The Empire Line present six cyclonic episodes for confined spaces on their debut album, 'Rave.' Comprised of Posh Isolation's Christian Stadgaard (Damien Dubrovnik, Vanity Productions), Jonas Ronnberg (Varg), and with Isak Hansen (Iron Sight) on tantrums, the trio's marauding live shows have been translated into a slippery set of pummelling techno works, watermarked with florid noise. 'Rave' is a celebration of contemporary rave culture, focused on the everlasting and transcendent as the night slips out past the day. With living-for-the-weekend hedonism irretrievably converted into a manicured, violent cliche, building new worlds and forging new modes of intimacy takes an exceptional sincerity. Naming some of the crews closest to The Empire Line in the album's titles, their spaces are examples of just how rave culture persists as a transgressive stronghold in people's lives. Ranging from k-hole anthems to jacking, close-range sessions, 'Rave' still bears the traces of the group's experimental background, ensuring the tension is kept up through the catharsis. More

Since Héctor Oaks’ debut album “As We Were Saying” came out on Bassiani as BASLP01 almost 2 years ago, his career has gotten quite some traction. Time to celebrate one of our first international residents with BASRMX01. On his new EP he invites like-minded techno figures to remix tracks and bring in a new twist to his take on contemporary dance music. If this was a lineup, you’d definitely want to show up to the party. DJ Stingray and Somewhen kick-off the record with understated yet confident remixes. Voiski uses a beautiful and raw melody, elevating the original to even higher realms of potential dance floor ecstasy. Parrish Smith’s remix of “Afterall, She Had No Reason To Stay” pushes through with a fast beat and a pinch of darkness. Tribal drums and a luring melody complement the end of the release with “Horoom Reclusion” in a remix by Zesknel. More

“Get ready to get into the “earthshaketrance”. With his background in jazz music, Kancheli shows a finely attuned feel for rhythm. Trance leaning tunes on the A side tickle your dancing soles, making them peak time material. Playing with emotive evocations of hope, this is music to transcend to. The B side strikes a darker chord, with Kancheli using acid synths and combining them with vocals reminiscent of wave. The release finishes on a remix by Volruptus. All in all, the well-crafted first solo release of a dance floor favourite.” More

Tripeo raises a voice for change on his new album “Green Is the New Red“ (BASLP03). “The great thing about (electronic) music is that it’s the most universal art form there is“, says the Dutch producer. “It transcends lingual and cultural barriers more than any other cultural expression and can be a catalyst for change.“ The sound of the coming revolution is manifold: Starting off with A1 “Hope in the Dark“, a soft melody unfolds. B2 “Shifting the Overtone Window“ stands out as the most bass-heavy track, with techno as its musical blueprint. Further into the album, C3 “Fridays For Future“, the artist openly states his sympathy with the global youth movement. His vision for the protest is lo-fi in sound and courageous in mood. Never angry, this album creates urgency without uttering a word. More

Traditionally, Darko Esser's outings as Tripeo have tended towards the hypnotic and trance inducing. It's notable, then, that his latest EP - the first Tripeo 12-inch for 18 months - mixes things up a little. "Food For Thought", for example, fixes melancholic, Convextion style musicality to crunchy, EBM-influenced techno drums, while the fuzzy, dirt-encrusted "Resist" sees the producer give deep electro an angular, lo-fi makeover. "Tuesday Blues", meanwhile, sees him stack layer upon layer of positive electronic melodies atop rubbery, Afro-house influenced techno drums before Bassiani/Horoom resident HVL rounds things off with his skittish, breakbeat-powered revision of "Food For Thought", which sounds like a giddy blast from the past despite the poignant nature of Esser's melodies. More

The Bassiani label is the platform for the infamous Georgian club to present its sound to the wider world, and it does so in fantastic fashion with this run of various artist releases. This fourth release kicks off with the dark, textured and brilliantly rendered techno immersion of Cassegrain's "Departure Seven", while Ersatz Olfolks gets a little more heated with the strafing synth work that courses out of "Straight Road". Hector Oaks is also in a rowdy frame of mind with the peak time belter "Move In Circles, Walk On Lines", and it's down to Thomas Hessler to cool things off with the heart-rending electro of "Memories". More

BASSIANI Records 3rd 12-inch release BAS003 include tracks by Japanese techno artists: Wata Igarashi, Iori, DJ Nobu and Takaaki Itoh.
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