Spectral Bounce’s latest offering comes direct from Norway, courtesy of Anders Hajem — co-founder of Boring Crew Records. To date, the Oslo producer’s previous releases have been vessels for the exploration of myriad dance musics, seeing the artist fluently turn his hand to soulful house, dub techno and 2-step.

SPEC07 — the Myr EP — is a much more focused affair, finding Hajem in techno mode across 4 potent cuts typified by undulating drums and swelling echoes. Despite its emphasis on percussion, atmosphere has not been sacrificed for rhythm: vivid FX and meticulous attention to detail bring these tracks to life beyond the context of the dancefloor. This is music that can be stepped into and explored, productions that reward repeat listens.

Opening at full throttle, “Myr” is a jackin’ percussive workout, harnessing punchy drums for maximum effect. Its pulsating low-end runs in tandem with trembling synths that perpetually reflect and refract in the stereo field. Atop its rolling drums, hardgroove-inflected “Sprett” utilizes timestretched vocals, cavernous reverb and ecstatically quivering tones, elevating this 2000s-era framework to new heights. “Existence” brings things to a deeper and more hypnotic place: delays are turned up, siren calls reverberate and timbres ebb and flow. Hajem goes more chasmic still on “Concussion”, hitting the brakes for a much slower cadence and allowing space for a truly expansive listening experience. Heady and mystical, entrancing and otherworldly — listen close enough; beneath the dizzyingly shifting pulses and rattling drums you’ll hear incantations, while bass tones pulse in the depths.

SPEC07 — immerse yourself!

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Amsterdam label Spectral Bounce recruits French club stalwart Chris Carrier for SPEC06 — Perfect Encounter. Active since 1994, the Parisian artist has released a wellspring of records on Robsoul, Slapfunk and his own Sound Carrier recordings, parallel to his longtime career as a DJ. Characterised by swirling delays and progressive arrangements, Perfect Encounter shows the producer exploring the mesmeric corners of tech house, ideally fitted to the Spectral Bounce aesthetic.

Opener “XLR8” starts with rolling toms that make way for fluid, modulated tones; each bar ebbs and flows to the sweeping synths set in motion by Carrier. Processed with a multitude of delays, rhythmic FX boldly swish above the drums, making for an immersive soundstage. Second track “Light Side” retains the billowing echoes but moves more nimbly, cutting things back to make for a spacious and breezy number. Its croaking synths hop around the stereo field, accompanied by tight percussion and a walking bassline.

The hallucinogenic “Third Moon” sees Carrier step further into trance-inducing territory. The track’s pulsing, syncopated bass note thrums underneath an arpeggio that evolves into a heady prismatic drone. While the chugging beat is ever-present, melodic refrains rise up and evaporate like wisps of vapour, alongside a vocal that fades away as quickly as it appears. The EP’s eponymous “Perfect Encounter” dials up the tension and closes the record with a mysterious touch. Speedy 16th note patterns propel the beat, creating shifty rhythms that rattle and hiss. A rasping, gelatinous synth and squeaky detuned tones resemble extraterrestrial signals — alien morse code for an enraptured dancefloor.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Spectral Bounce’s fifth instalment comes courtesy of L.A.’s rave archivist and dancefloor operative Dreams, A.K.A. Jesse Pimenta. Throughout his decade-long career the California native has inspected, dissected and concocted all manner of dance musics, leaving his mark with drops on Apron Records, Pinkman, BANK NYC and his own imprint Dance Data. On SPEC05 — Dangerous When Wet — he hijacks the synapses with 4 accomplished productions, plotting a high BPM course through manifold styles using the raw aesthetic that characterises his output.

“Losing Control” is a frenetic dancefloor invitation, immediately locking into a pacing groove. Beneath wild hand drums, Dreams plays with an insistent 303 bassline alternating between rasping buzz and oily squelch, while stern vocals are layered on top of breaks that have been processed to a viscerally satisfying end.

Taking things from delirious dance circle to underwater biosphere, the EP’s eponymous track explores a submerged 1980s Miami. Weighty & enveloping, “Dangerous When Wet” is pure aquatic pop-n-lock — hydraulic electro for a drowned world. Ocean floor caustics are transmuted into auditory form: arpeggios bubble up; drones shimmer mystically; hi-hats hiss like air from an open valve. Amongst the sonar bleeps, a barrage of pummeling low-end is sure to give subwoofers a workout.

“XTC Messenger” delivers an infectious paranoid dispatch, astutely balancing the sensual with the deranged. A slow-mo dial tone unfolds languidly, running counter to nervously twitching high frequencies. Its punchy percussion is tuned for maximum dopamine release; the track’s abrupt vocal chops and mechanical kick-snare pulsation evoke the leather jackets and jagged edges of 1980s industrial discotheque.

“Pressure Points” closes the EP on a heady and mesmerising polymetric trip. The parting track is a lithe yet spacious number, propelled by a rattling break. Here Dreams follows from track 2, creating an immersive environment in which sounds tightly twist and twirl. Shifting oscillators call out like tiny creatures as the bass throbs and wriggles further into your brain, long after the needle hits the runout groove.

SPEC05 — Nightclub specialist in effekt!

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Spectral Bounce proudly presents Zevar, the debut release by Aedis, an alias of David Iriarte. This new undertaking sees the Amsterdam-based artist plumbing the depths & tunnelling further into a sound that has surely been in the works for some time. One half of Iro Aka, Iriarte is no stranger to the exploration of ambiance & rhythmic play: the duo released a trilogy of records on John Talabot’s label Hivern Discs between 2020 & 2023.

On Zevar, Iriarte first traverses the deeper territories of tech house before conjuring up mystic 2-step and delving into rolling techno. The sense of spaciousness throughout the EP is vivid: perpetually unfolding modulated delays; cavernous reverb; weighty, grounding sub frequencies. This expanse is punctuated by fragmentary voices, psychedelic refrains (“Xtz”), intricate break deployment (“Station”) and thudding bass tones (“RTHM”). Just enough is given, just enough held back. With these 4 tracks, Aedis brings you that little bit deeper.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Germany
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Spectral Bounce returns with a groovy and moody set of tracks by Uruguayan tastemaker Molen. 'Future is Gone' explores dark yet glistening corners of minimal tech house, blending distorted basslines, resonant synth leads, and muffled vocals to create a cinematic aesthetic.

Spectral Bounce’s third release continues to solidify the label’s sonic identity while opening avenues for artists to present their unique interpretations and perspectives, and Molen delivers on that promise.

Art by Susanne Janssen
Words by Hervé Kacou

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Through their music curation work at One Eye Witness, co-founder Hylke has been silently influencing the sounds that resonate in clubs and underground dance music record collections around the world.

His newly created label Spectral Bounce takes it one step deeper, providing a platform for music imbued with eerie grooves and subtly expressive energy, capturing the listener right at their core.

SPEC01 - Force of Nature - Is the fruit of the long-standing musical relationship and shared visions of producer and Selector RDS and Spectral Bounce, the perfect catalogue opener.

Over four moody club-ready tracks, RDS dives into the sound of the after-hours, where minds are freed and darker energies are expressed. Both sides display perfectly controlled acid synthesis, heart-grabbing bass lines, cut-through drum sampling and an extremely textured and gritty mix. RDS' musical influences are clearly felt, harmoniously fusing UK 90s bleep techno, spacey tech house and dub with his own emotional perspective to club music.

The Dutch producer's distinct dance floor sound is here captured in its essence, processed through his expressive electronic machines while controlling tempo and energy in a unique manner. This EP is a sonic statement, offering the listener the Spectral Bounce sound.

Words by Hervé Kacou
Artwork & Logo by Susanne Janssen

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More