Last year marked the reemergence of Anoesis following a 20-year hiatus. A highly respected producer across the ‘90s, specialising in interstellar IDM and electronica, Howard Dodd rose from his statis to release two new albums alongside a five-track EP on Cyphon Recordings last year. A bold statement and stake in the ground showcasing that Dodd’s production prowess has not faltered in that time, but has rather taken on a fresh vitality in this new chapter.

The Megacognition EP exudes Dodd’s distinctive style. A master at making tracks that sound like they were created in an extraterrestrial laboratory, fed by long lost tapes of Detroit techno from ‘Planet Earth’.

‘Vision Off’ opens the EP. Subaquatic rumblings with precision drum programming that dials from reverberating kicks to crunched claps. Trembling basslines and hypnotising synths entice you to the depths, as arps trickle to the top disorientating your brain.

‘Do Don’t Don’t Do’ and ‘Polybius’ follow. The former, a spiralling, off-kilter web of interlocking synthesis, that’s both dizzying and harmonising in the same breath. The latter a dubbed-out, minimal house groover packed with tactile basslines, dusty drum loops and echoed vocal samples.

Take to ‘New Style of Life’ for a transfixing dose of twisted Martian music, guaranteed to cause a stir. Warped electro meets cybertronic electronica with a techno edge. ‘Voxelle’ then closes out the EP. A soul-rousing cut of euphoric deep house. Stargazed, sunrise hazed, it’s a track that can be deployed anytime, anywhere and is sure to leave a lasting mark. Layers of luscious pads and celestial strings topped with an infectious synthline that will suspend you weightlessly in a bubble of worry-banishing brilliance.

Active in an age where talent, diligence and taste meant more than social media traction and algorithmic obedience, Dodd’s versatility and class have clearly never waned since those early days. If anything, the Megacognition EP shows it is as strong as it has ever been.

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Repress!
This excellent piece of music (sourced from the original DAT) was way ahead of its time in '95. Still a roller. For Selectors only.

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Having surfaced from a 20 year hiatus this year with two new albums, Anoesis continues his restored run of form letting loose a five track masterclass in IDM, electronica, house and electro on Cyphon Recordings. Showcasing a signature touch crafted across the ‘90s, the Stasislogue EP flies the flag for the fact that Howard Dodd has by no means lost the ability to make a dancefloor move.

Operating in a far flung corner of the cosmos, Anoesis was responsible for some truly mind-warping breakbeat and IDM across the ‘90s on labels such as D*Fusion Records and Octopus - releasing tracks that always felt like they were made in another dimension.

Continuing where he left off, the EP opens with ‘Track Thirty 7’, a production that could just as easily have come from Mars, as it could Detroit. Glitched out yet driving, conceptual yet considered, it’s got an ethereal urgency that moves limbs with purpose.

‘Callisto’ follows, part UR, part dream house - an emotive, eyes closed journey with soaring pads and glistening synths laid over a bubbling beat. Rounding off the A side, ‘May Eleventh’ gives a real insight into the modulated mind of Anoesis, a hardware-heavy, underwater electro trip that nods to the deep sea dwellers, Drexciya.

Flip it over to find ‘Space Watch’, a skippy house bumper with a grooving low-end and lunar transmissions hypnotising from the off, before a peak-time, dancefloor-focussed slice of mind-expanding electronica, ‘Places For People’, rounds off the package.

Honed in the ‘90s, yet firmly rooted in the present, it’s clear to see that Dodd’s ability to write absorbing, interplanetary machine music with a human heart at its core is as strong as it’s ever been.

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Having operated as Anoesis since 1994 - Letchworth based producer Howard Dodd now readies a fresh body of work cherry picked from studio sessions spanning 2010 > 2023. 'Frame Jack 1' utilises modular synths through to Casio toys with heavy doses of UK breaks to inaugurate a new label Kranq.

Formations 09 kicks things off with a heady tapestry as snares and wood blocks are braided over warm, psychedelic tones. Amorgos follows with a snappy but low-slung break that is set swinging over gooey pads, snarling low frequencies and more hazy atmospherics.

'Trash Man Broken' follows with an exercise in molten robotics, recalling a Metamatics vibe with it's pin-prick hats, jagged bass notes and colourful melodies. 'Hawassa' then rolls out another deftly mapped 2-step groove that manages to occupy a zone between rude and classy.

'Cargo Cult' then renders a fractal trip - a pastiche of 90's Electronica and Trip Hop that finishes off a highly accomplished batch of productions and signals the birth of a captivating new project in Kranq.

produced by H.Dodd @anoesismusic
mastered by Marco @analogcutmastering
artwork by Daniele @dshot92

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Following 2 heavy reissues of “Silver Mirror Of Her Eyes” and “Heavy Water” from original works on D*Fusion Records in 1994-1997, Howard Dodd aka Anoesis returns to physical in 2023 for a new full feature-length album via Australian based imprint Paper-Cuts. Selected works between 2010-2022 “Memory On Memory” offers a modern take from the underground UK artist, spanning refined breaks, playful tech-house and modular experiments stretched across this 9-track LP.

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Anoesis is the duo of Doc Bozique and Oxidation and this is their third release on Cosmic Soup. It is one that has been long anticipated by fans of their well designed breakbeat sounds and their first since 1995 when they dropped Blood & Sweat on D*Fusion. As such there is a hint of 90s post rave magic to the 11 cuts here, all with cosmic intent and deep grooves. They are tunes that have you lost in a reverie on the heart of the dance floor but with your gaze turned skyward. Essential stuff.

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At last, we get doused from the source; four priors of reissued gems and newer beauts now land us at the quintus maximus: the inaugural Spray on Spray. It’s large and in charge, as we pull back the velvety curtain to reaffirm the exquisite curator is just-as-exquisite a melody maker. OT Rails adjusts the prog antenna to broadcast 3 anthems from the great big dance satellite in the sky, including a collaboration with French cuties Baraka. You’ve had your trad, now dance!

The title track struts along its psychedelic catwalk with a sexy house swagger, unlocking a wobbly stack of pineal-tickling melodies en route. The angels soon sing in positiva harmony, before the piano-lude calls for a tight embrace with those closest to you on the dancefloor. Raise those hands aloft, you know what’s coming; that hard house’d snare roll soon erupts and, before you know it, you’re soaring like the white dove you are. Why does it feel so good?

Spray then switches channel to Ceathair, coaxing the prog spirit from the motherland as the psilocybinised breaks wisp through the undergrowth. The vibe is bouncy, as the diva croons and bassline sings, before the vista opens and the sprayed piper summons you home. Open that third eye, súil eile.
Our swan song is reserved for Baraka and Spray, conjoining their tech trance powers on Think Of Me. The trio up the pace for the grand finale, rolling the tight groove from the off while igniting its hybridised trance rump with hypnotic fervour. The friendly mantra floats heavenly above throughout, absorbing you in a semi-lucid ecstatic state. It’s a whirlwind of dancefloor energy from beginning to end, and Spray wouldn’t have it any other way.

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As the siren’s song echoes out of systems worldwide, perhaps we are (re)turning to the liquid age of dance; with natural ephemera such as moss, sentiments for ecology such as swamps, and mercurial aspects of water all absorbing the aesthetic forefront. A return to nature, a deep dive under the lily pads. Here Marijn with her debut EP guides our plunge, a trip previously taken via her podcasts on Kulture Lab, where you can also find her previously released music.

Whispers from the ethereal plane drift around the headspace, a rumble in the distance of sound traversing the water, voices to guide and to keep you from floating too far from the line. Audio hallucinations are aplenty when submerged, a serenity of space, yet distant growls assure that peace is not always 2 be found. The melancholia within the daydream, the pang of loss caught in reflections, internal and from the water, with the lily pads floating above as a guiding entity, an anchor, something to hold. Under the lily pads we rumble.

On the flip everyone’s fav casual breaks n rave hooligan Luca Lozano asks the recurring thought within dance music, a question we quest, yet rarely want the answer. Abstraction via squeaks and tweaks, you better bop your bleepin’ head to this 1.

‘Leave A Message’ leaves the tranquil waters disturbed and rippling to the outer edges, providing jumps for the lily pads to ride on the incoming tide, with the ebb and flow making way for a storm surge. Aka big beats are the best, a notion the directly honest final track ‘Made (Drums)’ follows, bringing a twisted jack attack logic to a deranged assembly of samples, a manic orchestra of tumbling drums who have conspired to freak out, albeit with cute bubbles underneath to revel in the allure of sonic mania.

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Sound the alarms, red-hot new label Spray has checked in for round two; nummer zwei.. though far from dry; with Leisureplex, a suspiciously proficient debut from Dublin’s Drua. Joining the prog-parade full steam ahead, the 3 tracker dabbles in tech trance activity with a bonus remix from Berlin’s backbone Mor Elian. The enigmatic newcomer showcasing mature structural bliss, crafted for moments of subconscious synchronicity between the dj and their dancers.

Breaking out of the cookie cutter mold in sharp fashion is the title track, rolling effortlessly with addictive bell delays and morish gating. Layers graciously build a wall of sound that can’t be broken down; splintered shakers flicker above board whilst demonic vocal blurs act as rhythmic counterparts. Mor Elian’s dystopian leaning rendition still holds some stealthily euphoric aura, the heavy handed machine drum freakout a brain scattering rendering on speed.

The B Side stands alone tall and proud; Larp feels like a climax at the party. Sirens flaring high as hell, the rise and fall of the bassline bouncing in tandem with driving drums, only stopping for a dramatic drumroll. An essential to top off a seriously stunning first record from Drua, get it before he blows up!

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