DO OR DIE レコード& CD

Review: Libertine's 14th release is something of a beast: a double-EP from sometime My Own Jupiter Producer Do Or Die that squeezes in nine impressively varied tracks. The fast-rising producer's roots are of course in techno and electro, but he's not shy in exploring every avenue of these wide-ranging genres. For proof, compare and contrast the acid-fired, new wave-influenced bubbliness of "Galactic Bang Bang", the fast-paced acid-electro intensity of "Blackmail", the Italo-disco style throb-job "Morning To Lose", and the chiming, all-action cheeriness of quirky closing cut "Small Town Yoky 11". The rest of the double-pack maintains this interconnected eclecticism, portraying Do Or Die as a producer with a head full of ideas and an eccentric musical vision of his own.

Review: Like its' two predecessors, this third EP from the shadowy Cimedirapax label offers-up brand-new cuts from a multitude of little-known producers and rising stars. The compilation-style EP is led by Elias, who impresses with the hybrid electro/techno/acid brilliance of 'Dance Deceiver', whose moody motifs, sci-fi chords and twisted acid lines are enticing in the extreme. Stigma then steps up with the retro-futurist electro urgency of 'End of the Data' - all mutant sounds, body-popping beats, fizzing synth sounds and vintage EBM chords - before label regulars Do Or Die join the dots between TB-303 fired insanity and Nitzer Ebb on 'Drk101'. To round off a quietly impressive EP, Lapucci delivers the subtly new beat-influenced throb of 'Mystic Beat'.

Review: Grenoble-based Sekhem is back with its second various EP. This one features French producer Mohammed Vicente on the A side with the ferocious acid breaks of 'The Death Of Snake' as well as Moya81 with the early '80s synth pop of 'Synthetic Mind'. Over on the flip we have got international talents such as veteran Madrid producer Do/Or/Die who delivers the slamming sci-fi beats of 'Bleep Wave' while Italy's Davide Piras (Subwax Excursions/Mont Lake) does his best impression of legends Dopplereffekt on 'Rewind'.