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Review: Expansion deals pretty much in good vibes only and that is what we have here with OZONE's '(Our Hearts) Will Always Shine'. It is a 7" that radiates with infectious energy and heartfelt emotion as it seamlessly blends elements of pop, electronic, and dance music. The uplifting melodies soar high, the pulsating beats power things along and the soulful vocals deliver a message of resilience and positivity. The song's anthemic chorus is destined to take listeners to a new level and ignite dance floor in equal measure and it sure does that. 'Mighty Mighty' on the flip is another feel good and upbeat funky disco workout.

Review: Japan's Thinner Groove flesh out their distinctive aesthetic with every new release. This time around, they welcome none other than Lemmi Ash, KOOLMFL and Sonic Weapon for a collaborative three-track EP of lowercase minimal tech and textural vignettes. The aim of the game is best encapsulated in the label's commentary: "each track can add a distinctive touch to the night, as like completing your cocktail with lemon and/or lime". Each track indeed sounds to the ear akin to how a fruity garnish tastes, with Ash's 'Presence' bringing tart citrine breaks notes to a gracefully held glass vessel. KOOLMFL's 'Atonbow' is drier bitters, barely availing itself of its trembling chords and sampled vox after an ultra-snappy initiation featuring a mere bass and kick-clap. Thinner Groove know all too well that good music is like an excitation of the flavour palate, and that minimality is the thing that lets such flavours sit.

Review: &Chakib is the debut album from Swiss Producer, DJ, and live-act Dominik Traub, also known as Dandara. Infusing influences from Africa, Asia, and Latin America with European techno and house, Dominik's signature sound shines through. The album's inception came after a fateful encounter with Algerian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Chakib Bouzidi at a festival in Basel. Despite Chakib's untimely passing, Dominik continued the project, honouring his memory by completing the work. Infused with Chakib's voice notes and collaborative recordings, the album serves as a heartfelt tribute and through resilient collaboration and creative influence it emerges as a fine collection of globally influenced dance music.

Review: After many years turning out 12"s, Klasse Wrecks has decided to serve up a first-ever 10" and they give the honour to Mr. Ho. His '000 Baby' is a delightfully widescreen sound - a post-rave mix of comedown electronics, dusty breakbeats and soothing ambient pads with some smart vocal samples drifting like wispy clouds. On the flipside, we're treated to and OM Unit remix that beefs things up and speeds up the drums. The percussion too is more defined and the energy levels ramped up with deft 808 bass and searching acidic leads. A nice yin to the A-side's yang.

Review: Under the border umbrella of the Yoyaku crew, Kord El makes a strong debut appearance with this first EP on Superbanger. The vibe on the record is instantly detectable as balmy, trippy tech house which stays on the subtle side of the trance spectrum and lets the groove take centre stage. 'Kryptonight' is a swirling, hazy mind warp peppered with samples and hypnotic chimes, anchored by the warmest of basslines. 'Grammy' is a slightly techier, dubbier affair for when the party's fired up a notch, and 'Stereo Solitude' plays around with breaks in a delicate fashion for maximum rolling effect. 'Phantone Zone' slips a little 303 into the soup, and makes it sound wholly natural in another prime slice of contemporary wigged-out house.

Review: The second release on RPX16035 takes us back into the beating heart of full-fat electro with a cast of emergent talents bitten by the machine funk bug. Digregorius is up first with 'Aurora Maia', a schlocky slice of twisted synth lines that draws parallels with labels like EYA and Partisan. Gianluca Pellerano has a definite video game soundtrack influence lingering over his track like he's battling an end of level boss. Marco Biagioli has a thumping 4/4 focus at work on equally spooked out 'Gate 5' while F Phono finishes the record off with the Italo-tinted 'We All Love Electro Dance' - a track title we can all get behind.

Review: Enduring Detroit maverick Omar-S celebrates 20 years since he released one of his most iconic 12"s by pressing it up as a new double pack with two new versions of two originals and one bonus unnamed track. The standouts of this EP were always 'U' and 'Set It Out'. The former is a raw as-you-like drum track with bounce in the kicks and pure machine soul in the vamping chords, and the latter shows Smith's other more tender side with smart 80s samples and new school r&b vibe on a dusty house beat. He has mashed them together perfectly on the new cut 'U Set It Out' and added extra weight to 'U 2023.' Add in the other two originals and heavy beatdown 'Track 3' and you have an essential new double pack.

Review: Suoni Incisi is very ably marking itself out as a new school leader in tribal, trance-tinged new age and mind-melting deep techno of the sort that Need and Voices From the Lake have mastered before now. The eponymous artists steps up again here with two more long-form cuts - the first being an undulating, rubbery cut with heady flutes and super-deep bass rotations that sink you into a mindful state immediately. 'Track 2' is no more hurried and again takes a slow-burning approach with languid synths and liquid details peeling off the linear but loose drums. What an EP.

Review: The fledgling Pamela label hits release number three with Anthony Teasdale the man charged with taking us on a sonic trip. He kicks off with a gorgeous cut that pairs breezy grooves with flamboyant keys that sound like they come from a theatrical moment in a play. It is a super symphony that sweeps you off your feet while 'A Pavement In Palma' is a humid and sundown gem, 'Deep In The Forest Something Stared' is layered ups with retro-future synths from a band like ELO and 'It's 5am Somewhere' then has more slick kick to it, but no less a majestic sense of melody which seems to be Teaseale's calling card.

Review: The Florence label actually started a decade ago back in 2023 and it has not rushed things in that time, so only now is it making its way to a 15th outing - although it also now has a 7" funk off-shoot. This one is another cultured deep house sound that recalls the work of Hamburg's Smallville crew. It comes for the in house production outfit and is cuddly and deep to start with, then disco laced and utterly feel good on 'Bphect' and dark and more tech edge on the trippy 'Cphect'. Last of all is the curiously hard to define but swaggering deep house of 'Dphect' which we think samples... Cliff? Four beguiling tunes.

Review: Whoever is behind these STEDIT drops is striking upon pure gold, bringing a legitimately underground techno crunch to the pop edit practice. Having previously tackled the likes of Brandy & Monica and Ultra Nate, now two of the biggest pop divas of all time are getting some low down and dirty reworkings which tread the fine balance between earworm familiarity and the heads down moodiness of a locked-in dancefloor. 'Slow' becomes a slippery acid abstraction peppered with all kinds of sonic freakery, while 'Justify My Love' becomes a brooding, steadfast workout tipped towards the minimal crowd.

Review: The Music For Memory label has invented its own little scene over the course of the last decade. It's a mature and moving world where modern classical, ambient, downtempo, Balearic and plenty of in between sounds all come together in soothing harmony. To mark the occasion of its tenth release, the label has put together this superb double album overview of what it does - all the usual artists you would expect feature from Joan Biblioni to Jonny Nash to Gigi Masin and it all adds up to a perfectly escapist collection from this top draw label who sadly lost co-founder Jamie Tiller earlier in the year.

Review: Jamie Webster's 10 For The People perfectly encapsulates the Liverpool singer-songwriter's heartfelt narratives and soulful melodies. Released in 2021, the album is a poignant exploration of working-class tales and social commentary, blending folk and rock influences. Known for his association with football culture, Webster's tracks like 'This Place' and 'Living for Yesterday' resonate with authenticity meaning that 10 For The People not only showcases the artist's lyrical prowess but also solidifies his place as a voice for the people. His album is a sincere and evocative musical offering that speaks to the experiences and struggles of us all.

Review: French label D3 - which when pronounced in French sounds like their word for Detroit - is a decade old and celebrates the milestone with a special three-part EP series. As has always been the case over that 10 year period, the sounds it serves up are deep and housey. This various artists affair kicks off with AsTreJinkins' slow and propulsive 'Terror' before some nice airy and live sounding broken beats from New Digital Fidelity. Moroka picks up the pace with some hi-tek soul that sounds straight from the Motor City and Byron The Aquarius shows off his mastery of the keys again with a dreamy deep cut 'Tua Su Ra'. Nico Lahs shuts down with a heavyweight beatdown in the form of 'It's Spelled BARI.'

Review: The French deep house label D3 Elements is now a decade old and to mark the occasion it has assembled a superb three part EP series featuring plenty of talents both new and old. The second EP kick off with some Japanese stylings from Koizumi Yukiko and his piano laced bongo workout '526'. Taelue sets off on a deep and heavy bassline pulse that will make floors march and Nemanja Krstic's 'Aquae Sulis' brings some jazzy chord work and bubbling funk bass for a nice heartfelt vibe. Gnork shuts down with a skittish, stripped back broken beat that makes this another diverse offering.

Review: The third and final EP from the ten year anniversary series by French label D3 Elements is another one that offers a wide range of excellent grooves. To kick off, Jason Hogans takes us into woozy late night territory with muffled leads and lazy breaks, then Zopelar heads for the cosmos on his radiant synth laced house offering 'Resolution.' Malik Hendricks keeps it low key and slow with his intimate basement sounds on 'Green Mango' then Meftah rebuilds on a dusty Theo Parrish tip with 'Maha Shatki.' Damar Davis offers pure cosmic deep house lushness on closer 'Kiss In The Dark.'

Notes: Eurorack version of 1010's superb Bluebox. Vast power in 30 HP, with the ability to mix, record and play back in mono and stereo, hook up to a computer over USB for stereo I/O and run effects, all with CV control.

Supplier's Notes:
The bluebox Eurorack edition is the new Eurorack mixer with effects and multichannel recording/playback based on the award-winning bluebox desktop mixer. With the Eurorack edition's USB-C EXT port, you can send 2 channels of audio to and from your computer. Plus, you can control up to 6 mix settings with the 6 CV inputs. Whether recording your Eurorack jams, using it to play stems as backing tracks, or a combination of both - bluebox Eurorack edition will rock your rack!

Connect your eurorack, sampler, drum machine, and synthesizer outputs to 12 mono, 3.5 mm inputs and map them to 12 mono tracks or 6 stereo tracks - all with independent control for recording and playback. Connect your computer to the USB C port to send and receive two channels of audio.

The bluebox Eurorack edition is the ultimate in compact mixing, effects, recording, and playback for Eurorack. Smack it in your rack and hit the road with a self-contained, electronic music powerhouse!

When you purchase a bluebox Eurorack edition, you will receive:

a bluebox Eurorack edition 30 HP Eurorack module
A microSD card with bluebox firmware and pre-loaded project files
two Eurorack power cables
a bluebox Eurorack edition Quick Start guide
two MIDI Adapters

Technical Specs

Dimensions & Power
30 HP
Module dimensions including knobs: 6" x 5"x 1.6"
Depth behind front panel with ribbon cable: 1.0"
Requires the +5V rail which may not be present
on some older racks.
Uses 500-850mA at +5V (depending
on screen brightness), 320 mA at +12V, and 82mA at -12V
Requires two power connections
Capabilities
12 mono tracks, 6 stereo tracks or something in between
Connect to TRS or USB C MIDI for beat syncing effects
Lots of headroom with support for Eurorack levels up to +/-5V inputs and outputs
3 effects: reverb, delay and compressor
Records and plays back 48k, 24-bit audio WAV files
4 band EQ per track
Durable aluminum faceplate
Stream 2 channels of audio in and out over USB C

Inputs and Outputs
12 mono 3.5 mm TS inputs
2 independently controlled 3.5 mm TS output pairs that can be used as 4 mono outputs
1 stereo 3.5 mm headphone output
6 CV Inputs
1 USB C MIDI Device port
1 TRS MIDI Input
1 TRS MIDI Output
1 USB C Ext jack for streaming audio
3.5" touch screen, 4 knobs, 8 navigation buttons and 3 transport buttons

Notes: Part of 1010's excellent Nanobox series, the Tangerine is a tiny powerhouse sampler. A fresh new approach to sampling, from one-shots to loops, all the way through to four-hour recordings.

Supplier's Notes:
Sweet and Tangy Sampling

The nanobox | tangerine delivers powerful sampling in an ultra portable form factor. With this nanobox, you can add recording, sample playback, clip launching, slicing, and musically intelligent looping capabilities to your desktop or travel rig. With an intuitive touch screen interface, nanobox | tangerine makes easy work of selecting, editing, and tweaking your samples. You can stream large samples of up to 4 GB file size straight from the microSD card. Interact with other musical components via MIDI. Load multi-sample banks with over 500 samples for amazing instrument reproduction. Tweak your configurations to get them just right, then save them to multiple presets for future reuse.

Top features

Play up to 24 stereo polyphonic notes when your samples fit in the 64 MB of internal memory or up to 8 larger stereo samples streaming directly from the microSD card

Play multi-sample banks with up to 16 velocity layers and 576 WAV files loaded in one preset

Configure 8 stereo sample pads per preset as single or multi-samples, clips, slicers, or new recordings

Stream long samples from the microSD card with a max sample size of 4 GB, which can be many hours of audio

Trigger samples with the touch screen or MIDI input as one shots or melodic notes

Control how samples start and stop by choosing from one-shot, toggle, gate and piano (New!) launch modes

Tweak playback through a variety of sample parameters, including start position, length, pitch, gain, filter, loop mode, launch quantization, ADSR, Exclusive Grouping, clip synchronization, slice placement and sequencing, and MIDI note and channel mapping

Quickly and easily use MIDI mapped controls for more tactile access to common parameters

Record up to 16 sequence layers per preset.

Get into the groove with a fast, fluid, and intuitive workflow

Make music anywhere thanks to a compact and nearly indestructible design

Recording Capabilities

Configure each pad for stereo or mono recording with the option to synchronize the start and stop times to clock inputs
Trigger recording via audio level threshold
Create perfectly sized loops by setting the recording length
Enable immediate playback after recording for live looping capabilities
Make recordings up to 4 hours in length
Resample the master output without patching
Automate recording of a multi-sample bank via MIDI
Store recorded samples as WAV files on the micro SD card then remove the card to transfer them to your computer

What is Included:
nanobox | tangerine - Compact Streaming Sampler
MicroSD card with 85 presets and over 1500 wav files
Colour matched USB power cord
Type B TRS MIDI To MIDI 5 Pin DIN adapter
Quick Start Guide

Technical Specs:

Power: USB-C connection 5V, 500mA
3.5mm audio input and output
Maximum input and output level: 2Vrms
DAC and ADC resolution: 24-bit
Internal resolution: 32-bit
Sample rate: 48kHz
MIDI Input: 3.5mm Type A/B auto sensing
MIDI Output: 3.5mm Type B
Clock Input: 1,2, 4, 8, 12 or 24 PPQ selectable
MIDI support: Note On/Off, Velocity, Pressure, Mod Wheel, Aftertouch, CC mappings to common parameters, program changes and clock
H x W x D: 1.5" x 3.75" x 3"
Weight: 0.25 lbs.
2" touch screen, 2 knobs and 4 buttons in a 3.75" x 3" x 1.5" package

Additional information

Weight: 0.65 lbs
Dimensions: 7.75 × 4.85 × 2.25 in

Notes: Use this cable to connect your Bluebox to a data source and a power source at the same time. This will allow you to stream audio over USB. The cable has a USB B male connection on one end and two USB B female connections on the other end: red for power and black for data.

Stream Audio Over USB with Bluebox

If you bought a Bluebox for desktop before September 2023, this handy adapter will make it easier to connect your device to a computer. New firmware allows you to send audio from the bluebox to the computer and back.

The adapter splits the power from the USB signal to help avoid noise from your computer. It also enables you to power the device separately in case your computer or hub is not suitable for the demanding power requirements of the Bluebox.

Connect the male end to the USB Power port on your Bluebox. Then connect your bluebox USB B power cable to the red female jack, and a USB B data cable to the black female jack and you are ready to stream audio.

Specs

Length: 3.25", 8.25 cm

Weight: 1.2 oz, 34 grams
Dimensions: 6.5 × 2.5 × 0.75 in