If you're after obscure, alternative and brain mulching edits, Crowdspace always have your back. Operated by edit expert, production wizz and DJ hero Joakim, the label specialises in dope and trippy reworks of unknown originals, but this latest edition is fully off the hook. Ahead of his forthcoming trance reboot for Idle Press, Alexis Le Tan teams up with label head Joakim for another Full Circle affair, this time focussing on two retro-futurist body paint bangers that come on trend and in demand. Take "Age Of Time", it rolls out the traps with a sizzling mid tempo breakbeat, picks up a Goan synth lead, bleeping Beltram bass sound and ethno-vocal ident and swiftly reframes the fire-poi idiocy of the mid to late 90s as a slow and syrupy club sound for 2019 - top marks. On the other side, "Pure Pose" opens with tough as fuck neo-tribal percussion, eventually peaking into the kind of psy-trance synther you'd expect to watch someone hack to. Moody guitar work offers a welcome touch of the unexpected, while the doppler - effect electronics coat the whole thing in a neon shimmer.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Alexis Le Tan and Joakim join forces as Full Circle for a pair of slo-mo trance bangers reframed for the modern dancefloor. Thick, stomping and swimming in neon body paint.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Age Of Time
B1. Pure Pose

Nikolajev is a Tallinn, Estonia based producer: DJ, half of Dima-Disk with Ragnar Rahouja and co-founder of the club Kauplus Aasia and the now legendary Lekker before that.

His “LEL” EP on Incienso is a diverse affair containing many moods and styles - All recorded live in single takes. From the Devo meets deep disco shuffle of “Plasticine”, to “Left”, a song from an alternate universe where John Carpenter movies were scored by Bunker Records - and the sweeping ambient passages that bookend them, “Lumipoly” and “12 AM Monday” - the real question is where does the EP start and end? You decide. Raw emotion for raw people, everywhere!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Really, REALLY feeling this one folks. That "Plasticine" track is fire, no matter what musical fodder you like to pack your box with. While "Left" provides the new generation of electro-goths with a micro-anthem to paint on the black eyeliner come Saturday night...

TRACK LISTING

A1. 12 AM Monday
A2. Plasticine
B1. Left
B2. Lumipoly

Music From Memory are back with more essential action on the archival tip, this time combining the ultimate techno-tropical tonker from Curt Cress with the finest dancers from his most celebrated solo LP "Avanti" - providing those with a thirst for the deeper dancefloor experience with the best of Cress in one easy place.
Prolific as a percussionist and producer, Curt Cress came to fame during the 70s, lending his rhythms to a who's who of German prog groups, jazz rockers, fusionists and popstars, before finally stepping out on his own with the "Avanti" LP in 1983. Inspired by his time with the fusion groups, the burgeoning NDW scene and cutting edge synths, Cress swept through backbeats, breakbeats, syncopation and solos, providing melodic intricacy via tumbling mallets and otherworldly electronics. The three tracks which make up the B-side on this retrospective 12" all appear on the second side of "Avanti", and give an instant impression of the impact, accomplishment and ambiance of the LP. "Sundance" sprints through syncopated hits, tumbling talking drums, ace electronic passages and a hypnotic mallet refrain made for dancing feet. Taking a tougher approach, "Power Vein" thumps out the toms, rock snares and white noise hats in true mechanical funk fashion before "Flying HIgh" offers us dreamy Asiatic melodies, bouncing Linn idents and an intricate, ever changing web of pure percussive joy - a true dancers' delight.
From a DJ's point of view, all this was just foreplay ahead of Curt's '92 12" "Dschung Tek", pulled from a point in his career when the veteran drummer was experimenting with techno and tribal house, with the confidence to have a little fun. Played with passion by Ruf Dug, Talking Drums, Basso and Bufiman over the past half decade, "Dschung Tek" takes us on a trip through the undergrowth, pairing warped synthetic metal hits, a pounding beat and all sorts of tropical tropes (birdsong, cicadas, crickets) with a gurgling sequence a bit like an army of ants chomping their way through a DX7. Add in an elephant trumpet, ace pads and a break with a fly swatter and you're having the time of your life.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: My favourite and most played dance record ever, and the essential Talking Drums track! Play "Dschung Tek" loud enough and you'll actual land in Jumanji! If that weren't enough to have you buzzing harder than an irate mosquito, the flip pulls three of the best tracks off Curt's excellent "Avanti EP" and gives them a fresh pressing for club use. Top!

TRACK LISTING

1. Dschung Tek (long Version)
2. Dschung Tek (no Live Drums)
3. Sundance
4. Power Vein
5. Flying High

Mancunian Hidden Spheres has showcased himself as one of the most innovative producers out there, releasing across the likes of Lobster Theremin, Rhythm Section International and his own imprint Fruit Merchant, all of which have been the perfect outlets for his inspiring blend of house and jazz. Church now features as the latest addition, who continue their stellar discography with 'Words Can't Explain', a collaborative EP which sees Hidden Spheres alongside singer-songwriter and guitarist, Oscar Jerome.

The collection begins with the original mix, lowering you into slick jazz guitar licks and echoing vocals, before Hidden Spheres provides a tight groove to lock around the melodies in fine form. The hybrid creation of jazz meets house binds perfectly as warm keys hang effortlessly in the air and popping guitar lines carry you onwards, supporting the sublime vocal from Oscar.

The dub version opens up room for the guitar licks and synth top lines to take centre stage, a real opportunity to marvel at the arrangement here.

On the flip is Yu Su's rework who ups the tempo and dims the lights for a punchier rework.. The half way point welcomes a percussive led break before the hats return and pick up the groove once again, closing the 'Words Can't Explain' EP in style.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Our man's on a roll; ahead of a forthcoming US tour the Rhythm Section and Distant Hawaii prodigy drops a killer single for tastemaking label Church.

TRACK LISTING

1. Words Can't Explain (feat. Oscar Jerome)
2. Words Can't Explain (Instrumental) [feat. Oscar Jerome]
3. Words Can't Explain (Yu Su Remix) [feat. Oscar Jerome] 

This Planet Ultra EP is compiled of five previously unreleased compositions from the Multiplex album of the same name, plus the Barwork track - finally on vinyl after more than twenty years.

On ice for two decade these classic electro tracks reference the early UK breakbeat of the 90’s as well as the obvious sci-fi connection. To that effect we kick off with "Teflon" and "Plasma", followed by the funky "In The Galaxy" which adds a touch of Herbie Hancock. On the flip side "Ultra Light" evolves to an all-encompassing, atmospheric trip, before the deep "Barwork" and finally "Open".

What a package, fellas. Buy now or regret later - no repress!

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: This is a breakbeat and electro feast. A nostalgia ridden journey that will keep you on your toes. Not too hardcore. Highly palatable and dancefloor friendly.

TRACK LISTING

1. Teflon
2. Plasma
3. In The Galaxy
4. Ultra Light
5. Barwork
6. Open

Left Ear continue their cross-continental excavations. This time with two stripped back mid-tempo dancefloor winners from 1980’s South African studio artist Lungile Masitha (AKA Sello ‘Chicco’ Twala).

Lungile Masitha was the short-lived studio name for renowned SA artist Sello ‘Chicco’ Twala, who played with such iconic bands as Harari and Umoja. However, in the mid 80’s his name was under license to one of the major labels and in an effort for self-expression recorded under the name ‘Lungile Masitha’, here he linked up with long term friend Jimmy Mngwandi to co-write and arrange the two tracks ‘Vuyani’ & ‘Makoti’, both sung in his native Tsongan tongue. "Vuyani" is an upbeat tune that matches Chicco’s unique vocal style with percolating drums and distorted choruses to incredible effect, while "Makoti" is a mellower blend of floating keys and choruses sung by local kids in an effort to expose “emerging talent”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: After seriously smashing it with the New Age dance of Jean Pierre Boistel's esoteric percussion music, Left Ear turn their attention to SA, and the bubblegum magic of Sello Twala. Adopting the Lungile Masitha alias for this 1985 release, Sello served up the kind of rugged drum machine bump, keyboard funk and boogie bass he mastered alongside Harari and Umoja. South African proto-house with the mouthwatering sweetness of the impending bubble gum era - ace!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Vuyani
B1. Makoti 

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: Variety is the spice of life! From bangers to chillers, these four tracks will take you from bath to bar, club to car, car to sofa or maybe even bed!

TRACK LISTING

1 Jex Opolis - What Ya Need
2 Hoiyo - Laffs
3 Conga Radio - 168 North
4 Moon Tan - Eso Lux

Echovolt continue to switch between the archival and upfront, this time treating us to some contemporary retro from Aquarius TX, a UK duo at the forefront of the 4core scene, pushing to recreate the sound of acid summer '89. Particularly influenced by European pool parties, ATX combines house music with classic acid and floaty euphoria, intended to submerge listeners in hot waves of summer daze. A-side cut "Sunset 17" sees the guys succeed in their mission, turning out tapey 909 perx, blankets of shimmering synth, fizzing acid and occasional jack, all brought together by Chicago-style piano and vocal. This one's gotta be getting rinsed by the Wet Play crew right? "DX-FM" sees the duo diving deeper into the wavey and hazy sound design, submerging a deep but optimistic acid track in melting pitch and lo-fi scuzz, without losing sight of the dancefloor. Dope though the A-side is, the best comes thanks to Mülheim maverick DJ Normal 4 who does it nice and proper, teasing "Sunset 17" with warming breakbeats and trancey sequences to tell you exactly where it's at in 2k19 - savage.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Not only do we get two lo-fi acid jackers from Aquarius TX on the A-side (sound design by walkman @ chewed tape studios), we also get an EPIC rework from Normal 4 on the flip, brimming in breakbeats, acid basslines and trance pads. This is the sound of 2019 folks!

TRACK LISTING

1. Sunset 17 (Extended Mix)
2. DX-FM
3. Sunset 17(DJ Normal 4's Breaky Baby MixX) 

Tasty tackle from the Supergenius Records who reach the micro-milestone of release five. DJ Koyote & Too Smooth Christ aka Alexandre Lotz & Christophe Le Gall pretty much dominate the label's releases thus far, operating somewhere outta France.

"Error Does Not Compute" is a rough but clever electro-techno hybrid; with skeletal but well programmed drums ricocheting against trickski LFO / quantize patterns that'll tighten the trouser of the more avid tech-heads. "Strike (On A String)" has elements of grime, funky and kwaito - big synth-brass stabs, rampant digital hand claps and a "Township Funk"-era synthline all displaying its three disparate ingredients. Finally "Modern Action" sees funky meet Detroit as rippling synth patterns ride a bouncy UKF riddim. Top stuff here, well fresh! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Urgent and cutting edge but still purpose built for the dance. Fierce stuff here from DJ Kotote & TSC.

TRACK LISTING

1. Error Does Not Compute
2. Strike (On A String)
3. Modern Action

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A lost DJ Nature classic gets given the reissue treatment. Jam packed with six bass buggin' house tracks done in the producer's inimitable style.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Hot (demo Mix)
A2. I'm Searching
A3. J-Edit
B1. On Fire (Piano Version)
B2. Do The Freak
B3. Round Round

The label Ziemia (Polish for earth) is centred around a growing group of friends from Poland. Administered by Bartosz Kruczyński (Earth Trax), Adam Brocki and Jan Wójcicki (Private Press), it is a natural extension of a studio in the heart of Warsaw, where the majority of their music is being created. Ambient sounds and club vibes make the foundation layers of this collaboration, and you can see this theme evolving in some of their first releases on labels such as Growing Bin, Shall Not Fade, Indigo Aera, Phonica Records and Dopeness Galore. Ziemia's focus positions itself between club music and ethereal with an Eastern European background.

The first release encaptures a moment when all three label founders started to utilise dub techniques in their club sound. Private Press explore an ethereal side of techno, which is in contrast to the duoís previous releases. A1 and A3 are essentially beatless and meditative, while B2 plunges into reggae sounds with a pulsating kick drum, strong bassline and plucking synthesizers emerging from an echo chamber. Earth Trax expresses a darker sound, all with biting stabs, deep sub and frenzied pads on A2. As we flip to B1 (when heís teaming up with Newborn Jr. again) the release develops an ambient house feel (as featured on a couple of previous records) with a slightly more experimental approach.

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: Clean and spacey sounds emerging from the new breed of Polish techno producers - the Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Maurizio and Moritz Von Oswald inspiration is difficult to hide but that's never a bad thing when done this well!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Private Press - Track 1
A2. Earth Trax - Track 2
A3. Private Press - Track 3
B1. Earth Trax & Newborn Jr - Track 4
B2. Private Press - Track 5

Fresh from rocking me with the twisted tribal of Dos Ritmos, Klasse Wrecks treat us to a collection of old and new music from seasoned producer Steven Horne aka The Horn. The Horn's productions date back to the mid 90s, his series for Mark Pritchard's Evolution label being a stand out and signifier of a true studio obsessive.
Steven Horne's back catalog of unsigned demos runs deep and ranges wide in style and tempos and after remixing his 'Villager' track Luca Lozano quickly signed up to sign on a collection of tracks. The "Counter Counter Offer" EP collates music produced in-between the years 1994 and 2018 and offers them up as an introduction into the world of the The Horn and his music making process. Melodic and simplistic in style, Horne's music ranges from trippy and playful to deep and ethereal, employing his orchestra of various studio hardware pieces, all working in perfect unison.
Opener "Hermit House" swings with an irrepressible NJ NRG, though the synth brass and steamy pads hark back to the mid-80s magic of Pet Shop Boys - infectious and accessible house music with a fine retro twist. "Trinity" takes crunchy drum samples, tracky Detroit bass then buries them under the minimalist sparkle of concentric keys. The sci-fi stylings continue via the atmospheric and uplifting electronics of "Jagg", a synthetic serenade so sweet those Showroom Dummies would be proud. Steven brings the beat back round for "Schmaltz" turning out a trippy technoid snarler which sounds a little like your tape deck has gone rabid. "M1LF" closes the set in emotive fashion, a sad acid lament for heartbroken robots all you online daters. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Klasse Wrecks give us a great introduction to The Horn here, bringing together unreleased material from the last 25 years. All styles and flavours get a warm welcome, from swinging house, through trippy techno to abstract electronica - highly recommended!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Hermit House 
A2. Trinity 
B1. Jagg
B2. Schmaltz
B3. M1LF

Reissue of the 1997 underground house classic T.H.C. by Cloud City, a one time joint project between Scott Clifford of Bugz in the Attic and Adrian Miller. 

If what you are after is a 90s house throwback, here you have it with a stunning beat on the Luke Live mix on the A Side - memories of Masters at Work do come to mind. It must be the 'almost' live drumming what give this release a great 'organic' sound. Bugz in the Attic are involved so you know the origins. 

On B Side, much of the original live mix is present, but the vocal sample is employed less. Instead, esoteric melodies and an emphasis on the 'live' drumming is applied. 

A trip down memory lane for me, but for others probably a very refreshing deep house sound ready to be discovered and enjoyed!

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: The quality is present on everything Bugz in the Attic has touched on. This one is no exception. Loving the slightly more chilled 'Next Day Arrangement' with its organic drumming.

TRACK LISTING

A1. THC (Luke Live Mix)
B1. THC (Next Day Arrangement)

More amazing music from Jamal Moss' Mathematics Recordings - celebrating 22 years of cutting edge electronic music! It's a spiritual house odessy for the 104th sonic missiv to date, with Giorgio Luceri on production duties and featuring the vocal talents of Gregg Fore.

If you like your house deep, emotional and with a certain tribal edge, then you'll be in for a treat here: think NDATL, Robert Owens, Kai Alce and half Jamal's past signing that he's knowingly groomed and nutured, creating a roster of artists he can truly call his own. 

"All That We See Or Seem" grabs us by the hands and takes us on a star-lit tour of Chicago house history, from the jacking, mechanized drum beats, to the string-soaked emotive epics and back through late night, speaker friendly almost-techno, it's an inventive and captivated listen from the off. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Ridiculously strong Mathematics' release that turns up at the club way past midnight. Emotional, fractured and with deep rooted tribalism; this is the edgy shit to keep you hooked till morning.

TRACK LISTING

I Am Love (feat Gregg Fore) (6:17)
Giove A Favore (8:22)
Can Move On Without U (4:55)
I Am Love (feat Gregg Fore - Ambience Version) (7:18)

Brand new and fabulous electronic house music here straight outta the stables with a fierce intent. Hvmble, both producer and record a label, look to be filling any gaps in the interstellar void with two full frequency, galactic-aligned rub-downs that land somewhere between Dream House, Sparky and Fear Of Flying. While "Moeraki" chimes with an angelic sentiment, echoed through its spectral bassline that seems on the verge of shattering into a thousand shards; "Plitvicer" bangs with a kind of tribal-campfire-on-Mars intensity that, on +8 could easily see it blended into some Purpose Maker-era Jeff Mills or vintage Oliver Ho. It's nice to know other planets have harboured their fair share of indigenousness ravers that like nothing more than to have it right off around the (plasma) camp fire. Top stuff.

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: Gentle and smooth melodic techno / house on A side and a more punchy with tribal flairs on the flipside. Dancefloor ammunition for those who know.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Moeraki (6:14)
Side 2
1. Plitvicer (6:20)