Cassette Records – The World Is Spinning At 33 1/3 RPM

A phoenix rising…

A varied release, to say the least. Many different well known techno artists from Japan’s techno-scene, featuring DJ Tmykisb, Yebisu303, Doremimate and 909 State to name just a few. Ranging from acid bleepery to danceable and deep to surprising. The release demonstrates a love for the original techno sound lost in the days of minimal unimaginativism and dubstep repetition.

DJ Tmykisb opens the album with the filter-happy ‘Chrono Kitten’, an uplifting track that makes the waist wiggle. Even if seated it’s hard not to move to this sliced madness slightly reminiscent of ‘Tokyo Disco’. 909 State gives a distorted slammer likes he does so well, after which Beel’s ‘RTF_SHT’ takes over with a surprisingly deep track not unlike Richie Hawtin’s better (Plastikman) tracks. The compilation wouldn’t be complete without a good acid track! And that’s where Pulse2Pulse comes in. I should say the same for dub, and the compilation also satisfies those needs with Yebisu303′s ‘Blueprint’, a last-minute favorite of mine. In the track’s layered background there’s a loop playing which stimulates the imagination while the recognizable dub synth does it’s work of playing with your sense of rhythm. (Watch out for a very groovy break followed by a drop like we haven’t heard since at least 2005.) Yes, there’s even a melodic techno track like Carl Craig is good at producing, Choochoogatagoto is the one responsible.

The CD supplies well to the techno loving people out there that are missing the original vibe. We need kickdrums, not plops. We want acid, not just a simple sine-wave. Minimal and tech-house have their place, on this album too. But playing the same sounds over and over is what kills a genre, a scene. This album bravely steps-up where even the hardest techno DJ’s have sold-out to simple bloops and over-used samples. It’s been enough!

A CD release is rare these days, especially for electronic music (Techno). But it does give a sense of nostalgia to open-up a sealed CD box. Welcome to the post-digital age where physical releases are becoming a rarity and more of a promotional tool than an actual selling point. That’s why I appreciate Cassette Records effort to put this out there, no matter what the market is doing. To step-up and say, nay shout: Techno isn’t dead yet! I haven’t even finished listening to the CD yet, and this is what the music is telling me. The CD holds even more surprises towards the end, but I’m not gonna spoil anymore for you. You should go out and check this out for yourself.

Track List

1. dj tmykisb / Chrono Kitten
2. POP STORE JUNK / ZTN
3. iserobin / 7420247
4. Limited toss / Gus
5. 909state / Armed poker
6. BEEL / RTM_SHT
7. Pulse2Pulse / Bouncer
8. Yebisu303 / Blueprint
9. jackmaster YOSHIKI / PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM
10. choochoogatagoto / Hat Season
11. doremimate / Gymnopedia
12. Sakoo / Heartbeat
13. tofubeats / technoizer X
14. SOL / One More Thing…

The album’s liner notes were written by Bibinba. I’m proud of you, 友達!

Cicuta004 : Hyo – Wicked Game EP

One of the best consequences of a new (net-)label is the fresh names it brings; Hyo

After missing the third EP, (I might do a review of it anyway) Cicuta releases a hard hitting six track EP with three original tracks and one remix each. The tracks are dark and abstract and take you (back?) to a sentient industrial machine gone rogue.

Here are some previews to give you an overall impression.

1908 Tunguska (PREV) by ‘Hyo

Chemical Imbalance (PREV) by ‘Hyo

Skyquake (PREV) by ‘Hyo

The tracks miss a bit of bass sometimes, a matter of taste perhaps, but the overall sound makes up for most of it. Some parts of the tracks remind me of Unmarked Noise’s release; V. Black with it’s quirky synth riffs and off-beat rhythms. The remixes take the idea of  ‘dark and industrial’ and give it a little more structure and in case of the Bran Lanen remix add a bit of imagination, a small silver-lining at the end of the storm. If, like me, you’ve got a yearning for more retro-techno this is well worth your bandwidth.

Tracklist:

01. Hyo – 1908 Tunguska
02. Hyo – 1908 Tunguska (Po Remix)
03. Hyo – Chemical Imbalance
04. Hyo – Chemical Imbalance (Bran Lanen Remix)
05. Hyo – Skyquake
06. Hyo – Skyquake (Drugstore Remix)

Download link (Active on December 15th!)
Can’t wait? Here’s a download for Cicuta003 : Ajana EP.

Cicuta002 – Drugstore – Shadai EP

The second Cicuta EP features a single artist, Drugstore presents his latest productions.

Download here

Kicking off with the intro to the EP, ‘The Birth’ is a short ambient/noise soundscape to set a mood for the EP. A rhythmic track follows, which shows influences from Detroid-bass with an experimental twist. The ‘Hermético Remix’ takes the track’s hook and transforms the song into a big-room techno remix.

Shadai is where the EP picks up in speed. An up-tempo techno track comparable to, and missed since, the sounds of the start of the millennium; Dark, thumping and spacy. The remixes of Shadai are not my cup of tea though, and this is also my only critique on this release. The remixes don’t do for the EP what they should have. They offer a different perspective, a very spooky one at that. But the remixes failed to grasp me.

All-round a less dark EP than the first Cicuta release. One that’s dancable and a little more experimental, rhythmic, and crisp. Crisp for it’s great stereo-image and clearness in sound. The tracks Drugstore delivers are good and usable in your DJ-set, but get dragged down a bit by the remixes. Be sure to listen to ‘Shadai’ and ‘Night Dream’ though, the EP’s little deejaying pleasures.

[CICUTA 002] Drugstore – Shadai EP by Cicuta Netlabel

Cicuta Netlabel
Drugstore on Soundcloud

Soma Records 20 Years – Soma Classics

If for some reason you didn’t have these tracks yet, than this is the time to buy this album and act like you knew them all along…

A whopping 48 tracks produced by (among many others) Slam, Funk D’Void, Silicone Soul, The Black Dog, Samuel L. Session and an unreleased Daft Punk track that has been collecting dust on the shelves. Some of the best Soma had to offer in the past twenty years. Tech House, (minimal) techno, electro, all-round good dance-music lovers and even non-techheads can all get into these classic tracks that you’ve bound to have heard before. (Well, except for the much touted Daft Punk remix that didn’t see the light of day before.)

For real though, if you haven’t heard any of these before than go stand in the corner for at least half an hour… (while listening to the album of course!)

Conforce – Dystopian Elements EP – 89DSR

Conforce’s melodic dub-techno landscapes return for this grim look on to the future.

Slow moving, dark yet entrancing, this EP takes you through 4 short stories of a civilization that collapsed on itself. Leaving a desolate place with foreign looking objects and remnants of what could be described as a disaster in a physics experiment. (Nuclear, sub-atomic, gravity, take your pick!)

The minimal nuances do all the talking in this release, moving you through the barren cities and ground that remain. But it doesn’t leave an impression of simpleness that has diseased the minimal scene the last few years. It takes from the past what it needs to create familiarity but not shy of innovation through Boris Bunnik’s (Conforce alias) own interpretation and style. I haven’t heard intriguing techno like this in a while. I feel like techno is returning to it’s core: A little more abstract, a little more dark, and much less bleepy.

The release is also available as WAV, MP3 and two flavors of vinyl on Delsin Records.

• Delsin Records
• Conforce official website