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Review: On this latest drop on EPM, the steadfast UK techno label welcomes steadfast UK techno titan Mark Broom for a collaboration with Australian in Berlin Patrik Carrera. The result is four slices of no-nonsense jackhammers from two experts in the field, leading in with the edgy loops and bludgeoning kicks of 'Kos' and neatly stepping over to the shoulder-shaking pressure of 'ZZZZ'. 'Track 4' features one of those deadly chord stabs which just lands squarely between the eyes, while 'F9' rides the cymbals mercilessly and keeps an abundance of funk in the low end - pure dancefloor dynamite in action from two well-versed detonators.

Review: This one does what it says on the tin. German compilers ZYX have put together a stonking array of contemporary Italo disco cuts, showing off what modern producers can do with a now well-defined sound. Artists including Stockholm Nightlife, Diego, Love Kills, and Valerie Dore all appear, deploying lovesick, city-slicking themes: you've got gated snares, riffy synth arps and impassioned masc vocals aplenty. Marc Fruttero & Alex Papale's 'What You Want' is particularly dreamy and atmospheric, owing to Italo's longstanding ability to evoke more than just its poppy structure. No wonder the genre is a favourite among the world's biggest-name DJs.

Review: Buckle up and hold on tight for the latest electro excursion from the French folks behind the Patrout label. Buraye is the man in the driver's seat and sets his sights on the stars with 'Zydereen De Neptuno' which has zippy synths and snappy snares all weaving in and out of the drums. 'Black Light' then has a more menacing and darker bassline and 'Lead-Acid Mentality' brings the cyborg funk with a punchy beat and snaking bassline keeping you guessing. Last of all is 'Nocturnal Passengers' - defined by its squelchy and plunging bassline.

Notes: Zweikommasieben Magazin #28

The sound of each individual's voice is thought to be entirely unique. Like a fingerprint, its composition is distinct, nuanced, and one-of-a-kind.

While all this is true, it's a concept that has been challenged in recent times by the refinement of AI powered systems which are able to emulate voices to a tee. And not only voices, for that matter, but whole styles and aesthetics: an AI-generated facsimile of Drake and The Weeknd's voices titled "Heart on My Sleeve" made the rounds this year and was even submitted for Grammy consideration. It's a legitimate song and a proposal that does not only keep legal departments busy, but also allows for myriad reflections on originality and, bluntly, the future of music. But as the future of music is a broad and daunting topic to speculate on, we want to hone in on what's been prefaced above: issue #28 of Zweikommasieben centres the voice as means of expression, and wants to expand on what is meant by that: it's not only what is heard, but also why a voice is used and by whom. This latest edition considers what it means to voice, and its physical, societal and political dimensions.

Zweikommasieben #28 includes:

-interviews with / portraits on Bela, Krista Papista, DJ Voices, Tianzhuo Chen,Meth Math, Rainy Miller, Honour, Ziur, and Natural Wonder Beauty Concept
- an essay on fan culture
- columns on stimming and the work ofDjamil Image
- a contribution by Claudia Pages with Nora Haddad and nara is neus

All content in English

Zweikommasieben is a magazine that has been devoted to the documentation of contemporary music and sound since the summer of 2011. The magazine features artist interviews, essays, and columns as well as photography, illustration, and graphics.

Quotes (previous editions):

Dekmantel - "So well worth getting your hands on a copy!"

Where To Now? - "Zweikommasieben is the best mag out."

abcdinamo - "A beautifully designed must read on electronic music."

Thomas Lennon - "Zweikommasieben is an automatic purchase every issue."
Tom Mouna - "(...) probably the best magazine for anyone interested in the key figures in contemporary electronic music."

Rubadub - "One of our fav mags for sure."

Sara Berts (Gang of Ducks) - "Every issue of the magazine is a typographic gem."

&mags - "A journey of discovery through contemporary music."

A s h (Do Hits, Taiwan Beats) - "Underground community's DIY spirit never fails."

Magculture - "From its 2011 beginnings, the magazine has had an inherent confidence. It's a magazine that takes good design and rigorous journalism just as seriously as the music. The interviews themselves are pacy and interesting, the antithesis of basic promotional content."

Rob Booth (Houndstooth) - "Another essential magazine..."

Rewind Forward -"Now in its 18th edition, [zweikommasieben] is a testament to this rather solid DIY venture from a group of friends [...]. Each zine packs a masterclass in design-each one has a different look and feel-whether it's a curious mix of page sizings, colour photos offset on newsprint, foil sleeves etc etc. They're always a pleasure to unfold..."

Notes: As the team behind Zweikommasieben takes its latest edition to ponder the essence of longevity, they arrive at several questions which they have worked through with their featured artists and writers. On the one hand, artistic traditions might be useful to lean on, to conjure an image and an accompanying gut feeling of a recent past. On the other hand, investing in the knowledge of traditions might allow to bend and twist them to explore ones own expression. Whether that is consciously incorporating sounds from the past to evoke historical resonances, as Courtesy did for her most recent album Violence of the Moodboard, or propelling the presentation of music forward into new traditions, such as in the work of Xzavier Stone who has recently started pairing scent with sound during his live performances. In a similar manner, Lateena Plummer proposes new traditions for a dancehall scene which finally makes space for marginalized identities and voices, a purpose directly derived from her experiences in the past, which she openly speaks about in conversation with Anna Froelicher.

When Beatriz de Rijke decided to work under the moniker Bea1991, she did this as a conscious anchoring in time, with the latter part of the name being a direct reference to her year of birth. One can imagine that a birthdate might be one of the only constants in life: one that will forever connect someone to a certain generation, and maybe even to a global cultural zeitgeist.

Zweikommasieben #27 includes

-Interviews with / portraits on Bea1991, Christian Marclay, Courtesy, Divide and Dissolve, DJ Loser, Lateena Plummer, Somatic Rituals, and Xzavier Stone
-essays on "New Moon" by Children of the Light for Darkside
- a column on Rike Scheffle's work
- a contribution by Lou Lou Sainsbury
All content in English; 92pages; 230x305mm

Zweikommasieben is a magazine that has been devoted to the documentation of contemporary music and sound since the summer of 2011. The magazine features artist interviews, essays, and columns as well as photography, illustration, and graphics.

Quotes (previous editions):

Dekmantel - "So well worth getting your hands on a copy!"

Where To Now? - "Zweikommasieben is the best mag out."

abcdinamo - "A beautifully designed must read on electronic music."

Thomas Lennon - "Zweikommasieben is automatic purchase every issue."

Tom Mouna - "(...) probably the best magazine for anyone interested in the key figures in contemporary electronic music."

Rubadub - "One of our fav mags for sure."

Sara Berts (Gang of Ducks) - "Every issue of the magazine is a typographic gem."

&mags - "A journey of discovery through contemporary music."

A s h (Do Hits, Taiwan Beats) - "Underground community's DIY spirit never fails."

Magculture - "From its 2011 beginnings, the magazine has had an inherent confidence. It's a magazine that takes good design and rigorous journalism just as seriously as the music. The interviews themselves are pacy and interesting, the antithesis of basic promotional content."

Rob Booth (Houndstooth) - "Another essential magazine..."

Rewind Forward -"Now in its 18th edition, [zweikommasieben] is a testament to this rather solid DIY venture from a group of friends [...]. Each zine packs a masterclass in design-each one has a different look and feel-whether it's a curious mix of page sizings, colour photos offset on newsprint, foil sleeves etc etc. They're always a pleasure to unfold..."

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Box damaged, product in perfect working order***


A few years ago ZVEX Effects released the Candela Vibrophase, a candle-powered vibrato/phaser machined from solid brass and glass that used a mix of 1800s technology (a Sterling heat engine) and 60s/70s audio circuitry to create a lovely swirling effect. After numerous requests to put that sound into a guitar pedal, they came up with a way of dramatically broadening the spectrum of textures available using the original circuitry from the Candela.

It's presented to you here as the Vibrophase, a five-knob four-stage phaser that creates phase and vibrato nuances never heard before. Five knobs! Count 'em! Speed sweeps from maddeningly slow to puppy dog flippy, vibrato/phase sweeps from, erm, you'll figure that out, feedback sends the output back through the phaser again to raise intensity, and there are controls for the top end and bottom end of the sweep so you can completely tailor the sound to your song.

Review: O! Kult was a post-punk and industrial band from Yugoslavia that was active in the 1980s. Like many of their peers at the time, they were censored by the communist party that was in charge but that didn't stop them from making music and gaining a cult following. Their cut 'Zvestoba' has been found in old Radio student archives and brought back to life here and then remixed by modern luminaries Silent Servant, Christian Kroupa (who is one half of Black Dot) and 198319831983. They add weighty tech, EBM and moody electro vibes to make for a strong package.

Review: Having dropped his Lagarius album earlier this year, Detroit mainstay Gary Martin is back on his Teknotika label with a collaborative EP with fellow Motor City legend Javonntte. The story goes that Martin had planned a break from the studio, but instead wound up connecting with Javonntte to lend his considerable keyboard talents to one of Martin's beats, which wound up in two different versions of 'The Infinite Time', now found on the B-side of this single. In both mixes, Javonntte's keys soar high and Martin's beats move with a broken flex that only adds to the jazziness. A-side track 'Zurvan' came after, balancing the record out with an Eastern-tinged melodic scale which gives the record an enchanting, mysterious quality.

Review: Allah-Las proudly celebrate the pervading influence of California on their sun-baked sound, but on this new album for Innovative Leisure they've also widened their scope to take in some artfully deployed electronic elements. 'The Stuff' sets out their stall on Zuma 85 in no uncertain terms, as their crunchy 70s guitar tone meets with a subtle electronic pulse and some wry vocoder touches. From their devout psych-rock roots, the band have evolved to take in kosmische, art rock and even a touch of prog in their quest for new strains of sonic enlightenment.

Review: Latin funk music's best and brightest recollector-reissuers Vampi Soul continue to do what they do best with this latest reissue of the debut self-titled album by Zulu. One of the last great albums of the first wave of Peruvian rock,and originally released in 1974, Zulu was infamous for its linking of psych-tinged rock with Afro-Latin American beats and folk pop. The enigmatic Zulu (real name Miguel Angel Ruiz Orbegoso) was best known during his lifetime as a member of the bands Traffic Sound and Los Nuevos Shain, but his only solo album commands a unique aura as a numinous rarity, immediately pre-dating his latter-career immersion in the religious community. Reissued for the first time with the collaboration of Zulu, including extensive liner notes and one extra track, the likes of 'Si en el cielo yo viviera', 'Laberintos' and 'Candela' are pastoral gems of folk-cumbia and salsa, playing back with a level of sensitivity and texture that could only be born of a worthy spirit.

Review: An early example of danger music from one of the most depraved scenes to ever exist in Japan, Zourouku No Kibyou is a collection of live performances by Hijokaidan, an infamous noise and free improvisation band fronted by Jojo Hiroshige - whose raucous onstage credits include urination, destruction of 'private property' and food fighting. The sonic content of these shows, recorded entirely in 1981 at various dive gigs and gatecrashed university lecture halls, encompasses everything from violent vomiting noises to proto-black metal dirges and entrancing rhythmic noise improvs. A classic.