Techno Новости

A testament to the growth of Adam Beyer’s scene-leading label, Drumcode annual A-Sides Vol.8 is the brand’s biggest yet.

The 25-track strong compilation, split across 7 EPs, features standout cuts Beyer has received over the last 12 months, but been unable to find room for in Drumcode’s regular release schedule, such is the volume and high standard of music that’s submitted.

The final part sees the beloved Alan Fitzpatrick returns to the fold with the searing ‘Heiße Rakete’ and Ilija Djokovic, who delivers a shimmering highlight with ‘Aura’, a particular favourite of Beyer’s over the last year. Shelley Johannson then closes out proceedings in style with a fittingly dynamic debut on Drumcode in the form of ‘Raze’.

The highlight-rich compilation also includes Jamie Jones & Darius Syrossian’s buzzy Drumcode debut ‘The Grid’, Nicole Moudaber’s first DC release in 5 years with the mesmerizing ‘This Is Us’, Will Clarke’s bass-drenched re-work of Adam Beyer & Bart Skils ‘Your Mind’ and Joey Beltram’s first Drumcode release in 11 years with the retro-tinged ‘Can You Feel It’.

The exciting Hyperloop project links up with Upercent for the slinky loop-driven ‘Rouge’, alongside label mainstays Layton Giordani, who drops the stirring chord-driven ‘Chrome’ and Wehbba with ‘Mantra’, combining techno classicism with future-focused groove.

There’s a troupe of debutants donning the Drumcode jersey for the first time, including BEC, Avision, Zimmz, Woo York and SAMA (in a terrific collaboration with Secret Cinema). Raxon also debuts on the label after a couple of quality additions to the Truesoul back catalogue.

Exciting young guns Weska and Juliet Fox bring heat to the compilation, while Veerus and Timmo follow up strong DC releases with a repeat dose. Elsewhere faithful contributors Ramon Tapia, Jay Lumen, Luca Agnelli, Marco Bailey and Mark Reeve craft powerful dancefloor weapons.

The next reference of INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS, comes again in V.A. format, a series of compilations under the name ANTIKHRIST VISIONS, which includes already consolidated artists of the scene, together with other more noble artists.

This new delivery, continues faithful to its spirit, and comes loaded with six tracks, full of darkness and forcefulness, which undoubtedly will shatter the dance floor of any club.

Rhythms loaded with broken bases, strong basses, acid lines and devilish atmospheres that invite imnotism. A balanced mix with styles ranging from Electro Techno, or, Industrial Techno to EBM passing the Electro.

In this occasion, all presented in a Limited Edition 12″ Vinyl 180gm

Union Trance Mission is back with its brand new compilation, gathering some of the most promising artists of the European Trance and Techno scene, such as Belgian artists Jacidorex and Azo, French producer Clair and Berlin based artist Lucinee.

Just like the Seventh Gate, they will be followed by the UTM artists DJ Reiz, Tonni 3000, Red Scan and HyperionORBIT.

A cosmic trip you don't want to miss out!

RECTIFIER003 is the third vinyl release from the Georgian independent collective, Mind Controlled Rectifier. This limited edition of 12'' EP comes with full-sleeve artwork and features tracks by the local producer Zesknel, including a remix by Shit and Shine. Find the digital redeem code inside.

Malka Tuti is proud to present the solo debut EP by mister Andrei Rusu, 
 one half of Khidja.

After a series of stellar remixes in the past year to Cosmo Vitelli (on Im a Cliché), Dadalus & Bikarus, Santaka & Nic Arizona, Rusu is finally ready to present his own original solo materials to the world.


Ahead of a full LP planned on MT for later this year, Rusu is presenting us with 2 fresh new tracks. The A-side is a 120bpm dirty and distorted super- trippy banger for the biggest floors and the darkest rooms.

On the B-side Rusu collaborates with an artist known to the followers of the label - Decha, who contributes her signature expressive vocals on this half time industrial dub track. This time however, the vocals run through the hands of Rusu who soaks them with distortion and even more punk attitude, almost echoing the energies of the late Genesis P-Orridge.

The release includes 2 remixes by a couple of master remixers who also happen to be part of our extended family. 


Remixing the title track, and off the success of his 2 incredible albums
released on 2023 (Music From Memory & Offen), Philipp Otterbach supplies a remix for the books, channeling the original track’s intensity through oceans of reverb, whimsical samples and addictive trippy rhythms.
For the Hedesch Remix we’ve asked one of our favourite remixers out there aka Black Merlin to contribute his cut and boy he didn’t disappoint (does he ever?)


Black Merlin supplied us with a long and addictive psychedelic synthetic and very dubby journey for the b-side.

Minimalism, Simplicity and Functionality.

Inspired by Bauhaus, created for music.

- red marbled vinyl -

Swim is super happy to welcome their first 12” record into the world, and Mark Lando is up for his second release! The first side is a body affair, with acid-tinged techno dominating both cuts. Formation is a fun, muscular take on the format, while Scope zones in on his industrial forays. The other side gives time to heady, joyous gear, sporting two tracks spreading far in style and tempo. The title track is nimble and fast on its feet, a rhythmic workout indebted to bass music as much as to new age experiments. Rounding things out, In This Light harks back to the heydays of atmospheric trance excursions, leaving in its wake a warm note of care.

Tauceti joins non series with an excellent, deep, atmospheric EP - incl. also great Valentino Mora Remix!

Following the release of Map.ache’s hypnotic single IZA, CircoLoco Records welcomes the Giegling collective for the hotly anticipated “ANYWAY” EP.

Launching exclusively on vinyl for a limited time, the five-track EP showcases the group’s sophistication and forward-thinking approach to underground dance music, with entries from Giegling artists The Ghostbusters, Edward, Leafar Legov, Adi, and Map.ache.

New label curated by Jorge Escribano. Various artists from past and present, selecting tracks from the 90s and 2000,
a mix between electro techno disco.

A1 Dondolo - Les Evanouisseurs
Detroit electro-disco at its finest! Dondolo is the perfect example of the transition that occurred in the early 2000's in
the French scene.
Take an ’80s-style 4/4 beat, add pads and strings, and a bass that bubbles throughout! A certain ear worm that
teases the emotions of end-of-the-night house music.

A2 King Bob - Clean
If you love deep sounds – then you are in the right place. With an emotional spoken-word vocal breathing life in to the
strong hypnotic structures, melancholic synth melodies, and an unforgivable bass. The mysterious King Bob serving
up a slick encounter with "Clean".

B1 Mark Du Mosh - Flyers
Take a pinch of Italian disco, add some early-house drum programming and a shuffling acid bass, and you’ve got the
perfect recipe of a mid-evening banger. Gorgeous synth melodies created by the respected Dutch artist Mark Du
Mosh in 1999.

B2 Five O´clock Traffic - Ergot (Extended Version )
The perfect soundtrack to the best ’80s crime film you have never seen. Five O'Clock Traffic comes with a new
version of an old track released only on cassette. Dark and brooding with a sense of mystery and intrigue, leading
you down a distinctive path of curiosity.

ENJOY mixing/listening to this music...

Massive project to give a second life to the Zenith projects on IST !

Original re-designed sleeve
and label. (with inners).

Re-mastered by Stefan ZMK.

Reissue of this seminal club classics from 1994.

“The House Of House” amidst the deep rumbling basslines and driving beats, a raspy vocal proclaims those iconic lyrics that have resonated through many tracks since. Rave style synths are morphed into a hypnotic, instantly recognizable hook alongside an infectious cascading arpeggio note. “Let There Be House” is hard trance with scathing synths, hypnotic alarms and powered by a pumping drum section. Another contributor to the sound of a generation that still works the floors today

Portland based act Dancing Plague has been a steady presence in the dark/cold electronic music scene for quite a few years now.

Since 2016 Conor Knowles’ solo project has been putting out one constant flow of independent releases on multiple formats such as vinyl LPs, EPs, tapes and CDs, creating one sonic palette rich with Ebm, goth, industrial and synth influences.

On their 5th studio album, Dancing Plague continues to flesh out and perfect their unique brand of crushing darkwave.

Elogium explores themes of loss, regret, rebirth and growth coupled with throbbing basslines, rave synths, and pounding drums. Knowles balances aggressive waves of electronics with enough pop sensibilities and catchy hooks to be inviting to those new to the genre.

His skills can be clearly appreciated on tracks like the first single Fading Forms which explores the somber feeling of the years passing you by. Knowles’ emotive baritone crooning paints a melancholic picture of the slow fading of time as you feel like you’re fading with it. The words fall like snow onto cold fields of pulsing 80s synths and pounding drum machine rhythms that bring forth nostalgic familiarity but feel fresh at the same time.

Fans of classic icons such as Depeche Mode, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails as well as contemporary torchbearers Cold Cave and Kontravoid do not sleep on this.
Plenty of disturbing beauty to be found in the depths of the underground

Portland based act Dancing Plague has been a steady presence in the dark/cold electronic music scene for quite a few years now.

Since 2016 Conor Knowles’ solo project has been putting out one constant flow of independent releases on multiple formats such as vinyl LPs, EPs, tapes and CDs, creating one sonic palette rich with Ebm, goth, industrial and synth influences.

On their 5th studio album, Dancing Plague continues to flesh out and perfect their unique brand of crushing darkwave.

Elogium explores themes of loss, regret, rebirth and growth coupled with throbbing basslines, rave synths, and pounding drums. Knowles balances aggressive waves of electronics with enough pop sensibilities and catchy hooks to be inviting to those new to the genre.

His skills can be clearly appreciated on tracks like the first single Fading Forms which explores the somber feeling of the years passing you by. Knowles’ emotive baritone crooning paints a melancholic picture of the slow fading of time as you feel like you’re fading with it. The words fall like snow onto cold fields of pulsing 80s synths and pounding drum machine rhythms that bring forth nostalgic familiarity but feel fresh at the same time.

Fans of classic icons such as Depeche Mode, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails as well as contemporary torchbearers Cold Cave and Kontravoid do not sleep on this.
Plenty of disturbing beauty to be found in the depths of the underground

Bleep's, Break's + Art is a new series from Under The Radar and run together by label owner JDSK and artist Dawl. As the name suggest's this series it is all about Bleep's, Break's and Art. It features 4 Tracks on each release and carrying all the Dawl trademarks of dance floor bombs! Each bash comes in releases of 3 and with a unique graffiti artist for each release. For the first bash we have a girl from the south of Sweden in Malmo that goes under the name Bird that started out in the mid 90's doing some Artwork paintings for Harthouse etc. Limited copies..

FBK has been pumping out releases since 1994 as a staple in the midwest. Under aliases The Sleep Engineer (Xplor) and Powerhouse on The Acid Junkies' the Acid Life, he has been a shapeshifter with a steady stream of minimal, pure motorik pulsations that embody that Midwest Freak power. Measured yet transcendently driving - a mind-bending wormhole that weaves dark introspective turns into the unknown, Think For Yourself covers a diaspora of modes for the floor - all while encapsulating the energy of his live sets that we know and love. Topped off with a subterranean remix by undeniable icon Marcel Dettmann - a huge honor to have his name grace this release.

Following on from his standout debut EP with Steel City Dance Discs back in 2021, G-TOWN’s gold-toothed Prince is now set to be crowned with the arrival of Fallen Angel, KETTAMA’s second EP via Steel City Dance Discs. Having gained colossal momentum during the Irishman’s unrelenting touring schedule, the anticipation surrounding this release is palpable, and is now finally imminent.

Off the back of hosting G-TOWN Festival in his hometown of Galway, KETTAMA has now reached a perfect crescendo with Fallen Angel; a potent six-track serving of intricately engineered sounds, as the producer bleeds notes of 90s trance and soul into pulsating, percussion ladened grooves and gruelling bass, resulting in a deeply contagious melting pot of sound.

1997 sets the wheels in motion for this project, as KETTAMA blends a soulful vocal sample with rising chords and an implacable drum pattern: a masterfully coordinated Halance that remains consistent throughout the duration of this EP. Initially released as a single, title track Fallen Angel plays testimony to this remedy, with its delicate vocals and piano accompaniment, which are carefully woven into the fabric alongside a sonorous bassline.

Fly Away XTC is the diamond-plated lead-track from the EP, with anticipation for its release reaching new heights after a successful series of tests on the tour. The track blatantly showcases KETTAMA’s defining characteristics, as the producer bleeds ethereal vocals and masterful percussion into the fold, while the featured G-TOWN remix is driven by a series of piercing rave stabs and gut-hurdling bass.

The otherworldly nature of Fly Away XTC is set to be further echoed on screen too, with a music video directed by Hugh Mulhern, who has previously worked for the likes of Fontaines DC and Hak Baker, set to explore themes of extraterrestrial beings and pagan practices within a rural setting in KETTAMA’s native Ireland.

Having been released as a single two months prior to the full EP, Feeling Emotions ignited the flame for Fallen Angel, ultimately laying the foundations for the eagerly-anticipated project that would follow. The track again reinforces the unfailing relationship between entrancing vocal samples and a boundless drum pattern, something that is then echoed and mastered in the colossal closing track, Found My Angel.

Fallen Angel is a body of work that not only epitomises the ever-evolving nature of KETTAMA’s sound, but also provides us with an insight into the potential trajectory and direction of one of Ireland’s most promising exports. It is an omnipotent powerhouse of sound, a perhaps generation-defining project that is fuelled by nostalgia, and charged by a wildly forward-thinking personality, unveiling something undeniably timeless.

***
Yet I'm glad, somehow,
that I threw my words in the air:
confetti, celebrating nothing.
***

Nina Kraviz released remixes for her "This Time" single by true masters of their craft: Four Tet, Moodymann, Lindstrom, Hieroglyphic Being, Terrence Dixon and Praecox. The release also features an unreleased extended instrumental of the original.

James Ruskin's Blueprint Records welcomes Setaoc Mass to the label's ever-increasing roster of techno artists.

As a DJ and producer, Setaoc Mass is part of a select cut of young artists who are absorbing techno's legacy and carrying the torch into tomorrow. Whilst overseeing his own imprints, SK¦eleven and SKX, his releases push a galvanising brand of techno steeped in a sense of urgency, ever-propulsive with acute detailing and nods to a futuristic space-age. As a selector, the Mancunian's extended DJ sets pull from an expansive spectrum of material both new and old.

Delivering four new techno cuts that form his 'Working Ways EP', it lands on vinyl and digital for release on 27 October.

One of the biggest tracks in Drumcode’s history gets the remix treatment from a rising American producer Charles D.

Adam Beyer & Bart Skils ‘Your Mind’ is a classic of the form, streamed over 38M times and judged by Mixmag as one of the greatest techno tracks of all time. Indeed, every Drumcode fan has a special place in their heart for the anthem from 2018.

Emerging NYC producer/DJ Charles D becomes just the second artist to officially remix the legendary track. His ‘Epic Mix’ is a chugging end-of-night weapon that was first played by Adam Beyer to close out Awakenings at the Gashouder during ADE last year. It further soundtracked events including Movement Detroit, Tomorrowland and EDC.

The vinyl release includes a ‘Acid Mix’, which first got Adam Beyer’s attention when Charles emailed him last summer. The re-rub is a thrilling progressive acid re-interpretation, putting a very fresh spin on the original.

The punk anarchists Any Act return to Tram Planet with a 5-track slaughter, Viebe Po Bratski. Picking up from where they left off with their previous release, Ne Boyat'sya, they draw from the sweatiest corners of the club to deliver an electro EBM beat down. The opening heater 'Gypsy Man' brings other-worldly sounds to a punishing electro breaks hybrid. In case you weren't awake, 'Nahuy' summons the distorted depths of screaming vocals and sub splitting kicks for a wake up call. 'Amo Delphino' raises the stakes with whispering samples and crunching rhythms while the rave punk anthem of 'Mabe' rattles the rafters of the club. The closing 'Amo Delphino' remix by Cardopusher combines the hardest elements of the EP with a KO finish with this EBM killer that can only be pulled off by a producer of this caliber.

Close your eyes and merge into Benedikt Frey’s 'Fastlane'. Imagine sitting in the driver’s seat of a an automobile, one with exceptional horsepower and torque, as you stare out the windshield at the red light, warping in fata-morgana a mile down the road. It’s a straight-away, a black top with two lanes, and against your better judgment you decide to floor the gas. No hesitation in your muscle, your ankle or the ball of your foot, which you now realize is some kind of universal pivot, the first point of contact fusing your body with the will of machine. In this moment you’re in awe that you, a human, an animal, grew from pond scum into something so advanced as to engineer this thing, a mechanical beast capable of overwhelming power and exhilaration. But you also feel a seductive dread, an outside force diverting you from caution toward a dangling carrot of curiosity, asking yourself, ‘How far can I take this thing?’ The dread, now a constant, is numbed, equalized by an adverse intoxicating gratification. You feel both sensations in real time, however, rather than take responsibility for yourself, friends, family and innocent bystanders, you cement your foot to the floor and lean your head back. Noise around you fades to mute. Smell the benzene-scented air, feel the wind on your face, the menacing vibration of the vessel you control beneath you and every grain of asphalt under its tires. This mile has now lasted an eternity and you’ve left your body for some objective view, as if watching climax of a film. Past the point of no return, you embrace abandon and lean into fate. The film becomes slow motion, a crawling pace so mesmerizing you convince yourself of an option to eject yourself from this madness, but as you finally let go of your last morsel of fear, you run the red light head-on into the nucleus of a fantastic glistening sculpture of torn metal, glass, oil, broken dreams and heartache. 'Fastlane' may be just drum machines and synthesizers if you’re timid, but listen harder and know the catastrophic reality of existence, a wreckage so gruesome we dare not rubberneck, but afterall it is our nature to stare.

Jay Lumen's successful Preacher, The Loop and Aura tracks were massive chartbreaker weapons of his Voyager album.
Finally these floorfillers are out on vinyl as well.

The Drumcode, Second State artist and Footwork label head Jay Lumen was playing these bombs all around the world from South America to Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Australia.
The live tests were very helpful to get the final results for a fully gem release.

As Jay explained:
"I'm so proud of this album and happy to see the first edition of my Voyager album selection on vinyl as well.

It was a huge creative process and I'm so happy to hear back the amazing feedbacks. Thanks to all of you!"

10 Years of Dame-Music Vol. 2. To celebrate the 10th birthday of her label, Bloody Mary has prepared a two-part vinyl series, handpicking seven of favourite artists to join her on the label.

Both parts in this series feature label favourites as well as new additions making their debut on the label.

Volume 2 sees label debuts from Lady Starlight, DeFeKT and Schacke. Lady Starlight, a renowned live artist and respected producer, delivers the A1 'c one three', and is joined on the A-side by Cardopusher, who returns to Dame-Music following his collaboration with label boss Bloody Mary on the Conformity Kills EP earlier this year.

The B-side starts with Irish artist DeFeKT and his track 'Sini Star', before Copenhagen’s Schacke closes it out with the hypnotic 'Lowest Of Highs'.

Four hard-hitting techno and acid cuts made for the floor!

Parallel Minds’ fifth label release is a major landmark for the Toronto-based label. Not only is it their first full length LP, it is also the debut album from co-founder Ciel, who is also making her first solo appearance on the label since its inception.

In 2021, spurred on by a productive creative streak and the economic austerity of pandemic lockdowns, the Xi’an-born and Toronto-based DJ Ciel (real name Cindy Li) applied for grant funding from the government of Canada to write her debut album. Self-proclaimed “DJ first, producer second”, Ciel never thought she would have the self-confidence and desire to write an album. It wasn’t until after spending prolonged time away from clubs & festivals whilst dedicating herself to daily sessions in her studio that she gained the motivation and aspiration to make a musical statement that only an album could express.

Since the start of the covid19 outbreak, Ciel, like many other Chinese diaspora people in the West, had felt a great deal of anxiety and pain at the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment and racism in the media — even in her corner of the dance music industry. Tired of expressing her frustrations fruitlessly online, she felt inspired to channel that into her music, to turn something that was filled with hate into a thing of joy and beauty. It was within this context that Homesick began to take shape.

After researching the rich history of Chinese instruments, a concept began to form around the album in which she could marry her love of sampling and analogue instruments. Using the eight types of traditional Chinese instruments (silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd, and hide) as a guideline, Li began writing each track with a focus on one of the eight. She hired traditional Chinese instrumentalists to play the guzheng and the xiao, whilst purchasing and teaching herself the smaller hand drum instruments like the kuaiban (bamboo clappers), and muyu (temple blocks). With the news that she had successfully been granted funding from Canada Arts Council, she wrote, recorded, arranged, and mixed all nine tracks of her album over the first three months of 2022. More than just highlighting Chinese instruments, the music on this album encapsulates so many musical influences from Ciel’s childhood when she began her lifelong love affair with music. True to her style as a DJ, the LP incorporates a diversity of genres she loves, from drum & bass to house, electro to breaks - even downtempo.

What has come out of these sessions is a deeply personal dancefloor record, a true expression of love for Cindy’s culture that came out of a time of relentless chaos, negativity, and uncertainty. Ciel sees her compositions as a distillation of herself — her life experiences, her wide interests and passions, and her often-turbulent emotions. Immersing oneself in the LP feels like listening to the musical confessions of an artist heading towards the peak of their career, who is finally starting to make sense of her artistic identity. What a joy to witness it.
credits

For the 25th release of the series, we welcome two Tripalium Corp regulars, two brigeheads of the french techno scene, two producers who have both released several EPs on the label (but never on our Acid Avengers series) : 14anger and Cuften. From melancolic rave to 90s industrial hardcore, here is a 4-tracks-EP with dissonant acid lines and powerful basses that are gonna kick your ass!

After the release of his critically acclaimed debut album last year, Regal is back on his own imprint Involve Records with reworks of two timeless legendary techno anthems along with the remasters of the originals: Acid War by D.O.M. and Benozal by UMEK.

Regal's rework of the techno classic Acid War by D.O.M. gives the original a twist and perfectly lives up to its name with an anthem-like acid line that blows of the roofs of warehouses it can be played at. Up next is a remake of UMEK's Benozal - a groovy and hypnotic banger perfect for sweaty bunkers. Stay Up Forever hit Acid War opens the back side, an ageless Acid classic from 1994 celebrating its 28th birthday this year. Closing the EP is the remaster Benozal, the B-side of UMEK's third Primate Recordings EP, a trippy techno jewel from 2001.

Kr!z made his Blueprint debut last year with the 'Neutrino EP'. Now he returns this April with the follow-up 'Revelation EP'.

Kr!z has been at the forefront of techno for more than a decade. Influenced by the hypnotic and energetic sound helmed by veterans such as Jeff Mills, Steve Rachmad and James Ruskin, he gradually but steadily developed his own identity in the international techno scene. After making a name for himself as a skilled DJ with sharp focus and a quick mixing style in home country Belgium and the Netherlands, Kr!z launched Token Records in 2007. It has since been a leading outlet for heady, purist sounds. He rapidly established the label as a fixed value with a timeless and powerful sound and took it around the world with label nights on every continent. Token remains important in defining techno today - always straightforward, sometimes weird, often catchy - all under the helm of Kr!z as avid A&R.

After 12 years spent assiduously focused on curating the Token discography, showcasing artists he has nurtured and supported over this time, and incorporating the connoisseur's knowledge and experience he has cultivated in his work as a DJ, 2019 saw the release of his long awaited debut EP on Token. 'Mantra' received high acclaim by both media and the scene's key DJs. This continued in 2020, when he released the track 'Scorpion's Tail' on Voltage Imprint and 'Malice' and 'Imperative Needs' as part of a split EP with Pfirter on his MindTrip label. 2022 was his his most prolific year to date with three full EPs seeing the light of day: 'Neutrino EP' on James Ruskin's Blueprint Records, 'The Tunnel' on Setaoc Mass' hotshot SK¦eleven and 'Atlantin' on his own Token Records.

Norbak returns to HAYES with Res Extensa - four muscular, percussive workouts adorned with shaped noise and honed to lethality. Taken together, they represent an exercise in tension and induced mania, a vivifying dancefloor thriller.

(clear vinyl) Dubfire, Luke Slater and The Lady Machine remix Planetary Assault Systems' 'Rip The Cut', originally released on Planetary Assault Systems' 2011 album 'The Messenger' on Ostgut Ton.

For the first release of Leeds born, London based label Mutual Response, R.O.E. delivers a club ready four-tracker with proven success on dance floors across Europe. The EP includes four varied productions from Ollie’s extensive catalogue, making a record which has something suitable for all hours.

’TRNSMSN2U’, a growling journey into breakbeat, builds to a climax with bubbling acid lines and distorted vocal samples, whilst A2, Specific Heat Capacity (Loop Mix), is a bouncy club tool which pairs a driving baseline with eerie melodies throughout.

‘Cyber Love’ continues the sinister themes of the previous side but increases the energy. More of Ollie’s trademark distorted vocals support a punchy low end and scattered percussion powerfully overlays levels of warping acid melodies. The final track, ‘0 Exceptions’, is a squelchy experiment in electro with everything you wouldn’t expect. Again, layers of acid are woven throughout and in combination with a dynamic low end, provide an unexpected depth sometimes missing in the genre.

repressed !

Gracing Token with a 12" of reliable effect, Sterac (a.k.a. Steve Rachmad) offers 4 titles that go beyond the club - balancing raw Detroit influences and contemporary depth. With a reputation built on years of developing his scene through important record releases and local as well as international activity, 'Light in the Darkness' confirms Rachmad's artistic relevance in a quickly developing scene.

With a tone-setting introduction for the EP, Rachmad immediately grips the listener's attention with the pragmatic yet nostalgic 'Mangled'. Chord stabs inch away from a brutal on-beat drum sequence, a technique responsible for many hits in the genre, this time tastefully repolished through spreaded wooden percussion in direct support. 'Mangled' boasts what A1's should - a worthy first impression - before luring us into what can be considered the apex of the EP. 'Light in the Darkness' claims the project title with a gradual exploration through celestial bodies. A minimal opening with a simple acid bassline shows a great deal of attitude before the listener gets caught in an unexpected tide of cosmic pads, dimensionalizing an initially linear record . With slow waves of rich synth work enveloping the only anchor to time that is rhythm, the result is a closed-eyed dance floor experience to be selected in prime conditions. Thick pads are immediately offered again, this time more orchestral than mental. The softness of this primary sound design is expertly dissected by a razor sharp resonant top synth and an upward drum construction, completing the spectrum of sound and unveiling a record with a size fit for warehouse capacities. Rachmad adds almost cinematic suspense to the EP with 'S.O.' - certainly not to be underestimated. This leads us to the project's closer 'Solidify', a delirious club groover. With a sound as bent and confronting as a house of mirrors, Rachmad leaves us with a final chapter to keep the heart racing past the end.

“nice one. I like all of them. 1&4 for the basements. thanks a lot!” – Rodhad



“Will support ("Mangled" is the one for me)” – Dave Clarke



“STERAC <3 <3 <3 always. Superb EP” – Laurent Garnier



“Timeless sounds, as ever from Mr Rachmad. Thanks!” – Ø Phase



With four cuts spanning masterful minimal techno and big-room depth, Steve Rachmad returns to Token Records under his Sterac alias

.defaultbox launches a new vinyl only sublabel "SBX". Limited to 200 copies with the focus on the essence of the music.

Involve Records releases its second VA to celebrate ten glorious years since its founding in 2012. After many release featuring the likes of Amelie Lens, FJAAK, Boston 168 and Regal himself, the label now welcomes uprising stars Fractions and legends David Moleon, DJ Ogi and The Geezer.

First in line is Czech techno duo Fractions with Angel Lust, a stomping rave anthem for big stages, reflecting the sound they're known for from releases on labels such as Monnom Black and Possession. David Moleon is up next with Hold On, a groovy and rumbling techno cut with housy elements and chopped vocals creeping in between heavy kicks. DJ Ogi follows with Akturianac, an aggressive belter with rolling drums, sounding like it's coming straight from the early 2000's. Stay Up Forever and Hydraulix hard techno legend The Geezer follows with an ecstatic and crack-brained melody on his banger track A Word About Your Soul, closing the EP with a bang.