Selections 005
For our fifth set of selections we have rounded up our 5 favourite releases of the past month. There is a wide range of styles, starting with an archive release from the late Mexican electronic musician, true legend and pure underground hero Mateo Lafontaine aka Decada 2 on young Berlin label Philoxenia, and ending with an ambient release by heavyweight musician Max Loderbauer, on another young Berlin label, Concentric Records.Coincidentally, we have a second Mexican artist on this selection, selected by the master of selections, Binh, on Time Passages. And what’s a summer without some open-air beats? We’ve picked the first release on Art of Dark’s garage sister DHUTT, which we think really hits the spot. Rounding out the selections, a buoyant piece of electro from Bristol label Mint Tea that provides a positive note on which to begin the summer.
DECADA 2 - Dr. Rhythm [Philoxenia]
This astonishing compilation of music by the late Mexican artist Mateo Lafontaine has been lovingly curated by Luigi Di Venere and Neu Verboten of the label Philoxenia (sister label to Lustpoderosa). They present us with a collection of Lafontaine’s recordings made on emblematic synthesisers and drum machines in the period 1988–1990.Across these six compact tracks it’s possible to detect the vibrations then emanating across the Atlantic from clubs in Belgium, Germany and the UK: the military-industrial march of EBM, new beat and coldwave (‘Música Electrónica’, ‘La Voluntad De Dios’, ‘Dr. Rhythm’); the laid-back swagger of early acid house (‘Psycho Dance’); new-agey proto-trance (‘Holbox’); and the distinctive robofunk of Sheffield bleep, vocals dripping in sweat and seduction (‘Extasy Bondage’).This is both a genre exercise and a brilliant portrait of an individual. This point is driven home by the excerpts from Lafontaine’s own stories reproduced in the insert, as well as the utterly charming conversations he had with the label owners – which you can listen to here alongside tracks Lafontaine was making right up to his untimely passing. The cheerful radicalism we hear in these chats shines through not only in the music but also his design for the DECADA 2 sleeve, which references the Mexico Olympics in ’68 and the political crackdowns that accompanied them.
Leo Leal - Time Oscillation [Time Passages]
We jump from Mexico past to Mexico present, where Leo Leal is making up-to-date techno steeped in the same sounds as DECADA 2 three decades earlier. There’s an unmistakeable new beat current running through these four tracks, perhaps most ostentatiously in the brooding bassline of ‘Time Oscillation’. It’s a worthy accompaniment to Leal’s 2xLP ‘Fractal Magic’, also just out on Time Passages. Both releases reflect the style and musical philosophy of label owner Binh and, as you might expect, the pull toward the middle of the dancefloor is utterly irresistible. Speaking of the dancefloor, Binh got to know Leo Leal’s music at Dimensions festival in 2017 when he played before him. It’s fair to say he was impressed!
Keo Lab 'Sound Of Waves' [DHUTT]
DHUTT opens for business with a split EP of dark 2-step-leaning breaks from unknown pseudonyms Keo Lab and DJ BD. The sub-bass, deadpan vocals and glitchy samples we recognise from labels like Phone Traxx are present and correct across all four tracks, but on Keo’s ‘Sound Of Waves’ the moodiness is tempered cleverly with a jaunty walking bassline and spooky-silly harmonies. It’s hardly a surprise that label owner Colin Chiddle has picked a handful of corkers for this first release, given his sophisticated ear and pedigree from the original wave of UKG. Watch out for future releases from this Art Of Dark offshoot.
Zobol - 'Optimistic Octopus 2.0' - Basic Contact [Mint Tea]
The latest VA release from Bristol label Mint Tea collects tracks from the UK, Estonia and Georgia, and puts them on eco-friendly wax made from recycled vinyl waste at R.A.N.D. pressing plant. Our pick is Zobol’s whimsical (and whimsically-named) ‘Optimistic Octopus 2.0’, whose sprightly Datassette-esque electro sounds just like its titular image: a happy cephalopod gliding its way across the reef. We also like Boulderhead’s ‘Néana’, another watery track but this time with a more progressive, heads-down feel. Bristol’s scene is bubbling at the moment and Mint Tea are an excellent example of the DIY creativity emerging from the city.
Max Loderbauer - 'Harmonic' - Radiant [Concentric]
Sun Electric, Chica & The Folder, nsi., Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Vilod. Max Loderbauer’s CV speaks for itself. Here he contributes the ambient opener to ‘Radiant’, the latest VA collection from Concentric Records, the label run by Simone Merli (Soundwalk Collective) and Luca Calo (Born In 1986). Loderbauer melds dense washes of synths with pulsing chimes and soft glitches to achieve something approaching a devotional hymn. There is a grandeur, but at the same time there is also a child-like quality to the piece. It's the perfect track to play when you've finally made it home.Other contributions come from William Selman, Petre Inspirescu, Supply and HOLOVR, plus an intriguing post-punk/coldwave number from Maayan Nidam’s side-project The Waves. Finally, ASWA’s track ‘Dust Palace’ closes the collection on an elegiac note – you can also hear this in Born In 1986’s mix for us from a couple of years ago.
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