Go Magazine’s review talks a bit on how nostalgic all this is and how old-fashioned the production sounds. I think it is actually a masterpiece. Almost a genre on its own with unforgettable tracks like Given Flower’s “4 U” that grabs you by the throat and drags you into a whirlwind of ever faster and faster and faster melodic beats. The complete circus of Alice D. in Wonderland’s “Time Problem”; subtle tinklebell sounds that end up in a banging techno track.

Admittedly not everything is that good, but it is great to finally have a nice and good sounding overview of Nouhan’s work.

This morning I listened to the Orlando Voorn remix of Time Problem. He took the hypnotic element and made that the center of the track and left out the banging stuff. It works nicely with in- and outfading bells and flute sound and some “sawlike” Detroit string sound accomapnying the quite mellow drumtrack.

One more thing on “4 U” – the way that this tracks is mixed into Wladmimir M’s “Evil” on Dimitri’s excellent “Static Tracks Vol. 1” is so great! After the whirlwind has calmed down you just have a basic 4/4 bassdrum that makes you think “Oh no, what’s next??” – and then suddenly those eerie Wladimir M strings drop in. Incredibally melancholic – great stuff!

BTW, Wladimir M and other Eevo Lute tracks are now also available on several download shops like Bleep.

Other stand-out tracks in the series were Photonacid on 2, very melancholic synth-pop / house crossover, and Reuniun2 on 5, with a strange combination of piano-like sounds, synths and acid lines over a nervous beat. The EP’s as a whole did not measure op to 9 an 11 though, 2 being too melancholic and too monotonuous and 5 lacking serious progress in the tracks. 8 is also a lovely part, more ambient but not as heavy as most of the others, however for me it lacked substance.

The rest of the EP’s did not measure up in my opinion, most of them containing either replacable “analord” style tracks or directionless fiddling, with each of them containing several hardly interesting tracks. 10 Would make a nice clock though.

Final rundown of the series: checked all except 8 and 10. standouts were 9 & 11, both featured several great tracks that give a different unique sound, 9 being very acidic and 11 very dark and filled with synths. Other standouts are 2 and 5, both of which rely on 1 great track; 2 being slow and a bit sad, 5 being faster and a tad nervous. 3 and 7 relied heavily on one track as well, but those don’t really stand out either. 1, 4 and 6 sounded altogether very inconsistent and lacked memorable tracks.

Update: Checked 6 & 7as well. 6: A-side is more retro-ish with clear hints of SAW in it, a bit melancholic for my tase and lacking originality. B-side contains one shorter slower track and a electro-ish piece of weirdness that lacked any direction or substance.Not my cup of tea. 7 Sounded superfluous, like the others, with more pronounced beats and different styles for the tracks, but very forgettable.

It’s about time for me to shine my light on the Analord series so far. I must admit I didn’t check all the Analords yet. Checked 1 and 2 right when they came out, but was a bit disappointed. 1 seemed to lack consistency and was a bit experimental for the sake of it IMHO. 2 was slower and pretty good, but too melancholic for me. And a bit too slow for use on the dancefloor. Checked 4 and 5 later, and maybe 6 as well, 5 being the highlight until then, although a bit unusable for me. That was until I checked 9 and 11…

Today I bought 9 and 11 straight away, pure genius! 11 A is a great and epic piece of dramatic moody IDM. The B1 sounds similar, but shorter and less brooding, also great. B2 and B3 are slower and less emotionbal, apathic almost, which creates a nice contrast.

However the absolute gem is 9: 4 tracks of absolute acid madness. No retro shite here, never heard any acid like it. A1 is a nerve wrecking fast-paced stormer building up to a more emotional state, to turn to a more fragile state towards the end. A2 and B1 sound alike, almost as if they were remixes of eachother. A bit slower, but very empathic, each one of them with their own twist in atmosphere. B2 is on the other hand a lot dryer, with lots of effects. Unlike the others more functional than emotional.

These two records have definitely renewed my faith in the whole Analord series, time to check out the ones I missed. For now the conclusion is simple, 9 is the one to get if no other. I’ll definitely make good use of this one soon!

After three frustrated funk releases in straight up electro style this one brings us three booty electro tracks produced by D.I.E. for a change. Excellent dancefloor material, but also great for home listening as the tracks all got more melodic elements than the typical booty record.

The first track combines short repetitive rap samples, a chorus reminiscent of no ufo’s, pumping beats and subtle strings, which together creates a very energetic and slightly entrancing atmosphere with a dark edge.

The first B-side has a more dreamy approach, caused by lots of strings, a piano sample and a vocoded rap sample, without losing the pace. A good track for creating a break in a set without halting it altogether.

The final track is again more energetic but also sounds more repetitive than the others. One reason for that is probably the relatively sparse use of vocals. Probably less suitable for home listening, but excellent for use in long transistions.

The purpose of these tracks is very clear: good uncomplicated dancefloor material. All three tracks have the same flaw, there’s no real structure in the songs. They do not lead to anything except the next track. These tracks don’t need any direction though, they are beautiful to listen to anyway.

After a few months of airplay on the CBS this new Alden Tyrell Record had finally been released on Viewlexx. Like always Viewlexx brings us a fresh perspective on early 80′s electronic music.

The title track has some distinct Italo disco influences, but with a faster pace and a more optimistic atmosphere. It’s very loop based without any major developments throughout the track, but it’s strong drive makes you forget about all that, and the frequent alterations of loops make the track sound very dynamic anyway.

The Rising is a bit slower and starts out a bit more rigid than the A side. The long sounding string also contributes to that feeling. As the track goes on it started to grow on me, sounding ever more natural and fluent. Then the increasing amount of dynamic in the song caused me to close my eyes, drift away and just let the music roll over me.

In conclusions this is one of the most enticing neo-disco records so far. Most records in this genre tend to sound either moody or relaxed, but the strength of this particular records is the loose, unenforced atmosphere, which is more energetic on the A side and more mesmerising on the B side.

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They released two lovely compilation albums with some of the finest early house releases. One of the nice things about it is that the tracks have been remastered and sound super clear and crisp. According to one reviewer even better then the originals. To me it seems also like some of the tracks sound better then I have ever heard them before.

Volume 1 includes among others the great 151 by Armando, a slow acid track with lots of great 303 tweaking. Also a nice one is the “Martin Luther King” version of “Can you feel it” by Mr Fingers. There are a lot of versions of this track , but I never heard this one before.

Volume 2 contains the biggest surprise, the “vocal” version of “Land of Confusion” by Armando!! This track is assumed to be released only on DOT1 (the bubble record), but in fact it now appears on other vinyl releases as well. The more the better! “Searched the world all over, Looking for a sound…”. Something is wrong in the tracklist though, “Your Only Friend” by Phuture is not on it. Too bad, but the other tracks make up for this omission bigtime!

I wonder if and hope that a Volume Three will come out with this track – I never heard a good mastering or pressing of it.

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Bought a brand new electro record, and it’s not even from the clone camp, very unusual for me these days! Produced by Wayward Soul & Buckfunk 3000, this is a real breath of fresh air in the electro scene in my opinion.

Automatic has beats that sound like a melting of electro and drum ‘n bass. Nevertheless the emphasis lies on the melodies here. The beats are fast, and so are the changes in melodic content, with new ones in and out, layered on top of each other and the occasional tone raise here and there. The overall mood of the track is quite light, it simply sounds much brighter than most electro does these days.

Manufactured shit starts mysteriously, but turns out to be not as harsh as the title might suggest. In fact it’s quite relaxing, with a very early 1990′s feeling around the melodies. The track doesn’t seem to have a clear destination, but just flows naturally like a river, dragging new melodies along for a while and losing them a while further.

Overall the record sounds very refreshing. And it’s always good to hear some people are not going with the current, no doom & gloom, no sexual connotations and no eighties influences. Only the robotic voices are a bit clich’, but such a tiny detail cannot spoil a great record.

At last I found the time and the money to buy some new shit again. So as a preview to the live set at Awakenings here’s a review of Hardcell’s latest release.

The A side brings a driving techno track for the warehouses. Unlike most techno tracks brought out lately it’s not just pounding beats and irritating noises, but a fast paced techno tracks with great buildups and massive climaxes freely flowing into eachother. And the pounding beats as well, what more can you ask for?

The B-side holds two more techno tracks but a bit more on the detroit side, without losing the scandinavian touch. The first seems a bit slower than the others with a steady pace and no real climaxes, but Hardcell keeps it interesting none the less. The second one sounds a little harder, like the A side, but is not so minimal nor so aggresive. Actually it feels quite light, pretty unusual for such a firm techno track.

All in all Hardcell managed to deliver yet another highlight in contemporary techno, sticking out way above the norm for scandinavian techno these days.