Sound Metaphors Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Marco Calderoni seems to have released just one thing and that was his How to Use The World Volume 2 EP back in 1991. Sound Metaphors Records has now remastered it and recompiled it for this all new pressing which sends you deep into his mix of ambient, house and Balearic across six sublime cuts. '7 Heavens' is the glistening opener with nice deep analogue beats, and 'Exploring The Unknown' carries on the same vibe before 'How 2 Use The Sky' is like a perfect post rave comedown. The second half is another scintillating mix of silvery, shiny synth lines and dusty analogue drums that sounds like little else before or since.

Review: Tom Chasteen is an LA-born mega-musician who is widely credited for helping to spurn the San Francisco rave movement of the 1990s, not least by founding the Exist Dance label. Masquerading under various monikers such as Eden Transmission, High Lonesome Sound System and Voodoo Transmission, many of his tracks are cemented in the rave music canon as some of the most pivotal, thanks to their pushing of a rather psychedelic sound. Suitable for the looking-back era of the 2020s, the new EP by Tom, 'Selected Productions', zooms out of that era and into the present, re-homing in on some of that artist's later works when the SanFran heyday was over. Downtempo, full of international influences, and retaining that scratchy 'lifted from vinyl and remastered' sound, this is spiritual lyrical miziricle music for the dancing astral traveller.

Review: Sound Metaphors has lined up a bunch of killer EPs to drop in quick fashion and this one from Data features several different versions of one fantastic single. 'Extroscopic' is deft techno with nimble baselines and light synths that float through space on the Extroscopic version while the dub is even more warm and bubbly. 'Extroscopic' (Trancextro Scopie) has more trance-tinged chord work and then Anatolian Weapons turns out a more psychedelic version with silvery percussive chatter and last of all a Deep Mix that is indeed a heads down back room techno trip.

Review: The cornerstone of a certain (unforgettable) trance moment in time, Eden Transmission's 'I'm So High' was *the* tune to peg the LA and San Fran rave scenes indelibly to the PI's corkboard of dance music. Eden Transmission were only one alias of an ever-evolving, planarian duo - Michael Kandel, Tom Chasteen - whose works as Voodoo Transmission, High Lonesome Sound System and Up Above The World could equally have been deemed just as significant projects. But we prefer 'I'm So High'. One of the best to do it with breakbeats, the 'Ubud' mix of the title track hears what sounds like a bazaar gathering of psychic townsfolk, set against urgent whispers, which hydrolyse against a reso-peaked lead. And by far the best tune is 'Powertrance', which startles us with its wireless charge of mega-heavy breaks and robotic C-shell sendups, whisking us into psycho-cyberspace.

Review: Sound Metaphors keeps it as deep as ever with a reissue of this classic from Franco Falsini. It's a quality EP that opens with the mysterious and exotic synth colour of 'People In Orbit' with its dusty retro breaks and psychedelic feel. 'Un-Flanged Transition' is another edgy sound that has no real analogue - it's an intense astral adventure with ever-changing synth leas and a real sense of unease. 'Midnight Tremors' takes things down a notch and is a carefree cosmic house jaunt with mellow synth magic and 'Ray-Tracing Sauna' is another sun-baked closer with wonderful arps drifting up into the heavens.

Review: Francesco Farfa's Learn To Fly delivers a seamless blend of deep house and electronic intricacies. The opener, 'Peace Treaty #1,' sets the tone with a smooth, rolling rhythm that gradually builds into an engaging groove. 'Feel The Run' follows, layering atmospheric synths over a punchy bassline, drawing the listener further into its hypnotic world. The track progression on Side 2 is notable, with 'Fly To Sub-Conscious' guiding the mood into more introspective territory, while the 'File' series offers varying shades of darker, more experimental textures. Farfa's production shines with every track, maintaining a balance of groove and explorationiperfect for both the dancefloor and home listening.

Review: Francesco Farfa's iconic 1991 club EP is reimagined three decades later here with fresh remixes by four of Berlin's top DJs and producers. Their various different takes make for a versatile selection of dancefloor tools crafted by DJs, for DJs, ensuring it fits a variety of occasions. The A-side features Trent's deep, big-room darkness, complemented by Juan Ramos' trancey rework which mixes in key elements from the original. On the B-side, E-talking delivers an uplifting progressive remix while Hamsa strips it down for a more minimalist, enhanced version of Farfa's classic theme. A must-have selection of reworks here.

Review: Manchester born drummer Morgan King is behind these all consuming and dubbed out, tribal-tinged breakbeats. He dropped them first back in '91 and now they get a reissue right when this sort of sound is back in fashion. They have been remastered for the occasion and are perfect for head down and soot-black floors in the dead of night. 'Brother This' (Techno Om mix) is a 12 minute trip with snaking bass and real menace. 'Brother That' (Tribal Om mix) gets more stoned and zoned out and 'Brother That (Om beats)' is a final piece of this well-crafted puzzle.

Review: Rick 8 is the techno alias of Italy's Riccardo Falsini, and here he revives the pioneering spirit of his iconic Interactive Test label with this early gem, which offers an essential slice of trance, techno and progressive house history. Known for reshaping genre boundaries, the label was a beacon of innovation, as this EP shows. Each track is a potent club tool, designed for transcendental dancefloor moments and sonic ascension from the chunky tribalism of 'Hypernotes Velocity' to the standout remix of 'C'Mon' by Sound Metaphors affiliate Trent, who injects progressive firepower. 'Born To Sinthetize' is a deeper, spiritual sound with flashy synth work married to loose drum loops.

Review: Psychonauts, brace yourselves... A reissue of the classic track by artist Spacetime Continuum and ethnobotanist Terrence McKenna is upon us. The six-track EP 'Alien Dreamtime' was first released on Astralwerks in 1993, and came as the first ever release by Jonah Sharp, who played an instrumental hand in pioneering the sample-use of spiritually-enhancing spoken word segments as preludes to magnanimous, ambient electronica tracks. McKenna himself is credited as a collaborator; this EP documents the moment Sharp teamed up with the entheogenic pundit, alongside fellow didgeridoo player Stephen Kent, for an hour-long spoken word rave live in the psycho-breaks capital, San Francisco. "For your edification", McKenna intones and then continues, "the psilocybin mushroom is the catalyst of human evolution and language..." as the wildest possible atmospheric forms of take shape on the highlight dance-scapes 'Transient Generator' and McKenna's glossolalic 'Speaking In Tongues'.