The Glimmers
The Glimmers Are Gee Gee Fazzi
David and Mo have been playing old school hip hop, dark wave, vintage acid house, Balearic disco and sleazy pop music for years, and it’s that special melt of music which has brought them so much success through acclaimed mixes on Eskimo, K7! and Fabric. This time, they wanted to do things differently though, and release an LP full of collaborations with friends they have met on the road. So here you’ll find the likes of Anu Pillai, Ray Mang, Princess Superstar, Lindstrom and Padded Cell making tunes that include an amazing DFA-style rework of Olivia Newton John’s Physical and a cover of the classic Spanish rave-acid-house stormer Esta Si, Esta No. The eclectic vibes are unmistakably Glimmer and in line with other eclectic DJ acts like The Unabombers, The Idjuts and, of course, Optimo Espacio. If you don’t know their work and like DFA, nu disco, Optimo or The Unabombers, then try this out. You won’t be disappointed. 8/10 DT
Out on Glimmertwins
Selected By Gerd Janson
Computer Incarnations For World Peace 2: Topical Disco & New Age Boogie
Following on from last year’s seminal trip through the history of early 80s electronic music, Gerd Janson is back on Sonar Kollectiv with a selection of recent re-inventions of electronic disco. Featured artists include Lexx, Todd Terje, Prins Thomas, Mudd and Reverso 68 alongside remixes by Daniel Wang and Maurice Fulton. Lexx kicks things off in style with the low-slung disco grooves of Mahogany, while Terje & Lindstrom go all dub disco on their cover of Cloud One’s Don’t Let My Rainbow Pass Me By, which is kind of Augustus Pablo meets Stevie Wonder meets something much more Euro. Very nice drums indeed. Things shift nicely into a more 80s soul and boogie direction on Daniel Wang and Brennan Green’s interpretation of the Crazy Penis number Keep On. Think classic Freeez and you won’t be far off. Then there are the sweet yet slightly warped electronic disco vibes of Al Usher’s Lullaby For Robert. Not sure about the history of this track but there’s something special about it. After that Woolfy of Rong fame funk rocks things up, Maurice Fulton hits the blissed out yet wonky disco button on Rollmottle’s Take A Break, Ray Mang pumps things up D Train style, Mark E explores the Detroit side of nu disco and there’s so much more. Basically there’s not really a bum track on this compilation and it makes for an excellent retrospective of all that is good in the current nu disco scene, paying homage to its love of the early pioneers of their Balearic sound. Perfect for the beach or a tripped out warehouse party. You choose. 8/10 DT
Out on Sonar Kollectiv on May 12
Alexander Robotnick
I’m Getting Lost In My Brain
As Robotnick himself says: “Everything comes back.” This is certainly true of his pioneering electro-Italo sound which seems incredibly contemporary thanks to the current love of all things electronic and 80s. Recent tributes to the great man have come from the likes of I-f, Hell, Miss Kittin and Carl Craig, so Robotnick’s reputation is high. This release on his own Hot Elephant Music imprint features remixes from last year’s Robotnick LP My La(te)est Album, by artists such as Detroit Grand Pubahs, Kompute, Microthol, Robosonic, Lore J, Italcimenti and Robotnick himself. Highlights are the acid Italo vibes of Kompute’s remix of My Brain, the jacking old school cool of Robotnick’s own rework of the same track, and the dare I say it, sick and slick tones of InterroBang’s remix of Disco Sick. Essential stuff if you’re interested in the history of electronic dance and the space between early Italo and Detroit/Chicago grooves. 7/10 DT
Out on Hot Elephant Music on April 7
Bochum Welt
R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy)
You gotta love Rephlex haven’t you? It’s a cutting-edge label when it comes to releasing whatever they think is great music. Bochum Welt is no exception to the rule. Gianluigi Di Costanzo recently opened for Aphex Twin himself on the Rephlex Australian and European tour and has worked with Thomas Dolby, Steven Spielberg and David Bowie. Why? Well, his music is fucking great that’s why. With influences like Kraftwerk, Human League and other 80s/90s pop acts, Gianluigi is clearly fascinated by the origins of electronic dance music as well as being a more than capable guardian of its future direction. This release is a two-CD package with the first disc made up of new tracks, and the second forming a collection of his rare Rephlex back catalogue that will save you a lot of time and money once the first CD has blown your mind. It’s not easy to describe this kind of artist in a short review, as his music encapsulates raw electro energy, electronic beauty, simplicity and complexity in equal measure. But if you are a lover of electronic music it will provide you with a journey of epic proportions. Highlights for me are the wonderful pop sounds of Saint, the spacey Euro electronic vibes of Gyromite, the soundscape of Extra Life, the Carpenteresque robot funk of Mechanique. Up there with Aphex and the very best. 9/10 DT
Out on Rephlex
The Black Dog
Radio Scarecrow
Two years in the making, this LP is a mix of lush drones, deep basses, shortwave noises and perfectly crisp beats. Top electronica such as Train By The Autobahn meets classic technoscapes like UV Sine which sit alongside crisp and glitchy electronic funk tracks like Set To Receive and EVP Echoes. The music brings to mind the post-rave daze of acts like The Orb, KLF and Aphex Twin. There is also a lesson in production for all to listen to in this music, as bass frequencies are explored and sounds pushed to their limit as dark and light energies are balanced perfectly. Apparently The Black Dog are heavily influenced by magick, numbers stations and electronic voice phenomenon, but whatever, the results are excellent and definitely still capture that other worldly and futuristic quality that has always existed in quality electronic music. 8/10 DT
Out on Soma on April 7
Mixed & Edited by Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi
Cosmic Disco? Cosmic Rock!
The king of Italian cosmic disco, Daniel Baldelli, was a pioneering DJ during his legendary residencies at Baia Degli Angeli and Cosmic in the 70s and 80s, where he roadtested many of the techniques that have become pivotal to the modern DJ and are taken for granted now. His illustrious career and championing of Italo disco, American disco and r’n’b, synth pop and other early electronic music has influenced a generation of DJs and producers. This mix on ubercool nu disco label Eskimo tries to recapture the cosmic vibes and attention to detail that cemented Baldelli’s reputation during his sets by the side of Lake Garda. As the title suggests, the fusion of electronic disco-funk and cosmic rock is particularly important in his musical vision. So rock tracks like A Night Like This by The Romantics and 50 In A 25 Zone by The Dream Syndicate mix into more electronic disco moments like The Thompson Twins’ Beach Culture, as well as the more pure electronic and cosmic delights like the marvellous opening track Say Something that sounds like Japan meets Kraftwerk. The mix is also spot on and perfectly executed, which when you’re dealing with source material as diverse as this can only come from knowing your music inside out, loving it and a lot of hard work and experience. All in all it’s a top package, and I get the feeling that I will be discovering new delights on this mix for months to come. Optimo crew head straight for this release. 10/10 DT
Out on Eskimo Recordings on April 21
Robert Hood
Fabric39
I’ve been looking forward to this since I found out about it towards the end of last year. And much to my relief it’s just as great as I thought it would be. Coming in at an epic 32 tracks, it’s a who’s who of quality techno. Alongside many of Mr Hood’s own works, there are tracks by Jeff Mills, Marco Lenzi and Joris Voorn, plus remixes from Los Hermanos and Adam Beyer. At points the mix is fairly stripped back, but mostly it’s pounding techno. Sometimes there’s a funky edge with some filtered house sounds, at other times there are warm melodic synths. Generally though, it’s just damn good Detroit techno played by one of the founders of this scene. He even mixes in live elements such as loops and rhythm patterns to keep things driving forward. Anyone into the minimal sound who wants to find how we got to this point must really buy this. 9/10 RS
Out on Fabric
Atomic Hooligan
Sex, Drugs & Blah Blah Blah
Breakbeat gets a varied response from some quarters, mainly because some people find the scene too repetitive and samey. If these people checked this new album from Atomic Hooligan, they’d think again. There isn’t actually a great deal of breakbeat in the true sense of the word on Sex Drugs & Blah Blah Blah, but in a country that’s so keen to pigeonhole everything, breaks will no doubt be how this ends up being described. The album kicks off with a hands-in-the-air rocky, hip hop mash-up. Then it veers into the rock, electro house of I Don’t Care with a great vocal from Elmo Jones. Then it’s time for the almost big beat, Chemical Brothers-esque Who’s Ya Daddy Now. Papercuts is perhaps the most breakbeat track on here, but the vocal from Justine keeps the beats interesting. Do Me In sounds like toughened up Primal Scream, while Spread Good Vibes does just that with its hip hop booty breaks. Blah Blah Blah could be described as big band breaks. An all-round great album then, and one that will hopefully get the props it deserves. Seems the Hooligans are great on record and great live. What more could you ask for? 8/10 RS
Out on Botchit & Scarper
Paul Woolford presents Bobby Peru
The Truth
I’ve been a fan of Paul Woolford’s work since I heard his remix of Meat Katie a few years back. His sound is so unique and can loosely be described as electro house, although the emphasis is more on electro, with a leaning further toward techno than house. In this album he adds to his already full list of big dancefloor tracks, but also shows off a few more reflective and downbeat tracks which help reveal his influences and how he came up with his unique sound. Inspirational figures such as Squarepusher and Larry Heard are all apparent, Wooly incorporates these influences into his songs rather than just copying them. Fans of LFO, Audion and Carl Craig will all find something to like in this album, as will anyone into electronica, electro and breaks. 8/10 RS
Out on 2020Vision
Headman
Catch Me
Last year saw Robi Insinna – aka Headman – remix Chromeo, Mylo, Gossip, Zombie Nation and Roxy Music. His brand of punk funk/nu-wave disco – with a techno edge and splatterings of pop and indie – grabbed the attention of some eager eared artists and no doubt label bosses. And while remixing all of the above, he actually found time to produce an album. The good news? He’s not cut any corners. These album tracks feature more vocals than I’ve heard from Headman on his own imprint Relish Recordings, but they work really well and keep the variety flowing throughout. From the sweet female voice of Tara on Catch Me If You Can and the ladies’ favourite rapper Don Cash on Running Into Time, to Jeremy Kerr of A Certain Ratio on Dreampieces or Anton Spivac on Come On, these tracks all have a very individual style and are accented by Headman’s beats rather than the other way around. The instrumental tracks aren’t that bad either and help the album’s smooth flow. 7/10 RS
Out on Gomma Records
Various
Sudup & Dance
Is this from Detroit? No, it’s from West London. The album kicks off with the lush gradual builder of Minimize from Dlay, which is followed by the bouncing bassline of Memory. Shaoline comes with Ketsamine next, which as the name suggests, is very wonky, off-kilter techno. Sketchy Beats’ track Carry Toffee starts out equally as off-beat but works its way to more straight-up techno with great keyboard noises and some strange squeaks. Dlay returns with his more stripped-back sound and bouncy style on Simply Because and Whoops, before more off-kilter techno from Shaoline on The Clear Soup. The excellently names Sputnik O’Hara finishes things off in a rave style with the electro breaks-tinged Footwork. It’s interesting stuff which would work well as well in the clubs as it would in a minging old warehouse. 8/10 RS
Out on Soapsud City
Visit www.myspace.com/riksymmetrik and www.myspace.com/autodiscoevents. The next Autodisco is at the Reading Rooms in Dundee on April 25, with guest sets from Twitch and Greg Wilson
