Gonna Do & Do It More Now (Titonton Duvante FLiP) (6:27)
Review: Acapulco Heat is a new duo from Acapulco made up of Felipe Valenzuela and new comer Ossios. They share a love of colourful shirts and making "sensual moves in the shade of palm trees" and here offer up a set of cuts designed to encourage dancefloor mindfulness. 'Intellectuelle' is a crispy tech house groove with thudding kicks and enough detail to keep the mind as locked as the heels. 'Gonna Do & Do It More Now' is a highlight on the flip - a trippy synth line buzzes about over flappy drum programming that suspends you in the groove. The one and only Titonton Duvante offers a remix that has a darker heart.
Review: Australia has been one of the hottest places for interesting new club sounds for a while now. Re-Leaf is another new label from down under that backs that up and it launches with a mighty fine new EP from label head Aldonna. It loosely offers up deep house sounds but with a range of different slants - there's the progressive chord lushness of 'Rush,' and the more prickly percussive tension of 'Venus'. 'March, Together' is doused in post-rave 90s trance-techno vibes and 'Break Love' (feat Yaiflai) shuts down with some deft and dubbed-out rhythm work that gets ever more intergalactic as it unfolds.
Review: The Hyperdrive label is back with a third outing which once again offers up some exciting and forward-thinking new artists. Anderson's 'Sweet Psylow' kicks off with some psychedelic synth loops over crisp tech house drums that hark back to the 90s prog heyday. HearThuG's 'Back To The Future' is a darker sound with whistles, snappy snares and eerie chords and Luis Malon & Seb G then combine for the bouncing techno rhythms and acid-laced pads of 'Extasis Nebular.' Last but not least, Jamie Leather's 'Strange Commodities' is a surging cosmic techno trip with dynamic drums and perc and majestic leads. This is another fine release from this young label.
Heavy Water (D Tiff Floating To The Top mix) (7:18)
Diact (6:19)
Trouble Down Groove (6:45)
Review: The Cosmic Soup label did some mighty fine work in bringing Howard Dodd's work as Doc Bozique and Anoesis back into ear shot. Dodd released a fair clutch of wiggy, trance-inflected house and techno back in the wild old days of the mid-90s, and so it's no surprise to hear his music finding new relevance at a time when that sound is so warmly received on dancefloors all over the place. This release for German label Spray pulls together a few different bits from 1994, ranging from 'Heavy Water' and 'Diact' from The Anoesis EP to 'Trouble Down Groove' from Eight Day Music. Bringing the relevance with the current zeitgeist in no uncertain times, we're also treated to a remix courtesy of a scene leader in this field, D. Tiffany.
Review: Shockingly, it's been four years since long-serving Greek producer Argy last released an EP of new material. Perhaps he's been holding back some sizzling material because this return to action on Afterlife is genuinely excellent. Title track 'Tataki' is particularly potent: an intoxicatingly moody, otherworldly dancefloor chugger in which sampled, effects-laden Greek vocal samples rise above a throbbing sequenced bassline, tough but sparse drums, clandestine chords and creepy electronics. 'Magic Order' is similarly druggy, with choral vocal snippets, a bassline reminiscent of Lindstrom's trancey nu-disco classic 'I Feel Space', high-end lead lines and gently swelling chords. Impressive stuff all told, though we didn't expect anything less.
Review: Having dipped into the label's bulging archives earlier in the year to offer up a freshly remastered edition of 'Klarky Kat' by Gumbo (a rare collaboration between label bosses Attaboy and Swag's Chris Duckenfield), Toko has returned to the vaults for another essential reissue. 'In Too Deep' hails from 1997, when it marked the fifth release on the Sheffield-based imprint. Reflective of the sound played at legendary Sheffield deep and tech-house party Scuba, the title track is a sultry and saucer-eyed affair, with sustained synth-strings, tactile riffs and luscious melodic motifs wrapping around an hypnotic deep house-meets-tech-house groove. In contrast, 'In Deeper' is a much more minimalistic, tech-tinged affair, close in sound and tone to Swag productions of the period - all deep, undulating bass, effects-laden weirdo noises and locked-in beats.
Review: As you will very well know for yourself if you are interested enough in dance music to be reading this: trance is back, and it has been for a while. Pure trance, techno-trance, acid-trance, it's all to be heard everywhere you listen. But excuse us for showing our age and getting all boomer on you because none of it can hold a lighter to the original classics such as this one from BBE. 'Seven Days And One Week' is pure Ibiza, pure trance, pure melodic euphoria with sensuous vocals that make it all the more effective. On the flip is the darker 'Hypnose' to offer a nice yin to the a-side's yang. Reach for the lasers, safe as you know what.
Review: Rebirth kicks off its 2024 with a remix EP that serves as "a tribute to the Brescian music scene in its many facets and declinations." The full original project is a complete 12-track album that brings together many different sounds, scenes and generations, with the best bits now assembled on this new 12". The revered deep house master Fred P opens up with some texture spiritual synth depths, K-Lone brings some nice house swing to his version of 'Paline' and edit maestro Rahsaan also keeps it paired back and late night on his soulful take on 'Scent Of An Old Life'. A great reimagining of some moving musical adventures, then.
Review: Boulderhead's I Need Space to Dance EP marks a significant expansion of his sonic horizons, taking in everything from contemplative dub moments to glistening rollers and a psychedelic tour-de-force. Tracks like 'I Need Space' featuring Overnite Oates and 'Dance and Dance Again' deliver shuffly spoken-word tech vibes, sure to become club favourites. Unified yet diverse, the EP appeals to fans of tech-house, prog, broken beat, and minimal techno alike, while Boulderhead, aka Henry James, exhibits the kind of top-tier production skills that hint at the potential for a full-length album.
Review: Brique and Babu step up for two tracks each on this nice and cosmic new tech house offering from the Quinoa Cuts label. Brique get first with a deft blend of silky synth designs and snappy tech house drums. It's both driving and physical but nice and heady at the same time. His 'Customer Service Meltdown' has more textural, fizzy synths snaking their way through the crispy tech beats, then Babu's 'Apollo' has an acid-laced sound and cyborg vocals piped in. Last of all is 'American War' with more tight, bobbing beats and electro-tinged rhythms.
Review: After the first volume went down so well it's no wonder we now get treated to The Sound Of Garden Vol 2 Part 2. This various artist affair comes right from the cutting edge of minimal house and tech with Lee Burton opening up in bold, strident, bouncy fashion as he allows zippy acid to flash about his full-bodied beats. Maggio's 'Rolling Phunk' is just that - perfect effective rhythms with machine soul. Jamhar and Franko Lopez then combine for 'Lost Act' which brings more undulating drums and techno-leaning synths before closer Matteo Point shuts down with the future-facing prog pomp of 'Great Weekend.'
Review: he North Macedonia label Pirka releases its fifth album and features four excellent tracks by the longtime producer Vincent Casanova. Things begin with the addictive melodic burner 'Mikey's Attic", which has a great balance of being futuristic with being retro enough to get everyone to the dancefloor. 'Euphoria' is bit more reserved but deeper. The track sneaks up on you as rhythmic elements continue to change and evolve under this excellent bassline. The track is carefree and fun that makes for an enjoyable time. On Side two, 'Strike' is more up-tempo jam that we cannot get enough of while 'Lush Void' might be our favorite of the bunch. This spacey romp into the cosmos is not only beautiful but it feels in constant motion like you are on a magic carpet ride. This EP has something for everyone!
Toto Chiavetta - "My Eyes Are Failing" (feat Trenton) (6:04)
Toto Chiavetta - "Dua Is" (Imperfect Couture extended mix) (6:36)
Toto Chiavetta - "The Sacred Space" (Tape Proc mix) (6:18)
Toto Chiavetta - "My Eyes Are Failing" (feat Trenton - Imperfect Couture extended mix) (7:52)
Toto Chiavetta - "My Eyes Are Failing" (feat Trenton- Echonomist remix) (7:12)
Review: Impressively wide and etheric new minimal / prog tech house from Italy's Toto Chiavetta, who returns to Mind Against's HABITAT sub-imprint with 'My Eyes Are Falling'. Rarely do we hear progressive house artists indulging such futuristic sound-palettes, if not for the fact that such sonic and textural detail often naturally spurs artists into more abstracted explorations away from dance music. But Chiavetta reins this impulse in, and keeps firmly rooted in the dance world by way of mega-surrounded breath-voices (courtesy of singer Trenton) and stratospherically catchy synth evaporations. Everything here, too, from the unpredictable, grid-flouting synthwork of 'The Sacred Space' to the ensuing remixes of the title track, sounds just as exo-worldly as the occult lifeform portrayed on the front cover.
Review: The new four-tracker from Chicaiza through Kimchi Records is decidedly impressive, finding reams of emotive expression in a knowing, but well-wrought gaudy-trance rawness. We clock we're in for a trippy one from the off; 'Frgil Bodies' hears an opening vocal natter with the intonation of a leprechaun under the influence of some lab-bought compound; and not long before the crudest of crude yet rudest of rude drum flows ensues. Then 'Metaphorical Nihlusiions' follows with a continually janky, but frankly wicked still, tunnel-toss through noetic synth flicks and gurglingly good bass groundings, throwing shade on false nihilations in the process. The understory opens up considerably with 'Shinobi', with trophic psychic layers and bushwalking sproutings-forth, culminating in a canopied trance lead atop. Finally, 'No Way' flushes an excess of chitinous, skin-shedded beats and leftover bass nacres, depositing them on the forest floor like lap-up fruits ripe for the taking.
Review: Slinky nighttime acid tech from Cirkel Square, laying down his debut 'Outside The Dome' EP for Subwax. Despite the title's focus on the hemispherical exterior, this is actually a two-track study on both the inside and outside of said dome. We begin life inside the hydroponic homestead, with surreptitious trance-acid and dimly lit pads suggestive of a secret plot to escape. The B-side's 'Outer Limits' responds with a more excitable jaunt, though by no means has our escape plan been scuppered by the authorities, with the mood continually driving, techy and methodical. Two remixes from Len Lewis and Magnus Asberg only add to the edge-of-your-seat excitement.
Review: Serbian DJ & Producer Igor Radosevic, known as Cosmic G, joins the E&X roster and serves up the label's first release of 2024. With a string of successful releases on labels like Haws, Goddezz & Neptune Discs, Radosevic has become a key figure in the progressive house and trance scene. This EP backs that up and features two originals - 'Human Spirit' which rides on feel-good and warm rays of synth goodness and 'Infinite Balance' which is a deeper cut with mind-melting pads. Alongside those are remixes by emerging French talent Clint, who injects raw energy into each of his renditions.
Review: Beyond the Outer Limits by Cult of the UFO is a new solo recording produced by Anthony Barker of Overlords of the UFO.
Due to Anthony being an integral contributor to the music of Overlords of the UFO, the four tracks maintain the trademark retro analogue sci-fi vibe of Overlords of the UFO, although with a more contemporary edge.
Review: Neptune Discs bowl headfirst into a future cybernet on their ninth V/A volume. Christening this latest record a “Neptune Disc”, we’d not be surprised if it indeed was true that a hidden alien civilization resident on the farthest known planet in the solar system was, in fact, using copies of this record as currency. From the opening filterswept FM declensions of ‘Emerald Canopy’, to the closing saws and oral acid resonances of ‘Donald Llg’, this retrofitted vision of the 2090s propels us towards a altered, proto-temporal conscious state, twining intricate vocal hooks round endlessly pulsating acid lines.
Review: DC Salas is the nom de plume for Diego Cortez Salas, a Belgian producer who has been turning heads recently for essential releases on LARJ, R.A.N.D., Pets and Futureboogie. He's now stepping up to the A Lifetime On The Hips label with five fresh drops of vibrant, exuberant hardware-style house music with a strong melodic footing. 'Tio' is steeped in sentiment thanks to its simple but heart-rending lead synth line, making for a perfect track to see out a peak time set in emotional style. 'Never Ending Story' is another stand out on the record with its dramatic trance breakdown and a deadly drop when it's time to get down.
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