Search dance music

Review: Costantino Luca Rolando Kiriakos, an influential figure in Athens' electronic scene since the 80s, showcased his diverse talents as a composer, sound engineer, and installation artist under his Coti K. alias on this EP from back in 1994. The five tracks he offered up all explore Balearic-ambient bliss-scapes and now get reissued on Dark Entries complete with their smooth breaks, cosmic pads, and lush pianos. Reflecting his Hellenic roots, track titles like 'Argonauts' and 'Theros' bring global ambient vibes and spoken word by Konstantinos Bhta and cello by Nikos Veliotis all help add their magic to this nostalgic journey with a Mediterranean twist.

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: 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: Detroit-based Code Industry, for those who know, were a highly regarded and influential EBM-techno outfit. The always reliable Dark Entries has been digging in their vaults to serve up this vital reissue of their Structure EP. The quartet of Rob Myers, E.N. Sevy, Kyl Crys, and William Keith formed in 1989 having previously worked as Code Assault and were rare black artists working in the world of EBM and industrial. They were socially and politically minded so issues of racism, the media, and the hypocrisy of patriotism all comes up in their music which is denied by taught synths and dark vocal whispers that echo the work of acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. Add in high tech grooves and you have s fantastic EP that was originally released in 1991 on the Antler-Subway label.

Review: Dark Entries label regulars De-Bons-en-Pierre are back with more of their scuzzy delights in the form of their Card Short of a Full Deck EP. It's drenched in textbook sludginess as is often the way with Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti ever since they came together in 2016. These tunes were all originally written back in 2019 for live performances and really find the pair pushing at the boundaries of accepted social norms. The absurd sounds pair skipping rhythms with dark and freaky basslines and plenty of eerie rave chords to make for an all-new kind of dance floor energy.

Review: Wisdom Wita Z aka LaShonda Corder hooks up with Dark Entries for a rare Detroit-adroit arsenal of new 90s-style house bangers. 'It's Me' was produced by DJ Maestro and DJ 001, both influential figures in the Detroit techno scene. The B-side, meanwhile, hears a retake from the adjacent DJ Resurgence. An anthem for owning and loving oneself, direct comparisons could be made to the diva vibes of Crystal Waters or CeCe Peniston, but Wita Z brings an entirely new character to the genre, with the production bringing a moodiness to the sound and giving neat contrast to her up-front vocals.

Review: Well done to Dark Entries who have managed to pull another crucial Italo jam out of the bag here. This one is Alex Molo's 'Look At Me' which was released in 1986 on Rainbow Records. Claudio Corradini produced it and Mauro Spagnolo and Steven Stefani are on vocals on a tune that has everything you need from a classic Italo jam of the late-era. The basslines are powerful, the chords are massive and the hits are doused in reverb. A Dance Mix is perfect for dancefloors and the Radio Mix is detailed with extra synth work. An original of this will cost a pretty penny so scoop this one up while you can.

Review: Dark Entries are masters of Italo reissues and they have a number of them dropping at the moment. This one is of Garland's 'Heartbeat' which comes original from 1986. It is a true dancefloor gem that bares all the hallmarks of the era that still remain so loved today. Claudio Corradini produced it with Massimo Filippi and Art Deco singer and songwriter Claudio Valenti used this project for his more club ready sounds. 'Heartbeat' (song version) is a mid tempo tune with sleek staccato bass and a sing-along-worthy chorus that echoes Bronski Beat. The Dance Version is extended for DJs. A postcard with lyrics and liner notes is also included.

Review: Angela was the studio project of husband/wife duo Angela and Ingo Werner formed in 1981 in Russelsheim, Germany. Ingo had classical training in bassoon and piano at the Akademie fur Tonkunst in Darmstadt from 1966-70. He joined Krautrock band My Solid Ground in 1971 before going on to form his own project Baba Yaga in 1974. In the late 70s he formed the ensemble AIR with Armin Stowe and Reinhard Karwatky. The project debuted with a a concert at ARS Electronica Competition in Linz, Austria 1980, which they won. Klaus Schulze was on the jury with Wendy Carlos and Robert Moog - but more importantly, Angela was in the audience. Two days later, Ingo told the band he needed a singer, so they asked Angela, and recorded two albums for RCA between 1981-82 before being dropped. Ingo wanted to work on a new project that involved dancers and live video. They recruited American performance artist Jyl Porch, who was living in Munich, to assist with choreography with her friend Kirsten McKenley. Jyl ended up recording her own album first, which gained interest from Klaus Schulze, who helped them secure a deal with EMI in 1983. Later that year, the trio recorded 4 songs that would be released on Angela 'Fantasy' single on 7" and 12" formats in 1984.
The music on 'Fantasy' was completely created with computer software of Ingo's own design. The concept of a polyrhythmic, polyphonic, and polydynamic sequencer was realized by Ingo after a visit to Wolfgang Palm in Hamburg. He paired his sequencer with Palm's legendary PPG Wave Computer System, allowing for more dynamic and nuanced programming. Angela programmed the music, sang, and wrote the lyrics to "Painted Love", while Ingo arranged and played all electronics and keyboards. Jyl wrote the lyrics for "Fantasy" and the slow and sleazy, electronic disco B-side "I Gotta Little Love", where she also sings background vocals and the "hot little flame" rap. The original B-side to the 7" version was a cover of the 1967 Hal Hackady and Lee Pockriss song "Kites", made famous by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The EP features the original 1984 cover artwork with a striking photo of Angela styled by Jyl in severe Neue Deutsche Welle fashion, and includes an insert with lyrics and and photos designed by Maycec..

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: Dark Entries presents a reissue of Shawn Pittman's 1989 Dreams, an obscure and highly sought-after private press gem produced and written by Art Forest. An undersung figure in the development of the late 80's Detroit techno sound, Forest collaborated with, produced, or penned material for many of the key players in the movement, including Inner City, Suburban Knight, and the Belleville Three themselves (on Kreem's "Triangle of Love"). This reissue gives Forest's own productions some shine while providing a thrill for both dancers and collectors.

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.

Review: Bezier returns to Dark Entries with Valencia, a six track rumination on memory, geography, and transmutation. Multi-instrumentalist Robert Yang's Bezier project has appeared on Dark Entries many times over the last decade, most recently with the 2018 LP Parler Musique. Says Yang, "What started as a project to investigate the love of the sound and scenery while living in San Francisco quickly developed into a passionate search for interlocking melodies and driving rhythms." On Valencia, Bezier invokes twinned places. The Valencia Street of San Francisco is channeled, which was the center of the city's vibrant new wave scene in the 1980s. But also echoed is Valencia, Spain, and La Ruta del Bakalao aka La Ruta Destroy, the Spanish clubbing scene throughout the 80s and 90s famed for its aggressive and synthetic sounds. Valencia is a darker record for Yang, exploring themes of submission and catharsis with nods to SF's gay leather bars of the 70s and 80s. The high BPM salvos of "Valencia" and "Scrupulous" capture the frantic energy of Bakalao and Valencian wave acts like Oltima Emocion. Elsewhere Yang mines the dreamy space disco and Hi-NRG sounds they're known for, like on the brooding "Past the Marshes" or the anthemic "Reservoir", which features their partner Len.Leo on vocals. Bezier deftly navigates past and present, light and dark, pain and pleasure, the stasis of memory and the flux of time. Valencia was mastered by Alex Michalski, with EQ for vinyl done by George Horn. Gwenael Rattke designed the sleeve, which features an 80's punk zine-esque geometric grid pattern mirroring San Francisco street maps. Also included is a 5x7 postcard with notes.

Review: Having turfed up Boytronic classic Brylliant late last year, Dark Entries plunge once more into the darkest recesses of Hamburg's Reeperbahn district with a crucial 12" presentation of Wolfsheim's breakout hit. Formed of musician Markus Reinhardt and vocalist Peter Heppner, Wolfsheim emerged in early '90s Hamburg with The Sparrows and the Nightingales 12" on local label Strange Ways and remained active until 2009. Dark Entries focus on their synth pop sound in its most nascent form, gleefully remastering "The Sparrows & The Nightingales" and pairing it with a thunderous EBM-laced rework from crack remix specialist Ancient Methods.

Review: Dark Entries is again presenting an essential classic: the Chicago house anthem Essence of a Dream, by Risque III. K'Alexi Shelby's illustrious career has included releases on legendary labels such as Trax, DJ International, and Transmat, as well as collaborations with high profile artists such as Marshall Jefferson and Pet Shop Boys. But his musical journey began at the young age of 12, when he befriended Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles while frequenting the Music Box and Warehouse. In high school, he began to write songs and hone his poetic craft. "I recognized I had a gift to say what I was thinking. I would study Prince and Marvin Gaye, figure out what they meant and put my spin on it. The power of the word. I was writing love notes for all my boys in high school and making a killing. I would know what to say and what they should do." In 1987, Shelby's first solo release, Risque III's "Essence of a Dream" b/w "Risque Madness," was to be cemented in Chicago dance history. He was accompanied in the studio by his cousin and production mentor, Mr. Lee. The track's effortlessly propulsive house rhythms (courtesy of the Roland TR-727, TR-707, and TR-909), salsa-inflected bassline, and oneiric strings fuse magnificently with K'Alexi's steamy, Prince-esque verse. Due to tight studio schedule times, his vocals were almost omitted. Says Shelby: "The session was coming to an end and I said I wanted to put the vocals on there. They said, 'We got no time unless you can get your vocals right in one take'. I said, 'Let it rip' and went into the vocal booth...they just stood there with their mouths open. The look on their faces was priceless." The B-side's "Risque Madness" is a tribute to Ron Hardy, DJ at the Music Box and one of K'Alexi's formative influences. The track opens with Shelby's processed voice announcing "I'd like to talk to you about escape. Let me take you away, away to a place where rhythm is life, and life is a never ending sound." This introduction captures how he felt dancing to disco every week at the Music Box. Hardy was known for playing an edit of Kikrokos' "Life is a Jungle," in which he looped the track's lysergic breakdown. Shelby utilizes the same delirious loop but builds upon it with additional percussion, melodies, samples from Hardy favorite "Let No Man Put Asunder" by First Choice, and manipulated vocals taken from The Madam's "The Sensuous Black Woman", a recording used often in early Chicago house DJ sets and recordings. Both sides of this record perfectly reflect the spirit of Chicago house music. Essence of a Dream has been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The sleeve was designed by Eloise Leigh, and features a never-before-seen photo of a teenage Shelby taken at his high school, with a bold font evoking 80's house music covers. Also included is a postcard with lyrics, an additional photo from the same session as the cover artwork, and liner notes from Shelby.

Review: Tobias Bernstrup is a contemporary musician and video artist born 1970 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He received an MFA from Royal College University of Fine Arts Stockholm in 1998. Using the visual language of pop culture, video games, sci-fi, classicism and gothic noir, he has created a stage persona with notorious live performances. Dressed in elaborate costumes of skin-tight rubber suits and fetish gear, Tobias' external appearance is androgynous. He raises questions about representation of identity, the body and physical space in both virtual and non-virtual realities. Between 1997 and 1998 he self-released two limited CD-R EPs. In 2002 his debut album 'Re-Animate Me' was released by Tonight Records followed by two limited 12" singles for the song "27" and the Italian version "Ventisette".

Review: In eleven years of deep digging, Dark Entries has uncovered many curiosities, lone exemplars of the scarsest breeds. They are lurking in Croatia, on the streets of New York, maybe in the back of your own dusty closet - these odd-ball Italo and synth-wave monsters are too rare to live, too divine to die. Once-lost creatures now have a home with Dark Entries' new Endangered Species series. The inaugural edition features five specimens previously deemed extinct, only mentioned passingly in lore and speculation, but now safely preserved on vinyl.

Review: Head of labels Klakson and Dolly, Panorama Bar resident Steffi makes a rare appearance outside of the aforementioned imprints to reboot her Crushed Soul moniker here for San Francisco's Dark Entries. The 'Family of Waves' EP retains her love of Detroit techno and electro, best heard on the moody mechanical funk of "Gravitational Field" or "Diffusion Of Heat", while bold new wave and cold industrial noir is the flavour on the throbbing EBM pulse of "Scalar Property" or the title track - a seething slow burner with euphoric acid inflections. All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, with cover art designed by Eloise Leigh and Goldenliustra.

Review: Robert Rental is an artist as influential as he is overlooked. An anchor of the early British DIY and post-punk scene, his name is most frequently uttered alongside illustrious collaborators such as Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Dark Entries and Optimo ally to illuminate some of Rental's early solo works with an expanded reissue of his debut 7" Paralysis /A.C.C.. Both labels have previously excavated Rental's catalog; we reissued the collaborative LP with Glenn Wallis in 2017, and Optimo released a collection of demos in 2018.

Review: "Grey Skies In A Dear Green Place" is the debut Dark Entries release from Fear-E aka Glasgow's Scott McKay. It comes after 10 years of hard hitting DJ sets and productions on labels like Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and is packed from to back with rib-rattling, foundation-shaking techno. There are raw jack tracks like "Acid Conversion 5", deep but frenzied bangers like "Craig's Wee Sweet Shop" and mechanical melodic explorations like "Approach It Like A '90s DnB Banger". There's even a bit of hyper speed electro in closer "The Mouth From The South" that shows another equally effective side to McKay's sound.

Review: Shcuro is the alias of Joao Ervedosa a DJ, producer and graphic designer based in Lisbon. He also runs the record labels Sombra and Paraiso, makes music as Jose Acid and hosts a show on Radio Quantica. His first contact with a DJ setup happened at age 15, and that's when Shcuro decided to buy his own turntables and mixer; and started producing his own beats, too. He's since released music on Basal, Circus Maximus, Obscuur Techno, Golden Mist Records and his most recent collaboration with Photonz for Future Deja Vu.
'Particle of Memory' is a hypnotic 6-track EP that explores new territories in contemporary dance music. Sonically Shcuro paints his sounds blending moody techno with industrial noises alongside fast, apocalyptic electro and breakbeat. He is influenced by Portuguese rave culture that was born in the mid-90s at Lisbon clubs Alcantara-Mar and Kremlin and the country's first electronic label Kaos Records. Shcuro continues to expand and morph this rich dance heritage to create something entirely different. The bouncy, lead track "Afterlife" features vocals and lyrics by London's ELLES followed by a Decadent Dub rework. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Housed in a die-cut jacket designed by Eloise Leigh reminiscent of '90s escape/sci-fi films with futuristic bright pink pop flourishes

Review: Israel duo Red Axes land on Dark Entries with more of their brilliant guitar and synth fusions. "Voom" is a twitchy sci-fi kraut rock experiment that eventually erupts into a fantastic breakbeat while "Dosa" is layered up with comic drones and boarding baselines that pin you to the floor. There's a dark disco vibe to the crashing hits and menacing arps of "Mister Q" before analogue machine goes wild on closer "Prblems" with its twisted leads and detuned chords all growing increasingly unhinged. Diverse and electrifying club music as ever from this pair.

Review: Tel Aviv born, Berlin based duo TV.OUT make their Dark Entries debut with a 6-track EP titled 'Dust Till Dawn' out Black Friday 2019. Doron Mastey Charly & Ori Itshaki have made a name for themselves the past few years putting on impressive live sets, DJing around the world, and running Parallax Records releasing various strains of rugged, well informed electronic music. Clocking in at 36 minutes this collection moves in hot pursuit of their two previous EPs for L.I.E.S. Side A opens with the metallic hi-hats of "Morning Light" that echoes early Euro/Goa techno-EBM sound to the 8-minute sleek, pounding industrial darkroom vibes of "Sun" and closes with the titanium-tipped 808 warped electro of "War Zone". Side B leads off with the heavy New Beat scorcher "Lord", a song we first heard on a mix from Cardopusher and knew we had to release. Then comes "Product Of My Environment" a slow-motion mutant menace that flows into the final song "Slippery Slope" a classic West Coast of The Hague '90s style electro perfectly suited for complete dance floor drama. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in jacket designed by Eloise Leigh with black-white-red apocalyptic vibes and bold type.

Review: Dark Entries has been at the forefront of the coldwave and synth revival that has slowly taken hold over the last decade. Next up they turn their attention to a reissue of an out of print EP from 1988 by Jordi Guber and Krishna Goineau as Velodrome. Villalobos has been known to drop cuts from it, which should give you a good idea of its musical style: freaky 80s electro built on steppy drums, with taut and twanging synths reverberating around the mix, as exemplified by the opener. "Glasfabrik" is a hyper-speed cut with a tongue in cheek vocal, while "Capataz" is the most well-known joint with its acid bass and crashing hits.

Review: Despite being active for just seven years during the 1980s, Dutch new wave band Mekanik Kommando released a wealth of raw, off-kilter and intergalactic material. 1982's "Dancing Elephants" EP, which here gets the reissue treatment from Dark Entries, remains one of their finest moments, largely because it fuses crunchy, electro-influenced beats and Kraftwerk style computer bleeps with sassy new wave vocals, nods to synth-pop and the low-slung basslines and fuzzy guitars of post-punk rock. Our picks include the alien post-punk pop of "Beauty Of Language", the out-there, delay-laden, extra-terrestrial weirdness of "Miss B" and the new wave electro-pop perfection of "Stop & Play".

Review: Dark Entries' series of leftfield Italo-disco reissues continues with a double-header from prolific Italo disco session vocalist Helen (AKA Elena Ferretti), whose early excursions on obscure Italian labels Out Records and Discomagic have previously been the sole preserve of dusty-fingered crate-diggers. This EP brings together two of her finest EPs; 1983's scarce "Witch" - an exercise in bubbling, synth-pop inclined Italo-disco - and 1985's arguably better-known "Zanzibar". It's arguably the sparse, cowbell-laden "Afro Mix" - think Cosmic Club era Daniele Baldelli - of this track that steals the show, though all four tracks are shot through with that European strangeness that often marks out the best early Italo cuts.

Review: We are proud to showcase more Bay Area family with the release of a new EP by Doc Sleep who cut her chops as a DJ in San Francisco's vibrant scene the past decade. In 2016 she made the move to Berlin and became a resident of Room 4 Resistance. Since 2013, she's been the co-owner of Jacktone Records, which specializes in techno, ambient, and experimental electronics. In 2016/2017 she released her first 12's on the Hot Mass-affiliated Detour Records and Bottom Forty. She also co-wrote a track with Bezier and Nicole Ginelli, titled "Stranger," that we released on the 'Primes' EP in 2017. Her latest release, 'Your Ruling Planet', was released on Jacktone in March 2019. We first heard "Creme Fraiche" on Doc's soundcloud page and begged to release it. The track has the feel-good vibes you get on early morning dancefloors as things are winding down or up. Paired on the A-side is the pulsating dark jam "Never Eating Again" that previously appeared on 'Run The Length Of Your Wildness V.2' and, like that compilation, proceeds from this track will be donated to Ghost Ship Fire victim Cherushii's family. On the B-side are two remixes from close friends of Doc. First up is a fresh breakbeat remix from Violet: DJ, producer, boss of Naive records, co-founder of Radio Quantica, and mina resident shaking up Lisbon's nightlife. Second is Berlin-based producer and fellow R4R resident, rRoxymore, who presents an innovative remix of future-facing techno and bass variations adding her own vocals on top. For this release we've teamed up with Jacktone to release a cassette version, our first in this format, featuring two peak-time bonus tracks. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each copy is housed in jacket designed by Eloise Leigh with neon pink and lavender gradients echo morning sunrises with a collage of dreamy elements using a photo by Doc of Club Toilet in Detroit.

Review: We are proud to present two new EPs from De Bons en Pierre, the duo of Beau Wanzer & Maoupa Mazzocchetti. Beau Wanzer spends the majority of his days sifting through paraffin embedded animal tissues and reading old issues of Fangoria, occasionally breaking his monotonous routine to record in various fits and bursts. As well as solo material, he is also in numerous projects including Streetwalker, Mutant Beat Dance, Civil Duty, and Corporate Park. Maoupa Mazzocchetti is the pseudonym of Florent Mazzocchetti, a French producer based in Brussels. His sonic vision is one which constantly straddles the line between wild experimentation and rhythmic compatibility, drawing influence from early concrete, 80's tape scene and Birmingham school techno. After working together on the 'Crepes' EP that we released in 2017, De Bons en Pierre reunited for a two day recording session in Brussels. The duo recorded 13 tracks that we've split across 2 EPs with 6 tracks on 'EP No. 1' and 7 tracks on 'EP No. 2'. Beau says, "We hooked everything up and just pushed play. We didn't really discuss much about the process....it was very 'spur of the moment'." The equipment set up included a Roland TR-808, TR-606, SH-101, CR-78, CR-8000, two Syncussions and effects. Each EP contains 25 minutes of dance floor perversions that tackle an array of rhythmic forms. Sludgy synths, serrated percussion and viscous distortion goops over leviathan rhythms. All songs are mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. 'EP No. 1' is housed in a sewage green jacket featuring a monster mask duo and spiky motifs designed by Florent Mazzocchetti, and 'EP No. 2' is radioactive orange with a different pair of monster masks.

Review: We are proud to present two new EPs from De Bons en Pierre, the duo of Beau Wanzer & Maoupa Mazzocchetti. Beau Wanzer spends the majority of his days sifting through paraffin embedded animal tissues and reading old issues of Fangoria, occasionally breaking his monotonous routine to record in various fits and bursts. As well as solo material, he is also in numerous projects including Streetwalker, Mutant Beat Dance, Civil Duty, and Corporate Park. Maoupa Mazzocchetti is the pseudonym of Florent Mazzocchetti, a French producer based in Brussels. His sonic vision is one which constantly straddles the line between wild experimentation and rhythmic compatibility, drawing influence from early concrete, 80's tape scene and Birmingham school techno. After working together on the 'Crepes' EP that we released in 2017, De Bons en Pierre reunited for a two day recording session in Brussels. The duo recorded 13 tracks that we've split across 2 EPs with 6 tracks on 'EP No. 1' and 7 tracks on 'EP No. 2'. Beau says, "We hooked everything up and just pushed play. We didn't really discuss much about the process....it was very 'spur of the moment'." The equipment set up included a Roland TR-808, TR-606, SH-101, CR-78, CR-8000, two Syncussions and effects. Each EP contains 25 minutes of dance floor perversions that tackle an array of rhythmic forms. Sludgy synths, serrated percussion and viscous distortion goops over leviathan rhythms. All songs are mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. 'EP No. 1' is housed in a sewage green jacket featuring a monster mask duo and spiky motifs designed by Florent Mazzocchetti, and 'EP No. 2' is radioactive orange with a different pair of monster masks.

Review: Lhasa is the brainchild of Alain Raes from Siegen, Germany. As a teenager he was inspired by Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric" and Art Of Noise's "Beatbox". In 1985 he began collecting analog equipment (Prophet-5; Oberheim OB-X; Linn LM-1) as digital synthesizers had started to become more popular. In 1986, New Beat was born in Belgium. Dancers tapped into the darker side of synth pop, and DJs would play 45 rpm records at 33 with the pitch control set to +8. Alain was playing in New Wave bands and had started production work and synth programming for other acts.

In 1988 he self-released the debut Lhasa single 'Acetabularia' / 'Acetatechno', with help from Kris Tremmery on vocals and concept. The record combined the icy melodies of Gary Numan and John Foxx with with the mechanical rhythms of Detroit techno and EBM. Thematically, both tracks revolve around the end of life on Earth, and include samples from 'Dr. Strangelove'. For this first time reissue, we've added 4 bonus tracks rescued from a 1990 recording session DAT tape. These demos show further development of the Lhasa sound with updated instruments (Roland D-20, Yamaha TX16W, Korg 707), faster tempos, and menacing proto-rave energy. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each copy includes an 11x11 poster with photos and liner notes by Alain.

Review: Many should already know Codek's "Tam Tam" (sometimes known as "Tim Toum"), a peerless Afro-cosmic classic from 1981 that fused minimalist tribal drums with spaced-out female vocals and sparse, intergalactic electronics. Here it gets the remix treatment for the very first time. Fittingly, it's cosmic disco stalwarts Daniele Baldelli and Marco Dionigi who kick things off with two tasty interpretations: a percussive and hypnotic take that successfully throws some acid-funk guitars into the mix ("Remix A"), and a more spacey, synth-laden affair rich in analogue electronics ("Remix B"). Over on side B, New York duo Whatever/Whatever re-imagine it as a fuzzy slab of coldwave/house fusion, before offering up an extended, club-ready re-edit of the original version.

Review: Last year, Dark Entries reissued Lena Platonos' 1986 album "Lepidoptera", a beautiful, minimalistic set forged out of picturesque piano motifs and the composer's own surrealist Greek poetry. Now the lauded San Francisco label presents a quartet of new reworks of tracks from that album. There's a more dancefloor-centric feel throughout, with the standout revisions - in our eyes at least - coming from Anatolian Weapons, whose take on "Cyaniris" is a throbbing, dark synth-pop treat, and Pasiphae. Her version of "Araschnia Levana" brilliantly re-casts the track as a heavy, all-action dark electro workout tailor made for dark basements in The Hague.

Review: As per usual, those fiendish folks over at Dark Entries have amazed us once again with yet another barrel of 1980s gold from the depths of the underground. This time it's German new wave band Boytronic who see a reissue, and the EP in question is 1988's "Byllyant", which features the magnificent Plus 8 mix - a shot to the head made up of warm bass tones and hard-hitting drum machine patterns - and also the US mix, which literally sounds like it was made yesterday; for being an '80s EP, Boytronic steered well clear of cheesy and to be honest, they give New Order a proper run for their money. The 1984 mix of "Trigger Track" is a wonderful electro stormer, stamping its fast beats over eerie pads and growling basslines. This would be silly not to recommend! For the diggers.

Review: Ahead of two albums worth of Severed Heads reissues on the excellent Medical Records, their West Coast compadres Dark Entries present a 12" edition of what is perhaps the band's most iconic track. One of three records due this month to celebrate Dark Entries fifth anniversary, this 12" is themed around "Dead Eyes Opened", perhaps Severed Heads' most iconic track and presented here in extended 12" mix version. Anyone with a passing interest in primitive electronics should be more than familiar with "Dead Eyes Opened" which sounds remarkably ahead of it's time even today. Both the B Side tracks from the original 1984 pressing make the cut too and Dark Entries have done a wonderful job in replicating the artwork too.

Review: My Mine were an Italo disco outfit from Bologna, Italy active between 1983 and 1986. Composed of core members Carlo Malatesta and Danilo Rosati plus Stefano Micheli and Darren Hatch, they reformed in 2016 with Malatesta and Rosati together and new singer Ilaria Melis - releasing the new single "Like a Fool". Their catchy 1983 hit "Hypnotic Tango" is one of the essential underground anthems of the scene, so influential that it was remixed by Frankie Knuckles (his legendary 1987 Powerhouse mix is featured on this very edition) and sampled by Detroit innovator Carl Craig.

Review: Photonz is the alias of Marco Rodrigues a DJ, producer and driving force of Lisbon's underground scene. For little over a decade now, he's been crafting his own deeply personal style of Portuguese house and techno for labels such as Creme Organization, 20:20 Vision, Don't Be Afraid, Skylax, Unknown To The Unknown and his own One Eyed Jacks. As a DJ, Photonz grew a reputation for deep crates and intensely euphoric sets and in 2017, together with Violet (co-founder at his Radio Quantica) and Lisbon's own Rabbit Hole collective, he started the now infamous Mina parties - a monthly, sex-positive, queer and intersectional-feminist techno party aimed at using the dissociative potential of intense raving to create a temporary space of suspension away from patriarchal expectations.
Etheric Body Music is Photonz's debut 6-track EP for Dark Entries and a simultaneous reference to hermeticism and EBM (Electronic Body Music). Marco loves that "aesthetic when 80s industrial and EBM bands split up and start to make trance in the early 90s and all the ritual magick pushes them to zen stuff and they do ecstasy." There's this concept in theosophy and hermetic philosophy of the Etheric Body, which is an energy body superimposed and connected to the physical body, similar to the acupuncture idea of an energetic body. That idea manifests itself as six primal club cuts, which also channel early techno, Drexciyan rhythms, balearic & old school jack. Raw arpeggiated synth lines and bass blast jut against metallic stabs and highly percussive shakedowns to create mournful atmospheric warped house. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a psychedelic jacket with snakey green and purple velvet in an electric acid spewing weird biological alien energy form designed by Eloise Leigh.

Review: Luis Garban aka Cardopusher's raw, electro-infused take on techno has earned him releases on labels like Boysnoize and Super Rhythm Trax whilst running his successful Classicworks imprint alongside co-founder Nehuen. His Muscle Memory EP for Bay Area retroverts Dark Entries sees him ride on the winning formula of raw and jacking house and techno grooves from yesteryear with a touch of modern flair. It's all aboard the acid express on high octane thrillers like "Regress To Nowhere" or "Into The Motion" which feature the signature glide and resonance of the Roland 303, to EBM-infused electro bangers (title track "Muscle Memory") and the deep down and dirty bump of "Nambu Line Dub".

Review: Raw formed during the summer of 1990 in Athens, Greece when keyboardist Giannis Papaioannou and percussionist Makis Faros started composing music for imaginary waiting rooms. They combined the traditional cut-up technique of tape-loops, the industrial timbres of musique concrete with the harmonics of world music, all filtered through digital sampling and computer programming. Their first recordings generated an 8 track demo, which was freely distributed among friends and the local underground press. After 6 months of work and several sessions with guest musicians on acoustic and electric instruments, Raw self-released their first album 'Land' in December 1991 on Elfish Records. In 1992 they recruited the band's sound engineer, Coti K., as a third member, both on stage and studio sessions. 'City' was their second album fully inspired by the mechanisms of their home town. Presenting a different electronic face of Raw, manipulating rhythms with analogue synthesizers and harsh sampling to evoke the atmosphere of Athens.

Review: We are pleased to present a 4-track EP from Austin, Texas analogue hardware enthusiast Bill Converse. Immersed in the early days of the 90s midwest rave scene, Bill began DJing at a young age in Lansing, Michigan. Luminaries such as Claude Young, Traxx, and Derrick May were key early influences. Techno, noise, ambient and tape processing are all part of his uncanny sound palette. His debut album 'Meditations/Industry' was released on cassette in 2013 and edited for a vinyl release on Dark Entries in 2016 followed by two 12" singles 'Warehouse Invocation' and '7 of 9' the same year. In 2017 Converse released his second album 'The Shape Of Things To Come' followed by the double EP 'Salt Of Mars'.

'Hulled' is a 25 minute journey spread across 4 tracks of glacial abandon. All tracks were recorded directly to tape with no overdubs, made at Converse's home studio. Bill says these tracks represent "ocean waves in stormy conditions, dark grey blue water, or more generally speaking something ominous and beautiful." The songs on this album reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, IDM, and Acid. Built around vintage synthesizer lines and gritty drum machine percussion, the tracks ebb and flow like the effect of sun shimmering on water, woozy, gauzy and ephemeral. All songs were mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each EP is housed in a die-cute jacket designed by Eloise Leigh with peachy pink patterns landing on an alien water planet and seeing mysterious playing forms under the turquoise water. and the. Each copy includes a postcard featuring photo of Bill with notes.

Review: Digging deep into the Chicago Rave vaults to re-issue the debut EP from Billy Nightmare aka "Mystic Bill" Torres. Growing up in Miami, Bill was involved in various parts of the music industry, from working at Flamingo Record Pool, to playing guitar for the band Life In Sodom (80's Synth/Goth band). His interest in both House & Industrial music inspired him to make his move to the Windy City. Bill quickly became involved in the night scene with residencies at clubs like Shelter, Crobar, & Smart Bar. His studio work began with a remix of Kay Ladrae's "Lack Of Love" with Vince Lawrence, followed by a string of releases, including an LP on Trax Records. He has recently relaunched two record labels and several releases and remixes out each year.

'Reality Check' was released in 1996 on Woody McBride's label Sounds. Originally the project was to be titled " Billy's Nightmare", but to avoid being jinxed for life, Torres decided to switch it to Billy Nightmare. He put the Mystic Bill alias aside, got a hair cut, changed his sound and became this new persona. 'Reality Check' consists of 4 tracks, recorded at Mirage Studios in Chicago in 1996. Two tracks on the A-side are dark thumpers and will haunt your head for days. Side B has 2 versions of the same song, lighter and funkier in mood both show the diversity Mystic Bill is capable of producing. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each EP is housed in a custom designed jacket by Eloise Leigh featuring a 90s photo of Billy Nightmare staring into TV static and includes a postcard with notes.

Review: We love Talking Drums. At the core, they are simply our type of band. An album, a few EPs, and then disappear before the scene kicks off and becomes commercialized. Boxes all well and truly ticked. The early 80s were a period of change what with punk music evolving into post-punk, and while the nu-romantic fashion that came to prominence in the mid 80s was a national movement, it was bands like Talking Drums which initiated it. Thanks to the ever-reliable Dark Entries, we now get to enjoy their best single, Courage, in all its glory - and it sounds like it's been pressed up properly, too! All you need to know at this point, if you haven't come across this already, is that it's one of the best disco-not-disco singles you'll ever cop...and we don't have a favourite tune...they're all equally raw, drum-heavy, house-envisioning, and utterly addictive. Hotly tipped!

Review: Cold Beat is a San Francisco-based quartet fronted by Hannah Lew (synths, vocals) with Kyle King (synths, guitar), Luciano Talpini Aita (synths) and Sean Monaghan (guitar). Formed in 2013 the band has released three albums and two EPs. 'A Simple Reflection' is a 7-song collection of Eurythmics covers, yet feels just as personal as any of their original material. While digging through a collection of 12?s for her record shop Contact Records, Lew stumbled across the earliest Eurythmics B-sides and was floored. This lead to the discovery of their debut album 'In The Garden'. Annie Lennox's abstract and poetic lyrics really struck a chord with Hannah. What had started out as a single cover quickly snowballed into a full blown obsession. The synth and drum programming resonated with her songwriting process, so reimagining them was very creatively fulfilling. The covers on this EP are simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew's ethereal vocals and King's crystalline guitar. All songs have been mixed by Mikey Young (Total Control) and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in a jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, which features pink and purple clouds that evoke a dreamy softness and DIY playfulness and photos Lew in her best Lennox-inspired drag. Each copy includes a postcard with photos and notes. "Sometimes a song seems to sing just for you, as if someone knows your most inner thoughts and feelings and has found a way to describe them effortlessly" - Hannah Lew

Review: Umo Vogue formed in Bristol by Stig Manley, Russ Crook and Neil Deamer who were in Bath based ska rock outfit 'The AT's', along with Bristol based singer Debbie Marlow. Neil's Brother Clive joined the band bringing a fantastic new dynamic to the band on drums, percussion and heavy artillery. The band name is a deliberate misspelling of the ultra-chic Italian fashion magazine 'L'Uomo Vogue'. After winning the Bristol 'Battle of the Bands' in 1982 they were signed to Phonogram and dropped a few months later. They then signed to EMI in '83 and released their first single 'Just My Love' released in early 1984. The second single was 'Make It Real' and was never released as the band were culled from the EMI roster in late '84. For this reissue of their debut single we've added 3 bonus tracks, a demo of "Just My Love", the unreleased follow single "Make It Real" and a bedroom demo "Erotica." Each song displays ridiculously catchy melodies and innovative electronic rhythms. The drum tracks, a combination of rhythm machines and hand percussion, were mixed down from the 4-track tape used as backing on stage, with the rich slap bass and Roland SH09 synths weaves fluid lead lines in between the harmony vocals. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in an exact replica of the original jacket and includes an 8-page booklet with photos, notes and press clippings from the band's archive. "We're synthetic but not antiseptic. We are interested in the naivety and spontaneity of music." - Umo Vogue

Review: San Francisco trio INHALT burst onto the scene back at the turn of the decade, going on to release a trio of well-regarded EPs on [Emotional] Especial and Dark Entries. Here they return to the latter label with their first 12" for almost four years. As usual, their music is stylish, dark and clandestine, with wild-eyed German vocals riding brooding, John Carpenter-influenced arpeggio lines, creepy chords and bustling drum machine grooves. Our pick of the bunch is probably the up-tempo, triple time hustle of "Commerce", though the more polished and atmospheric opener "Alles" and EBM-minded bubbler "Schwarz" are also mighty fine.

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: Codek is the brainchild of Jean-Marie Salaun who grew up in Paris influenced by the folklore of the inner city. In 1978 he joined art rock group SpionS alongside Gregory Davidow and recorded two singles. Diving into the Paris post punk scene he met Claude Arto and designed the artwork for Claude's single on Celluloid "Kwai Systeme / Betty Boop." Robin Scott (M "Pop Music") had produced the SpionS first single and wanted to collaborate further. With Claude, Jean-Marie wrote "Me Me Me", intended for a choir, for M. Then SpionS split and Robin was off to Switzerland to record an album to follow-up his hit single. That left Jean-Marie alone in London, where he began working as Codek, a play on the brand name Kodak The "Me Me Me" single was released by MCA Records in 1980. Back in Paris, now with some studio experience, Celluloid Records hired Jean-Marie to produce records for Artefact and Les Orphelins. Over the next 2 years he began working on ideas for the next Codek single "Closer / "Tam Tam".

Review: Greyhouse was the first of many aliases adopted by Dutch DJ/producer Marcel Hol. In the late 80's the first signs of 90's optimism and euphoria started. Marcel was young, creative and ambitious because he got his hands on some new equipment like the sampler. Electronic music was within reach. Greyhouse landed a recording contract with Hip Hop Records, a dance label founded by Erik Van Vliet based in Rotterdam. In 1989 he released his debut single "Move To The Groove / New Beats The House." Renaat Vandepapeliere from R & S Records cleverly spotted the record's potential. re-releasing it with "New Beats The House" as the A-side With this new exposure the song became one of the biggest hits of a New Beat sub-genre called Hard Beat.

Review: There was a time when original copies of Fantasy Life's sought-after 1985 Italo-disco gem "Over & Over" were changing hands for several hundred pounds online. While prices have come down a bit over the years, it remains a rare and hard-to-find delight. Happily, Dark Entries has saved us all a few bob by serving up this licensed reissue. The original version really captures the charming essence of Italo disco, matching chugging, motorized arpeggio synth-bass with cheery (some would say cheesy) synth-pop melodies and a catchy, impassioned vocal. Turn to the flipside for the dub style instrumental, which reminded us a little of some of Bobby O's early productions for the Pet Shop Boys (who were, fittingly, huge Italo-disco fans at the time).