Review: Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, since 2012 and established by by Jonbjorn Finnbogason & Viktor Birgisson, Lagaffe Tales celebrates a decade in the game with this terrific various artists compilation. Label staple Felix Leifur serves up the slo-mo balearic bliss of 'Cohen Social Club', Moff & Tarkin get some emotive sunset breaks in effect on the mood music of 'Pure Fury' while Jonbjorn - on point as always - contributes the glassy-eyed electro cut 'We're Not Alone' and finally Viktor Birgiss delivers the deep and dubby afterhours cut 'Ad Handan'.
Nine L - "Untitled" (Houston, We Have A Problem B2) (4:02)
Sykosis 451 - "Monsoon" (4:08)
Original Clique - "U = Underground" (4:49)
Original Clique - "Now Hear Me Now" (5:46)
MI7 - "Show I" (5:41)
Napoleon - "Fortuna" (4:34)
Napoleon - "La Chaux Du Fonds" (5:45)
Ragga Head - "Give The People What They Want" (4:54)
Return Of The Living Acid - "Big Dipper" (6:00)
Ministry Of Fear - "Original Cliche" (4:35)
Nine L - "Untitled" (Houston, We Have A Problem A2) (5:09)
Review: Between 1986 and 1994, Tony Boninsegna released an insane amount of music under dozens of different aliases, offering up rave-ready tracks that variously mixed and matched elements of acid house, bleep & bass, hardcore techno and breakbeat. Yet he remains almost unknown. Notes From The Underground, a two-part retrospective of his career, is therefore well overdue. This second part, which boasts extensive sleeve notes from UK dance music historian Matt Anniss, is packed to the rafters with re-mastered treats, with highlights including the electro-tinged bleep business of Lab Technicians' 'We Gave You Life', the weighty acid breaks of Sykosis 451's 'Monsoon', the breakbeat hardcore funkiness of MI7's 'Show I', and the proto-jungle madness of Raggahead's 'Give The People What They Want'.
Zubbizerretta - "Wake The Town" (Somnabulist mix) (4:08)
Estudiantes - "Let The Music Into Your Mind" (4:44)
Zeco - "The Witch Trials" (5:52)
Big Showdown - "They're Here" (4:56)
The Rhythm Squad - "Animal House" (5:57)
The Rhythm Squad - "Manhunt" (instrumental) (4:24)
Nine L - "Islands Part 2" (6:42)
Review: At long last, a light has been shone on the career of one of the UK's true underground rave heroes: Bedford producer (and man of umpteen aliases) Tony Bonisegna. Cold Blow and Musique Pour La Danse have done a terrific job on the two-part set, offering up remastered killer cuts from Bonisenga's vast catalogue alongside extensive sleeve notes by Join The Future author Matt Anniss (whose book was the first to tell the producer's remarkable story). There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this first volume, including Bonisegna's earliest explorations of house in the late 80s (both as part of The Rhythm Squad), the clonking and bleeping shuffle of Original Clique's 'F (Whistle Mix)', the Pet Shop Boys-go-to-a-rave shimmer of 'Tonnere' by Pierrepoint, the acid-flecked breaks madness of Big Showdown's 'They're Here' and the sub-heavy early breakbeat hardcore of AEK's 'Lick It'.
Review: Never one to sit still, Sasha used the change in mindset that came with the lockdown to inspire his approach to music. LUZoSCURA (which means light and dark) is the new compilation that has resulted having evolved from the playlist of the same name. It's packed with new music from the man himself as well as newer names and more established artists. There are floaty, synth heavy ambient pieces like the 'Yin/Yang' opener, lush melodic electronic grooves from QRTR, symphonic garage cuts from MJ Cole and crunchy old breakbeats with more than a hint of Renaissance from Because Of Art.
Mind Over Rhythm - "Kubital Footstorm" (Global Beatmix) (6:14)
Dream Frequency - "Dream The Dream" (5:48)
As One - "Isatai" (5:01)
UVX - "Elevator (Trancefloor Transporter)" (5:11)
Review: Dance Music From Planet Earth is a new sub-label from Ransom Note that kicks off with a heritage compilation, Dream The Dream. It looks back in great detail at UK Techno, House and Breakbeat 1990-1994 with Richard Sen as the man in control. He was a DJ back in those days, playing the most epic raves around Europe and taking some of the photos which now form the artwork for this collection. His obsessive record collecting from those days is reflected here across a series of sometimes obscure but always brilliant UK tunes for the worlds of ambient, techno, tribal house, breakbeat and early trance.
Sandy Gaye - "Watch The Dog That Bring The Bone" (2:16)
Betty Wright - "Mr Lucky" (2:42)
Marva Whitney - "Daddy Don't Know About Sugar Bear" (2:26)
The Trinikas - "Remember Me" (2:29)
Betty & Angel - "Honey Coated Loving" (3:15)
Arelean Brown - "I'm A Streaker Baby" (3:54)
The 20th Century - "Hot Pants" (part 1) (3:30)
Promise - "I'm Not Ready For Love" (2:45)
Pearl Dowdell - "Good Things" (2:37)
Fay Cooper - "Closer Together" (2:41)
Lolla Collins - "Save The Children (If There Is To Be A Tomorrow)" (2:55)
Soul Revival - "Do What You Gotta Do" (2:46)
Mae Young - "You Got Me Under Your Spell" (2:24)
The Ba-Roz - "Come Back Boy" (2:26)
Sonics Band - "Second Avenue" (3:52)
Review: 'Beehive Breaks' is a new curveball from the Numero label, pitting together 15 'feminine funk' fixtures for your listening pleasure. All sourced from the label's back catalogue, we're met with an impressive array of funky-drummed, double-X'ed ditties, from Sandy Gaye's Cruella-synched 'Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone' to James Brown's soul sister #1 Marva Whitney; from teenage girl gangs The Trinikas and Promise, to Miami's queen of soul, Betty Wright; and to top it all off, there's even a previously unissued belter from Chicago's Sonics Band on there.
Sleepwalker - "Age Of Aquarius (No Surrender, No Retreat)" (LD remix) (6:00)
Hedgehog Affair - "Parameters" (5:43)
DJ Mayhem - "Inesse" (7:52)
Luxury - "Twirl" (4:12)
The Invisible Man - "The Flute Tune" (7:52)
Escape - "Escape" (The Optical mix) (4:45)
Skanna - "This Way" (6:04)
XRAY Xperiments - "Techcore" (4:00)
Review: We're not sure where the phrase "blissed out" but whatever its origins, London's Blank Mind Recordings have caught on to its signification of a certain kind of jungle and breakbeat hardcore, prevalent in and around the given timeframe, 1991-1994. This new compilation charts just eight tracks of miasmic atmospheric breaks pressure-releases from the likes of DJ Mayhem, Luxury and Skanna from the time, with the star track in point being Mayhem's 'Inesse', around which the rest of the compilation was put together. Linking the record to a turbulent political climate, with 1994 being the year in which the harsh anti-rave Criminal Justice Act was passed, the record and the juddering pieces making it up are reframed in a resistant, socially just light.
Review: Frost and Einzelkind's Pressure Traxx captures the evolution of minimal tech house over the past ten years, as the rigour of functional 4/4 gave way to different rhythms and motifs from the wider dance music lexicon. It was a smart move which helped reinvigorate the scene, and while they didn't do it on their own they absolutely fuelled the fire. Ten years in, their label is certainly due a retrospective which stretches out over eight sides of next-level workouts for long blends and marathon sets. The cast of characters hardly needs explaining - from Tobias and Villalobos to Edward and John Dimas, the quality never lets up and in one smartly arranged box set you're going to be gifted with the finest minimal in recent circulation.
J-Shadow & Phrixus - "Return To The Endless Void" (4:45)
J-Zbel - "Jazzy Jazz" (3:55)
Treega - "Fire Flare" (5:15)
Odd Shy Guy & Rose Again - "Super Friends" (5:00)
Review: Kreggo's Art-Aud label is a reliably unpredictable bastion of post-modern rave madness which takes a sideways glance at all the genre fluctuations and places fun front and centre alongside experimentation. As a result, this latest instalment of their Secret Rave series comes as a welcome treat - a madcap rip through tempos and styles with upfront energy as a constant. From Slacker's moody, finely tuned breakbeat excursion to J-Zbel's low down, nasty drum funk on to Treega's on-point rave stabs, it's a wild ride, make no mistake. If you take your neo-rave gear seriously, you won't want to sleep on this deadly compilation.
Review: Long-cherished underground stalwart Claus Voigtmann finally serves up his long-awaited new album Life Miles after many years of essential sounds on labels like Assemble and Intermission. He really shows his range here with a record that draws on his experiences of playing around the world in all sorts of different settings. 'Pinfire' and 'Transitory Moments' open up and take you to the heart of fabric, a club he has played so often, while 'North of the Sun' heads off into space on sleek electro rhythms while the likes of 'Abundance' bring cosmic melodic fun to a lively and inventive rhythm. Elsewhere there is the high-speed electro-funk of 'Flight Of Fancy' and the introspective downbeat trip 'Send Love To The Future' making this a varied and vital affair.
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