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Review: Veneno is the most beloved transgender TV star in Spain and now she arrives on the equally revered Dark Entries label as part of Madrid Pride on June 30th. Cristina Ortiz was a sex worker when she was discovered by the TV program "Este Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi." She became a regular on it with a great sense of wit and a unique way of relaying stories about her work on the streets. Her career in music started in 1996 and has seen her serve up big Eurobeat tunes like 'Veneno Pa Tu Piel' and house cuts such as 'El Rap De La Veneno'. Two mixes of both of those hit tunes are presented here and are enduring gay anthems that will light up any party.

Review: Matt Cheon & Co. unearth yet more rare gems from old school electro fiends Caroline Herve & Michael Amato here, on the second volume of Lost Trax. As story has it, after the French duo met at a rave in their native Grenoble in the early '90s, they made music heavily influenced by 80s synth, post-punk and Italo disco. Bored by the techno scene at the time, they set out out to lighten the serious tone and bring a campy sexiness to the dour musical landscape. From the sexy, four-to-the-floor EBM of "Upstart", the Drexciyan style "Love On" with its aquatic bass assault, or the classic Miss Kittin & The Hacker sound of old on the monochromatic" The Building" featuring the former's trademark deadpan vocal delivery.

Review: Much is made of the love that Bill Converse from Austin, Texas, has for classic music making hardware (as opposed to the computer-based solutions most find convenient these days), but at the end of the day it's the results he gets rather than the means that have cemented his reputation as one of the most interesting names operating in the US today. This six track selection is no exception, suitably freed-up from convention or restriction and executed with a radioactive excitement that shines directly out of the grooves. Check the rapid fire snares of 'The Last Time', the eerie, horn-like screeches of 'Measurement (Of What?)' or 'Take Apart', with its ascending Detroit-style bassline, for further proof, or just dive in and enjoy the whole lot.

Review: The ever-popular and always innovative Dark Entries welcomes Lust Pattern for more deviant electro explorations here and i isn't the first time the artists has graced the label in such fashion: Ryan Armbridge has previously done so as Linea Aspera many times before, exploring coldwave revivalist sounds alongside Zoe Zanias. With this alias, though, he looks to post-punk and electro-funk for inspiration. Opener 'Forming Lines' is redolent of Drexciyan squelch with plenty of live drumming powering it on. 'Choreography' has a similarly aquatic feel but with faster drums and more urgent funk and 'It's Right There In Front Of You' then slows to a predatory and menacing crawl. 'No Floor' is a motorik workout with the squelchiest of mutant synth sounds and rickety rhythms.

Review: Hassan Ideddir's 1989 single "Atfalouna" sees an expanded repress courtesy of Dark Entries. Born to Berber parents in Morocco, Ideddir began making music at the age of 10 after being discovered singing in the stairwell by his school's headmaster. Encouraged by his peers, he began playing concerts, and his status grew. In 1987, he played a string of sold-out concerts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh, in support of a children's charity. The success of these concerts secured him a record deal, and he went to Paris to record his debut single "Atfalouna" in 1988.