Electro Recommendations June 2016

Review: Pinkman sister label Charlois is back. The Rotterdam label this time presents us with the legendary DJ Overdose and The Hague's DJ Technician presenting some of his first recordings since 2006 such as the full throttle electro-boogie of "Sync" and the darker depth charged beats of "DSS Part II". On the flip DJ Overdose is responsible for "Wraak", a brooding and purist electro jam that's executed perfectly plus the rather epic "Why Does Nobody Answer The Phone?" with its chunky vintage synth arpeggios and rich strings backed by dusty tough as nails machine rhythms.

Review: Gerald Donald is back under the Der Zyklus alias for more futurist darkside electro experiments: his signature sound. Where the project's sound may have been more varied on previous releases, the Renormalon LP goes more for the downbeat and sometimes completely beatless and it's really quite brilliant because of it. We really liked the intergalactic ambience of "Interference Pattern" (which would have sounded great on the Event Horizon soundtrack), the dramatic and isolated arpeggiation of "Photopolymer" (beautifully haunting!) and the evil wall of sound delay of of "Optical Distortion" which reaches near psychedelic moments and capturing that ghost in the machine like only Donald can.

Review: Bitstream legend Steve Conner brings his Adapta alias on Holland's mighty Frustrated Funk with the four-track MKS-50 12" a homage to vintage Roland synthesizer of the same name. Fans of those prized Adapta releases on Brutalist Sunset will be pleased to hear the MKS-50 12" continues Conner's forage through rugged, improvised electro rhythms and displays his undoubted mastery of the Roland machine. Summed up by Frustrated Funk as "tracks created with technology from the past, aimed for the future," what shines through is the range Conner achieves across the four tracks. Opener "MKS-50_01" fizzes with chaotic energy, whilst subsequent tracks square the focus on basslines or conjuring up vast swells of rhythmic noise. Final track "MKS-50_04" snaps the hardest though!

Review: Boris Bunnik can always be relied upon to deliver the goods. Here, he once again dons the familiar Versalife moniker for an outing on Shipwrec, his first under the alias of 2016. The veteran Dutchman kicks things off with the atmospheric, deep electro bliss of "Shine Eye", before reaching for the bolder melodies and warmer chords on the similarly inclined "Autobots". He changes tack a little on "Milnet", combining drowsy ambient chords with snappy, Chicago-influenced 4/4 percussion, before drawing another fine EP to a close with the broken techno beats and intergalactic electronics of "Transgenics".

Review: Carl Finlow's been smashing it since the early days. Back in the mid 1990s he was releasing on 20:20 Vision at the beginning of their illustrious path to glory, he's featured on countless tunes alongside the likes of Ralph Lawson, and he's even featured on our favourite 7th Sign Recordings. It's 2016, however, and he's branched out into more electro-like paths as of late, landing here on the beautifully gritty Electrix Records with four killer cuts. From "Lateral Thoughts" to "Latex", Finlow's brand of electro is rooted in that 80's IDM charm, meaning that although these tunes work wonders as club fillers, they also offer an immersive listening experience from a musical point of view. Tipped.

Review: Stallone The Reducer. A strong name with a strong sound on a strong label (Est. 83 being a division of FIT Sound). The artist himself has actually released music under a number of different aliases including Lil' Riki, Samuel Consiglio and Samuels and was formerly in cult Detroit act ADULT. This particular moniker is however reserved for the more EBM kinda flex, the sort of gear to thrash out and get some serious head-nodding going. "Drug Pusher" is a menacing piece of work with its harsh baselines and 808 rhythms, while "Cop Gets Off" is a sparser, more aqueous cousin that verges onto the industrial side of things. The flip contains the distorted patterns and hissing percussion of "Do The Seatbelt!" followed by the utterly wonky flavours of "Trade Show". A serious TIP!

Review: Another Deewee release brings yet more fanciful tales from founders, brothers and Soulwax pairing David and Stephen Dewaele. Moon Theme composer and Macao native Bolis Pupil was apparently first introduced to the Dewaales on Social Media 1.0 platform Myspace and later met them during a 2 Many DJs tour of Asia. Inspired to make music after attending a Jean-Michel Jarre concert, this two-track debut is apparently the result of Pupil visiting the Dewaale's Gent studio and spending no small amount of time with their swell of analogue synths. "Think Logic System and Telex," Deewee tell us, and there are definite comparisons to made in this richly-produced pair of cuts that sound authentically like lost remnants of a byegone cosmic era.

Review: As with many of the '90s artists hailing from Detroit, it's difficult to know exactly what they're up to these days, or even who they actually are, for that matter! DJ SCSI, who might well produce other tunes under a different alias, was last sighted back in 1997, and here he is on Hard Beach Entertainment with four smokin' break-ridden joints recorded between 1997 and 2002. "Bounce", as the name implies, is a skipped-out banger with a minimal melodic edge, while "Detroit Boogie" is a more beat-heavy, heads-down kind of affair. The flip features the much faster, more high-tech strain of electro usually associated with the likes of DJ Stingray, a heavy cut named "Lapdanz", which is followed in a similar vein by the stuttering drum bric-a-brac contained within "Strictly 4 Da Jitterz".

Review: French legend Umwelt is back again for Dutch imprint Shipwreck. The man with a career spanning nearly 20 years and the figure behind the Shelter, Fundata and New Flesh/Rave Or Die imprints serves us with the State Of Matter Remix Series 01. The original version shows off its fierce and booming bass and acid attack. Ekman's remix keeps the focus on the 303 side of things, joyriding that little silver box to a squealing and screeching hot mess. The Exaltics rendition goes for a dusty and rusty acid techno style, full of vintage flair. Finally Eomac, one half of techno terrors Lakker delves deep into the abstract as always, delivering a tough yet hypnotic and mesmerising version which is a surprising highlight.

Review: Ah yes, it's time for some hardware head fuzz from trusty old DMX Krew, an artist which requires no introduction and one whose energy and hedonism is always appreciated around these parts. DMX makes his debut on the quality Last Known Trajectory, an imprint which has risen quickly and one which has seen action from the likes of Hieroglyphic Being and electro duo The Exaltics, but also some gorgeous reissue action in the form of In Sync's mythical "Storm". "RAM Expansion" itself is a heady electro tune with a sunken load of synths at its disposal, while 'Experiment 5" is classic DMX - mad modular-like patterns surrounded by menacing drums. You also got the weird and wonderful bleeps of "Quantum Computer" on the A-side, whereas the flip kicks off with a fiery techno punch in "Division By "Zero", heads to more AFX territories via "Rubout", and ends on high-tec electro stroll of "Bad Vibes". This is no nonsense dance music at its finest.

Review: Josh Thompson (Alma Construct) and Vocalist/DJ/Producer Jacob Wiltshire inaugurate Super Hexagon with some cutting edge electro sounds. On the A side it's all about the former, who last appeared on the legendary R&S in 2014. "Drive Your Vehicle" is brooding darkside beats with all the dusty vintage flair of analogue machines. Followed by the breakneck speed and rapid fire arpeggio of "Escalation 2" sounding like classic Dopplereffekt (yes) or Aux 88. On the flip Wiltshire serves up the beat repeat madness of "Decision Day" which is more uplifting than the previous side with a nod to classic Ed DMX or Japanese Telecom. "Hydrophony" is more funky yet mysterious, finding the soul in the machines to interesting effect.