Selections 003
This round of selections are again a potent mixture of old and new. The rich lineage of techno and electro’s futurist imagination is present throughout, from the timeless starry-eyed dreaming of Fugue’s ‘Interlagos’ back in 1993 through to the reformulations of that vision by producers like Do Or Die, Buraye and Sasha Zlykh today. Providing a kind of middle link is French producer dynArec, who has been at the forefront of the scene since his debut on Delsin back in 2003. The blending of influences from the 80s, 90s and 00s in today’s sound is a heady mixture that makes for exciting club material, so hopefully it’s not too long before our own dreams of a return to the dancefloor will be becoming a reality.
Fuge - 'Interlagos' - Likemind06 [Likemind]
What more can be said about these epoch-defining compositions by Nuron/Fugue aka Nurmad Jusat, the impact of which has reverberated across the past three decades? The definition of emotional machine music, orchestral in scope yet unassuming in posture, these tracks achieve that early 90s combination of naivety and grandeur that today seems all but impossible to recapture. In line with pandemic-driven interest in the more ethereal side of 90s electronic excursions, Likemind have now remastered and repackaged a selection of Jusat’s cuts from those first four volumes, including this spiritual descendant of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Riot In Lagos’. As one night-time worker tells us in a discogs anecdote, this music really is the sound of another dimension.
dynArec - 'Cyber Gangster' - Libertine17 [Libertine Records]
One of the defining names of mid-00s European electro, dynArec was responsible for EP after EP of high-quality machine music on well-known labels as well as his own Vaporwave imprint. After slowing down a bit in the 2010s, this 5-tracker now appears on Berlin’s Libertine Records, further cementing their reputation for working with members of the electro-techno hall of fame – Libertine alumni include Gosub, Luke Vibert, Khan, DMX Krew, DJ Di’jital…the list goes on. dynArec’s ‘Cyber Gangster’ is space-electro par excellence, with a fierce gated bassline (see also Do Or Die’s track below) and atmospheric vox conjuring the intrigue of Blade Runner’s dystopian LA at night.
Do Or Die - 'Heaven in Hell' - Outrace EP [FTVA]
Do Or Die – Heaven In Hell [FTVA]The turn to the 80s is unstoppable and we can expect post-Covid dancefloors to be rich with the strains of synth pop and italo. On this new EP for Colombian label From The Void Above, Spanish producer Do Or Die adds to his who’s who portfolio of releases: My Own Jupiter, Partout, Art Of Dark, Libertine, Time Passages, EYA. These five tracks draw on his now unmistakable repertoire of spooky harmonies and rapid-fire drum machines, but it’s on ‘Heaven In Hell’ that these tropes really take flight in an arpeggiated paean to industrial synth pop – think Vicious Pink, CCP, or any number of the other bands that were re-edited by Razormaid over 30 years ago. The label on the other hand is a collective that moved from Barcelona back to their home in Bogotá. They've been cultivating a vinyl scene there ever since, having invited Francesco Del Garda to their last event (before the pandemic hit).
Buraye - 'Frecuencia Beta' - Space Fauna [Varme]
Buraye – Frecuencia Beta [Varme]Bucharest-based label Varme has been pushing the boundaries of sci-fi club music at a slow but steady pace since 2018. Strengthening the link with S. America already established through releases from Fede Lijtmaer and Cosmonaut, their new release sees Colombian producer Buraye stretch out across four tracks of futuristic electro-techno. ‘Frecuencia Beta’ is a dancefloor banger, mixing the wistful robot melodies of bleep with the rolling drive of the contemporary sound.
Sasha Zlykh - Pino Greedjio - Domesticated005
Bruno Schmidt’s label Domesticated is one of those imprints that exudes care, consideration and nous. From the exquisite artwork to the sophisticated music from exciting yet unassuming producers, it’s clearly a project run out of love for the artform. There’s a precise grasp of context, as evidenced by Sasha Zlykh’s fabulous track that finishes the EP, a speedy detuned-house track for the afters – you can easily imagine Schmidt dropping this at his upcoming gig on Closer Kiev’s terrace, signalling the moment when a dancer’s attention transfers from outwards to inwards and the late-late session really gets going. Check out other tracks from Sohrab, Levat and Omar on this stacked EP.
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