Sourcing influences from 90s Tech, house, trance and breaks Aiden Francis' pure passion for underground electronic music radiates through his music and DJ sets. Effortlessly drifting between different sounds and aesthetics, Aiden has managed to break himself free from the constraints of genre so that his true creative prowess can be flexed in full.

The lack of constraint overflows into Aiden's DJ sets, providing highly energetic experiences that flows through a unity of sounds, cultures and voices. This varied approach to DJing has found Aiden's name appear on high-quality events across Manchester and the UK, having played along Eris Drew at The Loft, taking the reins for High Hoops Pride Weekender at The White Hotel featuring on the lineup alongside D.Tiffany and Fafi Abdel Nour and regular intimate sets at Eastern Bloc.

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The 27th release on Gestalt Records comes from Manchester-based Aiden Francis, spanning three original cuts of driving techno and a levitating remix by South African producer Terrence Pearce aka Biodive.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Take a think back to the end of the night, past the two o'clock knock-off time and towards that steady flicker of synthetic lights that tell you to go home. There's a sunrise somewhere outside, creeping towards the horizon and providing the clarity of day. But for now, the bass deepens as Aiden Francis draws you into his folds: the night has a few more memories to be made and the dancefloor a collection of dedicated music lovers who are there to wring the last few moments from it.

Aiden Francis started creating and forming this release back in 2019. At the time, he was repeatedly getting stuck in a musical rut with no clear artist or musical direction. So when he started working on the title track 'Mezzanine', all the other tracks fell into place after that. By the time 2020 came around, the EP was pretty much done but when the Covid pandemic hit, he found myself with a lot more time to sit removed from outside influence. So he sat back down with the tracks to refine and perfect them. His recording process for this started out quite relaxed but it then became some sort of lifeline for him over those lonely and scary months. This is why most of the tracks are less heavy dance floor orientated and more for those moments of bliss at home, the end of the night or that 7 am walk home from the club.

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Underground stalwarts Voodoos & Taboos make their Duality Trax debut alongside a remix from rising talent Bertie, set to drop on November 8th. Now on its seventh release, Holly Lester’s vinyl imprint blends seasoned pioneers with the next generation of producers.

A serendipitous moment at London’s E1 in 2023 was the genesis for the labels latest release, when DT label head Holly Lester unknowingly dropped a Voodoos & Taboos track only for the duo to walk in mid-way. Already known for their standout releases on iconic labels like Phonica, Bordello a Parigi, and Palms Trax's CWPT, this chance encounter sparked a creative connection between Holly and the pair.

‘Time Out’ kicks things off with swirling synths and the duo's signature alien electronics, set to a playful breaks infused rhythm and morphing bassline, as command and control rings out overhead. ‘Endless Game’ comes with the usual V&T trimmings; an infectious bassline and with a scattering of curious sounds and samples, with a healthy dose of italo-inspired groove - the type of track reserved for bringing a dash of joy to the dancefloor amidst a heads down body-moving groove.

On the B-side, Australian newcomer Bertie steps up with her remix of ‘Time Out’, following her breakout EP and high-profile remix by Ciel. In a short space of time, Bertie has already developed a signature sound injecting her productions with nostalgic 90s house and contemporary subtext; glued together by crunchy drums and a penchant for wide-eyed rhythms. Sticking to her guns, Bertie’s flip of ‘Time Out’ packs a serious punch, showing why she’s an artist on the rise.

The EP closes out with the psychedelic ‘All Action’ with its vocoder vocal samples, bubbling acid and teleporting top-lines. One of the most notable features of the duo's music is their ability to let things evolve over time, their music often accompanied by strong storytelling, an art that has been almost lost in today’s era of instant gratification; their instrumentation often taking on a life form of their own and dosed with surprises.

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Duality Trax first opened its books in 2020 with an EP featuring Radiant Love regular Fio Fa and a remix of the year contender coming from Lisbon’s Violet. Since then the label has become known for its acute attention to detail, giving each release the shine it deserves while avoiding disposable practices and challenging the industry through its dedication to duality and balance, whether that be sonically or surrounding gender identity.

It’s really no surprise that one of house music's leading label figures Tywi was destined to make an appearance. Having started the Haws imprint in his home city of Cardiff, the label’s wide-spread popularity began to gain the attention from some of the industry’s most respected heads and became a breeding ground for new artists to emerge. A shared love of music resulted in tracks being shared over time and eventually DUALITY6 was born. In what will be his first full length EP, Tywi continues to join the dots between 90’s house, prog, breaks and trance, with a huge remix coming from Frankfurt-based artist Maruwa.

Title track ‘Reality Checkpoint’ connects various styles with a modern take on progressive trance. Sonics feel as if they’ve been projected from space in a kaleidoscopic mind-warping ride, coupled with the producer's impressive ear for world building soundscapes. A child of the ‘90s, Maruwa combines her classically trained ear with the nostalgia of her upbringing in the remix; channeling early trance records and deep, chugging rhythms into a wave of euphoria fit for peak-time. It’s the first time the label has also delved head first into full trance territory, turning the intensity levels up while paying homage to both label owner and artist’s early musical influences.

The B side opens up with ‘Spellbound’ which feels like a guided tour around the cosmos, sat beside trusted travelers and embraced by everything-will-be-alright energy . The track’s interior is built around synths that feel both effortless and light as our tour guide brings us towards our final destination. The EP comes to a close with ‘Laws Of Motion’, building slowly with shades of leafy greens and deep oceanic blues as it gently brings us back down to earth.

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Repress!

Following releases from Dublin’s Fio Fa & naive label head Violet, LA-based Cromie & Timedance affiliate rRoxymore and various artists compilation Visions Vol. 1, Holly Lester prepares the next chapter of dualistic bleeps, bloops and blends from Utrecht producer Tifra on Duality Trax. Re-imagining vintage club sounds through a contemporary lens, Tifra is no stranger to stretching the electronic music template into new forms and ideas. His left-field house and old-school breaks have found their way onto Gestalt Records and Rough Recordings, and here the producer turns in three cuts of blissed-out electronica, hedonistic progressive and jungle-run club with its sights firmly fixated front left, complete with a wicked remix from one of modern dance music's most reliable names Roza Terenzi. ‘Plastic Replicant’ is a vocal-laced electro-house roller that takes inspiration from the golden-era of 90s electronic music and fuses it with the organic, multi-genre blends of the current gen. The ravey continuum is laced with high-frequency vocal stabs and deep basslines designed for a heads-down approach on the dancefloor, before ‘Entomology’ captures the playful side of the club with its shape-shifting acid-lines, trance-licked melodies and kaleidoscopic blend of colour, feeling and mood. Out of the club and onto the beach, ‘International Waters’ is a trip-hop inspired, downtempo dub that will delight ambient and laid-back electronic-revellers with its chirpsing birds and aqua-like aesthetic, before Roza keeps the dualism alive with a stripped-back jungle flip of the original; the perfect score for the perfect daydream.

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Holly Lester’s Duality Trax imprint has quickly established itself as one of most exciting emerging labels from within the modern electronic circuit. Undoubtedly inspired by the golden era of house, techno, bleep and club, the label also has its crosshairs fixated firmly on the future and has become a one-stop-shop for the very best in early-hours euphoria and contemporary heads-down sonics.

Despite its young age the label already boasts a stellar back catalogue, releasing tracks and records from Fio Fa, Violet, Cromie, rRoxymore, Roza Terenzi and more – and the fourth in the series comes from Steffan Todorovic and Joonas Aro under their Abdul Raeva alias.

Holly is no stranger to either artist, having set up the Terrazzo label with Gestalt Records and Coymix head Steffan. It’s a sonic match-made-in-heaven, with both contributing artists and label head sharing an admiration for bouncy, fun and deep club music that dangles its legs on the border of emotionality without taking itself too seriously.

The label head was first drawn to the lead track ‘Atlas Corporation’ with it’s soaring resonant lead reminiscent of the classic ‘Rez’ by Underworld. Ear-wriggling acid lines and psychedelic atmospherics balance a gritty and driving drum rhythm across a kaleidoscopic six minutes, before ‘Death Race’
blends techy dub with Abdul Raeva’s signature proggy sauce, best played as the sun begins to rise again.

Staying true to the concepts of gender and sonic duality, the remix comes from Australian DJ and Pure Space-founder Andy Garvey who turns in a breakbeat-laden, broken acid-techno rendition of the A2, before we come to a meditative close with the tropical, downtempo sounds of ‘Guardian of the Vault’.

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