Electrostatic Australia Vinyl & CDs

Review: Mad Mike's shortlived Electric Soul alias popped up in the mid 90s, and while it didn't display any obvious alignment to Underground Resistance on the artwork the sound is just unmistakable. 'X2' is pure Mad Mike machine funk, positively dripping with the sound of Detroit in every lick of synth bass and every bar of rugged drum machine pressure. Now Australian label Electrostatic have picked the record up for a repress with the somewhat mysterious Tommie Cool remix on the A side, although it sounds like UR from where we're dancing. Forget about the pretenders and head to the main source - this is proper electro.

Review: Start in for this visceral electro trip from Detroit's Jessbeats which is said to be "powered by Aux88." It is a rugged machine workout from the off, with soot-back bass and a gritty, late night biker club attitude that echos the work of greats like DJ Stingray. 'Decoding Numberz' is sleazy and ghetto in all the right ways, 'Lightz' has haunting synths and a coruscated bassline that shines through the mire and 'Techno Phobia' is an all out boom-bap assault that leaves you breathless. 'La' Machine' is a more minimal number with vocoder vocals that bring a sense of late night freakiness.