This week at Juno

Obscure long players from Fis, Not Waving and Erdbeerschnitzel, tripped-out house by Hypnosaurus, dubbed techno from the Zenker Brothers and Meandyou.’s Herron, to post punk and melodious tones from Fred P, Templar Sound and Endless Flight. 

Fis – The Blue Quicksand Is Going Now (Loopy)

The journey leading up to the release of Oliver Peryman’s debut album presents the coming of age for Fis. The reclusive New Zealander first emerged on Geoff Presha’s outlandish Samurai Horo offshoot before he went on to appear on dBridge’s Exit Records, but to call the music of Fis drum and bass would be a misguided disregard for the artist’s singular style. Peryman was later snaffled by Tri Angle, a label whose Midas touch has the ability to turn underground misfits into stars. Fis’s lead cut from Horo’s Duckdive EP, “DMT Usher” – essential Fis listening – was cherry picked by the American imprint for its release of Preparations, a record which brought much deserved attention to Peryman’s music. With the amount of label offers Fis has no doubt had cast his way for the release of his debut album, The Blue Quicksand Is Going Now, the understated artist has fallen in with London label Loopy he inaugurated last year, and this milestone release of Peryman’s career delivers a critical mass of his typically ethereal sound design with subtleties that shimmer through a murk of intensely forlorn and textures.
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Mokona – Breathless (Templar Sound)

Sydney label Templar Sound throw caution to the wind that they’re not just a label releasing Thomas Bangalter inspired house like what’s heard on DJ Vague’s Porsche Trax 12” or the various club variations Eugene Ward delivers as Tuff Sherm and Dro Carey. In the three years the label has been active its slowly developed a sense of ownership by garnering its own set of artists, one being Mokona. The young Dutch producer may not be the most well known of names, but he’s familiar with selectors that count, with his music appearing in mixes by both Ben UFO and Oneman, and now Mokona presents his second record, Breathless. The four-track EP combines new age ambience and Mr Mitch styled floating melodies with subtle touches of industrial percussion for a record that will go down as one of the label’s best releases.
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No More – Suicide Commando (Mannequin Records)

No More’s undeniable hit will forever be “Suicide Commando”, a track that’s infamous within the annals of post-punk and a played favourite by supreme selectors like JD Twitch and Silent Servant (check the latter’s FACT mix). It is for No More what “I Feel Love” is for Donna Summer, and like that track “Suicide Commando” has received its fair of remixes, covers and interpretations too. Of note, in 1998, German label DisKo B issued a remix 12” which included a DJ Hell ‘Modification’ of its scratchy drums and then there’s the spaced-out ‘Translation Mix’ by Heinrich Mueller, aka Gerald Donald of Drexciya and Dopplereffekt fame. Italian label Mannequin, however, shouldn’t be labelled as opportunist for reissuing this ‘classic’, as it’s given label boss Alessandro Adriani the chance to dig deep and include two suitabley obscure B-side tracks in the smokey, whisky drenched “If Feels Like 1925” and the middle eastern-tinged “Danse Macabre”.
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Zenker Brothers – Pollioni (Index Marcel Fengler)

The meteoric rise of the beloved Zenker Brothers continues with a release on Marcel Fengler’s IMF. Since reigniting the label from its 2011 slumber last year, Fengler put out the first record by overlooked Polish techno producer Echoplex – whose records throughout the 2000s are grossly underrated – to an inspired EP by Thomas Hessler with lead cut from the Perception EP, “Stratosphere”, a stand out. Now Fengler invites Dario and Marco to the label and the brotherly duo deliver a boisterous record of clubby, subtly dubbed techno that, without going overboard on reverb and clamour, is warehouse and industrial enough, while the pair’s penchant for groove is left wholly in tact, abstrusely so on B-side cut “Bias”.
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Not Waving – Voices (Not Waving)

Last year Strut Records confidant Alessio Natalizia put out a series of cassette titled Voices (1-3) which inaugurated his self-titled label with a somber, synthy analogue bang. He now commits the greater portion of those tracks to vinyl in a bold, 18-track 2xLP release adorned with striking and somewhat disturbing artwork similarly seen on the split Intercepts LP Natalizia shared with Pye Corner Audio. While disparate in sound, this release is perhaps the most accomplished compile of ambient leaning synth music since Music From Memory’s release of Gigi Masin’s Talk To The Sea, and this package, be it an introduction to the work of Not Waving, or an indulgent vinyl purchase, is a archivist’s record that will keep in your collection like a fine wine.
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Herron – The Night Garden (Meandyou.)

After moonlighting on a variety of releases including a notable entry on Workshop’s last various artists 12”, Manchester marauder Herron makes the leap to a full solo release with a single for his own Meandyou. imprint that cements his reputation as a UK house producer with serious creative clout. “Dismantling The House” kicks things off in sizzling fashion with brooding chord delays and pattering percussion that occupy the same ethereal space you would expect to find Kassem Mosse. “Feet First” too plies a Leipzig trade with its spitting drum machine hits and forlorn synth tones, while “Minor Hazard” shows off the artist’s more ambient leanings. “Force Of Habit” occupies a terse headspace populated by obtuse grumblings and scattered beats, while “Venture” reveals the industrial bent to the developing Herron sound.
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FP-Oner aka Fred P – 5 (Mule Musiq)

Considering Fred P has recently been found tackling aliases such as Anomaly and FP197 alongside Black Jazz Consortium, it’s surprising that he would consider the need for another variation for his latest album. It hardly matters as the quality has not shifted from the soul-enriching house and techno that Mr Peterkin has forged his name on, dealing in those illustrious pad sweeps and surefooted beat patterns that have made his music essential over the years. There are certainly moments with a more noticeable bite on 5, such as on the sharp and snappy “Infinite Love” or the growling “Platinum Soul”, but there exists a concurrent deepness in all the tracks that ensures this sits comfortably amongst his best work. Just try drifting into album opener “In The Mist Of Sunrise” and not coming over all emotional.
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Hypnosaurus – 1991 – 1992 (Porridge Bullet)

Raul Saaremets has been working tirelessly to place Estonia on the electronic music map for longer than a lot would realise. With his Porridge Bullet label he has given a platform to the work of the late 80s – early ’90s group Hypnosaurus he was involved in, while simultaneously bringing more contemporary fare to light both from other artists and himself as one half of Ajukaja & Andrevski. This retrospective release follows on from a 12” on Wicked Bass, and it reveals the true depth and breadth of the Hypnosaurus sound as it veers from obtuse experimental fusion music through to a purer kind of house confection. At all times a punky oddness lingers in the music, and it truly makes this music sound scarily ahead of its time. One suspects that few in 1991 would have thought of Tallin as a hotbed of cutting edge electronics, but Hypnosaurus prove there was plenty to get excited about even that far back.
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Matt Karmil – Fight­ (Endless Flight)

A producer with an encouraging upwards slant to his production game, Matt Karmil has had a fruitful year so far with strong singles on Idle Hands and Yumé building upon previous work for PNN and Beats In Space. There is a fluid, slightly cosmic bent to his sound where reduction and noise are not mutually exclusive, and this comes through in abundance on this latest 12” for Endless Flight. “Fight” leads the charge with distant string sweeps calling to mind the spiritual qualities of Stasis in between reverbed chimes and rugged rhythmic work. Considering the B-side alternate version is called “Kiss & Make Up” it seems to boast a more militant disposition where the softer elements of the A-side are shorn away for a stern dancefloor result. Whatever you think about the title choice, the single is further proof of the burgeoning talents of this distinctive artist.
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Erdbeerschnitzel – The Attendants (Rote Liebe)

After creating a healthy buzz around his releases for Mirau, 3rd Strike and Delsin, Erdbeerschnitzel finally makes a welcome return to the fray with an expansive and involved album effort that further pushes his multifaceted sound out into wild new pastures. On the likes of “Corbinian” the German producer’s house and techno roots feel rather far away, replaced by jagged broken beat electronica that shifts between different tones and timbres with a staggering fluidity. Elsewhere the drum machine programming comes through clean and limber on “Hessian Arc” even if the patterns are marvelously unconventional, and on “Fendrick” skin-crawling found sounds make up the palette in amongst wondrous melodic chimes. It’s a head-spinning listen that promises years of repeated listens to get anywhere near the heart of the sonic matter.
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