Apnea Spain Vinyl & CDs

Review: Experiment Defined is a cult classic of electro by Gedankenexperiment, a collaboration between two legends of the genre: Gerald Donald and Beta Evers. Fitting right into the niche of electro that only these artists alone can be said to have properly found, the EP is a sonic exploration scientific concepts and philosophical questions, but delivered with a cold and clinical precision combined with an unmistakable eeriness. Particularly cold and janky comes 'Experiment', while the A-sider 'Conclusion' also features a haunting vocal contribution from Evers - as if to repetitively ponder why someone would arrive at any conclusion in the first place, ever.

Review: The inimitable Jamal Moss comes forth with his second offering for Madrid's Apnea records. 'The Moon Dance' unfurls over 11 tracks- in turns pensive, elegiac, and slammin'. Between the sedate expanse of opener 'When The Earths Shadow Falls On The Moon' and the final cymbal strokes of gauche, machine funk closer 'Mawu', Moss lifts us on yet another Afrofuturist space flight of fancy, passing through superclusters of deep house, tactile techno and stroboscopic piano jams along the way.
Standout moments include the smoove-as-u-like-it intergalactic lounge jazz diversion 'The Moondance Moon Walk Version'; its steezy stride-piano vamp seamlessly intertwining with Moss' signature babbling acid intrusions, the irresistibly groovy bump of 'Tethered 2 The Divinely Spaces With In' and the hypnotic sway of 'Celestial Poems Of The Lady With 10000 Names', which opens up from Terrence Dixon-esque introspection into broad windy city string washes and synapse-tickling bleeps. With this collection, Moss pens yet another crucial chapter in the seemingly bottomless hieroglyphic being scroll. While 'The Moon Dance' is one of his most accessible and harmonious works to date, it doesn't lose an ounce of the rawness and immediacy of his previous work. Essential listening!

Review: Dutchman Boris Bunnik is a man of many moniker,s but here he returns as the electro-leaning Versalife with Parallax Effect PT.2, the second and final chapter in his series, which pushes his rhythmic vision into more elastic, unpredictable terrain. Shifting from the precision of PT.1, this release coils low-end pressure and restless sequences around percussive frameworks that flicker between tension and release. Each track feels alive-mechanically structured yet pulsing with organic energy unfolding in real time. The balance of restraint and propulsion gives the EP a kinetic, suspenseful edge which means that PT.2 doesn't just follow its predecessor; it refracts it, bending the narrative into new shapes.

Review: The ever-versatile Dutchman that is Versalife returns with more of his artfully crafted techno fusions, this time for the Spanish label Apnea. 'Colorvi' kicks off with a jumbled of glistening synth lines, tumbling arps and bristling drums that awaken every sense in your body. 'Omen Observer' has a darker underlying bassline but still gets lit up with sparkling keys that dart about the mix. 'Prophetic Traces' keeps the energy levels up with more fresh broken beat workouts and glowing, pixel-thin synths while 'Out Of Ether' shuts down with a fourth and final electro-techno fusion with an acid and squelchy bassline.