Review: Rats On Acid's Triple A debut 'Burn Out' hears the occasional ear-amazer emit an ecstatic edict in acid hardcore, teasing out a sad but true fact of the post-industrial, post-post-modern condition: burnout. Ah, yes burnout. That tired old, laborious effect of overwork and overshot ambition. How do we combat burnout? First of all, redirect our energies to skanking anodes of acid hardcore, not overtime at work. The EP's title track is mad fun, bringing acrimonious acids and aerodrome reverbs, while 'On The Jazz' restricts the mix-space to a narrow shaft, up which a determined, high-impedant melodic current climbs. 'Turn The Page' ends on a strangely excited, cacophonous stasis; we're amazed this one was made recently, as it has a real convincing 90s energy to it.
Review: Following up last year's Time And Nothingness on Charlotte De Witte's KNTXT, Francesco Pierfelici aka Alignment returns to the imprint for an absolutely riveting new EP. Power is a fitting title for this massive four tracker, where the Berlin-based Italian wastes no time in an attempt to fire the synapses. Pure elevation is to be experienced on the euphoric rave energy of the title track which opens up in a big way, followed by 'Disconnection' which will pummel you into submission - peak time style - with its assortment of classic dance music motifs throughout. Over on the flip, the EP's highlight exists in the form of the euphoric modern trance reconstruction titled 'Frequency'.
Review: Charming post-gabber connections from Fish & Rice aka Hellfish (King of Ironfist) and Akira (Ricemaster). Go Fuck Yourself goes with the epic synopsis of a sordid culinary horror: our deuteragonists Fish and Rice once again must defeat the tyrannical lord Pink Fist using stolen weapons-grade audio care packages, hacked from the data banks of Iron Prime (we can only guess what this means, exactly). Edacious in theme, this is an erratic, (sea) bass dropper of an LP, with not a single given eff in sight. 'Fish Ramen Gabba', 'Rice-Fish' and 'Do You Cook' serve poisson poisons of hardcore tok kicks and citrusy supersaw sound design, causing our faces to scrunch up in olfactory delight.
Review: It doesn't seem like the hard techno revolution is going anywhere any time soon. AnD (techno) is a label making sure of that and its sixth missive from the boss is another one to make the eyes water and the heart race. The white knuckle slammer that is 'I Got So Much' kicks off and then 'Screeching' does just that with a terrifying sense of anxiety and menace. 'Your Energy' is all glitchy sounds, squealing textures, hard techno drums and twisted sirens and the final part of this techno equivalent of a Monster energy drink overload is the rip-snorting 'On A Mission.'
Review: Techno troubadour Yan Cook has a fine discography on some of the most respected labels out there. Now he heads to Ukraine's Cooked, a young but perfectly formed imprint, and kicks off his EP with 'Blades,' which is all melon twisted synths and driving techno kicks. 'Whistleblower' then slips into a deeply atmospheric groove with gurgling bass and watery effects and 'Grom' is all about the swing in the drums. Gritty textures and insistent claps add to the thrill of it all and 'Skyhigh' is a more frosty dub techno cut that leaves out breathless.
Review: As the title suggests, Some Other Place Volume 2 is the second installment of a triptych of releases from The Exaltics for The Clone West Coast series. As with previous music from the Solar One boss, the four tracks here see The Exaltics look to both American and Dutch schools of electro but the results are nonetheless distinguished by his own unique signifiers. The title track sets the tone nicely as waves of sumptuous blurred noise ride a supple skeletal rhythm, whilst "Waves Of Fear" lives up to it's paranoid title with a marauding low end bass line the dominating element on a classic slab of darkside electro. "The Way Out" is perhaps the most conventional track here, with Witschakowski laying down an atmospheric but club ready 808 workout which is still a cut above thanks to the German's arrangement skills. Which leaves room for the slower, weirder and mushy excellence of "Different Ways".
Brayan Valenzuela - "My Sugar Daddy Is In London" (5:21)
Rezystor - "Into The Void" (6:22)
Rezystor - "Interdimensional Skirmisher" (6:51)
Review: BRVTAL is a Budapest-based music label, event and podcast series. Co-founded by Zsofia Cseve, AGA2L and Max Sinclair with resident DJ NVKP. Their label's fourth missive features Berlin by-way-of Bogota's Brayan Valenzuela unleashing two fierce cuts on side A: the menacing peak time fury of 'Water Is Wet Baby' followed by the equally as powerful dancefloor detonator 'My Sugar Daddy Is In London' full of classic rave tropes. On the flip, Cologne's Rezystor takes over with another couple of contributions and it's all about the strobe-lit trance-infused euphoria of 'Interdimensional Skirmisher'.
Lewis Fautzi & Norbak - "Code Of Deception" (5:17)
Oscar Mulero - "Zw System" (5:20)
Temudo - "Niiv" (6:29)
Kessell - "Time Domain" (5:11)
Review: Faut Section's Perception Series is back with a second sizzling installment of freshly made techno. Lewis Fautzi & Norbak pair off to open up with 'Code Of Deception', a barreling cut with icy hi hats and taught bass twangs full of dusty factory floor menace. Oscar Mulero offers one of his signature loop-techno rollers in 'Zw System' Temudo then rattles walls with the mysterious bass rumbles of 'Niiv'. Completing what is an EP that is as varied as it is vital is Kessell with the dubby broken techno beats of 'Time Domain' which has fizzing synths cracking like static on a 90s TV screen.
Sina XX & Dance Divine - "Dancefloor Is Hot" (6:10)
Sina XX & Metaraph - "Color Of People" (6:57)
Sina XX & Lacchesi - "Goth It" (5:43)
Enham, Lessss & Sina XX - "Le Demon" (5:10)
Review: Get your marching boots on and strap in for a white knuckle ride from fledgling label Body to Body. This second release from the French crew is another thrilling take on hard techno and gabba as Sina XX links up with different artists across four cuts. First, it is with Dance Divine for the flat-footed menace and lashing synths of 'Dancefloor Is Hot' then Metaraph joins for 'Color Of People,' a cut that burrows deep on an oversized bassline and edgy string stabs unsettle the mood. Sina XX & Lacchesi's 'Goth It' is a minimal excursion on tightly wrapped drums and bass that are full of pent-up tension then last of all is the most brain-frying and textural rave of the lot as Enahm and Lessss join in for 'Le Demon.'
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.