February: 9 electro releases you need to hear this month

Various 'Electro Compiled By Joey Negro' (Z Records)

In the 1980s, America was a cacophony of different emerging electronic sounds. Chicago was bumping to house, Detroit was chugging to the metallic thrum of techno and New York was grooving to electro-funk. The latter was a scene which would prove pivotal in the evolution of electronic music: it was the sound that ushered in the computer age, thanks to the onset of drum machines, synthesisers and samplers.

For Z Records’ latest compilation, Joey Negro delivers his own personal take on electro-funk’s journey from New York’s Fun House to Manchester’s The Haçienda. His choices highlight the importance of seminal tracks such as Hashim’s Kraftwerk-like ‘Al Naafiysh (The Soul)’, which was the very track used to introduce the Haçienda to this edgier, more robotic sound emanating out of the Big Apple. Elsewhere on the comp, Negro spotlights Tyrone Brunson’s ‘The Smurfs’, which would later be sampled by Armand Van Helden for his 1997 track ‘Break Da 80s’, and Dynamix II’s ‘Just Give The DJ A Break’, which he credits with instigating Miami’s electro bass scene.

9/10

DJ Hell 'I Want You' (International Deejay Gigolo)

Helmut Josef Geier, aka DJ Hell, is back with the first primer from new LP ‘Zukunftsmusik’. ‘I Want You’ is playfully caustic, and harkens back to Geier’s output during the early 00s when any DJ worth their salt would be certain to be carrying one of his records in their bag. Inspired by electronic music’s often forgotten link to the gay communities of clubs such as The Warehouse and the Paradise Garage, Geier is looking to reforge the connection with the help of Tom of Finland’s homoerotic fetish art for the video and artwork.

9/10

Mikron 'Foresight' EP (Zone Records)

Zone Records makes an emphatic return with a new four-track EP from brothers
in arms, Mikron. The title track makes an early impact with its hard synths, thumping kicks and volatile atmospherics. ‘Vanguard’ is equally unnerving as the duo combine acid top-lines with breakbeats for an industrial workout that takes no prisoners, especially when you hit the track’s brain-scrambling main drive. The sole remix comes via The Exaltics and their Drexciya-sounding take on ‘Ulterior’, which closes this delightfully devilish release.

7/10

Arnaud Rebotini 'Desillusion' EP (Blackstrobe Records / !K7 Records)

Arnaud Rebotini is currently in the throes of preparing a new solo album for later this year. But ahead of that, the French producer has a new four-track EP of acid-tinged electro, dubbed ‘Desillusion’. The release begins in suitably bone-shaking fashion with the excellent title track, which is an inky cut of electro awash with discordant synth lines and frenzied drum patterns. ‘Seig!’ is a little lighter but no less potent, as Rebotini combines jangling disco hooks with arpeggiated basslines before bringing the whole track to the boil for a showstopping breakdown. The second half of the EP sees a change in tone and timbre as he delivers two wonderfully hypnotic cuts in the form of ‘The Djs Wailing’ and ‘Wildwood Orphan’.

7/10

Curses 'The Deep End' (Safer At Night)

Curses’ decade-old classic ‘The Deep End’ is getting a vinyl-only re-release. Alongside the original, there are also two new remixes courtesy of Holy Ghost! and Ian Blevin. Holy Ghost! offers up a twisted electro disco remix with its bright chord sequences and hooky basslines. Belvin, in contrast, turns his attention to the 80s sci-fi sounds of B-side ‘In Shadows’ and delivers a more throbbing interpretation of the original’s cinematic feel, with a heady blend of turbulent arpeggios and heaving bass leads.

7/10

Last Waltz 'Tunnel Snakes' (Me Me Me)

The latest release from Man Power’s Me Me Me imprint sees Geoff Kirkwood (Man Power), Lee Forster (Lizards) and Mick Rolfe (The Great Curve) bringing back their experimental supergroup Last Waltz after a two-year hiatus. The trio don’t waste any time in getting down to business with three contrasting cuts. ‘Tunnel Snakes’ sets the tone early on by combining futuristic space disco with barbed electro for a seductive opener. ‘Y’ave Changed’, on the other hand, is a low-key blend of disco and drone-y techno. The EP’s real standout, though, is ‘Itchy’, which sounds like an old-school cut of saw-toothed electro that’s just itching to do business on the dancefloor. Tel Aviv’s Red Axes and Naduve then deliver a whirring remix teeming with experimental synth lines and esoteric vocal chops.

8/10

Resonators 'Groovepressure 15' (Groovepressure)

Cult label Groovepressure looks to its back catalogue once again for its third release since coming back from the dead, and this time it’s label boss Resonators, aka Robin Ball, who’s been given the re-release treatment. The EP features two certified classics, ‘Shuzzbuzz’ and ‘Booma’. The former comes in three flavours courtesy of Ball, who delivers a remaster of the original, a low-slung house remix and a b-boy infused electro remix, which is easily the pick of the bunch. Elsewhere, ‘Booma’ is given a fresh lick of paint and sounds just as essential now as it did back in 1999.

7/10

Transparent Sound 'No Call From New York' (Electrix)

Featuring one original track that comes in two versions and an all-star cast of remixers, this is the sort of electro that’ll put hairs on your chest. Highlights are plentiful, with the acid and electro mixes of ‘No Call From New York’ both essential purchases, before Larry McCormick, Sync 24 and Mr Velcro Fastener offer their remixing skills. McCormick delivers a prickly mix, Finnish duo Mr Velcro Fastener are on brain-melting form and Sync 24 heads straight into deep, jackin’ electro territory.

8/10

Clarian 'Alienated' (Kompakt Records)

Clarian returns to Kompakt Records with a new EP full of catchy weirdness. The majority of his ‘ANKH’ release resides in the space between the warm hum of house and the mechanical grit of techno. But there is one outlier: ‘Alienated’ finds the Canadian producer deliver a more electro-sounding timbre brimming with undulating sub bass and melancholic chord progressions.

7/10