Flatland Frequencies
Isle of Jura – Release: March 13th 2020
Ahh, the isle of Jura. Famous for it’s raw unspoilt beauty, friendly locals, whiskey and… Soundsystem? Paradoxically, the label of same name is actually based in Adelaide, distributed via Rotterdam and responsible for reissuing some proper classic tunes (Voice of Q 7″ anyone?). They also put out new music too it would appear…
Some classic tracks almost don’t see the light of day. This track was recorded in 1981 but wasn’t released until 2009. To modern ears, sounding like a crazy Donkey Kong arcade bass over a raw jacking house beat, Video Crash mixed with industrial rock. But who was Carol?
It’s been over three years since Ali’s last full solo album Geomorphology. His latest excursion on Frequency Domain is called Microhumans and while it falls under the broad ambient label, like his previous LP, there is a lot to be discovered here.
Super fast and super funky electro of the type we just can’t get enough of.
UK-based Polypores (aka Stephen James Buckley) is no stranger to Flatland Frequencies, having listened to his numerous contributions to the excellent A Year In The Country series over the past few years.
Posted because of the first track “Patterning”, an interesting hybrid of 160 breaks, Sheffield bleeps and an electro bassline straight out of the Aux 88 playbook.
Title track “Black Hole” is the one for us. A steady paced slow-building sci-fi electro transmission with a spiraling synth line like you’re on the edge of a black hole.
The name of the EP’s title track no doubt a tribute to Kevin Saunderson’s E-Dancer moniker. Swirling chords, ecstatic vibes with a melancholic edge. When the present is grim nostalgia plays an important role, the past can look like a futuristic utopia. But this is no cheesy look back through rose-tinted spectacles, the vibe is deep. Bittersweet memories of a future-past that never quite happened.
Pentatonic romplers and en vogue vocal effects from Sign Libra, in this nautically themed offering via the RVNG harbour.
Kalamazoo may not get as much of a mention in the mythologies of House and Techno as Chicago or Detroit but in the mid to late 90s it was certainly a place with its own artists and a unique style.
This EP is made from previously unreleased recordings made by D-Knox during that era. As well as Sonic Mind there was Black Nation Records, which is name-checked on the first track of the EP, owned by Jay Denham this is another not unknown but probably undervalued label in the history of Techno.