Innervisions Germany レコード& CD

Review: Who doesn't love a picture disc? Sure, they might be a nostalgic hit of old school teenage record collecting joy but why not. This one from Laser Media is a Depeche Mode 7" featuring a pair of the moody miserablists' darker cuts. 'The Sweetest Condition' has snarling, dark vocals of noir beats and spangled guitar lines that make for emo-electronica par excellence. On the flip is the all too short 'It Doesn't Matter Two,' a song from the 1986 album Black Celebration that sounds like a live version here with crowds whoops coming next to the melancholic keys and pained, tortured vocals.

Review: Innervisions continue their exploration of house music's myriad sub-genres with this EP from Berlin-based Ede. The title of the record is instructive, as this breakthrough artist from the label's Secret Weapons series seeks to fuse the unmistakable sound of Detroit with an unabashed pop streak. The vocals are front and centre on these tracks, and they sound absolutely huge when strapped to a stadium-sized remix of 'Do My Thing' from the mighty Dixon on the A1. 'Your Love', 'When You Need It' and 'On My Mind' are equally powerful though, charged with those star-scraping synth lines which make Detroit techno such an eternally cherished sound.

Review: Nine years after they dropped one of their most well-known and pivotal EPs, Frankey & Sandrino reissue it on the mighty Innervisions. Their Acamar EP arrived in 2015 and really took the pair behind it up a level with its meticulously crafted house sounds, serene melodies and general sense of electronic elegance. It perfectly defined the Innervisions sound back then and still very much aligns with it now. 'Acamar' is a free-roaming cut for blissed-out 5am listening and tranced-out dancefloors. 'Lukida' has a slightly more whimsical feel and elastic bassline. This version comes on nice orange vinyl.

Review: A permanent fixture of Dixon' and Ame' sets, Tel Aviv-born producer Tal Fussman marks the third episode of our 'Quantum Spits' series, which focuses on a Detroit-ish minimalism. 'Children of 95' resembles the turning of past and future, cleverly woven into a package of raw sounding club tracks inspired by influential releases from Detroit legends like Robert Hood, his outstanding family project Floorplan or the sub-aquatic basslines productions by Derrick May. Fussman incorporates elements of soul and funk, infusing warmth and emotion into an unpolished sound-universe, creating a unique sonic texture based on minimalism and space. With a sense of exploration in sound design, Fussman takes classic elements and transforms them into his own vision of house music, unique to its creator.

Review: Innervisions has always dealt in a sophisticated sound - slow-burning grooves, classy melodies unhurried moods that take time to have their effect but really make an indelible impression when they do. This tidy new EP from Skatman is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy - opener 'Oldskool' rides screen synths and undulating serums, eventually working you into a trance with its vocal mutterings and cosmic rays. 'What You Gonna Do' is more lively, but still the vast kick drums land at their own un-rushed pace. 'Optical Illusion' echoes early Detroit techno soul with its smart synths smears and a couple of raw jackers then closes out the flip side.

Review: Innervisions is one of those house labels that has become synonymies with a certain lifestyle. It has a distinctive sound - emotional, synth-laced house, always with an artful edge. It always offers up well-crafted sounds, never more so than in its on going Secret Weapons series. This 16th volume is a bumper collection across four slabs of wax that takes in the deep, dramatic, rising tension of Ivory's 'Could You Feel The Love?', the more grizzled broken beats of David Kochs & John Falke and Hardt Antoine's slow burning synth house epic 'Inside Your Mind' as well as much more besides.