Best New Releases from November
by Irina Kotik
It’s November and we still feel the warm halo of ADE with a full slate of incredible releases, exciting albums, and amazing remixes that span across a wide spectrum of underground house and techno.
We selected our ten favorite tracks of the month featuring talented producers such as DJ Metatron, Cleveland, LOR, SBTH, Tlak, Fort Romeau, Rodriguez Jr., Johannes Brecht, Recondite and Cubicolor.
DJ Metatron
'State Of Me'
Giegling
Cult techno powerhouse Giegling is set to end 2016 on a major high note. The Weimar-based collective will be releasing their very special long-awaited compilation that is without a doubt one of the finest emotionally-driven releases to grace techno lovers and electronic music connoisseurs this year. The new 14-track collection, entitled "Mind Over Matter", features Vril, Map.ache, Edward, Leafar Legov, DJ Metatron, among other incredibly talented producers from the enigmatic label. Smallville's Paris correspondent Jacques Bon also contributed a stunning track.
One of the most anticipated tunes on the compilation is DJ Metatron's utterly gorgeous, chill-inducing "State Of Me". Giegling mystery man DJ Metatron, also known as Traumprinz and Prince of Denmark is a master of creating moods and emotions rarely felt on the dance floor.
Hovering between a deeply emotional ocean of broken beat rhythms and delicate musical ambiance, the elegant and powerful "State of Me” combines a longing reality with an emergent nostalgia. DJ Metatron demonstrates his transcendent talent with this incredible masterpiece
Recondite
‘Corvus’
Ghostly International
Recondite, a.k.a. Lorenz Brunner, returns to Ghostly International with a brand new “Corvus” EP. With releases on the labels like Innervisions, Life & Death, Hotflush, Dystopian, Acid Test, Plangent Records and now on Ghostly International, Recondite continues to impress fans with a mesmerizing, chill-inducing “web of a complex sound bank that’s cinematic yet strangely subdued.“
Ghostly International describes this release as such: “Named after the foreboding family of birds that includes ravens and crows, Corvus is a chilling listen bookended by two very different versions of a spellbound new track called ‘Capable'. While the original version is aimed squarely at shadow-drenched dancefloors, Ricardo Donoso's remix mutes Recondite's skeletal drums and restless rhythms in favor of richly woven strings, ghostly ambient grooves, and frost-bitten samples. It's as if we're drifting without a dance loop to light the way—caught in the web of a complex sound bank that's cinematic yet strangely subdued."
The middle section of Corvus is mesmerizing as well. As "Kauz" shuffles and shimmers in front of a star-splashed skyline, "Huibu" casts wooden sticks against poison-tipped synth parts, and the EP's title track melds the harsh cries of Bavarian birds with a tense beat. And while Recondite admits his new material is "a bit more serious" than his last couple 12-inches—it was loosely inspired by everything from The Revenant's Ryuichi Sakamoto soundtrack to Max Frisch's heady novel Homo Faber, after all—the Rottal-Inn native insists there's a light at the end of this particular tunnel. Or as he puts it, "Melancholic doesn't necessarily mean dark. Music can be happy and moody."
LOR
'Net Lace'
Exit Strategy
Belfast's rising producer LOR (Lunar Orbit Rendezvous) is quickly making a name for himself in the underground electronic music scene with recent releases on Fort Romeau's Cin Cin imprint, Atomnation and a brand new EP through Berlin-based record label Exit Strategy. Entitled "Continuous Growth", the impressive three-track package features a unique groove-woven sound filled with beautifully electric euphoria. The closing track 'Net Lace' is a fruitful twist of cosmic melodies mixed with a raw and driving power.
SBTH
'Ribolla'
Lossless
The Lossless imprint continues to push boundaries and explore new frontiers of electronic music. Their latest release “Ribolla” EP is “future house music with a touch of 80's Italo for a good reason.” This is how Lossless describes their mesmerizing release: “The 'Ribolla EP' comes courtesy of the label heads Mathias Schober and Thomas Herb under their alias ‘SBTH'. The record shows that only with knowledge of the past you can create the future.”
"The title track, 'Ribolla’ is deeply embedded in the history of dance music, yet it sounds like the future. You hear a fundament of classic Deep House, sprinkled with just the right touch of Italo glam while being so cosmic and hypnotic that it pulls you into a vortex.
With this release Mathias and Thomas never tried to recreate the past or glorify it, they used the past as their inspiration and put their own bold stamp on contemporary club music.”
Abstraxion
'Dystopian (Cleveland remix)'
Biolologic Records
Following a series of releases on other imprints such as HAKT and Nicolas Jaar's Other People, Marseille-based producer Harold Boué a.k.a. Abstaxion returns to his own Biologic Records for a remix edition of his newly released full-length album entitled ‘She thought she would last forever’. The EP is composed of ten reworks of the album’s tracks with remixes from a very talented group of producers such as Eduardo De La Calle, Tuff City Kids, Ripperton, Mattheis, Kasper Bjørke, Vessels, among others. One of the more impressive versions was delivered by Luxembourg's rising star Cleveland. He provided a multi-dimensional percussion-heavy re-work emphasizing the gorgeously cool dystopian atmosphere of the original that simultaneously crushes and awes the listener.
Fort Romeau
'Korgs'
Cin-Cin
November marks the first anniversary of Fort Romeau's Cin Cin imprint with a split 12" release from label boss Fort Romeau and Honey Soundsystem's Bezier. The fifth installment, ' Cin Cin 05', features four tracks, two from each artist, showcasing high quality, stylishly artistic work by the incredibly talented producers. An undeniably groovy and raw, 'Korgs' is a mesmerizing beauty with a surprising emotional twist.
Tlak
‘Let Them Know Feat. Elli'
Obejktivity
Denmark’s gifted producer Denis Horvat is the artist that drives this exciting new project, Tlak. Following his debut release on Frankey & Sandrino’s imprint, 'Sum Over Histories', earlier this year, he is the next producer to grace the 46th release of Dennis Ferrer's Obejktivity label with the "All About You" EP.
“Let Them Know Feat. Elli” offers groovy house beats and silky-chocolate vocals by Elli which are layered with metallic percussions and haunting arpeggiated synth lines in an impressively effective way.
Johannes Brecht & Christian Prommer
'Voix grave (Johannes Brecht version)'
Diynamic
Multitalented musician and producer Johannes Brecht returns to Solomun’s Diynamic imprint for the breathtaking ‘Voix Grave’ EP. The three-track cinematic string package is a collaboration with another incredibly talented producer and composer Christian Prommer. The EP “consists of an atmospheric classical composition from the pair, with an electronic version from each producer… Diynamic member Johannes Brecht, and his version has already proved to be a standout moment in label boss Solomun's recent sets. Running at a full 10 minutes in length, Brecht utilizes this time to build up waves of climactic moments whilst peeling back layers to reveal the original composition's melodies.
"Voix Grave" as a package is an innovative project with both versions accentuating the qualities of the original whilst providing genuinely club-appropriate takes on the record. It’s further evidence of Diynamic's commitment to their creative vision, even as the label continues to expand to global proportions."
Rodriguez Jr.
'Chain Reaction'
Mobile Records
French master of eclecticism, producer/live act and one-half of French electro duo The Youngsters, Oliver Mateu, a.k.a. Rodriguez JR., makes a triumphant return to Anja Schneider's legendary Mobilee collective with a deeply emotional, powerful, and utterly irresistible two-track 'Chain Reaction' EP. Build on a suspense-filled bass line and deep pads (from the Moog Voyager), this stunning big-room title track is an incredibly gorgeous journey through moods and emotions.
Here is what Rodrigues Jr. says about this mesmerizing release: "It was written and recorded in one night. I was just jamming on the Moog synthesizer and trying to do something with a solid drive, without losing a strong emotional side. It's been inspiring to record in this spontaneous way, without thinking about the final result and just record in the moment.
Cubicolor
‘Fictionalise (Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas)'
Anjunadeep
Norwegian space-disco mainstays Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas combined forces for the first time since 2012 to deliver a strikingly gorgeous rework of ‘Fictionalise’, the latest bewitching single from Cubicolor’s acclaimed debut LP “Brainsugar” released earlier this year via Ajunadeep. This beautiful disco-infused version is made for big rooms and cosmic sun-soaked parties.