Nov 23 2015

[Audio] Rex The Dog’s ‘You Are A Blade’ EP

We’re big fans of Rex The Dog around these parts. He’s like this nexus point of everything we hold dear; SynthPop, Disco, Electro, Italo, vintage drum machines and analog synths. There’s nothing glossy or overproduced about Rex’s music, this is the raw sound of electronic music. Groove leaden and intricate. Robotic drum machines ticking and undulating modular arpeggios.

Arpeggios that, these days, come from an increasing number of had-made modular components born of the time between 2013’s Do You Feel What Feel?, and Sicko from earlier this year, not being wasted. The more human side of the dup, Jake Williams, having spent 2014 and 2014 taking electronics classes to learn to build rack modules exactly how he wanted them.

Once on the way to building his new colossus Jake and Rex (the canine contingent part of Rex The Dog) returned to releasing, and returned to their original label Kompakt, to drop Sicko on us a few moths ago and are now following that up with another three tracks of organized electronic chaos in the form of the You Are a Blade EP.

The EP’s title track is an atmospheric slice of Sci-Fi Electro. You Are A Blade could easily soundtrack a dystopian future with its; gruelling Techno bassline and array of ethereal lead lines. Sweeping over an old School Electro beat, layers of analog warbling paint a neon soaked picture loaded with mystery and intrigue. But don’t worry, it’s a full on dancefloor beast too, and when it hits it’s peak around the seven minute mark you will be compelled to dance. Musik Hypnotises, the first of the flip-sides is an analog squelching excursion in nostalgic grooves. This is proper Electro, B-Boy style, with added 303-esque riffs. It brings to mind some of the darker Electro and Acid experiments of Juan Atkins. If you like Post-Kraftwerk robot beats and burbling Acid hook then this one is for you. Intoxicating and imposing. The EP completes itself with Iain Bank homage Wasp Factory whose spiky modular synth patterns complement the title perfectly. A powerhouse Techno track with unrelenting layers of intertwining hooks that was no doubt the result of Jake jamming with his modular set-up. You Are A Blade is one for the synth aficionados as well as those who love losing themselves in deep electronic soundscapes on the dancefloor.

♫ Rex The Dog – You Are A Blade (Radio Rip)

Rex The Dog’s You Are A Blade is out now.

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Sep 21 2015

[Audio] Auxiliary Tha Masterfader’s ‘Disco Machine’ Italo reMixes

Back in June the Netherlands finest analog Disco merchant, Boogie DJ and all-round nice, smiley, fella; Auxiliary Tha Masterfader released the single Disco Machine. Disco Machine was his first release via Brixton dancefloor collective Nude Disco label arm. We said “Sounding authentically like an early 80s European dancefloor hit, Disco Machine sets up all the genre’s tropes for Aux to give them his own person spin. Synthesizer gold.” Did you hear that? Synthesizer GOLD!

Aux’s music is for people who love synthesizers, for people who love the history of European dance music; Italo, Boogie, Disco and beyond, and for people who from whom dance music is about more than the drop. It’s music for those souls who can be taken to other planets, losing themselves in the robotic ebb and flow and the dancefloor. Aux is a man with a passionate love of vintage dance music and a hardware studio to be envious of; a killer combination.

This month Nude Disco released a companion to Disco Machine. It’s titled Disco Machine: Italo Edition. That’s pretty straightforward in terms of titling. This new release, as you’d expect unless you were painfully inept, featured four of the modern synthetic Disco scene’s brightest rising stars whipping up some mechanized Italo magic all over (the already quite Italo itself) Disco Machine. The Sanfernando Sound, Italo Brutalo, A Copycat and Rimini Rimmers all deliver pulsating reMixes of the track. Here’s a couple of fresh examples.

Manchester’s dark electronic overlord, The Sanfernando Sound serves up one of his special blends of classic EBM, mid 80s Italo and early Futurist SynthPop. Like that jacket you’re wearing brings out the blur of your eyes, The Sanfernando Sound can bring out the ominous, aggressive side of a track; his reMix is a pounding Italo juggernaut. Built on rock solid beats and factory floor basslines, this reMix strikes a nice balance between industrial Funk and uplifting grace with an airy lead line, accompanying the original’s vocoding, that glides across the mechanized dancefloor backing.

Italo Brutalo’s reMix is, ironically, not as brutal as The San Fernando Sound’s. A shuffling and skippy affair, Brutalo plays with the original’s groove with a syncopated bassline and a bit of a Pet Shop Boys vibe. Intertwining springy and flanged synth bass and choppy arpeggios all come together in a complex mix that presents as a deceptively simple whole. Multiple layers of rippling electronics weave the tapestry of a mid-80s Mediterranean dancefloor smash. This tune almost makes you see in VHS video effects.

♫ Auxiliary Tha Masterfader – Disco Machine (The Sanfernando Sound reMix)

♫ Auxiliary Tha Masterfader – Disco Machine (Italo Brutalo reMix)

Auxiliary Tha Masterfader’s Disco Machine: Italo Edition is out now.

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Sep 7 2015

[Movie] They Call it Acid

We’re not known for writing about films or documentaries, or for writing about Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns; but sometimes something comes along and we feel we just have to let you know so you can go and support it, mainly because we really want it to get funded and finished.

If you are a regular reader of electronic rumors you’ll know that we have a big place in our hearts for Acid House. Having grown up when it exploded in the late 80s, in those exciting times when the music was truly mind-blowing and fresh and when dance music and drugs brought people together in a way that had never been seen before which changed the landscape of culture forever, we’re itching to see They Call It Acid. Documentary maker Gordon Mason has a massive archive of his own footage from the time along with interviews from the movers and shakers who made the scene what it was. Disco may have come from New York, Italo may have come from Europe, House may have come from Chicago and Techno may have come from Detroit; but the UK in the late 80s is where dance music culture was born. When the Acid House invasion started it kinda’ felt like our Punk.

Gordon’s documentary is finished, but he needs money for music clearance, production, distribution etc.. So check out his Indiegogo page and support what should be both an amazing trip down memory lane and a fascinating educational record.

Check out the They Call It Acid Indiegogo page here.

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Sep 3 2015

[Audio] Tove Styrke’s ‘Kiddo’

We may be a little obsessed with this album right now.

We came across Tove Styrke a few weeks ago while browsing the Local paper. Checking, as we tend to do, local gig listings we see Tove Styrke is playing at Start The Bus (a once amazing music venue that has gone somewhat downhill after a failed attempt to go ‘gastro’). The listings include the words ‘Swedish’ and ‘ElectroPop’. We immediately buy tickets. Then we figure we should check out some of Tove’s music. Her just released sophomore album was out first port of call. But before that, some backstory…

Ms. Styrke was runner up on Swedish Pop Idol in 2010 and hastily afterward released her self-titled début, a perfectly enjoyable but slightly bland (although even when bland the Swedish do Pop better than another else) album that Tove herself has since admitted was rushed and that she wasn’t happy with the results (despite going platinum). Fast-forward to 2014, after taking some time out of the limelight Tove returns with the Borderline EP, a preview of the follow-up album to come. It’s was a brash, left-field take on Pop loaded with personality. This wasn’t the work of a post-TV show puppet, this was a self-assured artist grabbing Pop music with both hands and shaking it down.

A year later and this summer Tove released Kiddo, a twelve track musical manifesto that swings between the empowerment of an ex-teen star and outright vitriol against anyone who won’t let her be herself. Tove’s playful and soft vocals comes across as all sweetness and light but with a knife behind her back; and it’s this underlying antagonism amid a sea of perfectly crafted Pop music that gives Kiddo it’s edge. Tove seems to lay out her grievances with the music industry, grievances with anyone who doesn’t like her new music and grievances with anyone who doesn’t understand her new direction and, basically, tells them to fuck off. All to some particularly Scandinavian and eclectic Pop sounds .

Kiddo hits the ground running with opening salvo that kicks off with Ain’t Got No…, a left-field opener that sways to woozy basslines and a juddering beat while Tove croons her policy statement. It’s on Ain’t Got No… that we are introduced to one of the surprising musical themes running throughout the record. Big, dirty, 303 Acid hooks; the album is packed with them. You’ll be settling into a smooth Pop tune and suddenly, from nowhere, this gritty, distorted TB-303 line with inject itself into the track, cutoff and resonance tweaked to the max. It’s one of the many unexpected teats Kiddo has to offer.

Snaren shows off Kiddo’s other musical motif. On more than one occasion Tove weaves a Dancehall flavour into her songs, bringing Dub spaciousness and rolling snares to the mix. Snaren delivers a ballsy party tune with a comfortable Tropical House vibe to the chorus. A vibe that continues into the single Ego, one of the albums more traditional chart friendly moments with it’s big R&B-lite sing-a-long chorus (and , oh look, a burbling Acid line). A mood that is mirrored on the tongue-in-cheek album closer, Brag.

The likes of Samurai Boy and Walk The Line provide typical ScandiPop fare. All crisp synths and thick production while the Dub-Pop of Burn and the majestic anthem of Decay delve deeper into the album’s physiological dark side (and Acid lines. Seriously, they just appear from nowhere!). The height of the Island influence comes on the single Boarderline, a headstrong hymn that mixes aggression and a Dancehall patter with a oddly Folk like elements which contrast nicely with the Pop ballad turned ominous dark SynthPop of Who’s Got News.

Of the album’s other two singles, Number One feels like the earliest track on Kiddo, maybe Tove shedding her former self? while Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You, the records biggest hit, is a crazy, chanted, literal “fuck off” to anyone pretentious to think themselves above Pop music. Possible the most infectious song of the decade.

Sometimes political, sometimes social, always feminist, Kiddo is not just a coming-of-age for Tove Styrke, but the freeing of someone tired of industry manipulation and has zero fuck to give if you like it or not. Which makes for a supremely confident record which is not-at-all hurt by the fact that it is loaded with infectious, expertly crafted, diverse, perfect Pop.

♫ Tove Styrke – Snaren

♫ Tove Styrke – Decay

Tove Styrke’s Kiddo is out now.

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Aug 3 2015

[Audio] Alixander III And Marsupials’ ‘Broken Promises’

Having spilt up from Azari & III, III of Azari & III, know to you sir as Alixander III, is serving up a nice line in deep and acidic classic House. Returning to the Toy Tonics label he’s about to release a collaborative EP titled Heavy Friends EP II. The first track to break ground from the forthoming release is Broken Promises. The tune features work from Italian fellow House heads Marsupials and although the EP is said to be inspired by the early Techno sounds of Detroit, we can hear a lot of Chicago in there too.

Broken Promises is deep and dark, but with a solid groove, like all good Detroit Techno should be. A six minute beast that counters undulating Techno beats with Warehouse Acid and Disco strings. Dropping those Disco loops into a bubbling Acid track gives it a nice little twist while all manner of intoxicating 303 hooks, House organ and filtered arpeggios dance around the track. Set to a solid mix of 909 kicks and 808 purcussion, Broken Promises is a heady floorfiller for late night underground parties.

♫ Alixander III And Marsupials – Broken Promises

Alixander III’s Heavy Friends EP II is released 14th September.

Check out more from Alixander III on SoundCloud.

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Aug 3 2015

[Audio] Auxiliary Tha Masterfader’s ‘Dark Side Of Disco’ (+ Dubka reMix)

Hot on the heels of his last release, Disco Machine, Dutch analog Disco factory Auxiliary Tha Masterfader has just released his latest. Titled Dark Side Of Disco (judging by Aux’s past efforts and that title I’m sure you know what to expect!) the single is out now in Nein Records and features reMixes from Martin Dubka, Tronik Youth and Horse Meat Disco’s DJ Severino. Aux’s last release was a Cosmic fuelled slab of future Disco, but on this record he inject a sinister vibe into his synthesizer grooves. Check it out.

Six minutes of impending dancefloor doom. That’s what you get with Dark Side Of Disco. An Acid injected slab of Italo Disco that works the murmuring apreggios and sustained synth string to their creepy fullest. Building dancefloor tension with snapping 808 snares and a pulsating bassline until the break, Aux relieves some of the nervousness as the track launces back in with majestic leads to fill your head. Dubka goes full-on Acid Techno with his reMix. A track that could easily find it’s place on late 90s/early 2000’s dancefloors in dodgy London warehouses as Acid Techno took over the free party scene. An unrelenting juggernaut of squealing Acid riffs and thunderous drums all wrapped up in a mind-bending hypnotic groove. This is one to truly hammer yourself on the dancefloor to and just get lost.

♫ Auxiliary Tha Masterfader – Dark Side Of Disco

♫ Auxiliary Tha Masterfader – Dark Side Of Disco (Dubka reMix)

Auxiliary Tha Masterfader’s Dark Side Of Disco is out now

Buy Auxiliary Tha Masterfader’s music from:

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Aug 3 2015

[Audio] Earl Grey’s ‘Arabian Nights’

We’re a bit late to posting about this one; although it’s been in our headphones for a while now we appear to have accidently had a little hiatus. Our weeks have been crammed with paid work stuff and our weekends full of fun adventures so the poor old ‘zine has been a little neglected. No matter though, we’ve never been that bothered about being the first to post about something (who remembers the days before Hype Machine when no-one cared about being ‘first’ and people just wrote about music they felt passionately about? Good times!). So anyway, here we are with the new(est) release from Danny Ashenden A.K.A. Earl Grey. Arabian Nights is the title track from his new(est) EP and takes us further down this one time Cosmic Disco don, as part of The C90s, ‘s journey into the realms of the dark and twisted.

With each release and reMix from Earl Grey we’ve seen him delve deeper into the world of stripped down, analog grooves. His initial releases giving a nod to his Cosmic Disco roots but opening up a moody Italo sound pallet, it was inevitable that he would end up with both feet firmly planted in the world of strobe-lit Acid. Now, we don’t pretend to hid out love of Acid House, a burbling 303 gets us going (we’re still waiting for Acid Disco to properly become a ‘thing’) so the Earl’s hypnotic synths are right up our street. Arabian Nights plays around with the forms a little, layering 303 lines for added Funk value and mixing up a little old school Electro and Detroit Techno into the mix Juan Atkins style. As ominous as it is groove, Arabian Nights brings the late night, exotic, mysterious, synthetic vibes hard.

♫ Earl Grey – Arabian Nights

Earl Grey’s Arabian Nights is out now.

Buy Earl Grey’s music from:

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Jun 23 2015

[Audio] Ryan Riot & Ay Wing’s ‘Broken Doll’ (+ Punks Jump Up reMix)

One of Switzerland’s finest Nu-Disco and House export, Ryan Riot, is set to release his newest single next month via Y Este Finde Qué’s imprint. The release sees him teaming up with Ay Wing for Broken Doll which is due out at the end of July. Not only is it a smooth as hell slice of warm House but it comes backed with a killer reMix from London’s Punks Jump Up to boot!

Deftly integrating vintage Disco mirrorball shimmer into a big Piano House track, Ryan Riot and Ay Wing serve up a soft focus floorfiller. Ryan pulls out his whole arsenal here, from the Warehouse beats to the Topical keys everything is placed for the maximum dancefloor potential. The big hooks and big, yet slightly quirky, diva vocals are present and correct here and keep the track’s energy levels high. For their reMix, Punks Jump Up strip back the groove and morph it into a late-night Acid-ish jam that is vintage sounding Chicago gold, practically a strobe light made audio. Check out those deep, warbling synths; love it!

♫ Ryan Riot & Ay Wing – Broken Doll

♫ Ryan Riot & Ay Wing – Broken Doll (Punks Jump Up reMix)

Ryan Riot & Ay Wing’s Broken Doll is released 23th July.

Buy Ryan Riot’s music from:

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May 6 2015

[Video] PJU & Earl Grey’s ‘Call Me’

The amazing collaboration between Punks Jump Up and Earl Grey, Call Me Up, a retro slice of brilliant bassline House, have gone and got itself a fresh new music video. Peep this.

The clip was directed by STVN/STRM and has got that Punks Jump Up style to it with crazy, vintage looking animations.

PJU & Earl Grey’s Call Me Up is out now.

Buy PJU & Earl Grey’s music from:

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Mar 19 2015

[Video] Rex The Dog’s ‘Sicko’

Rex The Dog’s new single, Sicko, finally turned up on 12”. So we’re happy. The single is out now on Kompakt and should be a must listen for anyone who a fan of synthesizer music.

Rex and Jake have put together this awesome video for the track. Part music clip, part live studio performance and part demonstration of Jake’s DIY RTD-001 modular synth that Sicko is played on; it’s all synth porn.