Manchester native Alex Coulton has nurtured a reputation for creating sub-heavy rollers thanks to 12"s for the likes of Black Acre, Livity Sound and Bloc. With Gamma Ray Burst, the next in his series of releases on London low-end specialists Tempa, Coulton consolidates his sound to deliver some of the most sparse, rhythmic work of his career. With the record's title track, Coulton weaves from hard-hitting kicks, through to dizzying tribal polyrhythms the whole time maintaining a minimal, space driven atmosphere that remains omnipresent throughout the track's most intense moments. 'Ground Zero' revels in its spaciousness, allowing reverb to flood into the negative space between flashes of heavyweight techno percussion and saturated ripples of synth while the pulsating kicks that underpin 'Alpha Decay' are punctuated with bleak, discordant bells, rhythmic bass hits and hypnotic filtered percussion. Showing his diverse abilities, 'Phase Two' is an exercise in measured restraint, as a cacophony of clicks and hisses come together to disorientate before forming a driving rhythm section before Coulton maximises his expansive elements on the fog-tinged 'Ascent'. Closing with the steady flowing, brighter-hued melodic work of 'Distant Resonance', Alex Coulton has created a masterful collection of experimental tech-focused electronica that bewilders, intrigues and will draw the listener in with each play.

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Manchester born Alex Coulton has steadily garnered a following throughout a slew of lauded 12”s on Hype LTD, Black Acre, Idle Hands, Livity Sound sub Dnous Ytivil and Bloc’s new imprint. Derivative of the sound championed by Bristol’s Hodge and Peverelist, Coulton has nestled himself in amongst the ranks
and successfully branded his own stamp on the tougher strands of UK-centric Bass music. Now - in the follow up to his Freefall EP on Bloc, Coulton lines up his next 12” on Tempa, his second outing on London’-s stalwart institute that comes in the form of a burly two-tracker titled Hand To Hand Combat / Concealed Weapon. Packed with pugnacious bass tones and dystopian drones - ‘Hand To Hand Combat’ kicks things off. Driven, steely toms and pellucid rim shots scatter across the mix in a high pressure affair before ‘Concealed Weapon’ demonstrates the droit management of atmospherics that’s propelled Coulton’s production path thus far. Dense, throbbing subs form an underbelly whilst menacing growls are intertwined with reverberated claps and snares that work to dial an urgent sense of tension and wrap up another fine addition to Tempa’s ever-expanding catalogue. More

Recall/Wiretap, from Manchester's Alex Coulton, follows on from his stark, atmospheric contribution to the recent Tempa Allstars Vol. 7 compilation. Across acclaimed 12"s for labels including Livity Sound, Black Acre and Mistry, in recent years Coulton has honed an ultra stripped-back, rhythm-driven aesthetic that refracts techno through a sub-heavy sound system prism. This makes him a natural ally for Tempa, which has always focused on music that draws maximum club impact from a bare handful of elements. Both tracks on Coulton's Tempa 12" roll out around hypnotic, sidewinding rhythms, packing intense, percussive energy for peak-time 'floors. 'Recall' is a gradually unfurling firestorm of distorted kickdrums, reverb and molten sub-bass, which repeatedly dies away to near-silence before returning with twice the impact. On the flip, 'Wiretap' is lighter but no less intense: a whirling assembly of drums, warping bass and freakily catchy struck melodies that's as tough yet elastic as tensile steel.


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*Making his Black Acre debut rogue genre-splicer Alex Coulton takes the label back to its roots in the darkest corners of the club. With certified smashers dropped on All Caps, Livity Sounds and a long catalogue of tinkering with the perimeters of House, Techno and Grime, Alex's invention and adventure make him a perfect edition to the label's cannon. Here he come out of corner swinging with the bass equivalent of an H-bomb. 'Murda' is a rock solid grime/techno bastard child buliding a drum workout littered with bleeps, churps and claps riding along a tidal wave of low-end. Round two is no less bloodthirsty with the bruising 'Break Pressure' which dabbles with ethereal atmospheres before unleashing a drag-jungle beatdown.
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Returning to HypeLTD after only a few short months, The Analogue Cops seem the perfect artist pairing for the label, carving out an unashamed love of raw, pummeling, dirty house grooves and choice samples. 2013's "In Plain Clothes" EP was passionately received by many, and the Italian team are back for more with the "Hot Brass Dance" EP….Lucretio takes up the A side honors, and on "Denying" we get that familiar marriage of crusty and crunchy drum beats and a 'hands in the air' piano/vox sample, the 909 rides pierce through the mix whilst the distortion levels cook, but never burn. "Do It Forever" treads similar turf, all pumped up Relief Records drums, sweet vox and a trance inducing synth arpeggio. On the flip, Marieu takes up the mantle, and there's no relent on the drum machine/sample combo. No doubt finding influences in the rough and ready Dance Mania releases of the 90s, Marieu weaves these components and more, throwing in some batshit crazy acid licks and industrial sized breakbeats on "Fall In", subtlety left firmly at the door whilst the machines batter out another solid but uncompromising track. More

No doubt about it, HypeLTD are on a bit of a roll at the moment; recent releases from the likes of JoeFarr, The Analogue Cops and Marco Bernardi have helped shape the Hypercolour sub-label into a consistent purveyor of raw and rootsy techno music. On the 'Split' EP, various artists are assembled to flex their prowess, namely Warlock, Zoé Zoe & Enoah Ballard and Samuel Thalmann. Opening up the EP is Warlock, the driving force behind London's Rag & Bone label. This seasoned British breaks and electro producer offers up 'Sawhorses', a weighty 909 kick and incessant, filtering stabs give this an air of familiarity, Berlin in sound, Detroit in spirit perhaps, but a straight up club cut for certain. A proper jacker, and an ace reverse edit right on the end! Lithuanian brothers, Zoé Zoe & Enoah Ballard, team up for the '1234'. Zoé Zoe has been behind previous releases on Planet Mu and Sneaker Social Club, and joins his sibling on this dark and ravey breakbeat driven track. The kind of cut that separates the wheat from the chaff come closing time at your local discothèque, '1234' is both eerie, cosmic and flat out deep all at once. Closing this 'Split' EP is Samuel Thalmann AKA Okain, a man behind an incredible musical CV, including music for Tsuba, BPitch, Memento, Four:Twenty and many more. Samuel offers up 'Not Anymore' under his birth name, a blinding 909 drum workout with some freaky Chi-town modulations goin on. Almost like a perfect accompaniment to Warlock's 'Sawhorses', this is simple yet effective dance track that'll have 'em jackin and pumping their fists til dawn. More

Marco Bernardi has enjoyed a long an illustrious career, but it's probably in these last couple of years that the Glaswegian producer has found his sound. Previous releases on Frustrated Funk, Clone, Royal Oak, Crème Organisation, Futureboogie and Rawax have built a solid reputation, and key releases last year on Carl Craig's Planet E and MOS/Delsin have sealed his rep as a unique player in the industry. So it's with welcome arms that Hypercolour release the 'Music For Short Attentions' EP, choc full of energizing sounds. Lead cut 'No One Seems To Care' could just be a bona-fide cross over for our man (not that it is the intention), but the surging Resse-esque bassline, blazing synth stabs and rock solid beats provide a real 'call to the dancefloor' moment, the discordant vocal adding to the mood. ‘Meteor' has Bernardi playing his toys to maximum effect, dark and raw Motor City vibes, shades of early Claude Young and Anthony Shakir abound here. 'In Between Fire' is a groovy as hell house cut, all deft organ riffs and twisted modulation whilst vinyl closer 'The Final Triangle' sounds old skool to the max, but a sound and atmosphere that one will never tire of; melancholic riffs and hypnotizing drum machines, all the trademarks of this classic sound we know as techno (in all its forms and tempos). Great stuff from Marco, and an artist we hope to hear much more of in 2014. More

Hypercolour's latest release comes in the form of 'Haggerston EP', a brand new release from label co-owner Alex Jones who drops a 3 track EP of proper dancefloor bombs heavy basslines, breakbeats & vocal samples all held together in Jones's unique production style.

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A1. BROOKFIELD B1. KITCHEN MONKS More

Next up on Hypercolour?s tidy vinyl off shoot is Berlin based but Chicago and Detroit indebted producer Murphy Jax. Through releases on Clone Jack For Daze and Tiga?s Turbo, Jax has laid out his classically minded house vision in style - something he does again with two originals and two remixes on this Hype debut. A1 ?Acid Rapper? is exactly that ? a man raps in the style of old school heroes Jungle Wonz whilst an acid line blips away beneath, scurry in and out of splintered and woody beats and pinging perc. Soft pads emanate from its core throughout to nicely offset the rawness of the claps and the whole thing will have you dancing like it?s 1989. ?The Acid Housekeeper? is not so in your face at first, and instead a simple bassline is the main feature of a track on which Jax raps with a retro tinge once again. The 303 lines come in phases rather than continually on this one, with some big claps and smooth hi-hats all seeping in, gradually upping the anti until you?re in the midst of another busy dancefloor workout straight from a warehouse party in Illinois you never even went to. Jax provides us with his own remix, and an edit from Dsb accompanies ?The Acid Housekeeper? to complete the package: first, the deep Detroit mix sounds like its being recorded at the other side of the room instead of loud in the mix. The vocal here is more menacing, and the acid line, too, is more intense, where the Dsb mix very much fits in with the current slo-mo, murky deep house aesthetic. It?s littered with weird sounds, snatched vocal yelps and is a delightfully muddled, unordered affair. Vocals in dance music are notoriously hard, but Jax makes them work and then some? More

Following on from the likes of Maya Jane Coles and T.Williams, next to release on ever cultured Hypercolour off shoot HypeLtd is Toronto beatsmith Kevin McPhee. With releases on labels like Idle Hands and [nakedlunch] in 2011, this man has established himself as one of the finest and freshest producers of the year. Here turning in four more original cuts, McPhee's fascination with house apparently continues apace. Opener 'I Will' has gorgeously under-lapping beats, teary-eyed melodies and dreamy female vocals all rolling along together in sombre harmony. Variously being peeled back to just the chords, just the vocal or just the scuffed beats, it's a track that remains forever swollen with an unspoken sadness, despite making decent progress.
'Hang My Head' is less dreamy and more gnarled round the edges. Punching along at an inviting mid-tempo, a buried bassline gets busy as louche beats echo in the spaces above. It's hollow and suggestive, where 'Your Side' returns to a more mopey and insular vibe. Here the kicks trudge along, a mildly euphoric male vocal floating in between them and some long tailed, churchy synths leaving a trail in their wake. It's beautifully melancholic; cautiously optimistic...'Blue Organ' again sounds distant, instilling a dreamy, hypnagogic kinda vibe to the smeared tones and edgeless kicks which otherwise spread out in every direction. Even the percussion is murky and half remembered, veiled with years of dust that also obscures the sound of some nimble fingers which begin to dance up and down a piano toward the end of the record. McPhee very much has his own fine grain analogue aesthetic... this most delightful EP only confirms that. More