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Net Decks 15

  Tobias

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reviews

The dark and dirty dreamteam of techno has hit the scene: Claudio PRC and Schniner, friends from sweaty clubnights in Sardinia according to the Intoxic label, release a stomping, storming and pumping triad of tracks that wil have you wishing it was Friday. „Island Disease“ is an aural picture postcard from the land of vodka orange and adrenalin, a deadly effective statement in minimal aesthetics and underground vibes with a catchy flair. First, Claudio PRC offers to get „So Close“, a six minute long slow burner of askew sounds and an ascending four-tone bass line, which swells and shrinks like pupils in REM overdrive. Somewhere in the middle, the piece seems fully released, ready for combustion and lift-off, but Claudio keeps his cool and the tension simmering on a subcutaneous level. Schniner then takes over with the darkroom microcosm that is „Brina“: A  grunting backwards voice, pitched all the way down to the coalchamber, seems to pronounce the mysterious word „Seeeef“ in a bid of making itself understood, while a penetrating little melody floats above, changing its timbre as we go. Best is kept for last, however, as Claudio PRC transforms the already sinister sounds of „Brina“ into an even more haunting nightmare, in which all that remains of the spoken word contribution is an inhuman reverberation, while thematic elements are permutated into smooth harmonics. Nice sharp drum sounds running through all of these pieces, lending them a sharp and edgey note. Great anticipatory tunes.
www.intoxik.de

Okay, this next one is not for free, but sometimes something's got to give. Minisketch is the minimal-oriented label of Davide Squillace and already much more than just an insider tip. With releases both on a virtual basis and with a shining electronic surface, it is the perfect example of a netlabel not only in terms of business model but music as well. Their October offering, the „Magic Morning“ EP by Ludovic Vendi is easily my release of the week. Two tracks of all-permeating, all-envelopping, ever-seductive deepness and well-dosed atmospherics against a minimal beat base. „Sueno X“, the „B-side“ is an erotic trance dream of whispered desires, pearly sequences, majestic monotone bass strokes and aborted attempts at a guitar theme, which finally come to fruition in the sensous finale. It is, however, the title track which lifts the music to a higher plain. Nothing but an irresistible bassline with superprecise punctuations and organ stabs, driven forward by a stupifyingly simple auto-electronic groove. But what a triumphant bassline it is! Bustling and kicking, flowing and fluctuating like Giorgio Moroder in love, it will have your hormones racing and your finger tapping the repeat button in an endless hypnotic loop. Perfectly executed, music-made elevation.
www.minisketch.com

Talking about different business models: Good Mood Music, the Munich-based label set up by Carlos Mendes and Ingolf Schapke, offers all of their tunes for free streaming, so you can make up your mind first and buy later. Not that the quality of their laid-back material should cause anyone second thoughts. Mendes and Schapke are well aware of the immanent danger of the chill-out genre of repeating and exhausting itself. On the other hand, they love the familiar feeling of those good old classics too much to start up an experimental outfit. The logical conclusion was to take their music into a space of incredible soulfulness, of peaceful warmth and spaced-out moods, into a territory both organic and futuristic. You'll get the point immediately when listening to a sampler like „Royal Journey“, a thirteen track update on the meaning of the word „deep“. Whether it's the jazzy lounge-royale trips of Schapke's „Living Room“ alter ego, which emulate the freewheeling 70s feeling with their blend of accentuated flute runs, latin grooves and minimal electronics or the almost too-cool-for-words sweet love-making music of Esteban Garcia Junior (boys, never forget to take „Deep Blue“ with you on a candle light dinner!), this sampler is spot-on, never tiresome and introduced me to the sensationally sharp funk of Art Bleek, the James Brown of the digital era. The „Liquid Lounge“ series follow a similar path, but tend towards a more abstract sound. Reverbed marimba chords meet ethno samples, minimal koto-stabs fuse into 25th century dubtronica and gangsta movie string sections pave the way for robo-soundscapes with trumpet echoes. An exciting and welcome evolution of the genre.
www.myspace.com/goodmoodmusic

By Tobias Fischer

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about

“Net Decks” is a weekly feature of tokafi.com covering Netlabel releases from the techno and electronica scene. It is published each Monday. For including your infos, having your releases reviewed or joining the reviews team, please contact us at tobias@tokafi.com