Zodiak Commune Vinyl & CDs

Review: Despite the dystopian and post-apocalyptic aesthetics, some electro music stuanchly refuses to let up on the fun. Acidulant, Dima Gastroler, Pozek and Johnfaustus' new collab V/A for Zodiak Kommune is one such firelighter: 'The Electro Guilde III' seems to say, "you'll have fun on the floor, or else us mecha-cops will come for you!" Acidulant's 'Collateral Funk' leads the charge with a persistent drive to "identify" some lost subject of misdemeanour and/or truancy, as rapidfire snare snaps and licking bass stabs scour the lower terrain for a heat-sought outline of the perp. Dima Gastroler's 'We Will Survive' depicts an unstoppable robotic invincibility, the track's searing robo-voices seeming to portray the last stragglers of a cyborg race battling their way through fire thanks to a bioengineered, adaptively fireproof armour. B-siders 'Ept' and 'Oberon' from producers Pozek and Johnfaustus let up on the voicework for two melodic, yet corruptingly authoritarian air-raiders.

Review: Acid Sessions Vol. 3 is another white-knuckle journey into the world of acid with five top talents in the field all pushing their own limits. Acidulant opens with "Serpentacid' featuring hypnotic 303 grooves and relentless energy, then Sarufaromeo & Papaverhof deliver 'Acid Nihonshu' which blends atmospheric depth with chaotic acid vibes. G303 takes you beyond with 'Live Long and Prosper,' an interstellar anthem filled with cosmic acid and resonant grooves. Paul Renard closes with 'SO36' which is all about the fat rhythms and powerful dancefloor drive. Long live acid is what we say.

Review: The sixth release in the 303 Pattern series marks the first time artists' identities are revealed. What doesn't change is the fact this is a powerful 12" of hard-hitting, hypnotic and atmospheric acid techno with the legendary Roland TR-303 at its core. Alien Rain makes his debut on the label with 'Holosexual's' raw drums and distorted acid lines, Akkaelle's 'Acid Mood' delivers funky, bouncy techno energy with atmospheric depth and Sour returns with another hypnotic, high-intensity bomb. Closing in style is Dima Gastroller who drops a banger of an acid techno track that should come with a health warning for anyone with a weak heart.

Review: Zodiak Commune Records kicks off a new series dedicated to cutting-edge electro with The Electro Guide 1 featuring four artist at the top of their game. Dust Devices opens proceedings with 'Strain & Reason' which is built on searing acid lines and kinetic drum programming, all with a turbulent cosmic bent. Norwell's 'Clang' los down a little so the manic acid has room to shine and Human Behind Pluto then comes through with the occult pairing of mysterious flirting keys and kicking electro drums on 'Talisman.' G303's 'Riverbank Telescopes' closes with a barrage of breakbeats and prickly 303 madness.

Review: Acid Machines Vol 1 by G303 is the latest release by the long time Dutch label Zodiak Commune and these four tracks, combined, add up to one heck of a wicked acid techno record. 'Acid Dropping' is a crushing piece of acid trance. 'Power Corrupts' is a breakneck speed techno killer - you've got to love the classic Belgium sounding doom to it, it takes us right back to 1992. ' Beelzebub Rising' is a nasty breakbeat heater that is sure to pound down some doors when played loudly. The Squarepusher like 'Walk On By' adds a nice comedown IDM touch to the close of this vinyl. This release includes a poster and is limited to 200 copies only.

Review: Ghost in the Machine takes it back to the start with a searing new acid outing on Zodiak Commune Records. This is a special poster edition of the 12" and it's packed with dark and unsettling moods and monstrously heavy kicks. Opener 'Wall of Fire' is just that with an assault of distorted drums and barrage of prickly percussion and warped synths that blow your brains out. 'Flame Grilled' is another textural and chaotic sound with fizzing textures and ear-splitting acid lines then 'Inferno' picks up the pace with lashings of 303, hammering hits and unrelenting drums. 'Heartburn' shuts down this raw warehouse carnage with pulsing synths and driving drums that leave you exhausted.

Review: For the fourth release in the electro-acid V/A series 'The Electro Guilde', Zodiak Commune present a three-split 12" from the combined forces of Johnfaustus, Akkaelle and AXIS3340, with a doombound selection of ominous tunes in the style. 'Deimos' and 'Dione' are Johnfaustus' opening odysseys and the latter especially blindsides us with its strained synth strings and trepidatiously tuned sixteenths. B-sider 'The Plants Move' is pitiless by comparison, annihilating everything in its path with bodying impacts and piquant pluck-slips; 'Ashes', on the close, incorporates guttural, stretchy sound design below a skeletal, atrial mix over and above.

Review: The French duo Minimum Syndicat land on Dutch label Zodiak Commune with a double-barrelled dose of mind-altering machine funk. 'Knowing That We Know Nothing' opens with a cold-blooded electro crawl, all dystopian pads and twitchy circuitry, while the G303 remix rips it wide open with slamming kicks and acid phrases that slither like live wires. On the flip, 'Disclosures' ups the BPMs in collaboration with fellow Parisian Voiron, its militant acid techno groove sharpened into a peak-time burner. G303 returns to mutate that track too, saturating it in overdriven 303 squelch and off-grid snare flurries. Raw, unrelenting and brilliantly engineered i this is the kind of record that weaponises philosophy for the dancefloor.

Review: Zodiak Commune's Acid Sessions series continues for a second round, this time welcoming Paul Renard in the red corner and Dima Gastroler in the blue. With two tracks shared per artist per side, Renard brings sludgy acid and alarmist leads to an arresting sonic quagmire: 'Chandra' being the best case in point, militant as they come, and 'Yessid' letting up on some of the angst whilst proportionately upping the pH level. Gastroler contrasts things dramatically on the B-side, with 'Ideal Consumer' reflecting on human biopower and subjective agency through a simple but incredibly effective ambiance, and 'Blue Spirit' bringing cleverly reversed FX and wompy growls to the intertexts that rest between the beats.

Review: Get ready for The Electro Guilde's fifth volume, another invitation to get lost at the heart of the rave. This time Zodiak Commune Records enlist Robodrum to kick off with the relentless synth slithers of bleeps of 'Call Me Bitch' before Redjack's 'Call The Monster' layers up mad analogue cowbells, blasts of distorted bass and a sense of intergalactic tension. Baka's 'Flux' dup shootings up with some visceral acid and he also takes care of the closer, 'Androids Hate Marching' a warp-seed, neck-snapping electro terminator with future synths and hiring sounds all spinning your mind into a fenny.