark art of techno, Luke Slater delivers a fully tried and tested album under his formidable PAS moniker on Ostgut Ton. No-nonsense, stern-faced techno visions, starting spaciously with 'Railer' before launching off with spine-tingling to quaking mind-body decimators. Utterly epic.
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From his recent Berghain compilation Marcel Fengler returns to the spotlight by launching his own label: 'Knavish' starts out the EP with a slow-churning, Actress-like experiment, 'Hidden Empire' hits strange, syncopated techno territory and 'Sphinx' closes with a cathartic Rob-Hood-style 909 slammer. Nice.
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Maxi-Single released 30-10-2011 on Soma
Heiko Laux & Steve Rachmad's 'Shared Wave' from 2006 is a veritable techno classic, so we've been eagerly expecting the duo's next collaboration. 'The Viking' drops 'Shared Wave's Detroit opulence and opts for a more modern approach with three reduced and subtle techno bangers. Strong!
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This prominently manned remix volume has Patrick Chadronnet take on Gui Boratto's 'Half Life' in a deep and pulsing techno dub, whereas Dominik Eulberg adds just a touch of breakbeats and peaking Aphex Twin synths to Extrawelt's 'Vorsprung Durch Hektik'. One of the best yet for Boxer Recordings!
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'Raw Bangin Surf House from the No-Cal beaches' just about says it all - a mysterious producer, some suspect to be the work of Mr Danny 'Legowelt' Wolfers, dishes out these four utterly lush tracks. Deep analog synths beaming up cosmic beaches, more than 100% of your RDA of intergalactic jacking acid house.
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Dan Snaith once again shows off his unique style of dance music, which owns as much to his work with Caribou as it does to techno and house. 'Ahora' is a hypnotic piece with a jumping groove and a detuned synth hook, nicely remixed for the flip-side by Italian duo Margot of Border Community fame.
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Album released 24-10-2011 on Soma
Having long reached legendary status, the inimitable trio unleashes an album on Glasgow's Soma. Their past few releases decisively drone and ambient, they get down to some heads-down, raw, sharp-shooting techno. Splintered noise, beastly beats, visceral flexes of high-grade hypnotic TBD quality. Excellent.
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Compilation released 24-10-2011 on Rekids
Matt Edwards' remixes are epic techno journeys, rarely clocking in at under 10 minutes. 'Works!' collects 22 of his finest pieces, totalling close to 4hrs. Whether you intend to lean back and get drawn into Radio Slaves' masterful arrangements or simply dance your socks off, this one comes highly recommended.
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zero" exclusive! Glasgow's 7th Sign label returns with this beauty from Santiago Salazar (UR, Ican, Historia y Violencia). 'Varrio Clarkdale' and 'Smile Now, Cry Later' are pure and classic Detroit techno - deep, bouncing and up-tempo - while 'The Battle Within' is a gripping piano-acid grower. Fantastic tracks.
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Maxi-Single released 17-10-2011 on Dial
Dial label heads Carsten Jost and Lawrence go back to back on the imprint's latest single, Jost providing a bitter-sweet house elegy with 'Chateau Jalousie', while Lawrence heads for calmer seas with the spacious and drifting 'The Swan'. Two perfect tracks.
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After two 12"s for Kontra-Musik, Joel Alter and Henrik 'Porn Sword Tobacco' Jonsson deliver their first collaboration album for the label - and what an accomplished one it has turned out to be! Twelve fantastic tracks of raw, jacking, soulful and dubby deep house - roughly hewn and reduced to their very essence. Excellent.
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After a string of releases on Rush Hour, Nebraska a.k.a. Ali Gibbs' second album also appears on the esteemed imprint. His infinitely deep, warm house sound filters through soul, funk, jazz, disco, hip-hop making 'Displacement' ideal for lazy days. Full-bodied listening.
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Album released 24-10-2011 on !K7
The second album of the live-acoustic techno trio BBF sees a larger sound emanating from their expanded ten-piece ensemble. With that similar ingenious playful hybrid eeking out acoustic textures into jazzy house and minimal techno forms, featuring Ninja Tunes' Emika on vocals - an exquisite listen.
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It was just earlier this year that young UK talent BNJMN bowled us over with his debut album 'Plastic World' and already he appears with a second. A similar raw early 90s electronic vibe, yet a tad darker and spacier, sounding effortlessly natural and unpolluted. Utterly sublime - highly recommended.
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NYC's Matteo Ruzzon keeps a low profile but each of his releases appears like its own universe and this one is no different. 'Timesmithing' is a bleary heady elixir seeping up dub, hiphop, fragmenting house, giving the trippiest feeling of entering someone else's dream. Devastatingly weird and wonderful.
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Album released 24-10-2011 on Cómeme
A core member of Latin American super-label Cómeme since its early days, Mexico's Mauricio Rebolledo's debut album fuses leftfield vocals, oddball electronic pop, funky minimal techno, hip-slinking rhythms - definitely not short of infectious energy or special guests, such as Matias Aguayo & Superpitcher. Wicked!
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The full-length debut for both for Lerosa and the Uzuri label, 'Amanatto' epitomizes the Dublin-based producer's style with eight deep and swinging tracks of analogue house music. Opener 'Constant' is no doubt a slammer, but don't miss the other highlights, such as the album's two Oliverwhofactory collaborations. Excellent.
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Double-Album released 17-10-2011 on Pomelo
Alex Cortex gets back to basics with his third full-length 'Kihon', fifteen years since his first release. Unphased by trends, the timeless honesty of his electronic vision prevails, unfolding unhurriedly through its eleven tracks and communicating with a boundless purity unique to Cortex's sound. Immense.
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Dave Clarke's status as the 'baron of techno' (John Peel) predates generation Berghain by over a decade, and while Clarke shares a love for industrial darkness with the current wave of producers, he favours electro over dub and rave-signals over minimalism. On fabric 60 he perfectly summarises his raw and hard-hitting style.
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With a handsome catalogue of releases on labels such as Freude am Tanzen, Lebensfreude and Infiné, Douglas Greed aka Mario Wilms releases his debut album. Tactile and melodic blends of electronic and live instrumentation, guest vocalists, balancing sweet and dark in a wholly satisfying manner. Nice.
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Album released 10-10-2011 on Profan
Now compiled to one album, Voigty's 'Kafkatrax' project was a strident avant-garde project which really stood out this year. Constructed from just the voice of a Kafka audio book and a bassdrum, these haunting tracks spiral into abstraction, interweaved layers creating sonic Kafkaesque absurdity. Exquisite.
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Following up on their hugely popular 'Number Of The Beat' from 2007 the Teichmann brothers return with their first album on their own Festplatten label. 'They Made Us Do It' is a genre-bending effort with lots of memorable tracks, from house (ft. Johnny Dangerous) to quirky electronica pop. Recommended.
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Three years after the much-appreciated 'Convivial' Sasu Ripatti revives his pop house alter ego Luomo for the project's fourth album. 'Plus' presents his Luomo sound in its most physical and tangible form to date, balancing club functionality and expertly crafted synth pop appeal across the album's nine tracks. Recommended.
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Album released 28-10-2011 on Suol
A fixture of Berlin's clubbing scene, DJ-producer Till Von Sein releases his debut album celebrating 'Living The Dream' - which is not as nearly as bad as it sounds. Warm, full-bodied deep house for blurry early morning hours, with multiple collabs including Aera, Chopstick and Catz 'N Dogz. Nice.
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EP released 10-10-2011 on Affin
Deepchild explores his dubbier side with laid-back techno stomper 'Immer Liebe' and chord-driven deep techno piece 'Gnade und Vergessen', the latter serving as a blueprint for two very distinct remixes by Brendon Moeller in his Echologist guise - one rattling and crunchy, one spacious and airy. Nice one from Affin.
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Lead track 'The Come Back' might have the styling of a novelty hit for Soul Clap fans, yet its Motown and synth pop references are put in context as the EP progresses and Pillowtalk develop quite a unique sound cosmos, sitting between house, soul and pop. Check.
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Cio D'or once again appears on Prologue following up on her full-length for the German label in 2009 with this dark and atmospheric entry, 'Magnetfluss'. One of techno's most unique voices today conjures up 4 deeply cavernous, subtly detailed and restrained pieces that are as beautiful as they are menacing.
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"Through hardships through the stars" makes a pretty motto for the Hamburg trio Wareika, with this mega remix compilation showcasing their stunning re-interpretations over the past four years. Kollektiv Turmstrasse's 'Tristesse' an exclusive treat with highlights from Aufgang, Daniel Nitsch & more.
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Reinhard and Wolfgang coalesce their brotherly powers once more for the 69th release on the Speicher series, their first in four years. 'Synthesize' tickles said vocal loop over frayed melodic noise and guided by housey bass, 'Idolize' pads lightly dissonant chords in finest Cologne style. Brill.
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It's been a long time coming, but Eric Estornel's latest has certainly been worth the wait: 'Can't Leave You' is a New-Order-esque disco-pop-house burner and it comes backed by the equally seductive 'Stop Your Hate' and a great Tale Of Us remix. Absolute must for fans of Soul Clap, Art Department and the like.
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The incredible vibes of the infamous Freerotation festival give rise to this latest Soulphiction release. Taken from the rehearsal of his live set, the first has a naughty wiggling acid bassline softened with dreamy keys and the second is a jazzy house instrumental of an upcoming track from the new album.
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EP released 04-10-2011 on plak
With his contributions to Drumpoet Community, as well as legendary Chicago labels Mathematics and Muzique, Florin Büchel (Contra Communem Opinionem) has been building bridges between the Alps and the Windy City. His debut single on Swiss imprint Plak surfs mellow waves of deep, melodic and hypnotic acid house. Nice.
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Uncanny Valley has been getting the recognition it deserves of late, this EP from C-Beams aptly demonstrating this. 'Strollin'' is jacking and soulful in equal parts, seeped in luscious old-school Chicago hues, Jackmate's ingenious rework and 'Scrapyard's rougher touch leave you screaming for more. Darn fine stuff.
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DUBSTEP / HIP HOP / ELECTRO ESSENTIALS
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Album released 31-10-2011 on !K7
A hugely individual producer, Gold Panda mixes some of his personal favourites for the DJ-KiCKS series. Opening with a new track from himself, he manages to cram Muslimgauze, snd & Drexciya alongside Zomby, Sigha and modern classics such as Untold's remix of 'Revenue'. One for the lovers!
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Remixes for Mark Archer/Altern 8's huge '91 rave hit 'Frequency': Luke Vibert is of course a perfect choice, evoking a plethora of hardcore jungle flavours on his mix, Ed DMX contributes a super-hectic take and AGT Rave Cru and Killa Productions stay equally true to the early 90s spirit. Revisionist, but great fun.
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Compilation released 17-10-2011 on !K7
Hotflush boss Scuba delivers a weighty addition to !K7's fabled DJ-Kicks series: With 32 tracks of techno/house/dubstep it's a fantastic package, boasting exclusives by Sigha, Addison Groove, Jon Convex, Boddika and Scuba himself, and it's also a great mix, actually slowing down instead of speeding up during its course. Essential.
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Glasgow's prodigal son has churned out so many hyperactive hits, you might think he would run out of steam. Yet his debut LP, an ingenious melting pot of 80s synth-sleaze, hiphop, r'n'b, progrock and computer game sheen, is having such a great time it's difficult not to be bowled over. Standout album of the year?
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With just a handful of self-released singles as a two-person project, before Modeselektor's Fifty Weapons began releasing him (solo) this year, the elusive Anstam delivers a stunning, multi-faceted debut album of advanced percussive states, balanced bass-depth & pressured synth textures. Outstanding.
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The delightful funked-up synths, bass beams and lo-swung beats of California-based eLan have appeared prolifically this year on Modeselektor's Monkeytown Records. Now all on one release with a host of remixes including Byetone, Lazer Sword, Cosmin TRG, Anstam and Modeselektor themselves. Ideal.
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Jahcoozi's Robot Koch's third solo album follows on from the intergalatical hiphop collab with John Robinson earlier this year. 'The Other Side' impresses with splayed bass, delish synths, shifty beats and vocals from John Lamonica and other guests - sweetly dark chilled electronic pop. Lovely.
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Album released 03-10-2011 on Rinse
Utter sickness from one of the best DJs in the UK bass biz, Hessle Audio co-founder and Rinse FM resident selects the premium from the nexus of darker house & techno, UKG & dubstep. New cuts from Karenn (Blawan & Pariah), Kode 9, Objekt and a blinder from Snugs amidst the treats. Essential.
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Maxi-Single released 18-10-2011 on All City
One of our favourite producers at the moment, Manchester's xxxy, could hardly have chosen a more fitting title for his All City debut: 'Kerpow' is a prime-grade breakbeat slammer that alternates big pads, cowbells and squarewave bass stabs. It's backed by 'Down With U' which gives a Juke-style hook a Drexciyan spin. Outstanding single!
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'Otaku' is like a d'n'b track with 90% of its arrangement removed and much of the rest filtered down to a trickle, something akin to moody electronica with a fidgety groove lurking in the background. Hero of the minimal d'n'b style, ASC, supplies a great remix - for fans of dBridge, Instra:mental et al.
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Austin's Dubble Dutch strikes out via London's currently ultra-hip Unknown To The Unknown imprint with the slamming rave r'n'b breaks of 'B Leave', which get converted into a suitably cryptic percussion workout by the fantastic NGUZUNGUZU. Flute riff included.
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ELECTRONICA / AMBIENT ESSENTIALS
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Album released 10-10-2011 on kranky
'Dropped Pianos' is somewhat of a companion piece to Tim Hecker's masterful 'Ravedeath, 1972' from earlier this year - nine piano sketches recorded in the album's preparation. Exploring more sombre moods and transparent instrumentation, 'Dropped Pianos' is a fantastic work in its own right however. Highly recommended.
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Maxi-Single released 03-10-2011 on Pole
It's been a while since Stefan Betke has released as Pole and 'Waldgeschichten' marks this return. The quality of his sonic mastery is just a cut above the rest, breathtaking ephemeral details of 'Wipfel' and 'Wurzel' whimsy over a loose dub techno frame. Eye-wateringly lush. Highly recommended.
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Following his outstanding collaborations with Blixa Bargeld and Ryuichi Sakamoto Alva Noto releases a new solo album: 'Univrs' is the spiritual successor to his 2008 classic 'Unitxt': 14 tracks of rhythm patterns and drones, executed with Alva Noto's inimitable sense for twitching funk and machine precision. Stunning.
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The most controversial of the 'One' trilogy, Matthew Herbert makes an auditive portrait of the birth and death of a single pig highlighting the political dimension of the meat industry. Looped oinks, tuned grunts, pig-skin drums - not just musically admirable but highly poignant food for thought itself. Hats off.
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'Dive' is Scott Hansen's first proper album for Ghostly International, and one can quite easily picture a spectacular Californian sunset while listening to the San Francisco based producer's ten tracks. Combining electronica, folk and ambient breaks, 'Dive' is an emotional, nostalgic and almost spiritual experience. Recommended.
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'Felt' is the second album of Berlin-based Nils Frahm, who imbues his neo-classical piano composition with an aura of melancholic pop weightlessnes. The album has a subtle electronic edge, harmonies reminiscent of Apparat or The Knife, while the sounds of the actual workings of the piano make the recordings eerily transparent. Great album.
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Burnt Friedman's unique musical world sees him wielding his new rubber band guitar alongside pots, pans and more 'normal' instruments in his latest EP. With guest appearances including Hayden Chisholm & Takeshi Nishimoto, wild rhythms, rich acoustic textures and dubby hues conjure up blissful mystical soundscapes.
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While we all continue to lose sleep over Ursula Bogner's authenticity, 'Sonne = Blackbox' soothes away the agonizing uncertainty with a selection of sweet fey tape ditties and beautifully meandering synth and voice experiments. Elegant, intriguing and a great listen either way.
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Hot on the heals of his 'Anti Concept EP' Aardvarck releases his entire 'Anti Concept: The Album' project: 27 short sketches covering a range of styles from experimental neo-classical to abstract hip-hop, dubstep and (way) beyond. A truly brain-twisting album - brilliant.
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Red Stars Over Tokyo releases his perhaps finest, certainly his most distinct album to date via his own Hot Hair label. 'Hits Of Sunshine' retains the melodic ambient melancholy of its forebears, but underpins it with heavily delayed drum machines and pulsating bass. Warp and Rephlex fans should check.
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Recently releasing an EP for Tri Angle Records entirely composed of her own vocals, Fatima Al Qadiri (aka Ayshay), the Senegal-born, Kuwait-raised, Brooklyn-based artist, brings you deeper into her unique and breathtaking sonic vision with this irresistible EP on UNO NYC aptly entitled, 'Genre-Specific Xperience.'
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ALTERNATIVE / POP / DISCO ESSENTIALS
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Compilation released 24-10-2011 on Strut
UK connoisseur label Strut hits us out of the blue with this utterly brilliant compilation of 80s dance tunes from Tony Wilson's legendary Factory label. Even those familiar with Factory's output will jump with joy listening to this lovingly curated collection of 24 early 12" mixes and rare tunes. Indispensable!
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Aeroplane's Vito de Luca shortens the wait for his next long player with a comprehensive DJ mix (plus single tracks) that showcases his ridiculously popular style with 13 tracks of fun-loving neo-disco pop. Will brighten up any rainy day in an instant.
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As close as we're currently getting to new Everything But the Girl material, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have covered The XX's 'Night Time' with Ewan Pearson on mixing duties! Also included are remixes of Thorn's 'Swimming' by Visionquest and Charles Webster. Dance pop deluxe!
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Teaming up with Tobias Freund (tobias., nsi.) for her 14-track-strong 'Arabxilla', Venezuelan born, Berlin based Aérea Negrot delivers a labyrinthine debut album that fluently moves between chansons and abstract electronics, club and cabaret. Idiosyncratic and at times perplexing, it is nevertheless a worthwhile and powerful album.
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Originally released in 1980, Honest Jon's do an honourable reissue of this album, recorded at the Black Ark studio and Scratch's resurrection thereof in Holland. To today's ears sounding so staggeringly deep, rich, laden with hugely moving psychedelic emotivity - a masterpiece everyone should own.
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New York's Midnight Magic follow up on the success of last year's disco anthem 'Beam Me Up' with their new single for Permanent Vacation: 'Drop Me A Line' is again a great piece of souped-up, pixel-perfect disco pop, coming with all-star remixes by Holy Ghost!, Steffi, Mano Le Tough, and The Juan MacLean. Sweet.
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A fine set of remixes for DJ Harvey's recent album: Rub N Tug' Eric Duncan provides a take on 'Tan Sedan' that comfortably sits between percussive neo-disco and floor-friendly filter house, while Ghostly's Com Truise contributes a great, spaced-out electro hip-hop mix of 'Throwdown'. Recommended.
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Trentemøller dresses Darkness Falls in a similarly 60s-inspired sound aesthetics as his last solo album. Reverberating vocals meet phase-shifted guitars, psychedelic wall-of-sound production and just a touch of modern day dance music. Keeping things interesting over 13 tracks, 'Alive In Us' is a solid debut for the Danish duo.
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An all-star cast of John Talabot, Soul Clap, Das Glow and Punks Jump Up take on Joakim's latest single off his recent 'Nothing Gold' album. The tropical indie house flavours of 'Find a Way' get remodelled as analogue downbeat boogie (Talabot), wonky rubber band house (Das Glow), and steel-drum disco (Punks Jump Up).
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Accompanied by a nicely animated video, 'Timeless' is We Love's new EP for BPitch Control, following up on the Italian duo's self-titled debut album from late last year. Three new tracks have a slightly more guitar-led, washed-out indie feel to them, while three remixes by Troy Pierce and Tale Of Us cover the electronic end of the EP's spectrum. Check.
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