With The Hidden Beauty Of Dutch House '94-'98, Anacalypto Records dug deep into the electronic archives of The Netherlands. Continuing their audio archaeology, their second release breathes new life into a true gem.

Closer is the first and last appearance of Luc Wächerlin aka Luca. Originally released in 1998, the four tracker was one of the final EPs to come out on Orlando Voorn’s ephemeral Slamdunk Records. The twenty-five-year-old press release describes the 12” as a collection of “beautiful, elongated, shimmering, Detroit style trancers for the morning after the night before.” Accurate words. The four works on offer are from the heyday of Techno, where flourishes of Detroit combine with the deeper currents of Sheffield for something energising and immersive. From the liquid synthwork and floating choral lines of the title piece, the listener is bathed in throbbing radiance and warmth. Echoes of “the night before” comes through in “Indian Summer.” A steady kick is the bedrock from which spirals of piano flow, fluid key changes providing a groove that roots this track firmly to the floor. Cascading chords introduce “Ultramarine”, subtle drum patterns giving way to acid scented bass and gentle currents of string. The quartet comes to a close with “Proxima.” Rich textured percussion supports drifting notes and silken chords, a touch of the otherworldly seeping through in tumbling 303 trills.

Closer is years beyond its time. Soulful compositions that belong to the burgeoning sound of Techno that was developing across the globe in the 1990s. Four works of beautiful machine music lovingly restored for a new audience.

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Germany
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Chicago? Absolutely! Detroit? Definitely! For many, however, a significant chapter in the coming-of-age story of House music was also written in The Netherlands.

This 8-track compilation is the result of a nationwide search for lost Digital Audio Tapes (DAT’s), dusty home-studio recordings, and other relics from those early days. The distinctive "House" sound eventually evolved into a rainbow of local styles and grooves. Back then, DJ’s played their heart out and didn’t limit themselves to any particular musical genre. Following that spirit, this compilation contains everything that makes the Dutch sound so special, from energetic Breaks to atmospheric Deep House.

These are not your usual suspects, not even the most revered diggers have this collection at their fingertips. It's raw, pure material from the time when house parties were fresh and dirty at the same time. Back when the only dress code was a wide smile from ear to ear. Four sides with two tracks each, ensuring maximum DJ enjoyment. Now get out there and spread the Dutch 90's House vibes!

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DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Area Silenzio is eat-girls' debut record and it is both haunted and haunting. For the past four years, the French trio have been crafting their songs into little self-contained worlds with the patience of entomologists, taking them out all over the country and Europe to confront them with the wilderness of a live audience. The ten resulting tracks are a collection of electronic madrigals, groove-driven songs played on a mischievous multi-speed Victrola, ranging from languid dub drips to full-on drum machine cavalcades.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Xiaolin’s previous outings on Bless You have seen her reinterpret City Pop anthem ‘Plastic Love’ by Mariya Takeuchi and the Hong Kong Pop starlet of the 1980 Prudence Liew’s ‘Afterwards’ . Now, we hear her reimagine ‘Half a Dream’ which first saw the light of day on the 1987 LP ‘City Girl’ by Tina Liu which has become a very coveted rare and deeply loved rare gem of the late 80s Cantonese language Synth-Pop canon. Alongside Xiaolin breahting new life into this hyper catchy jam with what is now her trademark of stripped back charm melded with a dexterous production style, we’ve been treated to two separate instrumental versions and gifted South Korean producer Mogwaa on remix duties; delivering a slick, dreamy dancefloor cut.


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By the early 1990s, multidisciplinary thinker, philosopher and mystic Terrence McKenna had found himself to be one of the darlings of the burgeoning rave scene - going on to become one of the most sampled voices in dance music to this day. However, the very high point of Terrence McKenna’s intersection with dance music is undoubtedly Alien Dreamtime - taking place at a 48 hour rave in 1993 San Francisco, a multi-media collaboration of didgeridoo, live video mixing and the sublime, techno-ambient, sonic wizardry of the unimitable Jonah Sharp aka Spacetime Continuum laying the foundation for McKenna to whip the audience into a frenzy as he belts out his musings on eschatology and peering behind the linguistic curtain through the power of the psychedelic experience. For the very first time, the recording of this seminal event is being released on vinyl format to help you tune into the Gaian mind.

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Germany
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Parade Ground march back to Dark Entries with The Hidden Side, a compilation of B-sides and unreleased material. Brothers Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly started Parade Ground in Brussels in 1981. Their Dada-laced brand of post-punk fuses propulsive drum machines and icy synths with skeletal guitar riffs and Jean-Marc’s distinct and powerful voice, pioneering the subgenre of emotional body music. The brothers met Daniel B. and Patrick Codenys of Front 242 in 1982, marking the beginning of an enduring collaborative partnership. In 2011, Dark Entries released The Golden Years, a compilation chronicling the band’s A-sides and exposing them to a new generation of EBM enthusiasts. The Hidden Side continues this mission, illuminating lesser-known facets of the band’s oeuvre. The tracks here were written between 1982 and 1989, and showcase Parade Ground’s range of styles - all cold, dark, and brooding. Tracks like “Riddle in the Stain Glass Window” and the previously unreleased “Looking Through Keyholes” see the band in menacing coldwave mode, rocking chorus-drenched bass guitar and blasts of analog synth. The band’s dancier proclivities shine elsewhere, like on “Off-Balance” or the supremely funky “Hollywood (The Sexiest Fish),” a floor-filler driven by bass guitar and thumping digital drum machine beats. Also included is “Marble Mind,” a previously unreleased latter-period track from the band recorded by Patrick Codenys at 242 Studio. The Hidden Side includes liner notes featuring lyrics and a photo of Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly. Additionally, a newly remastered edition of The Golden Years will be released along with The Hidden Side.

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2025 Remaster/Repress!

Parade Ground has always been the duo of brothers Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly from Brussels, Belgium formed in 1981. Taking cues from Post-Punk, Coldwave, Dada and Surrealism, Parade Ground channeled suffering, tension and rage through pulsing synthesizers, skeletal guitar, severe bass and Jean-Marc’s expressive vocals as the most melodic and emotional instrument. The Golden Years is an 11-song, career-spanning collection of Parade Ground’s long out-of-print 7” and 12” singles as well as rare compilation tracks from the pioneers of electronic body music created during 1982-1988.

Parade Ground first appeared on the Nationale Rockmeeting LP in 1982, striking straight to the heart with the passionate plea “I Shut My Eyes.” Later that year the brothers met Daniel B. and Patrick Codenys of Front 242 beginning a collaborative partnership that continues to present day. In 1983 they released their debut 3-song 7” EP Moan On The Sly on the New Dance label, musically a hybrid of Joy Division and Fad Gadget. 1984 brought further explorations into the world of electronic body music with the 3-song Man In A Trance EP and 2 tracks on the live concert compilation Mask Promotion both records released on Front 242's Mask Music label. The following year the single Took Advantage/Moral Support 12” was released incorporating then, state-of-the-art modular synthesizers programmed by Daniel B. and back-up vocals from Flo Sullivan (A Formal Sigh, Shiny Two Shiny). Then in 1987 the brothers collaborated with Colin Newman of British post-punk band Wire, who produced and lent his vocals, guitars and keyboards to two songs ("Moans"/"Action Replay") while Daniel B. produced flipside "Gold Rush" on the Dual Perspective EP that stands alongside 80s anthems from Tears for Fears, Modern English, Echo & The Bunnymen. Finally in 1988 their debut album Cut Up was released on Play It Again Sam Records and featured the singles Strange World and Hollywood. In 1993 the brothers wrote and composed the vocals on two Front 242 albums Up Evil and Off. After 15 years of silence the boys released their second album Rosary in 2007 and continue to write new material and tour with their extensive catalog of dark dance classics. Each LP includes a 6-page press kit with lyrics, discography, photos and liner notes by Daniel B. of Front 242. The history of Belgian electronic music would not be complete without a trip through “The Golden Years” of Parade Ground.

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Germany
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