New releases last four weeks: All genres

Review: London's 1-800 Girls brings cleanly garage and bright breaks to his All My Thoughts label, riffing on the combo of infectious aural hooks and brutalist sonics fashionable among the present chart doyens of UK dance music and techno. 'How I Feel' sounds like an innocent admission of affection in techno-garage form, pairing the flunky inter-jabs of 2-step garage with the cute-aggressive seethes of a repetitious sampled vox; the track centres on a nostalgic, airtight sequence of parapractic phonemes, onto which the listener may project their longings and amours. 'Signal' embraces both big beats and biomech squeaks verging on sports-whistles, while 'Like You Do' returns for a comparatively brooding burbler. Finally, 'Guy's Salmon' rounds things off on a dense sequence of yeahs and ohs, as ever building up a slow-burn of cool wonderment and openness.

Review: Hot Piroski Records have been on something of a hiatus for the last year or so but now make a welcome return with a new EP series. This collaborative affair is the result of an epic journey in an old Mercedes from London to Gunjur and finds label head Robin 12Tree working with The Gambia and Bongo Koi as Gambian Disco Express. 'Enlightenment is Now' marks their first release on Hot Piroski Records and it comes with vocals from Gambian mystic Rev. Joseph N'Gole, recorded on the banks of the River Gambia. This one has already been hammered by Psychemagik, Pete Herbert, and Severino from Horse Meat Disco so it comes quality assured.

Review: CFRT's fourth release features early productions from Sven Rohrig under his acclaimed techno and house alias, 3 Phase. These tracks were originally released on Push back in 1996 and offer a window into his innovative approach, even though he was in his formative years. All these decades on, they still bang. 'Moon' is textured, edgy techno with restless drum rhythms and metallic percussive sounds, 'Other Edge' is a psyched-out number with bleeping melodies and thudding drums and 'Magic Edge' strips tings back to deep, pulsing bass, lashings of synth detail and a paranoid mood while 'Stash' shuts down with more slow motion sounds for the post-rave comedown.

Review: Dreamloops marks the highly anticipated vinyl debut of 36's album, a masterwork from Dennis Huddleston (known as 36. This deluxe four-LP set spans two-and-a-half hours, featuring eight tracks, each a standalone 18-minute composition. Huddleston's signature style dreamlike, introspective midnight music, blends hypnotic loops with evolving melodies that are both captivating and deeply emotional. Originally released in 2019 as a cassette series, Dreamloops was revisited by Huddleston in 2023 to bring newfound clarity and cohesion. The tracks, while rooted in repetition, are far from static, continuously unfolding with subtle shifts in texture and emotion. Huddleston's music is enriched by intentional imperfections like tape hiss and wow & flutter, which add a layer of nostalgic warmth and depth. Dreamloops is a profound listening experience. Huddleston's ability to blend ambient warmth with haunting melodies is strong reasons his albums are so respected. He rewards deep and attentive listening. This collection, praised for its emotive and atmospheric power, continues 36's rising status in modern ambient music.

Notes: The hands-on control of hardware meets the versatility of software. Bridging the gap between Eurorack and VCV Rack, the MetaModule includes over 160 built-in modules plus access to over 200 third-party options.

Supplier's Notes:
The MetaModule puts real knobs and jacks on virtual software modules. Step back from the computer and make music with hardware, while keeping the flexibility and expandability of software.

The MetaModule comes with over 160 built-in modules from 4ms Company, Befaco, HetrickCV, NonlinearCircuits, and Scanner Darkly, plus clones of popular classics such as the Mutable Instruments eurorack modules, fun physical modeling algorithms, and lots of handy utilities.

All of the included modules are also available on the computer using the free program VCV Rack. Whether you make patches on VCV Rack and transfer them to the MetaModule, or if you just create patches directly on the MetaModule, there are plenty of creative modules to inspire new ways to make music.

MetaModule Plugins

If the 160+ built-in module aren't enough, you can load more modules as plugins. Already there are over 200 modules in third-party plugins from Bogaudio, Valley, ChowDSP, NANO Modular, and the list is growing. 4ms have an SDK available to make it easy for VCV Rack plugin developers to convert their plugin to a MetaModule plugin. 4ms' licensing terms are non-restrictive: developers are welcome to distribute their plugin in any way they wish, commercially or not.

Mapping Knobs and Jacks

The MetaModule has 12 knobs that can be mapped to virtual knobs. Each knob can be mapped to up eight virtual knobs, and each mapping can have a different range and offset. You also can save a group of mappings as a Knob Set and switch between Knob Sets with the encoder. You also can map the 8 inputs and 8 outputs to virtual module jacks. Also, the MetaModule is a USB MIDI host, so you also can map MIDI CC, note, gate, and other parameters to knobs and jacks.

Expanders

There are lots of ways to customize your MetaModule. A Wifi expander allows you to wirelessly transfer patches from your computer. Add eight more knobs with the Knob expander, or buttons with the Button expander. A CV/Audio expander adds more high-resolution inputs and outputs, and the Gate In/Out expander adds not only gate jacks but also TRS MIDI and I2C.

Under the Hood

There are six CV/Audio inputs, two gate inputs, and six CV/Audio outputs. The CV/Audio jacks are all 24-bit, 48kHz DC-coupled, -10V to +10V. A USB-C jack accepts MIDI devices and thumb drives. Patches and plugins can be loaded via a USB drive or microSD Card, and internal flash memory lets you save patches you always want to come back to.

The processor is more advanced than anything 4ms has used in the past, and is among the most powerful processors found in Eurorack. Startup time and latency are blazingly fast.

Modules

160 built-in modules
Over 200 3rd-party module plugins available so far, and the ecosystem is growing
Create patches using VCV Rack or directly on MetaModule

Patches

Patches are loaded from microSD Card, USB drive, or via the Wifi expander
Patches can be optionally saved onto internal flash memory
Create patches using VCV Rack or directly on MetaModule
Patches can be given a name and description

Mappings

Map each physical knob to up to 8 virtual knobs
Set range and offset for each mapping, including inverted control
Knob mappings are grouped into Knob Sets, and changing Knob Sets can be done quickly without menu-diving
Map physical jacks to virtual jacks, seamlessly making splits/mults
Add or edit modules, cables, and mappings in real-time while the patch is playing
Create alias names for mappings like "Kick Drum Level"

Interface

Simple, intuitive graphical interface lets you zoom in on details, or zoom out to get a big picture
Patch View displays the patch as faceplates and cables, with knobs, buttons, and lights animating in real-time
Knob Set View simplifies the display, showing only the mapped knobs for the current Knob Set
Module View shows just one module and lists the names of each jack, knob, and control legibly
Mapping View lets you adjust details of a knob mapping
Adjust styles and visual preferences to your liking
Save, rename, duplicate, and delete patches
Firmware updater and plugin loader read from microSD Card or USB drive

Hardware

12 Knobs
8 CV/Audio outputs, 24-bit 48kHz, -10V to +10V, DC-coupled
6 CV/Audio inputs, 24-bit 48kHz, -10V to +10V, DC-coupled
2 Gate inputs
USB-C jack: MIDI Host or MSC (External drive) Host
microSD Card slot
Internal Flash RAM for additional patch storage
Dual-core 800MHz Cortex-A7 plus Cortex-M4 co-processor
512MB DDR3 533MHz RAM
Bare-metal operation for fast startup and low latency

26hp

Review: A aka Mika Vainio's 'Fermionit' is a significant release from the late Finnish producer, who passed away in 2017. Originally featured in a Belgium Detuned 6x12 boxset just before his death, the track received critical acclaim from collectors and fans. Now, it returns to Mika's own Sahko label for a well-deserved 12" release. 'Fermionit' embodies the essence of Finnish techno with its minimalistic, cold and stark sound. The track's passive-aggressive edge showcases Vainio's signature style, blending raw, unfiltered textures with a profound sense of depth. This release not only honors Vainio's legacy but also offers a chance for new listeners to experience the pure DNA of Finnish techno. An essential listen for fans of minimalist and avant-garde electronic music.

Review: Knotweed welcomes back a label regular in A Thousand Details here and he once again delves deep into groovy machine funk. His high-impact sound is always intense but is never short on style. 'Hammersmith Conjunction' is up first and races out of the blocks on some surging, serene and Detroit-style techno. 'Ashbourne Grove' is a more heads-down affair for the dark of the night with paranoid synth patterns looping tightly over the cantering drums. 'Colorious' ups the ante with bristling percussive loops and 'Pimlico Astor' shuts down with some edginess that will keep you on your toes.

Review: Steve Butler's most recent full-length excursion as Abel, Cosmic Law, rightly received plenty of plaudits on its release last year. 'Hand Made', a spacey, tech-tinged deep house featuring evocative spoken word vocals by American wordsmith Brother Basil, was one of that set's stand out cuts. This single release naturally features Butler's original mix, plus three new reworks. Rising star Peacey kicks things off with a spacey, bouncy, breakbeat-sporting revision, before Rocco Radamaal delivers an analogue bass-propelled, keyboard stab-sporting 'Raw Dub' that sounds like it was tailor made for dark, strobe-lit peak-time dancefloors. To round things off, sometime nu-disco sorts South Beach Recycling re-imagine the track as an intergalactic, ultra-deep slab of house hypnotism wrapped in spacey electronics.

Review: Shlomi Aber & Kashpitzky join forces once again to make their Blueprint Records debut with four formidable techno tracks on the 'Sonic Underworld' EP. Sharing production duties on each side, Aber and Kashpitzky bring experience gleaned from prior releases on the likes of CLR, Drumcode, and BPitch Control - dropping clout like bombs - to this ultimate moment, on whose A-side we now hear 'Immersive' fusions of broken beat and far-flung techno atmospheres amount to a tittilating 'Saga'. The B-side's 'Rust' and 'Bazement' are equally as synthetic yet also hear the EP grow increasingly crazed, with the former indulging an entrained trance despite an equally adamant kick-drive, and the latter moving pure tweezy and swirly.

Review: Are AC/DC the greatest living rock & roll band? Is Angus Young the world's finest lead guitarist? Personal opinions aside, the motoring, riff-heavy, blues-infused legends certainly rank among the most successful and inimitable bands on the circuit, even if time is against them these days, with co-founding brother Malcolm Young now playing rhythm guitar in the sky and frontman Brian Johnson struggling with his own health. Nevertheless, the guys keep on keeping on, a determination bordering on an art form in itself which this lot are particularly adept at, having lost their beloved first lead singer, Bon Scott, back in 1980, only to recover with one of the best selling records of all time, Back In Black. Live At The Old Waldorf offers a snapshot of the period in which Scott was emerging as one of rock's finest, wittiest and cleverest songwriters, while the band itself had youth on their side. A priceless relic from a precious time.

Review: This release marks the return of a 1989 classic and it has been remastered for the occasion. Ace Buzz is a project by Tony Baron and Gery Francois, who are known for acts like Teknokrat's. Their track 'Moskitos' is a playful, raw example of Belgian New Beat with a slightly lighter touch than the genre's typical aggression. It features simple Balearic piano chords and samples that evoke a surreal scene of someone in a cheap, hot Ibiza hotel battling mosquitos. The B-side, 'Nuevo Mondo,' shifts to a deeper, more mellow vibe, and is followed by a remix from Anatolian Weapons that transforms the original into something entirely fresh and unique.

Review: The Kwench label is back with more tasteful and timeless house and techno fusions here as Ad & The Persuader link up for The Truth EP. The title cut opens up with some lazy, wavy, dubby grooves with heady pads and then a dub version makes it even more fleshy and horizontal. 'Strolling' keeps things classy and deep cut with pillowy kicks toped with starry-eyed melodies and some glitchy perc. An cappella closes out the EP for DJ use. This is a quietly excellent 12" that oozes quality.

Review: .

Notes: A passive module to allow easy connection from Modular to Eurorack, avoid flimsy hook probes or alligator wires with a robust connection that will keep your signal intact.

Features:

3.5mm jack to BNC including 50O male-male cables.
Ships calibrated set to 10x as default, user's can select 1x but soldering a smd jumper.

Specs:

4HP
15mm deep
Passive

Notes: ADDAC200RM allows a simple and straight forward way to monitor the voltage of your system. A 0.1% precision analogue voltage meter shows the status of both +12V and -12V rail.

Eurorack +/-12V power rails

Although we all refer to Eurorack PSU voltages as +12V and -12V this is hardly ever the case, although most systems operate at close proximity to this ideal reference, there are situations where the drop from the ideal voltage is large enough to influence the performance of your system.

PSU current ratings

Running a PSU too close to its limits will always cause more stress to the PSU, a good practice it to use only about 75% of your PSU maximum ratings, this will greatly extend the PSU life.

PSUs will show a small voltage drop as current increases which will drastically increase when pushed closed to it's limits. Heat will also influence this drop, heat is related to the current drawn, as more current is being drawn more heat will build up on the PSU, heat conditions will reduce the maxi- mum amount of current that can be delivered by the PSU. While the current consumption drop is somewhat stable and immediate (as you turn the frame on the current consumption will stabilize in a few seconds) the heat drop will take some time to occur, heat will build up over time until it stabilizes and only if it has "headroom" to stabilize. If heat dissipation is not effective than the drop will continue until it reaches a balance point which can be several volts below the 12V reference. At this point your PSU will be under great stress and the heat generated is prone to leave some permanent scars.

Heat will start to have an impact at about an ambient temperature of 50 degrees celsius, at 70 degrees the maxi- mum current rating will drop by 50%. If your PSU is rated at 2A maximum and it's running at 70 degrees then it will only be able to deliver 1A maximum.
For the PSU this is a complex balancing act as current influences heat and heat influences the maximum amount of current available which all together influences the voltage drop.

This is why it's so important to keep the PSU load at a sensible level.

PSU protections

Some PSUs feature over voltage, over current and overheating protection and will turn off when the operating conditions trigger any of the protection threshold levels.

At this point it's typical that the PSU will enter a Hiccup mode, where it turns on checks the current conditions and quickly turns off if they haven't changed, leaving it in an intermittent limbo where it powers on and off at some regular frequency.

If the conditions change enough to drop below the protection threshold levels then the PSU will automatically recover and stay on.

PSU stress

Different situations can be responsible for causing stress that can damage the PSU, it's possible to reverse a ribbon power cable enough times or leaving it connected long enough to partly damage the PSU.

Another situation is having a module that due to some partial previous damage may be drawing more current than specified which will not be accounted for when calculating your system current consumption.

Stress can cause permanent damage to the PSU, however some damages can be only partial leaving you with a PSU that no longer features the specs described by the manufacturer but with no apparent misbehaviour. The LED monitors on bus boards will be on, but in reality it will be underperforming at an unknown percentage of the original specs. These situations can be quite hard to debug without the proper tools to evaluate the cause of the problem.

PSU impact on modules

Some modules are more susceptible to PSU changes than others, modules that feature internal regulators will be less susceptible to PSU voltage, modules that use internal +5v, +/-9v, +/-10v regulators will have more tolerance than modules that use the PSU voltages directly like it is for most cases. Also modules that use voltage reverse protection will already have a 0.3v to 0.8v drop inherent to the protection circuit.

While many digital modules can withstand lower voltages some others will be more dependent on the reference voltage and may show strange behaviours.

This module can help preventing all these situations, it won't fix any problem but can help on the day-to-day monitoring of your system and in keeping your PSU in healthy conditions.

Tech Specs: 4HP/3,5 cm deep
60mA +12V
60mA -12V

Notes: Control Eurorack using your breath with this unique module from ADDAC. A melodica pipe connected to the front panel allows you to generate two independent CV signals from breath inputs. Funky.

Supplier's Notes:
This module expands ADDAC's line of expressive controls, it follows the heritage of wind/breath controllers with one major difference, the pipe has no air escape creating pressure inside the tube controlled by the user's mouth. For a seasoned woodwind or brass musicians this working principle may sound unorthodox, however this way pressure can be controlled for longer without the need to breath in or learning circular breathing techniques. It's relatively easy to control the pressure in your mouth while still breathing through the nose.

The module is provided with a standard melodica pipe which connects to an air filter (providing a receptacle for condensation to form and isolate the sensor) and lastly connects to the module frontpanel.

The signal captured by the sensor is then sent to two independent sections with exactly the same functions as seen in the signal flow diagram below.

As an example the two sections can be used with different settings to independently control the VCA and VCF of any standard analogue voice patch.

Pipe

ADDAC are using a standard Melodica pipe into an air filter that will keep condensation away from the sensor. The air filter is then connected to the frontpanel sensor input using a silicone tube.

Sensor calibration

[RESPONSE] is the main control to calibrate the pressure curve, the knob goes from exponential to logarithmic with linear at 12 o'clock. Exponential will be more reactive to high pressures, logarithmic to lower pressures.

Hold function

This feature allows to hold the current voltage value with the hold is engaged (button led on), the state can be changed either by the push button in a latching manner (push to change state) or via the gate input in a momentary manner (hold on while gate is on)

Extra Pipe

Extra Pipes are available separately.

Tech Specs:
10HP
4.5cm deep
70mA +12V
40mA -12V

Review: Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force's 'Planet Rock' stands as a groundbreaking album that redefined not only hip hop but also electronic music. Released in the early 80s, it embraced the latest technology like the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, which revolutionised music production. The album's fusion of hip-hop with electronic and dance elements was ahead of its time, influencing not just the rap scene but also artists in the emerging house and techno genres. Planet Rock remains a seminal work that shows the innovative spirit and creativity of early hip-hop, making it a worthwhile listen for anyone interested in the roots of modern music.

Review: New Zealand's After 'Ours, helmed by Michal Martyniuk and Nick Williams, return with Long Road, a remarkable follow-up to their 2016 debut Odyssey. Known for blending elements of jazz, soul, and electronica, the duo has crafted an album that reflects their growth while maintaining the warmth and community spirit that defined their earlier work. Long Road builds on the smooth grooves and intricate rhythms that drew comparisons to the likes of Steely Dan, A Tribe Called Quest, and Robert Glasper. The album sees the duo reconnecting with previous collaborators like Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, while also introducing fresh talent, including British soul legend Omar Lyefook and Jakarta-based saxophonist Kuba Skowronski. The ten tracks on Long Road weave through various genres, from UK broken beat to modern soul and blues rock, creating a rich tapestry of sound. Tracks like 'Looking Glass' and 'Morning Chorus' showcase the duo's ability to create deeply emotive music, while the inclusion of live instrumentation adds a vibrant, organic feel. Long Road is a sublime listening experience that is full of diverse influences that have shaped their sound over the years.

Review: Over the past three decades, Auckland has nurtured many generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who have blended jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin, hip-hop, house, boogie and broken beats into all-new sounds. After 'Ours, a group led by pianist Michal Martyniuk and drummer and guitarist Nick Williams, very much embodies this tradition. Nick, influenced by his DJ mother and musician father, led Auckland's Latin-dub-funk band Tangent while Michal, raised in Poland, immersed himself in Auckland's jazz scene and formed After 'Ours in 2011. Their new album Long Road merges machine funk with vibrant live instrumentation and bridges jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance with infectious charm.

Review: Excursions in Gwoka vol. 2 is another adventurous outing for the Beauty & the Beat label that takes them ever deeper into the gwoka scene of Guadeloupe. it is the celebrated carnival outfit Akiyo who are in focus here with two tracks taken from second and supremely hard-to-find long player, Mouvman, in 1993. 'Deboule' is a real heater with bustling drum funk and chatting tribal vocals all run through with synth wizardry from Marie-Galante Jacques-Marie Basses. 'Blo' is just as steamy and intern with percussion, whistles and big beats all making quite the impact. Breakplus adds a London twist to 'Deboule' while CW adds a cosmic air to 'Blo.'

Review: French illustrator, producer and owner of Astral Soda Records Albino offers up his second full-length album, Bamboo Night, following up his self-released 2016 album Santa Barbara. Returning to WRWTFWW for the second time now, Bamboo Night reflects something of a more dance-centric revolution in Albino's sound, but still brings his penchant for patented tape hues and ghostly exotics to the fore as ever. These tracks are just as suited for floor play as they are for home eso-chillaxing, fusing whispery dancehall flavours with dark jazz, Chicago deep house, and trembly international flavours.

Review: Rediscover a treasure from the Dade Records vault with the reissue of Arnold Albury & The Casuals' 'That's A Bet,' brought back to life by ReGrooved Records. This analogue-remastered 7" highlights a key track from 1970, recently featured in the popular series 'Sex Education.' The flip side, 'My Baby Don't Understand,' is equally stunning, showcasing the soulful essence of Miami's vibrant music scene. Arnold Hoss Albury, a brilliant keyboardist, played a pivotal role in shaping the Miami Sound, contributing to iconic records by artists like James Knight & The Butlers and Betty Wright. This re-release offers a rare opportunity to own a slice of musical history and experience the soulful brilliance of Albury & The Casuals.