MUSIC RECOMMENDATION

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Cool, we can be lazy in the writing by simply saying that the compilation has been produced by Feral… Luigi Tozzi… Neel……. You probably already stopped reading to hit play…..

DRONE-ISH TECHNO

Vinyl aficionado Mary Yuzovskaya can be very proud. Her DJ career reached a climax lately by pushing the doors of Berghain and rocking the temple. Her productions are getting very solid, thinking of her memorable collab with Rabe, and her “vinyl only” record label Monday Off is a trademark of quality, both musically and visually. For the latter, she knows how to surround herself with top producers: Ruhig and Claudio PRC, with the help of genius Gio from Artefacts Mastering, have signed a particularly well-designed EP, worth the vinyl collection.

DANCEFLOOR-ORIENTED

Behind the alias d_func is Alexander Kowalski, son of the defunct MTV channel and of the Tresor family in the nineties, part of the Detroit post-wave generation in Germany, along with producers such as Heiko Laux, Agent Cooper and DJ Hell. Imagine that Kowalski has been doing so many live acts in clubs since 1996 that when he goes to the studio, he can still “feel the presence of the crowd”, he sometimes explains. “Bio Structures” contains efficient grooves, resulting from a long experience behind the machines.

DANCEFLOOR-ORIENTED

When looking at the name, “Children Of Neptune” reminds “Children Of Tomorrow”, Arnaud Le Texier’s record label. When hitting play, the link becomes even more obvious. It is not surprising that Le Texier also released an EP on [R]3volution last year, as well as d_func. Young Argentinian artist KRISSFA definitely boxes in the category of his peers, with an EP of massive bangers made for the peak time, released last year in Beatport and recently re-vamped in Bandcamp.

DRUM’N’BASS

Jumping in front of a running train would basically kill you. It’s with a similar idea that we recommend not to jump into the tracks. Hit play from the beginning and enjoy observing your hair gradually standing up, in the magnificent yet exploded punk/Mohawk hairstyle. As his name suggests, British producer Torn, well-known for his work on Samurai, will basically destroy your senses with his massive drum’n’bass, on the Industrial techno label 47. 

Strangely, we want more…

EXPERIMENTAL

Last week has been marked by the releases of classic EPs on Hypnus, TGP and BAHN• Records, but “being classic” is not necessarily important for us for our humble weekly selection. Our main criteria, totally subjective, remains “the emotion” that the release triggers. Take French artist Nao Nhil for instance: he has considerably less experience than the producers at work in the above-mentioned labels, having only a few EPs in his discography (also under other aliases). However, “Matrix of Confusion” opens a particularly intimate – magical – connection with the sound, not only made possible thanks to some modular jam sessions, but also because the author obviously reached a profound – almost spiritual – state of mind while expressing himself artistically.

EXPERIMENTAL

Saying that Kumo is an expert in analogue electronic music instruments is an understatement. The British musician and music professor is basically a living legend of avant-garde music, having produced and conducted spectacular live shows for more than two decades, crafting his art with the use of magical tools, such as the Theremin, and a certain natural poetic musicality. “Three Tigers”, conceptualised as a metaphor for the inner battle between serenity and war instinct, perfectly represents his outstanding artistic creativity, through three cutting-edge tracks that together tell an inspiring life story.

HYPNOTIC TECHNO

Over the years, Psyk has succeeded to create a smart bridge between Detroit’s hypnotic percussive loops and the textured grooves of the Spanish school. Founder of Non Series and spearhead of labels such as Mote-Evolver, he makes now his debut in Scuba’s project Hotflush, with an EP containing a subtle edit from the latter. “Scattered” might surprise with some sonorities often heard in EDM, but this is forgetting maybe too fast that Psyk has often been evolving in such dreamy sounds, thinking for instance of Voiceprint, released four years ago. If you remain open-minded, the track is actually deep and beautiful. Then “One Take” is another dancefloor banger composed by the maestro.