Cocktail D'Amore Germany レコード& CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Berlin's Cocktail d'Amore and Tokyo's Ene Records have come together once again to present the music of Solidair. The duo of Cocktail alumni Luigi Di Venere and Jules Etienne present three tracks aimed to induce a dance floor hypnosis. Orgonite (Riding the Waves) does just that, a slow build awash in the ebb and flow of acid tinges, just enough to wet your whistle on a Saturday night. The original mix keeps the skeletal support but throws in a life preserver of 8 bit gaming synthesis. Frisky arps call and respond to each other before making way for sinewy pads to lift off. Tiger's Eye sets itself onto cruising speed incorporating elements of late 90's acid techno with the sleek and smooth clubbing aesthetics of modern day Berlin.

Review: Berlin's Cocktail d'Amore and Tokyo's Ene Records have come together once again to present the music of Solidair. The duo of Cocktail alumni Luigi Di Venere and Jules Etienne present three tracks aimed to induce a dance floor hypnosis. Orgonite (Riding the Waves) does just that, a slow build awash in the ebb and flow of acid tinges, just enough to wet your whistle on a Saturday night. The original mix keeps the skeletal support but throws in a life preserver of 8 bit gaming synthesis. Frisky arps call and respond to each other before making way for sinewy pads to lift off. Tiger's Eye sets itself onto cruising speed incorporating elements of late 90's acid techno with the sleek and smooth clubbing aesthetics of modern day Berlin.

Review: After a stint of regarded releases on Public Possesion DJ City returns to Cocktail demote Music with Giuda Iscariota.The title might evoke images of the eternal betrayal but DJ City seems fully devoted to his crowd. Fueled by the distant memory of his regular sets at Cocktail, City touches on an array of moods and styles keeping his foot on the pedal. Giuda Iscariota emulates the selection choices of DJ City during his many sets at the party with a no nonsense focus on dance floor drivers while Nattens Tysta Timmar slathers on the queer vibe by sounding like a lost Pet Shop Boys deep cut. On the flip Sophies Theme picks up the pace again with acid laden house grooves and Archeoicae's head down hands up arp driven frenzy.

Review: Jules Etienne has been skirting around labels such as Apersonal Music for a few years, but here makes a strong statement with a new record for CockTail D'Amore. "Triangle Des Bermudas" is a swinging yet cosmically inclined jam powered by warm synth arpeggios, which regular collaborator Massimiliano Pagliara then nudges up into crafty deep house territory. "Cuban Omlette" is a delicate affair that interweaves pattering percussion and nagging synth lines to make a particularly heady brew before "John's Job" finishes the record off with a richly layered drum track that should have DJs across the board getting tricky in the mix.

Review: Juan Ramos and Luca Trentini AKA Trent have had a couple of prior outings as Greenvision, especially impressing with their excellent 12" on ESP Institute last year. Now they're back to where it all began, Cocktail d'Amore, with the lurid, pysched out freakery of "Mountain Of Madness". It's a truly devilish track, coming on heavy like a dangerous incantation, which is of course a good thing. On the flip, things stay firmly out on the wild frontier with the Sativa mix of "Rolling 2 Joints". The message is clear - this is music to lose your mind to, and you'll have a thoroughly wonderful time doing it.

Review: Discodromo's ever-essential Cocktail D'Amore label launches into action once more with the ear candy of Komodo in tow. "Magic Hour" manages to work classic piano house tropes into a suitably cosmic headspace that's loaded with reverb and all things trippy, but it's relatively grounded compared to the exotic meditation that The Backwoods manage to conjure up on their "Oriental Dub" of the track. "Lizard Dance" channels early trance vibes to great effect in a celebration of early 90s rave mysticism and then "Sand Dunes" offers up a bubbling, friendly twist on acid house. Using familiar tropes but still maintaining originality, from start to finish this is a classically rooted record with something to say.

Review: Notorious Discodromo helmed session CockTail D'Amore celebrate their 10th birthday with a compilation that highlights many different aspects of the much loved and musically adventurous Berlin party. In the main room, you can expect the energy to be big and imposing, which Jonathan Kusuma clearly understands as he throws down the big bad thrust of "Energi Hall". Sleep D and Samo DJ bring something of a trancey mood to "No Mans Land" - all heavy drama and a strong sense of melody. Mascaras X Powder is a potent combination that builds up a kind of tribal intensity peppered with wild cosmic flourishes. DJ City's "Torreyson Drive" finishes things off with a startling jacker loaded with big synth lines and whipcrack drums.

Review: Cocktail D'Amore showed the breadth of their tastes when they reissued Ukranian composer Iury Lech's 1990 album Musica Para El Fin De Los Cantos last year. Now the label has commissioned a raft of remixes from some label regulars, with wonderful and diverse results. Powder drops her signature snaking rhythmic trysts over "Barreras", while "Cuando Rocio Dispara Sus Flechas" benefits from an abstract, ambient reworking from Suzanne Kraft. Hatchback takes to "Posmeridiano" with a delicate touch, all lingering 80s synth motifs in a beatless reverie, and Zavoloka lays the cinematic intensity on heavy with the icy strains of "Ukraina".

Review: Cocktail D'Amore know a thing or two about party starting wild cards, and thus far Lion's Drums has proven to be adept in that department with drops on Hivern Discs and his own self-titled label. He comes to the Cocktail party with two edits of Manos Tsangaris' powerful drum sermons - visceral percussive flurries from a man with enough rhythm to partake in the lauded Drums Off Chaos project. You should have a good idea from that what these two tracks are about - heavy, physical tracks for maximum dance induction, moments of pure abandon and the odd firework or two.

Review: Lion's Drums full length exists as en exploration in multiple dimensions. First by challenging the notion of the album format by presenting a body of work that lies snuggly between remixes, edits and original works and secondly as a means to delve into the transcendent potential of the drum. The album sets the tone by putting these two concepts fully on display with its hypnotic chant, swaying one into ease over the first two songs. In orderly cue folding and unfolding, meditatively through, melodies as muddied pastelle whispers cast over the measured language of the drum. Breaking away from the musing themes of the opening songs we find an ecstatic ritual in "Tanz der Korperlinge" and "Journey to Middle Earth", two distinct varieties but both of the same perennial species. Inky ether seeps back in through the second half of the album with a peak of frenzied tumbling toms and incongruous textures hovering above in the Manos Tsangaris' collaboration "Crying Tafel" and his re-imagining of Tullio De Piscopo's unhinged drum excursion "Fastness". The closing exemplifies the edit/remix/original ethos proposed for this work with Lions Drums drawing from tapes and original material of electronic pioneers Suzanne Ciani and Roberto Musci. Drawing from unreleased music and song sketches by the original artists as well as field recordings from travels & studio sessions made by Roberto Musci & Manos Tsangaris in the 80's and early 90's he constructs a side winding journey through playful textures and ethereal moods.

Review: To regard Lord of the Isles as merely a producer of contemporary disco would be doing him a great disservice, as those who indulged in the smattering of sold out releases on Unthank, Ene, Adult Contemporary and Tusk Wax would attest. Arising on Cocktail D'Amour for the Berlin label's fourth release, his variety of production is in abundance across these four tracks. Piano laden ambience fills the strains of the opening track "I Remember", its pensive tonalities offering a moment of delicate calm before proceedings veer into the horizon setting balearic house of "Let Me Feel This Way." A real highlight here, it's the way endless streams of sonic texture arrive and are cast off that ensures your mind is constantly captivated as the thick drums drive things forward. The tempo is pushed further forwards, as is the stylistic envelope, on the subsequent "Don't Reach" which is rightfully compared to Carl Craig by the label, though again it's the ever spiralling sonic elements that hypnotise. "Searching" ends this release in new territory, veering into the kind of emotion laden electronic music that might feature on a Kompakt Pop Ambient compilation.

Review: Since contributing to the CockTail d’Amore 5 years Compilation, Andrew Cole aka Luv*Jam has been invited few times to rock the monthly party with his deeply blissful and futuristic sounds. This is his first 12” for the Berlin imprint.
The title track takes over the A side. Nip To Space is an abstract hypnotic slice of techno. Every frequency of the 4/4 groove is stretched to the max, and it’s built to enhance the dance floor with masterful soundscaping. On the flip Forest of Nip is a raw tune, made by unexpected elements disappearing and re-appearing vibrantly, climaxing in a maze of fluffy acid synths.
With Flip To The Flop the alchemist of sound design explores breakbeat of the finest UK tradition that evolves unexpectedly in a cosmically distorted afterhours delight. LUV*JAM’s psychedelic perspective of sound is at its best in this EP, coupled with his unique mastery of frequency manipulation.

Review: This promising Israeli talent delivers two slow burning tracks oozing with eastern influence and informed by the modern sounds of dance. Part of the 84% Creativity crew, Naduve presents his second release with Cocktail d'Amore in the form of a two track EP which revels in it's dark and seductive energy. "No Good News" builds over it's 7-minute run layering mystic vocal synths and coupling them with splashing hats and tight shakers to give just enough beat driven energy to keep a crowd to attention. The flying guitars and staccato synths of "A Trip In Tel Aviv" slither over half beat percussive structures to give this track a sinister feel ideal for late, late, late nights. Wunderkind Man Power drops a tab on "A Trip..." giving it a fresh take perfect for psychedelically inclined moments.

Review: Germany's always tasteful and boundary nudging Cocktail D'Amore has another irresistible offering for us here. This time it's Naduve at the controls after outings on the likes of Motrodiscs, Calypso and Les Disques De La Mort in recent years. 'Echo Wave Bay' opens with a tense siren that rises and falls but keeps you thoroughly on edge. 'Hypogeum' then drops into deep house territory but riddled with detuned synths and pixelated pads that glow bright. 'FX Jungle' (feat Stephan Bazbaz) is a tropical and tribal cut with a humid feel and unrelenting bas synth and on 'Thursday Gem' the lo-fi, rough edged analogue drums are offset but more sleek, polished metal percussion and synths.

Review: Israeli-born Berlin based producer and DJ Omer debuts his first release on Cocktail d'Amore with two offerings of celestial house. The title cut blends the sounds of the east with an immediately seductive atmosphere of bright melodies leaving the listener plenty of room to be transfixed through it's entirety. "Dust" dives deeper to reveal a more melancholic mood built on a symphony of lush pads and swirling metallic percussion. On remix duties are the wonderfully quirky Estonian duo Ajukaja & Andrevski who deliver an oddball re-imagining which sends the original into outer space as it gently builds to sparkling fervor only heard on the outskirts of galaxies. Rounding out the release is Man Power with an acid tinged burner which explodes into en excitement of live percussion and pads leaving any dance floor in complete ecstasy.

Review: Having already dazzled with her initial appearances on ESP Institute and Born Free, Japanese artist Moko Shibata continues to flourish as a producer with this utterly essential EP on Cocktail D'Amore. As with her previous releases, the mood is one of flamboyance and inventive melodies throughout, not least on the mutant disco celebration of "Heart". There is still some tougher fare to enjoy as well, with "Hole" proving to be particularly grubby, but overall there is a distinct sense that Shibata was reaching for a more disco influenced sound on this record, but it's far from your average slice of re-edited nonsense.

Review: Pushing Movies is a collaborative project from Jeffrey Sire and Dimitri SoEmotional that celebrates the vintage tones of Italo disco, synth pop and all things slick and 80s. "Thinking About You" does indeed sound like it could have been made 30 years ago - from the slap bass to the reverse drum fills, plastic FM synth lines and overall aspirational tone, it's the consummate extended 12" mix track. Lauer takes the original and smacks it up sharp with some tougher drums and a greater sense of urgency, and then Fort Romeau takes a subtle approach that keeps much of the original spirit of the track intact while honing the edges for maximum club play and using some cosmic synth flourishes to devastating effect.

Review: Previously caught unwinding psychotropic deep techno on Ethereal Sound, Modernista and more, Yuri Shulgin now comes to Cocktail D'Amore with the kind of discoid acid sound the label loves so dearly. "Animal Planet" is a fine case in point, laying the psychedelic touches on thick and taking a bold approach to composition without losing his grip on the punchy acid bassline. "Boogie Space" is a boxy workout, while "Walking" brings some limber instrumentation into the mix in line with the title track. "Dubby Body" is another off-kilter tool for adventurous DJs, and then "Recordtake (Sktech)" finishes the EP on a weird and wonderful free jazz boogie tip.

Review: Cocktail d'Amore Music returns from a short hiatus with a new release from Russian producer TMO. The three tracks are tied together by a propensity for heavy rhythm construction and distorted acid lines, executed to great effect. Opening with "Last Moment Jam" , a searing main room projectile, TMO presents what is heavily inspired by early Chicago acid track. For those looking for something on the trippier end, "Drums Jam" provides a low bpm hallucination full of delays. Closing is, "Buchla 909 Jam", a 10 minute slow burn exercise in analog fundamentals for late night fantasies.

Review: Well, hold on to your seats because this is a pretty wild surprise by Cocktail d"Amore! The Berlin party, the new hedonic Mecca in the German city, mark their fifth anniversary with this exquisite compilation featuring some of their most beloved household DJs, as well as some high profile contemporaries. Among the throng, we have Lord Of The Isles with "Wilderness Three" - a super deep and super abstract groove barely held together by a flurry of percussion - Dorisburg, Luv Jam, Pan's Heatstick and even Mr.Willie Burns himself under the Black Deer alias! This is a 3 vinyl pack with superb illustrated artwork download code included. What a deal.

Review: Discodromo's CockTail D'Amore label continues to turn out the goods after an especially productive year, rounding things off by reaching out to The Violet Hour for a 12" that should worm its way into a wide variety of party scenarios. "One Morning In The Future" is an emotive slice of synth-led electro that will surely shine through for those who want a romantic start to the night, while "Ultraviolet" sports a throbbing bassline that could easily see its disco tones edged into a more house-oriented set. "Prisoner Of Love" is more lean in terms of arrangement, but the dubby FX processing lends it a psychedelic quality that will go down a treat in the early hours of the dance.