Old-school techno meets IDM. This gem from long-standing (active since 2001 and running) netlabel Kahvi offers an interesting blend of 90’s techno sounds and 00’s more refined approach to Electro. While the beats and bass synth lines sound almost retro to my 2017 ears, melody and harmonies sound fresher. Continue reading “Dream Generator – [2007] Glazed”
Elegant monotony. Six tracks, spanning almost one hour, produced using vintage equipment, elegantly fill the air with damp synth sounds and calm beats. Be prepared for Deep House for dark moments. Continue reading “Smooth – [2015] Vintage 02”
Excellent trance mix. Toucan Music is one of the household names for well-produced electronic dance music in the Creative Commons scene. It has been releasing free music as a netlabel for more than ten years now, and its annual mixes never fail to impress. Last year’s mix contains 20 tracks. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2016] Toucan Music Presents 2016”
Frosty minimal techno. This (by online standards) antique release at the Thinner netlabel had a big part in slowly seducing me into exploring the less danceable areas of electronic music. I wonder how this album will sound to me in 30 years. It now feels quite timeless, a bit like some tracks by Kraftwerk. Continue reading “Rktic – [2003] Northern Lights LP”
Edgy techno dance music. Berlin artist Addictive is brought to us by the renowned Italian techno netlabel Sostanze Records. 7 tracks, each more than 5 minutes long, speak for themselves: endless beats and slow transitions. Continue reading “The Additive – [2010] The Additive”
Juicy techno with attitude. Triggered by the recent release of his new Teragraph EP, I looked back to my archive and found ten years of and twelve releases by Professor Kliq. Time for another review of one of his classics, one of the releases that made me a fan. It contains his smashing hit Plastic & Flashing Lights, which is such an ear-charming, head-nod-inducing, cannot-sit-still-evoking track. It appeared on many compilation and best-ofs in the following years: Continue reading “Professor Kliq – [2009] Community Service”
Crispy, kicking breakbeats is what awaits you in this single on Sostanze Records from Italy. Scuola Benassi in four versions, two of which are remixes by other artists. The song itself is a forward-thrusting floor-filling breakbeat bomb (alliteration allergy, anyone?). My two favourite versions and the obligatory download link follow below. Continue reading “Bebop – [2013] Scuola Benassi Deluxxx Edition”
Time for more space music this week! This release is part of a larger music donation I received from Machtdose; more details will follow in a later post. Back to the music: softly pulsing synthpads, minutes pass like seconds. Elaborate motives are used sparingly; not to draw to much attention to oneself. It is perfect soundtrack for working, coding, thinking. Continue reading “Jay Phonic – [2012] Space Pictures”
I follow the netlabel Starquake since its first furious début compilation Quaking Stars about one year ago. Since then, they constantly delivered high quality, hard and edgy electronic dance music (play all on ojdb).
In this review, I describe my favourite tracks from their anniversary release Star-Cake. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2012] Star-Cake”
Professor Kliq is my favourite free dance music composer. Now that his music has made it to Jamendo, whose catalogue now is mirrored on the Internet Archive (yippie!), I’m able to write a proper review for one of his albums here. Movements EP is his roughest album so far, quite similar to Daft Punk vs. Justice. In other words: very danceable. I present my three favourite tracks. Continue reading “Professor Kliq – [2010] Movements EP”
