Mar 7 2016

[Audio] BeatLoaf’s ‘Texas Benchmark’

Y’know what we love about BeatLoaf? The Detroit based producer isn’t scared of making music. The man has got his groove, and it’s a groove seeped in the history of dance music, but he’s not afraid to experiment either, to think outside the musical box. While his tracks are unequivocally House floorfillers, he spices them up with hints of Detroit Techno, Electro, PowerNoise, Berlin sounds and SynthPop; all the time keeping things funky.

BeatLoaf has released a string of fresh single over the past few years, each one bringing new surprises to his robotic dancefloor sound, not least with last years mechanical monster Romantic, and this year he releases his latest robust beats in the forms of the intriguingly named Texas Benchmark; due out tomorrow.

Texas Benchmark bristles with shuffling electronic percussion and in terms of overall tone feels very much like a spiritual sibling to Romantic. Those slowly building beats and the occasional snatched of hollow synth bass before the riff fully drops are reminiscent of the tension that Romantic built. Texas Benchmark, however, has an almost playful, magical quality provided by effervescent and sparkling melodies that intertwine themselves throughout the track.

These shimmering and intoxicating hooks dance around your brain, taking control of the track. Weaving in and out of this techy House jam giving it a kinetic sense of narrative. Fat beats to take you on a journey. Toy-town synths telling the story.

Equally fit for headphones or dancefloor, Texas Benchmark is one to forget the world for seven minutes and let BeatLoaf do the driving.

The single is released 8th March via trill.wav

♫ BeatLoaf – Texas Benchmark

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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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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

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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.

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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.

Rex The Dog’s Sicko is out now.

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Feb 25 2015

[Audio] Rex The Dog’s ‘Sicko’

Jake and Rex are back in the game and going home. Their new single sees Rex The Dog returning to their original home, German Techno label Kompakt. Easily one of the finest producers out there, Jake Williams and his four legged friend combines his love of 80s SynthPop with analog Disco grooves and twisted DIY Techno to create a sound unlike any other. This uniqueness will only be enhanced by Jake spending the last couple of years learning how to build synths. Sicko was composed on this home-made equipment, check it out.

Sicko is a spacious tune, but the stripped down elements it works with are used to their fullest to deliver a rich and full sound. Innovative arpeggiated rhythmic modulated voice sampling provides a unique and compelling core for the track; which then accessories with vintage Electro beats and Techno effects. This is the space that Rex works best in, taking eclectic instrumentation and turning into something effortlessly funky. Over it’s six minute length Sicko just keeps delivering the surprises, so dive on in. Fire up the strobes lights and raise the dog with laser eyes, Rex is back to wreck shop.

♫ Rex The Dog – Sicko

Rex The Dog’s Sicko is released 2nd March on Kompakt. Pre-order the 12” here, we have!

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Nov 18 2014

[Audio] Earl Grey reMixes Tunnel Signs’ ‘Traxworks’

Here’s the latest slice of synthesizer goodness from The C90s’ Danny Ashenden in his Earl Grey guise. It;’s for Australian producer Tunnel Signs who’s teamed up with the half of Act Yo Age and awfully named Jerk Boy to release Traxworks, a pretty slick and rumbling Techno track that Earl Grey lifts into space-age House territory.

Earl Grey’s take on the tune is a glorious burbling House track that leans heavily both on Acid and Cosmic Disco with a sweet does of Bleep House thrown in for good measure (and seeing as Bleep House is one of our favourite forms of House music, that seriously endears the track to us). Danny keeps the track spacious and atmospheric, with layers of Sci-Fi soundscaping, but never looses sight of that tight tight warehouse vibe; delivering an out-of-body dancefloor experience.

♫ Tunnel Signs & Jerk Boy – Traxworks (Earl Grey ‘Tunnel Of Love’ reMix)

Tunnel Signs & Jerk Boy’s Traxwork is out 26th November.

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Sep 1 2014

[Audio] Ali Jamieson reMixes Christianoshi’s ‘Fake Blood’

London SynthPopper Christianoshi’s Trademark produced track Fake Blood first graced these pages a couple of years ago, and like his other tune, Trust, has got itself a re-release. Except this time he’s enlisted Disco renaissance man and political satirist Ali Jamieson to drag the track a couple of years into the present. Out money is on I Feel Sick being the next Christianoshi release, then he’ll be disappearing for a couple of years to write three new tunes.

Ali get’s his House groove on with this new one; in fact, at times the track veers into the realms of (dare we say it) Techno and even EBM. Amid all the Germanic arpeggios and chopped up vocals it’s reassuring that the tracks rests on a skippy House beat to keep you moving. Layered with a nice line in 90s space-y pads; a Dub version of the tune could nicely fit along side the likes of Orbital in that kind of early-to-mid 90s tough-but-ambient era of dance music. It’s a good job then, that a sweet Dub version of the reMix is also available for your downloading and dancing pleasure.

♫ Christianoshi – Fake Blood (Ali Jamieson reMix)

♫ Christianoshi – Fake Blood (Ali Jamieson Dub reMix)

Christianoshi’s Fake Blood is out now.

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May 2 2014

[Audio] Kosheen DJs’ ‘Take Me’

Released this week is the new EP from Bristol legends Kosheen darker, more dancefloor oriented, wing Kosheen DJs. Three tracks of pounding and unrelenting electronic groove that is highlighted by the EP’s lead track Take Me. Strap in for some bass heavy vibes.

Drawing as much from their Drum & Bass roots as they do hypnotic Deep House, Kosheen DJs Mark and Darren deliver a track that is involving and intoxicating. Rolling on low, pulsating bass grumbles the tune offers up a pallet of House stabs, 70s Spy Thriller notes and echoing vocal snatches that bob and weave around the relentless bass and kick groove like a lifeboat lost at sea. A full-on tune to loose yourself in on the dancefloor.