[Raster-Noton] Is Raster-Noton loosening up? 2007 foreshadowed their potential foray into techno with Signal’s Robotron and Frank Bretschneider’s Rhythm. The dream was realized last year with Byetone’s Death of a Typographer and “Plastic Star” 12″, in addition to the Gas book/CD. These motley releases are something of a face lift for a label heralded for […]
album
Intrusion, The Seduction of Silence
March 16, 2009 – 8:30 PM
Certain schools of thought believe the highest achievements of dub techno have been long ago attained by the likes of Maurizio and his Basic Channel/Chain Reaction cohorts. However there is no denying the stunning addendums from the likes of Quantec, Rod Modell and Stephen Hitchell et al. have furthered the legacy of the deep, dubby sound. Hitchell has been carving out a name for himself since the early days of the millennium with his stunning twelves and EPs under various guises and now marks his debut foray into the full length album stakes as Intrusion.
Various Artists, Round Black Ghosts 2
March 4, 2009 – 8:24 PM
[~scape] While compilations by Soul Jazz and Skream have highlighted the rude bwoy and raved up ends of the dubstep oeuvre respectively, the Round Black Ghosts compilations have become the touchstone of the more subtle, techno influenced fare. Any discerning fan of the artists and the sound on display here will most likely already have […]
Studio 1, Studio Eins
February 10, 2009 – 8:02 PM
[Studio 1] From his groundbreaking ambient work as Gas to his acid-fueled excursions as Mike Ink, to his foundation of the pioneering Kompakt empire, Cologne’s Wolfgang Voigt has had an especially active hand in the development of electronic dance music sounds in the last decade and a half. For all the weight the above carries, […]
Pom Pom, CD 001
February 4, 2009 – 9:56 PM
[Pom Pom] Those hoping the first CD release from the ultra mysterious Pom Pom imprint would provide hints as to the identity of the artist behind the long-running series will be sorely disappointed: Following the theme of all-black vinyl releases, the CD is, of course, totally black all around, including both sides of the disc […]
Starkey, Ephemeral Exhibits
February 2, 2009 – 11:53 PM
[Planet Mu] In this era of laptop production and file sharing, a genre that once thrived on limited white labels and expensive dubplates was bound to be pushed forward by outsiders. Once only heard in a few south London clubs and on pirate radio, dubstep is now a global phenomenon. You can thank the Internet […]
Moody, Det.riot ’67
January 26, 2009 – 10:19 PM
[KDJ] Kenny Dixon Jr., or Moodymann, has earned his capital A Detroit Auteur title. He’s been essential to the scene and sound for the past fifteen years. If deep-house fetish was the biggest meme of European techno in 2008, then it was appropriate that Moodymann exported his own crackle, providing necessary remixes for Jose James […]
DJ Sprinkles, Midtown 120 Blues
December 10, 2008 – 8:24 PM
[Mule Musiq] Like disco before it, house music was born in queer club culture, one of the few places its artists and patrons — mostly gay minority men — could be themselves without fear of reprisal. And also like disco, house was co-opted by ever larger audiences, shedding its ethnicity and sexuality along the way. […]
Sons Of The Dragon, Sons Of The Dragon
December 8, 2008 – 11:15 PM
Chat-room scuttlebutt has swirled around the true identities (and merits) of the Sons Of The Dragon, the artists behind this limited-edition white double-12″ of deep Detroit-flavored techno.
Stefan Goldmann, The Transitory State
November 26, 2008 – 1:34 AM
[Macro] With a resume including releases on Perlon, Classic, Ovum, Innervisons, and his own Macro imprint, as well as a reputation for being a clutch DJ, Stefan Goldmann is one of the more pedigreed producers on the scene. Goldmann may be well-respected and popular with listening audiences and other DJs alike, but he hasn’t reached […]
Ezekiel Honig, Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band
November 18, 2008 – 11:12 PM
[Anticipate Recordings] New Yorker Ezekiel Honig’s ambient music does what the genre promises but often fails to deliver: through careful arrangement of and attention to sonorous material, it creates an environment that’s quietly seductive and almost supine. Its attention to texture is finely detailed, but it’s not showy about its exacting nature. Rather, on Surfaces […]
Recloose, Perfect Timing
November 10, 2008 – 8:55 PM
[Sonar Kollektiv] Matthew Chicoine, aka Recloose, would be hard enough to pin down even if he hadn’t recently upped sticks and moved to a beautiful coastal hamlet in New Zealand. His famed “demo-on-rye” entry into the world of dance music certainly would have put him on the map even if he made average, interchangeable music. […]
Lindstrøm, Where You Go I Go Too
October 23, 2008 – 7:12 PM
[Smalltown Supersound] Hans-Peter Lindstrøm can do wrong when he puts his mind to it. That was my second thought when I heard about his new album, Where You Go I Go Too and its epic 29-minute title track. My first reaction, like most people, was either “perfect” or “how perfect,” depending on how glib I […]
Headhunter, Nomad
October 21, 2008 – 8:30 PM
[Tempa] I have to admit that it took me a while to warm to dubstep. The spare hypnotics of Shackleton and the inimitable, tinder dry soundscapes sculpted by Burial immediately appealed but then their interpretations on the medium are truly unique. It wasn’t until hearing the likes of TRG and Martyn that I opened up […]
Dave Aju, Open Wide
October 15, 2008 – 8:59 PM
[Circus Company] San Francisco sound merchant Dave Aju has had the world waiting for Open Wide since his summertime smash “Crazy Place” was issued as a taster a few months back. Aju has always blended his house/techno with a smattering of outside influences, from funk to jazz and all points in between, and those styles […]
Sten, The Essence
October 7, 2008 – 8:55 PM
[Dial] Dial co-founder Peter M. Karsten is better known under his more prolific Lawrence alias, but his recordings as Sten are just as worthy of attention. His second full-length album, The Essence, compiles (on the CD version, at least; the LP version varies slightly) three previous singles (including his most recent, “Way To The Stars” […]
Mike Shannon, Memory Tree
September 30, 2008 – 7:18 PM
[Plus 8 Records] While it’s higher profile offshoot label M_nus continues to tread water and slowly transform into some sort of sci-fi cartoon series, Richie Hawtin’s original Plus 8 imprint keeps on putting out quality techno releases with a lot less frequency but a much higher level of quality across the board. Veteran Canadian label-skipper […]
Model 500, Starlight
September 2, 2008 – 7:02 PM
[echospace [detroit]] It made perfect sense for echospace [detroit] to issue new remixes of Model 500’s immortal “Starlight” back in the summer of 2007. After all, Juan Atkins’ and Mortiz von Oswald’s 1995 original is a clear touchstone for the echospace sound, fusing the dubbed-out analog washes of Berlin’s Basic Channel camp with the rhythmic […]
Toby Tobias, Space Shuffle
July 27, 2008 – 9:58 PM
[REKIDS] Londoner Toby Tobias has been getting his disco on for a long time: his edits have been showing up on labels like Bear Funk for years. And Space Shuffle, his debut album, sure feels like the fruition of long and diligent labor. Most of the album is not dance floor material per se, but […]
The Mole, As High As the Sky
July 24, 2008 – 8:49 PM
[Wagon Repair] The adjective I keep reaching for when describing The Mole’s debut album, As High as the Sky, is “minimal,” even though I feel guilty of a misnomer. There’s nothing sparse about it; and even though the changes are slight, there is definite forward movement coursing through many of its 11 filled out tracks. […]