Archive for February, 2012
While completely mysterious in its presentation, Axis attributes this new release to The Wizard, placing it either as the latest in his Something In The Sky series, or as the continuation beyond that project. The work here is unmistakably in the minimal, psychadelic, alien form of techno pioneered by Mills. The tracks are heady and dense [ READ MORE ]
First release from this new project on Franco Cangelli‘s Mowar imprint keeps it dark and rough on this one. The A-side title cut plays some dry sounding drum machines against a spacious acid line in a suspense-building dark acid techno track. Claro Intelecto slows it down several turns and chops out some of the source recording’s [ READ MORE ]
Netherland’s Dekmantel label has released music from artists like Juju & Jordash, Vakula, Vedomir and more over its nearly 3 years in existence. To celebrate their anniversary they’ve put together a couple of various artists EP’s with this being the second. This one features some tracks that definitely have that Detroit House lean to them. [ READ MORE ]
I’m not even going to attempt to review this one. If you know techno you will want this. 13 tracks from Deepchord, Variant, cv313 and Echospace all in one package. Dubbed out techno-bliss made with analogue machines and loving care. Just get it; you’ll be better for it. Visit or call Gramaphone Records today to [ READ MORE ]
WNUR resident; Tundra Dubs, tonAtom and Kimochi Sound recording artist; photographer; painter; DJ Lgcc is a man of many hats. Presented here is a set recorded by him at Gramaphone on February 2nd, 2012, including some original material under his Dreamlogicc guise. DJ Lgcc plays on the radio Saturday evenings, and has a residency at [ READ MORE ]
One of my favorite conversations to have with Gramaphone owner Michael Serafini is about the lack of good vocals in house music today and the take over of the “song” by the “track.” It seems we aren’t the only ones reminiscing and lamenting the loss of the vocal given this EP’s title of “More Vocals [ READ MORE ]
There are times when two ingredients cultivated in two distinct parts of this world decisively come together to create something extraordinary. I’m referring to the genius of exiled Ugandan vocalist/musician Geffrey Oryema and prolific producer of the organic sound of the underground and 1/3rd the dynamic DJ trio of the now historic Body & Soul [ READ MORE ]
This is a really nice record on Qalomota. Its house the way it should be; fun, funky and emotive. Frenchman DJ Steaw really gets it right for the French label with a really nice blend of classic dance ideals with an updated sound. All four of the tracks on this EP have their own unique [ READ MORE ]
It seems these days there are a lot of artists out there making their own version of “deep.” For Christopher Rau that framework is more techno than house leaning. His work brings to mind some releases by Rob Hood at times but with a bit of humanity added by vocal samples, drawn out chords and [ READ MORE ]
This one features two really nice edits from Istanbul’s Onur Engin. Onur is a man with a good ear for the best moments of an original and how to pair it down to make it right for the modern dancefloor. On this two tracker he takes on the disco funk of James Mason’s “Sweet Power [ READ MORE ]
In 2010 clubs, radio and internet shows from nation to nation were in favorable agreement about the success and impact of an underground dance tune out of South Africa produced by Black Coffee featuring the sultry vocals of Bucie entitled “Superman”. It has become one of the signiture anthems of our time. Bucie has reached [ READ MORE ]
These are a pair of stream-of-consciousness tracks. So, starting with the first side… a pair of horn flourishes, some delay processing, looped briefly, four-on-the-floor kicks, a brief sung phrase in key with the rest, some live loose snare and hi-hat work, a tiny snippet of the horn again and a muted guitar string fading into [ READ MORE ]
A couple legends of the US techno scene pair up for this latest stamp series 12″ from the Los Angeles-based Historia y Violencia label. Managed by Santiago Salazar (Seldom Seen, Underground Resistance) and John Mendez (Cytrax, Silent Servant, Jasper), the label has a notable pedigree and only releases a record or two a year. John Tejada‘s contribution offers his [ READ MORE ]
Aesthetically apparently a studied exercise in subtle imperfections, the intentionally distressed full grey cover gives way to slightly mottled label art. All this could be a nod to the mention on the rear that indicates: “both tracks recorded 29/11/1994 onto a Philips pocket memo 596.” Indeed, this is a reissue of 2 of the 3 [ READ MORE ]
Hardwax says “Jacking minimalist Techno;” Clone says “Four proper techno tools in the vein of Robert Hood and early Jeff Mills.” This is the third release on the Decabaret label, founded just in 2011 and focusing on techno for parties. With that in mind, this debut for Studyman is an uptempo heavy drum programming workout, [ READ MORE ]
DJ Lgcc, who produces under the Dreamlogicc moniker, will be stopping by the Gramaphone booth for a mix session around 6pm on Monday evening. He often plays an edgy mixture of dubstep, juke, techno and electro, stop by and hear the next podcast in progress[ READ MORE ]
Steven Tang’s Obsolete Music Technology guise returns for a third time to his own label. His Emphasis imprint has been a quietly consistent Chicago outlet for melodic techno, focusing mainly upon his own work under various aliases. For this outing, he’s allied with Uzuri’s Chicago Skyway, another strong DJ and producer who’s been making waves [ READ MORE ]
Tr One already enjoys a healthy buzz from key house heads and tastemakers like Mr Raoul K of Mule Musiq, Bearweasel of Tsuba, Frawl from Never Learnt, Tom Cox from Pittsburgh Tracks, and Lakuti from Uzuri… with this release on the still young Apartment label they show why. The Irish trio’s lone contribution fills the [ READ MORE ]
Manchester’s Dan Mumberson and Reuben Holt have outdone themselves on this EP. Four tracks of murmured vocals and subtle, compelling melodies show appreciation for the restrained archetype of deep house while proving expressive and impassioned. The clean streamlined percussion leaves lots of room for the sumptuous, memorable chords, hazy ambience, and lumbering basslines. This will [ READ MORE ]
It is possible that the underground house scene in San Francisco started well before the early to mid 90′s but one thing is certain, by then it was bursting with the kind of growth that bought it life and new found notability. And though the scene has now changed in much the same way that [ READ MORE ]