Texas Recordings Underground Vinyl & CDs

Review: Lo-fi, old-school style techno bangers in the same ballpark as 2MR or Flexxseal here by debutante Dylan Cameron out of Austin TX. He's found a fitting home here at Texas Recordings Underground - the Dallas based label releasing top jams in recent times by local legends such as Convextion and Bill Converse. The Purgatory EP features four truly hellbound cuts and "Dark Sorcerer" sets the scene in frightful fashion indeed. B side cut "Trojan Horse" is the true winner on this EP: a serious acid flashback full of wobbly Cybersonik styled basslines and reversed 909 bang and clatter. It truly reeks of the Packard Plant circa '94. "Lost Souls" and "Celsius" however are the EP's more functional cuts, providing some groove oriented yet austere 'heads down' perspectives for the dancefloor. Tip!

Review: Could there be a new techno sound emerging from the depths of the Texas desert? Kind of like the Vancouver house sound, but a bit grainer and dustier? Perhaps, yes, and Texas Recordings Underground might just be the ticket. It's a five-person lockdown here, and the emergent Cygnus delivers to stone cold electro chillers in "Make The Brain Relax" and "Pink Lipstick"; not your ordinary kind of electro, something in between Drexciya and the house sound of Chicago - excellent. We also have ERP aka Convextion with "Tandy Center", a rolling, cybernetic techno-morph; Vectorvision with the dripping synths of "Beta Cloud", and "Goron" by Textasy, a metallic, drum-led piece with an eerie vibe. A total winner, and something of a regional debut from the US! Keep it comin'.

Review: Mirror Box is the solo analog synth project of Dallas musician Sean Kirkpatrick. With an extensive resume that includes keyboard duties for Kill Rock Stars' 00s noise rock band The Paper Chase as well as his concurrent projects, dark post-punk-synth-rockers Nervous Curtains and darkwave duo Little Beards, Mirror Box is Kirkpatrick's first foray into the purely electronic realm. Blending together elements of Giallo moodiness, dub texture, techno propulsion, a passing nod to your favorite wave music, and a flare for the kosmiche, Mirror Box' debut release, Minimal Compliance EP, is a tour de force of the veteran musician's exploration of a wide range of influences and experience.

Review: As you might expect, the latest multi-artist release from Texas Underground Recordings boasts a quartet of deep techno treats from producers based in the Lone Star State. Brooks Mosher impresses with the sweet and cylical synthesizer melodies and bubbling electronic percussion of "Magic Hat", before the mighty Convextion joins the dots between melancholic techno, electro and bustling IDM on EP standout "Summer Indoors". ILL76 injects a little more forthright energy via the bumpy but angular drums and mind-altering late night riffs of "New Year's Night", while Submersible Machines head straight for the Motor City on the classic deep futurism of closer "If You Know How I Feel". Stellar stuff, all told.

Review: Gavin Guthrie AKA TX Connect has released productions over the last 5 years on some of the most prominent labels in the game, including L.I.E.S., Dixon Avenue Basement Jams & Creme Organization. Now with his own label T.R.U., it's time for another of his following his track "Haddonfield, IL Pt. 2" on TRUHWN01.

TX Connect's Ghetto 214 is a Chicago-style jack track Gavin has become known for. Ghetto 214 harkens back to Robert Armani's Circus Bells and the glory days of Dance Mania. It starts innocently enough but builds into a frenetic track that ultimately destroys you with manic claps and sirens.

Newcomer R-Computrax, hailing from Dallas Texas no doubt, provides the B-side with 303, another early Chicago-inspired jack track that has elements of Master C+J synths but takes it to another level with a scathing bass backed with a spoken-word track. Insane? Maybe.