Eric Spire
Silver Pearl Reimagined III

The first VA release from Scottish rave Headset, showcasing unsung Scottish artists making sound system music in any tempo.LWS opens with a broken UK techno tool. Kamus follows with a halftime 90bpm techy stomper.On the B-side, Aggregate Culture go hardcore jungle rave. With Delahunt closing the EP with a unique, dubbed out 160bpm number.

For Delft-based label Omen Wapta's first release, Japanese musician/sound designer/coder/producer JEMAPUR explores the far reaches of abstract experimental techno on his album Mode Cleaner. Pulling from music made between 2016 and 2020, JEMAPUR demonstrates his distinctive use of glitch, microsampling, live coding, and granular synthesis techniques. The album was made when the producer was drawn to subjects like physics, geometry, murals, ancient civilisations, the logic of nature, and the observation of the universe.

As a self-described “sponge for club music”, London-based Bristol transplant Ian DPM has cut a singular figure in both the West Country and the capital in just a handful of years. Already situated as the tastemaker behind music curation platform Definite Party Material, co-owner of Scuffed Recordings, and Noods Radio and Rinse FM resident, Ian DPM’s emergence as a producer has marked him as an expansively curious, bass-forward figure at the bleeding edge of genre boundaries. After retreating to his hometown of Portsmouth during lockdown to absorb the blueprints of ‘90s techno, Ian emerged with a new phase of experimentation: techno-inspired and indebted, yet eschewing loops and grids for a loose-limbed, open minded engagement of the form. Taking inspiration from the iconic carnival rides that are inseparable from their high-octane happy hardcore soundtrack, “One For The Waltzers” begins with a distant rumble of muffled breakbeats that inch ever closer. But rather than dizzying lights and in-the-red maximalism, “One For The Waltzers” gradually reveals its knowingly deep shimmy and groove. It is a drum-heavy and rhythmic production, masterfully using negative space to showcase every contour of its slowed-down rave horns and acid house synth lines. “KE01” inhabits the flipside of the same sonic world “One For The Waltzers”. Here, feverish percussive energy contrasts against pensive melodic synth chords. It’s a heady warehouse affair, familiar and complex, referential yet contemporary, and only adds to the momentum that Ian DPM is gathering.

The Full Circle Released imprint is here. Finally - some might say - as these Parisian Masterminds stoke their engines with a faster grade of fuel. Always in keeping with trend, these well-versed contemporary historians have delivered something fit for the peak of the moment, a progressive A side that surely crosses over; with a break in the beat, surges of euphoria and darker moments that harken back to the hard trance we knew, this number fills the Full Circle brief and more! The B side is a true dub, nestled in at just the right tempo, it sails on through with plenty of heavenly space about it, balanced with subtle percussion and just a pinch of sonic wonk. Those starting to panic about the speed of it all can of course just hit the 33 dial for some 1/2 speed love, it’s Full Circle after all.

Finest Hour delivers its first 2 x LP, “Universal Voyage”, courtesy of Ukrainian up and coming producer Aliana, seamlessly matching the label’s aesthetics with her non-conformist sound offering hints of minimalist neo-detroit house and early 90s electro as well as UK tech-house influences. After a little sabbatical year, Finest Hour comes back with a subtle bang, presenting its first full cover artwork cover in the process.