The compilation is split into two discs, the first being a collection of unmixed tracks, split between established TINAE artists and others which have not previously released material on the label. Having previously untested artists on the compilation is something that easily could have backfired, but the quality of the less established acts really shines through. Whether it’s Panda City Band’s surreal take on disco, or Pink Stallone’s Italians Do It Better style italo, everything here that is new just feels right. TINAE cohort Moscow (who has provided remixes for Detachments and They Came From The Stars) offers up an original track, “Boson”, built around a thick arpeggio and crisp drum machine beats, bringing to mind a primordial take on acid house. It’s a fantastic solo effort which more than proves his worth outside of the remixes he has produced, and further serves to carve out a unique sound for himself. Probably the standout track however, is Young Monday’s “Zaire”, a perfect 3-minute hypnagogic synthpop gem which effortlessly manages to contain several genres into one package, in much the same way as, and with as much skill as the more established Weird Tapes, whose inclusion here may be enough to tempt many people (for those who don’t know he also goes by the name Memory Tapes).

The second disc, a continuous mix by Carr, is just as vital as disc one. What could have been simply an afterthought demonstrates the effectiveness of TINAE’s output in terms of the dance floor. The mix is predominantly made up of remixes, but the choice of producers on offer show the care that goes into ensuring quality productions which are a good match for the dark, analog rich sound of TINAE’s artists. I’ve heard some really quite shoddy mixes that have accompanied similar label compilations, something that is often down to the difficulty of having to work with a very fixed set of materials, but thankfully the mix on offer here doesn’t suffer those issues. It follows a smooth upward trajectory, beginning with Chateau Flight’s’s 100bpm balearic re-fix of Spectral Empire’s “Innerfearance” and the sublime Prins Thomas remix of Hatchback’s “White Diamond, then moving its way through the up-tempo acid-heavy Joakim remix of Naum Gabo’s “Pictur”, the quite massive Serge Santiago remix of They Came From The Stars‘ “Moon Song” and the similarly huge King of Town remix of Detachments’ “Circles”, which features a bassline which sounds like it was recorded in an aircraft hangar. The mix only really loses some cohesion towards the end when it has to move in quite quick succession from Parallels‘ superb Madonna aping synthpop, to Professor Genius’ balearic rhythms, finishing with the Happy Mondays-esque Mungolian Jetset remix of “Moon Song”. But in honesty this is a minor criticism, especially when the music is quite so good. Carr has recently said that he has had trouble recording a mix recently because of his tendency towards perfectionism, but if he can create such an impressive mix out of such limited source material, then I really don’t think he has much to worry about.

Manifesto #1 more than lives up to its name; it offers a concise statement of TINAE’s sound up to now, and hints nicely at future avenues of sonic terrorism. If you’ve never heard of them, then shame on you. If you want to put things right, then I could do no better than recommend this compilation.

Download audio file (Young Monday – Zaire.mp3)

Download:> Young Monday – Zaire

Manifesto #1 is out now on Thisisnotanexit

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But still, the mood that the album creates is difficult to get a handle on, let alone describe. Opener “The Times” is a case in point: a sleazy ballad sung by Battant vocalist Chloé, it uses reversed sounds that phase in and out and oddly tuned guitars to create a sense of shifting unease, it’s not until the honky-tonk piano kicks in after two minutes that all the disparate elements suddenly lock together in an explosion of slightly uncanny elation. There is also an undoubted influence of rockabilly in this record, perhaps most apparent in “God Will Break It All”, where the vocals are provided by Poni Hoax’s Nicolas Ker. Away from his regular band’s Devo-esque synths, his new wave croon becomes more of a growl, and the sound of early punk makes itself more clear, as the slightly weird territory between 60s garage rock and 70s punk that The Cramps occupied is evoked as he screams over thrashing guitars. However, Land Of Truth is not just an album of noisy garage punk, its influences are wide ranging. The disco bassline of “Crackboy” is probably the closest the album gets to something danceable, while “Dogs On Trial”, with its squelchy bassline, piano stabs and drum machine beats sounds like a strange kind of house music. The last track, “The Edge”, with its heavy echo on the vocals, has elements of the pastoral folk which has made Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver so massively popular.

Despite the influences in this album being wide, in Land Of Truth, Krikor manages to create a sound which is is united and coherent throughout. And like his close peer Joakim does successfully with his albums, he manages to be wildly experimental and alienating, and somehow create a pop record all at the same time. The thing that really sticks with you after you’ve listened to this album though, is the sense of a fiction being created; not just a story but an entire sonic world that only The Dead Hillbillies exist within. In this interview with Ponystep, Krikor is asked who the Dead Hillbillies are and who they represent; his answer is that “I needed time to learn the most I could then forget all about it, letting everything go. The Dead Hillbillies are my alter egos, I embraced them then I had to kill them”. This extends to live performances, where he plays everything himself (without a laptop, and with pedals, bass, drum machine). When understood like this, Land Of Truth takes on a new meaning, it is an example of an album as a kind of parallel universe, a bleak world of sonic introspection that does not, and will never exist in the real world.

Download:> Krikor & The Dead Hillbillies – Dogs On Trial

Land Of Truth is out now on Tigersushi

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The album’s title may conjure up images of a Goblin inspired trip through Dario Argento horror movie nostalgia, but in actuality it is filled with thick, Moroder-esque basslines that inspire dancing rather than dread, though there is a definite undercurrent of something creepy which runs throughout. The album begins with, aptly enough “Horror Disco”, which sets the tone for what follows. It starts with a chirruping synth line which really holds the track together, constantly bubbling away in the background, like a demonic chattering, which, in conjunction with the low, rasping spoken vocals, make the track sound like an exorcism being carried out in a disco. But the emphasis is always on the disco, as the focus is very much on the melody driven elements, but with just enough atmosphere beneath the surface of each track to justify the album’s title as a whole. The other track that makes real concession to the title is “Disco For The Devil”. It plays out like the opening theme to a long lost B-movie. It’s the only track on the album with sung vocals, but they are delivered with the kind of delivery that is necessary of lyrics like “Down on the dancefloor someone is creeping/You’re at the discotheque you should have been sleeping”. It’s phenomenally camp, but it works because it feels so utterly authentic (perhaps because the vocalist is one Douglas Meakin, who has worked with Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti).

But horror movies aren’t the only trope that seem to provide inspiration for the sounds. With it’s trumpets “Venezia Violenta” has a sound that apes car chase funk and blaxploitation grooves more than it does Italian slasher flicks. But it’s “Theme From St. Mark 30124″ that manages to floor me every time. Possibly even managing to outdo recent Italians Do It Better release “No Static” (which is also on the album) for sheer pleasure, it has a slightly housier feel (especially in the some of the sounds at the higher end), with dubby vocals offering a rhythmic element which helps to stop the huge bassline from dominating.

More than anything though, this album feels like a trip back in time. Tracks like “Magnetic Cat” and “Undercover Monkey” utilise the kind of melodic playfulness that characterises a lot of genuine Italo disco, with the instrumentation to match (flute, strings, wonky synths). But it’s the darker edge to Italo that Bottin nails which stops the album from veering into the realm of pastiche. What really has to be applauded however, is that in a genre increasingly dominated by remixes and singles, Bottin has managed to create an album, 14 tracks in length which maintain enough quality to make him no longer one to watch, but a producer who has well and truly arrived .

Download audio file (Bottin – Theme From St. Mark 30124.mp3)

Download:> Bottin – Theme From St. Mark 30124

Horror Disco is out now on Bear Funk

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This is not to say that Black Meteoric Star lacks rhythm. Anyone unfamiliar with Black Meteoric Star, and expecting more along the same lines as Russom’s album with Delia Gonzalez, The Days Of Mars, will be surprised, when, in the opening track “Death Tunnel”, after the initial few seconds of arpeggiated synthesizer, an almighty kick drum begins a rhythmic onslaught which will characterise the rest of the album. The percussion is not complicated; given Russom’s love for vintage equipment, (and presumably a disdain for computers) the limitations of his drum machine are apparent; drum lines often consist of no more than kicks, snares and hi-hats. But this is far from a drawback, rather, the simplicity of the percussion creates the sensation of a lumbering primeval menace, which, when partnered with a devastating sub-bass, make this music that is obviously intended to be felt as much as it is heard.

The press release for the album suggests that the six tracks which make it up follow a narrative line, telling “a story of clubbing and the long journey through the night and into the next day”. It’s tempting to dismiss this as spurious nonsense, but listening to the album in sequence reveals this description to be quite apt.  “Death Tunnel” begins with a mid-tempo piece of proto-acid which slowly builds in its intensity, reducing the rate of the primary melodic line half way through to give the structure some breathing space. It’s a really simple trick, but one which really elevates the track to a higher plateau.

“World Eater” follows, and builds upon the intensity of “Death Tunnel”. “World Eater”, unlike “Death Tunnel” is held together with a raw synth melody, which concludes several times during the lengthy running time, each time peaking and exploding with increasing ferocity; a ferocity followed through in the next two tracks, “Dominatron” and “Anthem”. Both of these tracks are in excess of 130 BPM and are the most relentless pieces of dance music I’ve heard for some time. The delayed synth ripples and searing bass of “Dominatron” bring to mind Vitalic’s “La Rock 01″; from its dense structure, sonic tendrils emerge to create a nightmare Medusan image, something particularly apt considering that it is supposed to be the female counterpart to the male “Anthem”, both sides dancing opposite each other in a “possession ritual”.

After the sonic assault of “Dominatron” and “Anthem”, the final third is slightly more calm; “Dreamcatcher” mirrors “World Eater” in its structure, but the melody is triumphant rather than doom laden, playing out with all the gusto of an 80s hair metal guitar solo. It slowly starts to break apart into something altogether more psychedelic in the last third, with two opposing melodic elements playing off against each other until it resolves itself into something more sedate. “Dawn”, the final track, is the perfect end to the narrative, its slow pace and meandering arrangement perfectly captures the sluggish energy of a night’s end.

Thankfully, despite it’s prog rock concept album trappings, Black Meteoric Star is refreshingly free of clichés; Russom has created six tracks which exist entirely in a space of his own design. And whatever mythology Russom has created around this music, the fact is most people will listen to this without any knowledge of it; but Russom demonstrates a sonic mastery through Black Meteoric Star which doesn’t require a story to enjoy the concept.

Listen:> Black Meteoric Star – Death Tunnel

Download audio file (Black Meteoric Star – Death Tunnel.mp3)

Black Meteoric Star is available now on DFA Records

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The album’s flow sits somewhere between the drawn out synth prog of Lindstrom’s “Where You Go I Go Too” and that of a more conventional single producer based mix compilation; although there is a clear delineation between tracks, they glide effortlessly into one another, often amidst a gust of synth winds. “Sirup”, likely to be the most well known of Andersen’s productions, is built around a pulsing bassline which slowly pierces its way through bright analog pads. The conga drums and sunset melody of this track are probably what has gained Andersen the balearic tag (this track also features on Fred Deakin’s Nu-Balearica mix from last year), but the album as a whole probably owes more to the sounds of Detroit than any beach on Ibiza. The driving hi-hats of “Mamma” and delayed chords of “Ditråit” evoke the deeper end of house rather than any kind of nu-disco.

The album isn’t exactly packed with production flourishes, but by keeping things reined in the music has a simplicity which, in combination with its breathy pastel shades created by it’s use of simple thick analog synths give this album a real sense of class. In short, the Nordic disco dominance continues.

Download:> Blackbelt Andersen – Nattmanøver

Download audio file (Blackbelt Andersen – Nattmanover.mp3)

Blackbelt Andersen is out now on Full Pupp

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If there’s one thing that seems to characterise BTWS’ material, it’s rhythm. One thing that is quite noticeable from listening to all these remixes in one sitting is that the volume on the beats is often very high in the mix, with a lot of treble. Thankfully, the clarity and sharpness of the drums give their material quite an edge, especially considering the slower tempo of much of their material; when you’re dealing with stuff that’s sub 110BPM, the drums have to be just right, or things probably aren’t going to be that exciting to dance to. The remixes of Late of the Pier and Simian Mobile Disco for instance feature extended portions where there is nothing but drums, but the way in which the congas rattle away in their tribal rhythms before dropping in some gurgling synths create an irresistable effect. In their remix of Franz Ferdinand’s “Ulysses”, the drums are one of the few recognisable elements stripped from the original, beefed up, and put together with some sublime synth bass. It sounds more like a house track than nu-disco, and is undoubtedly one of the best remixes they’ve done. On the other side of the coin are the remixes of Midlake, Findlay Brown and Dust Galaxy which take a folkier angle. I will fully admit to having no idea who these artists are, but in the context of the album, they make for extremely pleasant listening experiences if nothing else, especially in the case of Midlake’s “Roscoe”.

In some cases, like with the remixes of The Chemical Brothers and Goldfrapp, their production style seems so suited to the vocals of Willy Mason and Alison Goldfrapp respectively that it’s hard to imagine these songs being done in any other way. I haven’t heard the originals, but I think this is probably the way I want it to stay.

Download:> Goldfrapp – Happiness (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation)

Download audio file (Goldfrapp – Happiness (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation).mp3)

Re-Animations Vol. 1 is out now

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Let’s get this out of the way first – forget what I have just told you about iTunes, because this compilation is brilliant. It seems to have been somewhat criminally overlooked, having been released a few months back, but to little fanfare, which is a shame, because the content is so strong. I don’t want to use the “balearic”, because that would be to do this compilation a disservice. What is perhaps most striking about the tracks is the real vintage feel they have. The second track, In Flagranti’s “Preceding Stairs” is a real surprise. In Flagranti always seem to turn up on these sorts of things, but their track is one of the best things on the compilation, possessing a haunting melody which sounds like it could have been lifted from a 70s science fiction movie; positioned prior to a brilliant Professor Genius remix of Jean Jacques Perry and Luke Vibert, and a Black Devil Disco Club dub version, it gets the album off with a suitably analog mood.

The slightly more “balearic” axis is brilliantly represented by Soft Rocks, whose “Leave Your Earth Behind” takes an acid bassline and layers disco percussion and guitars over the top to great effect, while NDV’s “Touchy Philly” is the kind of piano based anthem that has that melodic rush that Aeroplane possess the ability to create.

There are also some heavier moments; the album kicks off with Maelstrom’s “Acid Dub” of a track by The Flying Sapphire. I have no idea who The Flying Sapphire is, or are, but a trip to their MySpace page is highly recommended – the tracks on their player have a fantastic vintage cosmic dub sound and have got me hooked. The acid dub is a very different sound to what I have come to expect from Maelstrom, but it’s excellent nevertheless. There is also “Life’s A Gas” by Black Mustang and Kerrier District, which has a much darker, housier feel than all the other tracks, and has some searing synths which swell up to a noisy crescendo. The track I find myself listening to over and over though is Lurifax’s “Midnight Drive”. The title might be a well worn trope in the world of cosmic disco, but the phased guitars and violins will haunt you long after the track has finished.

MP3:> Lurifax – Midnight Drive

Download audio file (Lurifax – Midnight Drive.mp3)

Milky Disco 1.5 is available now on Lo Recordings

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When the compilation opens with the psyche-folk of People’s “Glastonbury”, not an edit, but a “Dirty Reissue”, it gives us as much insight into the minds of Pilooski and his compatriots at Dirty as any of the edits on the disc. It’s an eerie track which conjures up images of Wicker Man-esque pagan stomping. As an opener, it’s bold, but it sets the tone for the disc as a whole, which is full of edits that inspire a certain kind of trepidation.

The second track is a Pilooski edit of an Elvis Presley track, “Crawfish”, from a 1958 film, King Creole. Far from being an edit, this could be classed as a remix; as well as an added kick drum to beef things up a bit, the track features the kind of dissonant atonal sounds which Pilooski’s output (and that of his his Discodeine alias) is often characterised by. The occasional vocal stuttering and echo and ring modulation which is applied to the track reinforce the pervasive dread begun in “Glastonbury”. It feels fresh, and it’s probably because, unlike 99% of the other editors out there, Pilooski is not just editing disco.

What Pilooski seems to understand better than most is that being a good editor is not just in the editing itself, but in the choice of the source material. Half the joy of the Dirty series of edits is being exposed to music that isn’t just disco. Some of the most interesting cuts here are the 80s synth-pop edits, chiefly The The’s “Giant” and Holger Hiller’s “Das Feuer”, cuts which are as similarly creepy as the first two. Of course disco does get a nod; Pilooski’s edit of Jackson Jones’ “I Feel Good, Put Your Pants On” (the original of which was featured on James Murphy’s Fabric mix) is another highlight, but once again closes by upping the fear quotient at the end of the edit.

Pilooski’s edits aren’t the kind of thing you can listen to too much of – like Discodeine’s upcoming Tom Select the slight weirdness is likely mean most people can only tolerate small doses, given that there seems to be something inherently sadistic in Pilooski’s editing and production technique, but those who can take it will undoubtedly be rewarded.

Download:> People – Glastonbury (Dirty Reissue)

Download audio file (People – Glastonbury (Dirty Reissue).mp3)

Dirty Edits Volume. 2 is available now on Dark & Lovely

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The first thing that will probably strike you about Deep Gems is its much more stripped down approach. “Poison Or Remedy” is essentially an alternate version of Beatbox’s “Beatific”, which substitutes the rumbling bass pedals and bouncy tempo for something slower and more restrained, with Ida No’s vocals given more prominence in the mix. This is something that seems to be a feature of the album as a whole; whilst in Beatbox Ida’s vocals were often in the hazy distance, in tracks like “Feeling Without Touching” and “Stars & Houses” the vocals have a clarity that is almost unprecedented in an Italians Do It Better release, especially when compared to the recent Nite Jewel 12″.

This album also shows a side to Glass Candy that has more in common with producer Johnny Jewel’s other band Chromatics. Whilst Beatbox lived up to its name as a 70s disco inspired dance record, Deep Gems is much more of a headphone listener. “Soft Boundaries” for instance is a beatless, half sung, half spoken that often threatens to break out a kick drum, but is all the more successful for its restraint. Album closer, “Silver Fountain”, a bossa nova tinged cosmic slow jam which is quite unlike anything Glass Candy have done before. My favourite though has to be “Stars & Houses”, a haunting song with a shuffling rhythm which is simply about “the brilliance of white light”. Stunning.

MP3:> Glass Candy – Stars & Houses

Deep Gems is out now on Italians Do It Better

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Permanent Vacation’s latest full length from Woolfy and Projections further cements their reputation. Woolfy will be known to some for his recent output on Rong, but unlike singles such as “Oh Missy” which go for all out disco rock, his collaboration with Projections is a much more laid back affair, but not one without weight. Indeed, this album seems to be weighed down by slow, rich bass and hazy vocals. “Absynth”, one of the album’s undoubted highlights, is a codeine soaked slow jam in which each percussive element echoes with drugged out melancholy which Woolfy’s vocals evoke.

The album has lighter moments; “We Were There” is unashamedly balearic in its character, replete with it acoustic guitars, violins and trumpets, but despite its tropical rhythms and comparitively high tempo, this is not music to dance to; it’s aching strings never allow us that release needed to really let go. Even the most danceable cut on the album, “The Return Of Starlight”, seems designed to sedate the listener. But this sedation is never anything than completely engrossing. In much the same way that Italians Do It Better’s Invisible Conga People and Nite Jewel releases have managed this year, Woolfy and Projections’ album is created from disco’s form but has a character all of its own.

Invisible Conga People have also been chosen to rework “The Return Of Starlight”, which can be listened to at xxjfg – go do so, it really is something special.

Download audio file (Woolfy vs Projections – The Return Of Starlight.mp3)

MP3 :> Woolfy vs Projections – The Return Of Starlight

Buy the CD from Juno here.