Page 57 - Zone Magazine Issue 021

louk@zone-magazine.com \\ TUNES
Matador - Air [Rukus]
Matador returns to his Rukus label with an enigmatic five tracker. 'Shamen' manages to hold its own with some lush Vangelis-esque pads amidst a shuffly groove, while 'Surrender' goes on the darker tip with eerie pitch bent synths and some huge drums. Of the three much more melodic tracks on offer to round off the EP, it's title track 'Air' that wins favour here, featuring subtle yet great synth melodies that sound great played alongside each other.
https://soundcloud.com/rukusofficial
Alex Bilancini - Crack Of Doom [Etruria Beat]
Another issue of Zone, another awesome release from one of my favourite labels of the past three years. Luca Agnelli's Etruria Beat releases techno that is emotive and yet generates a huge reaction when releases are dropped on the dancefloor. Here he welcomes a new release from Arezzo's very own Alex Bilancini, who first surfaced on the label in 2016. 'Crack of Doom' goes straight for the jugular with a worthwhile original, but it's the remix from Oliver Deutschmann that stands out for me.
https://soundcloud.com/etruriabeat/sets/alex-bilancini-crack-of-doom-etb047
Charlotte De Witte - The Healer [Novamute]
The resurgence of NovaMute's has been a much welcomed thing here, with strong releases from Terence Fixmer, ANNA, Nicolas Bougaieff, and the previous release here from Belgian techno stalwart Charlotte De Witte. Here she returns to the label with four solid tracks, with the title track first surfacing on her Essential Mix earlier in the year. 'Silence' is my favourite of the four on offer, a chaotic yet groovy number that certainly takes no prisoners.
http://mute.com/
Alexander Kowalski - Cycles [Mord]
I have been championing Alexander's music ever since his DisX3 releases in 1999 and would go as far as to say his track 'Speaker Attack' is one of my all time favourites. Here he releases a mammoth album for Holland's high profile Mord imprint that shows his diversity as a producer and manages to keep a consistent quality throughout! Choice cuts on offer here are Trust In True Spirit and Endless Shimmer.
https://soundcloud.com/bas-mooy/mordlp003-alexander-kowalski-cycles-previews
Avision - Free Your Mind [Matter+]
New York's very own Avision delivers a decent EP here for Victor Calderone's Matter label. While the three original tracks on offer have quite a meticulous but funky groove to them that work effectively, it's the remix from Mark Broom which greatly stands out here. Mark manages to turn pretty much every track he touches into something instantaneous that works on the dance floor and his remix worked well when dropped the other week at 4 am. Mesmerizing stuff.
https://www.beatport.com/release/free-your-mind/2273097
Various Artists - Black Mail Xi [Dead Cert]
Dead Cert live up to their name as a certainty for high quality techno with this four track EP featuring some absolutely awesome producers. I have been championing their material for the past few years and they always leave me impressed! 'Atomic Clocks' by Berlin's Marco Effe is the favourite here, but all four tracks went straight into the record box, with 'Warp' by Confluence also receiving some serious rotation.
https://www.beatport.com/release/black-mail-xi/2280095
Robert Hood - Clocks [M-Plant]
Ah Summer season is well on the way, and you just know this welcome return from Robert Hood on his M-Plant label is going to be championed at every techno festival known to man. Clocks is a detuned face melter that goes straight for the synapse, while Low Life is an organ groove not dissimilar to his 'Never Grow Old' from Floorplan. Rounding off the EP is 'Go' which is a tribalistic number that certainly packs a mean punch. Groovy!
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/robert-hood-clocks-low-life-go/
ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 57
7
9
8
8
7
8
8