Trulz & Robin - Agent Acid EP (Cymawax)

Norwegian duo Trulz & Robin throw down the gauntlet with the third vinyl-only statement from the Cymawax label, delivering an acidic take on their patented 'hot and crunchy techno with soul.' The prolific pair from Oslo have been a force in their country's electronic music scene for over two decades, with massive singles for Full Pupp, Eskimo Recordings, and the Cymasonic and Cymawax labels to show for it. Now, the Agent Acid EP finds Trulz & Robin infiltrating the secret lair of a 303 conspiracy and decoding a quartet of sonic documents full of heavy synthesized funk. The EP's title track is a slinky introduction, featuring battling analog squelches and drum machine patterns while a disembodied vocal plays on top. "I Disappear", adding collaborator Brokkoli on the voice, is a more in-your-face effort as its pulsating sequences give way to floor-thrilling breakdowns. The low end might of "Magnetisk Smultring" showcases Trulz & Robin's experimental side, complete with a disconcerting middle passage that soon reveals gentle synth melodies over a hypnotic rhythm section. Then "My Body", the release's closing track, introduces mysterious feelings … percussive clicks and tones build steadily as dub effects, sharp washes, and ominous whispers take hold. The Agent Acid EP is another triumph for Trulz & Robin … a masterclass of covert nightclub maneuvers.

Norwegian duo Trulz & Robin throw down the gauntlet with the third vinyl-only statement from the Cymawax label, delivering an acidic take on their patented 'hot and crunchy techno with soul.' The prolific pair from Oslo have been a force in their country's electronic music scene for over two decades, with massive singles for Full Pupp, Eskimo Recordings, and the Cymasonic and Cymawax labels to show for it. Now, the Agent Acid EP finds Trulz & Robin infiltrating the secret lair of a 303 conspiracy and decoding a quartet of sonic documents full of heavy synthesized funk. Tracks such as "I Disappear" and "My Body" utilize pulsating sequences, percussive tones, and dubbed-out vocals to a thrilling effect. It's another triumph for Trulz & Robin … a masterclass of covert nightclub maneuvers.

Colin Dale - "Really cool acid tracks here … a killer EP."
Tensnake - "Quality … great release."
President Bongo (GusGus) - "I like it!"
Dr. Motte (PRAXXIZ) - "A solid acid release."
Larry Tee - "Love it!"
Mugwump (Kompakt / Throne of Blood) - "'Agent Acid' and 'I Disappear' are ace!"
Human Life (Exploited / Win Music) - "This is f*%king amazing."
Ulysses (Neurotic Drum Band / Hallucienda) - "So much good on here, and I still can't resist a good acid track."
Stacey Pullen - "This is cool."
Massimiliano Pagliara (Live At Robert Johnson / Balihu) - "Another hot EP from Trulz & Robin."
Tim Paris (Marketing Music / My Favorite Robot) - "A super fun collection of tracks."
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch / Mega Jawns) - "Aceeeeeeeeid! A really impressive EP here … I love it."
Tyler Stadius (Deepsite / Dialtone Records) - "Best tracks I've heard in eons. Really great and twisted."
Leri Ahel (Mutant Disco Radio Show) - "Brilliant. I love all four tracks."

Available on 12" vinyl from Deejay.de, Juno Records, Decks.de, and Red Eye Records.

Bordland - Home EP (Dimentique)

The Bristol-based artist Bordland epitomizes his Dimentique label as a producer filled with surprises and a ear to the eclectic. Unafraid at playing with genres, both Bordland and Dimentique have revealed a distinctive catalog held together within the rein of thoughtful deep house. The new Home EP offers three expressive tracks from Bordland, each presenting a lush, dreamily produced sound. "Home" is filled with spacey atmospheric synths and pulsing pads over the direct rhythms, creating a lovely, emotional vibe. "Switch It" also features Bordland's filtered, warm chords, this time accompanied by a more traditional house rhythm track and a hint of a 'lounge' style. "Finale", which was previewed early last year but is only now fully realized, applies the aesthetics of the EP to a gentle, slo-mo 'dubstep' feel. There's a skillful use of tension, as the sound rises to subtle blasts of synths and rhythm punches. Bordland's Home EP succeeds in transmitting an exquisite message to the dance floor.

Nick Holder - "I'm digging this!"
Tensnake - "The title track is nice."
Tom Lown (Savoir Faire / Lost My Dog) - "Nice, refreshing stuff. 'Switch It' is the one for me."
Lil' Mark (Great Lakes Audio) - "I'm really loving 'Finale'."
Tyler Stadius (Deepsite / Dialtone Records) - "Good summer grooves here."
Distant People (Foliage / Seamless) - "Deep and twisted yet full of soul."
Blueshift (French Express / Nurvous Records) - "Super deepness! 'Switch It' really stands out for me with the bendy stabs."
Chris Udoh (Tigerhook) - "I love the warm vibey grooves … excellent stuff."
Vincent Kwok - "Excellent deep stuff."
DJ Di Costa (MoodyLushious Influences) - "Excellent release once again. Outstanding work by Bordland … all three of the tracks in the EP are remarkable, especially 'Finale' which totally nails it for me."
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle / Strange Days) - "'Finale' is exactly the mellow eclectic vibe that i'm continually searching for to play."
Jero Nougues (Savoir Faire Musique / DeepClass Records) - "Loving 'Home' … sounds fantastic, really."
Jean Jérome (Radio FG / Kut 'N' Paste) - "This EP is just splendid!"

Available now from Beatport, Juno Download, and iTunes.

Jaymz Nylon - Inner Flight (Innerflight Music)

Jaymz Nylon is regarded as the progenitor of afro-tech, a spiritual fusion of African, Latin, and jazz rhythms within a modern club context. In 2012, this veteran producer and DJ — who has been releasing records for over two decades — moved from New York to Seattle and quickly established himself as a tireless champion of sophisticated house music in the Northwest with his Passage nights at the Seattle clubs Electric Tea Garden (RIP) and Kremwerk.

For Nylon's Innerflight Music debut, the label and artist have augmented the similarly titled “Inner Flight” with four varied remixes. The original features The Mystic Vibes (a local vibraphone virtuoso) and finds Nylon combining the spiritual with the physical in a work that's a paragon of earthy, celestial house music. It features Nylon's deadpan baritone intonation, recited as if in a hypnotic state: “This is a journey / of loving and learning / This is an inner flight / come on and take a ride / to a place where you can fly.” The transcendent nature of the lyrics is mirrored by the plush keyboard and vibraphone penumbras hovering over the casually bustling rhythmic foundation, all of which are more interesting and organic in essence than your usual house productions. Nylon's own Afrotech Reshape adds shakers, emphasizes hand percussion, and brings to the fore the serpentine melody, which elevates the track to even more sublime heights than his initial template.

As the first remix offered, Montana DJ / producer Kris Moon beefs up the bass and revamps the no-nonsense, hip-smacking four-on-the-floor rhythm into something you might have heard in an early-'90s Detroit techno classic. As is typical with anything Moon touches, the aura is deep, trippy, and cerebral. Joe Bellingham's Reimagined Mix muscles up the kick and reduces the vocal to a few percussive tics, ramping up “Inner Flight” to a smoothly propulsive floor-filler in the process. Veteran Seattle producer Bob Hanssen (of duo Jacob London) offers the most radical transformation here, bringing in church bell tones and upward-spiraling synth arpeggios while making Nylon's voice sound omnipresent. Hanssen has almost totally eradicated the rhythm, repurposing the track for a swirling, eventful house-of-worship experience.

Jaymz Nylon, The Mystic Vibes, and company combine to create an inimitable sound listeners will be hard pressed to find anything else like -- something for more daring and creative souls.

Pezzner - "This has to be one of my favorite Innerflight Releases yet. Jaymz is a visionary, Hanssen flipped the script blissfully as expected, and I'll definitely be supporting Joe Bellingham's version in the clubs. Quality."
Terry Francis - "Joe Bellingham's mix for me."
Daniel Bortz (Suol / Pastamusik) - "Cool one."
Satoshi Fumi - "Love the percussion in this."
Justin Harris (Music For Freaks) - "Joe Bellingham's mix is great."
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings) - "The Kris Moon version does it for me … lovely release."
Bill Brewster (DJHistory) - "I really like the original and the other Jaymz Nylon mix. Both are good and very useable."
Hippie Torrales - "Nice!"
Alkalino (Estimativa / Audaz Recordings) - "I love the original, and will try out the remixes."
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - "Some serious percussive vibes right here … I'm digging the original, Joe Bellingham's mix, and -- in particular -- Jaymz's Afrotech version."
Jeff Berger (Dope Den / Fr33dom People) - "I'm digging the dreamscape of Kris Moon's remix … some chunky ankles dancing around in there!"
Distant People (Foliage / Seamless) - "Great drum work on this … quality summer feel."
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) - "Simply outstanding … this one's straight into my top ten and I will be hammering it. Well done on a beautiful release."

Available now from Beatport, Juno Download, and iTunes.

DJ Enne - Allein (Karmaloft Music)

Karmaloft Music is pleased to present a new single from DJ Enne, a prolific musician and mastermind of Italo-inspired electro-disco-rock band Mohear. His solo releases have made their way onto labels like Compost and Permanent Vacation, but this comes as no surprise considering his close relationship to the Italian cosmic pioneers Baldelli and Beppe Loda. He spent much of the '80s absorbed in the afro-funky-cosmic-disco sound -- the reoccurring hyphen-bridged music descriptors reflective of his genre-bending tastes -- and his single "Allein" is no exception.

"Allein" is a cover of an original song written by Uli Erdmann from the popular '80s era of Neue Deutsche Welle, a short-lived genre which was the German equivalent to the punk rock and new wave music out of England. Produced alongside the Munich-based Tom Appl (also known as Fruitroom), "Allein" has an appealing Italo flair and features vocals from Jens Poenitsch. The lyrics capture the zeitgeist of the Cold War times, covering the ideas of loneliness, yearning, alienation, and anonymity. The result is a moody and epic onward march of guitars and layered synths. All three of the song's participants also provide their own distinct remixes, joined by the Munich DJ duo of Bes & Meret.

First to the table, Tom Appl only provides minor touches to the track, reworking his own percussive groove and lowering the pitch of the rhythmic guitar into more of a symbiosis with the synths. DJ Enne gives "Allein" a referential class with his lounge-y Piano Mix. Meeting somewhere in the middle, Bes & Meret introduce a piano and synthetic chord progressions in the breakdowns with more of a club pump to the kick and drum programming. Poenitsch & Jakopic give the song a retro spin, taking it back to the kind of synth bass lines and keys that owe everything to the new wave influences of NDW.

All in all DJs will find "Allein" sehr gut.

Tim "Love" Lee (Tummy Touch) - "I'm loving this!"
Johnwaynes (Cécille Records / Compost) - "This is really well produced … I will use the Piano Mix for some special DJ sets. I can feel some Balearic on it!"
Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe) - "Dope."
Severino (Horse Meat Disco) - "Yes … I love this."
Hardway Bros (A Love From Outer Space) - "This is great."
Markus Schneider (The Robot Scientists / Emerald and Doreen) - "Wonderful '80s new wave gem! I love the synths and vocals, too. Great … I might like it better than the Tabu original from 1982."
Black Mighty Wax (Irma) - "So cosmico!"
Nathan Stewart (The New Black / Whiskey Pickle) - "What a juicy departure from the usual stuff I've been hearing."
DJ Doubles (Freestyle Fusion) - "Nice, diverse approaches … this is fun."
Daniel D (Shake Machine / Discobox) - "Serious grooves … the Poenitsch & Jakopic remix has got me!"
Richard Hardcastle (Solid State / All Out War) - "It's difficult to carry off this sort of cosmic / new wave vibe convincingly unless you're steeped in it and know the canon inside out, We're in safe hands here and you can tell it's the real deal."
Deadbeat Disco Radio Show - "Some cool vibes here. The Tom Appl Mix is great … a wicked combination of '80s feel with a modern deep house vibe."

Available now from Beatport, Juno Download, and iTunes.