Innervisions Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Who doesn't love a picture disc? Sure, they might be a nostalgic hit of old school teenage record collecting joy but why not. This one from Laser Media is a Depeche Mode 7" featuring a pair of the moody miserablists' darker cuts. 'The Sweetest Condition' has snarling, dark vocals of noir beats and spangled guitar lines that make for emo-electronica par excellence. On the flip is the all too short 'It Doesn't Matter Two,' a song from the 1986 album Black Celebration that sounds like a live version here with crowds whoops coming next to the melancholic keys and pained, tortured vocals.

Review: Innervisions continue their exploration of house music's myriad sub-genres with this EP from Berlin-based Ede. The title of the record is instructive, as this breakthrough artist from the label's Secret Weapons series seeks to fuse the unmistakable sound of Detroit with an unabashed pop streak. The vocals are front and centre on these tracks, and they sound absolutely huge when strapped to a stadium-sized remix of 'Do My Thing' from the mighty Dixon on the A1. 'Your Love', 'When You Need It' and 'On My Mind' are equally powerful though, charged with those star-scraping synth lines which make Detroit techno such an eternally cherished sound.

Review: Marrying hi-tech sound design with the emotional pull of r&b infused-lyricism, Feelin' is the triumphant debut album from Milan-based DJ and producer, Ivory. Having dropped the three-track 'Rain' EP for Innervisions sub-label Exit Strategy earlier this year, it seems only natural for Ivory's first fleshed-out album project to have found its home on the label at large. The title track, 'Feelin'', rises into view with an atmosphere of heady nostalgia, echoed by blissed-out smudges of obscured disco-hued vocals. Cutting through melancholia-tinted lyrics, the barrelling kicks of 'I Need You Now' grant this B2 track warehouse-ready status. On the flip side, 'Try' journeys back in time with dusty 80s synths and a circling, minor-keyed melody. The final track, 'Don't Lose Control', veers in the opposite direction, with its future-facing intercom-esque vocal offering a contrast to the dreamy, cloud-floating pads. Featuring four tracks that are at once deeply nostalgic yet undoubtedly club-suited, this is an exciting new addition to any r&b-stroke-house lover's record bag.

Review: Innervisions' brand of extra-deep progressive house fleshes itself out further and further with the promise of Jimi Jules' 'Plus', which, after lead singles 'Burning' and 'My City's On Fire', presents a clear theme. The Swiss singer and multi-instrumentalist works with label boss and producer Dixon here, delivering an array of sensitive, arpeggiating saws, live drums and beats. Reminiscent of George Fitzgerald or Jon Hopkins, every track flickers and burn away into deep tech oblivion. Watch out for this double LP; a personal story of enlightenment and the struggle for equality.

Review: Keinemusik co-founder Gregor Sutterlin AKA Rampa is the latest addition to the Innervisions roster. His debut EP for the imprint is dancefloor-friendly and for the most part club ready, but also slightly more experimental and off-kilter in ethos than you'd perhaps expect from Ame and Dixon's long-running label. Check first the non-stop A-side suite of tracks, where the oddball electronics and effects-laden looped vocals of "79249 (Intro)" seamlessly segues into the ghostly lead lines, thrusting arpeggio bass, creepy effects and locked-in techno drums of "They Will". Radiohead-influenced vocal number "Tell Me Are We" is a glassy-eyed outsider tech-house collaboration with WhoMadeWho, while "Lavender Boogie" is a richly percussive affair rich in ice cream van chimes, dense African percussion and hushed tech-house tones.

Review: Innervisions has always dealt in a sophisticated sound - slow-burning grooves, classy melodies unhurried moods that take time to have their effect but really make an indelible impression when they do. This tidy new EP from Skatman is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy - opener 'Oldskool' rides screen synths and undulating serums, eventually working you into a trance with its vocal mutterings and cosmic rays. 'What You Gonna Do' is more lively, but still the vast kick drums land at their own un-rushed pace. 'Optical Illusion' echoes early Detroit techno soul with its smart synths smears and a couple of raw jackers then closes out the flip side.

Review: Innervisions' long-running 'Secret Weapons' series is on a roll at the moment. Remarkably, this 14th instalment is the second of 2023, and like its' predecessor features a variety of killer club cuts stretched across four slabs of wax. There's plenty to set the pulse racing across the 18 tracks on show, from the breathless, tribal-infused early morning sleaze of Hardt Antoine's 'I Need Someone', the Berlin-friendly, percussion-rich darkness of Tal Fussman's 'Persona', and the melody-rich rush of Ivory Solique's 'Burn Troug', to the tactile tech-house of Yet More ('Erotic Trip'), the charred industrial electro of Hard To Tell ('Area 8''), and the kind of hazy, mind-soothing dancefloor hypnotism that Innervisions has always done so well (Apte's subtly deep trance-influenced 'Breep').