Via a trio of critically releases for the CPU label (two EPs and an album), Sheffield born Evan Majumdar- Swift, AKA 96 Back, delivers an eclectic EP for Hypercolour.
Leaning on, but by no means restricting himself, to the bleep roots of the Steel City, the ‘TBQFH’ EP assembles four highly accomplished tracks of head scrambling and fearless electronics. From the beat science of ‘Fe Symbolic’ to the widescreen sound palette at play in ‘Party Animal’, 96 Back flaunts a distinctive and bold dexterity.
Asquith brings his own imitable brand of UK garage/rave/breaks hybrid to Hypercolour for an EP brimming with real underground vibes.
Hot on the heels of a series of 12”s on his own Asquith label, the Lobster Theremin head honcho drops four cuts of heavy, distorted bass brain melters on the ‘Time & Space’ EP.
Re-mastered and re-pressed, Axel Boman’s classic EP for Hypercolour is made available again, three years on from its original release. Hailing from Sweden, Axel Boman has ascended through the ranks over these last few years, from his first productions on the Swedish label Ourvision Recordings, to releases for Mule Muziq, DJ Koze’s Pampa Records, Pets Recordings and his own Studio Barnhus imprint. Boman has carved out a steady and loyal reputation for his DJ and production skills, collaborating also with John Talabot for the killer Talaboman project that has served up some highly memorable DJ sets and a 2014 single, ‘Sideral’. The ‘Black Magic Boman’ EP was Boman’s 2013 offering on Hypercolour, and a release that’s since gone down as a leftfield house “must have”. Long out of press, the re-release revisits the four tracks of sheer quality across the two sides. “Television People” is built around minimal percussion, a rubbery synth line that echoes the best of Matthew Johnson’s productions, and a distant spoken word vocal delivery. Spooky, early morning vibes, and one of the favourites from this EP. “Cubic Mouth” goes deeper into the melodies, with a distorted mallet riff over some supernatural and spellbinding drums & FX. “Look What You’ve Done to Me” continues with the graceful house sounds, layering and filtering ethereal piano samples and searing synths over a sparse percussive workout. And “Klinsmann” wraps things in fine style with more highly infectious melodies and soft kicks, bouncing claps and earworm bassline.
Already crafting an exceptional body of musical works, over a trio of albums and numerous EPs, Bergsonist tees up a release for Hypercolour that melds meditative ambience and cosmic electro over four cuts.
Hot on the heels of her last album, ‘Middle Quest’, on the Optimo Music label, Bergsonist opens the release with a collaboration with Missouri based singer/songwriter, Tonina. Three other tracks cover a palette of unhurried and atmospheric head music.
‘Concentric Rhythms’ is the new extended player from DJ Guy, the Cardiff born producer who, despite being heavily involved in the electronic music scene since the early 90s, has only really begun to open up his vast archive of productions to the masses. With releases to date on the likes of Bake’s All Caps, NORD Records and Organic Analogue, here he makes his Hypercolour debut with a record that continues to shine, demonstrating clearly, his deep rooted interest in the realms of Jungle, Acid House and early UK techno. His productions are a compliment to his extensive and ambitious collection of varied influences that he so effortlessly practices and combines. With a colossal treasure trove of archived and unreleased music, DJ Guy has been able to dig deep into his collection of music for ‘Concentric Rhythms’, and Hypercolour are honored to play a continuing part in unlocking this vault of timeless electronic music.
A smorgasbord of sounds and moods are offered up on Eliphino’s first Hypercolour release since 2013.
The London based producer’s output has always been few and far between, but his releases are always well worth the wait. Issuing singles and albums for Secretsundaze, Brownswood Recordings and R&S offshoot, Meda Fury, Eliphino has kept the quality tight and the quantity scant.
‘Maelstrom’ draws together four new cuts, from the warming and grandiose title cut, bass heavy electro work on ‘Bubbling Glass’, the ruff & moody breakbeats of ‘Eddy’ and the fragmented shuffle and futuristic tones of ‘One Day’.
FaltyDL flexes his rave muscle on the “Three Rooms” EP, out on Hypercolour in January 2018. Big, medium and small breakbeat flavours in each of the three rooms.
With two releases already under his belt on Clone, Gary Gritness AKA Slikk Tim lands on Hypercolour with “The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol.1″.
Gritness may be a relatively new name on the block, but his session work for artists like Kenny Bobien, Louie Vega and Grant Nelson has marked up this multi-instrumentalist as a clear talent.
Hailing from France, Gritness had been spotted by Underground Resitance’s ‘Mad’ Mike Banks as ‘one to watch’, and on his Hypercolour release, displays a deft hand of producing futuristic funk sounds. A spot on blend of raw drum programming and blissfull jazz funk riffs, “Preachin Some Tight Game” sets the EP’s tone just right with its infectious melodies and cruising groove. Darker 1980’s soundtrack vibes are explored on “Stayin’ Strong Hand” with its thick analogue atmosphere, whilst the laid back and freestyle vibes of “Working Girls” demands to be played in the Cadillac with the top down! EP closer, “Fly Shit", continues with the tranquil melodies and G-Funk factor.
Returning to Hypercolour with a second volume of his Sugar Cane Chronicles, Gary Gritness lays down more devastating funk and classy riffing over his trusty Roland 606. After the first volume, released last April, sold out its vinyl run, Gritness delivers more explorations and adventures into his unique and soulful world. Having elusively built his reputation as an outstanding session player, live producer and fantastically dressed Funkateer, Gritness has delivered a handful of releases on labels like Clone Crown Ltd, Nyami Nyami and his own DIY and cassette-only Slikk Tapes. "Steady Choosin" gets downright fusion-jazz and Gritness fires out seductive melodies and latin piano playing of the highest order whilst "Countin Up With Starr" delves into a darker well of synth mania, with a sexual groove reminiscing of Rick James, all the while retaining Gary's signature licks and riffs. "Runner Joe's Revenge" on the flip ramps up the hysteria for a gritty and colossal production that typifies his love of cyberpunk soundtracks and the drama and narrative to be found in this style. "The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol. 2" closes with the low-slung "Pool Shark Loot", wrapping up on a mysterious and captivating tone; its wandering bassline and melodic touches carrying all the signature Gritness sounds, with the P-Funk sleaziness on top.
Hypercolour opens its 2020 account with the diverse and sprawling ‘Orphin Spill’ EP from Georgian electronic wizard, HVL.
With two albums and a series of singles for labels like Organic Analogue, Bassiani and Rough House Rosie, HVL reaches out across a broad sound spectrum, encompassing gnarly breakbeats, spacey synthwork and IDM tropes.
Having impressed on the “Home Grown” EP, released in March of this year, London Modular Alliance return to Hypercolour with the 5 track “Wolves” EP. Once again, a heavy arsenal of modular synths and analogue hardware were deployed in the production of these tracks, each once packing a punch and aesthetic that will appeal to many.
“Brockie Det” fires out the blocks with on point electro beats and melancholic pads, whilst “Militant” continues the theme, with dusted drums and thick washes of bass for a real futuristic funk moment. Elsewhere on the EP, the disassembled arrangement of “Advance & Proceed” gives off a cold and discordant atmosphere, but remains firmly in groove and sonically tight, there’s a distinct jazz flare in the mix also! “Tremors” hits hard and heavy, giving the Detroit electro cats a run for their money, whilst the EP title track, “Wolves” is a busy and inspired slab of British IDM at its very best.
Peter Kremeier, AKA Losoul, has always been an artist we’ve greatly admired here at Hypercolour, so it was a real thrill to have him on the label back in 2014, and here we have an essential repress of the ‘Slowly Turning’ release. A huge catalogue of eclectic, distinctive and funky music for labels like Playhouse, Moodmusic and Freak ‘n’ Chic, Losoul turns in two exceptional tracks on this EP that were lapped up on the initial release. ‘Daddy, What’s A Rise?’ is classic Losoul; a heavy low slung groove never lets up, with micro disco stabs and distant vocal snippets, looping round and round for over 10 minutes, but without ever standing still, the filtering and deft touches keep things moving at just the right funky pace. B side cut ‘Time & Space’ is a glitchy and dubbed out affair, a solid 4/4 beat underpins a myriad of delayed percussion and panning synths, spatial effects and an incessant chord stab, head music for the heads indeed! Selected DJ reactions Troy Pierce (Items & Things) – Classic Losoul! Good stuff… Josh Wink (Ovum) – dig the simplicity of Losoul’s tracks, groovin! Jimpster (Freerange) – I’m a big fan of Losoul so dead happy to hear some new stuss, this is killer too, especially ‘Daddy’, defo playing this out a lot Ralph Lawson (2020 Vision) – Heavy as you would expect! Will Saul (Aus) – Epic win! Roman Fluegel – Great material by a true legend! Midland – Very good, thanks Roy Davis Jnr – Deadly groove! Detroit Swindle – Classic Losoul, nice one Ewan Pearson - Losoul is one of the great European house producers and doesn’t seem to get the props that some of his peers get. This is as usual a cut above - Daddy is more than a disco loop, and Time & Space is completely hypnotic. Davide Squillace – Just fantastic, big fan of Losoul Raresh (arpiar) – superb release, wow, thanks a lot! Mr. G – great production
KlasseRecordings and GrafitiTapes impresario, LucaLozano, rolls up to Hypercolour with a 12″ par excellence of genre blending, future dance grooves. Leaning on his Sheffield upbringing, it’s of no surprise that the break beats, edits and bleeps of his native city seeps into his own forward thinking productions. Having racked up some super releases for Sex Tags UFO, Optimo Trax, Crème Organization, alongside his own imprints, Lozano really impresses on his Hypercolour debut.
‘Gun Fingers’ is a strictly heads down affair, luscious synths, tantalising breaks and heavyweight b-line sandwich in-between pounding kicks for a classy cut, whilst ‘Calling All Dancers’ is indeed a call to rave, laced with the familiar components of a golden era of UK dance, that never slips into pastiche, instead sounding fresh, vital and relevant to the times. Kindred spirit, DJSotofett, weighs in with two versions of ‘Gun Fingers’ exclusively for the vinyl edition of this release. Those who know Sotofett’s killer style will know the score here, and he certainly does not disappoint. And those who spent time chasing around motorways and A roads in search of the party will most definitely know what’s up on this set of remixes!
a1. Luca Lozano - Gun Fingers (Original Mix)
a2. Luca Lozano - Calling All Dancers
b1. Luca Lozano - Gurn Fingers Massive Mix by DJ Sotofett
Hypercolour round off a busy year that has seen recent releases from the likes of Kerrier District, Gary Gritness, Roman Flugel, DMX Krew and Outboxx. And in their 10th anniversary year, the label close 2016 with the heavyweight pairing of Mathew Jonson & Sebastian Mullaert.
Two summers ago, with no distinctive aims or deadlines, Jonson was invited to come and work with Mullaert and stayed for 5 days in the exceptionally beautiful surroundings of one of Sweden's National Parks. Inspiring a creative process far-removed from the harsh and harried pace of urban life; freedom to jam, play around and most importantly, reconnect with nature and the natural flow of ideas while deep in the forest, allowed their collective visions, directions and feelings to comfortably unwind. As Mullaert puts it "the freeing up of space and time allows an artist to rediscover him or herself. Frames can't be too rigid, static detail hinders the process to unfold in a beautiful way". Engaging mostly in ambientic-style sessions 'Pollen 4 Life' was made on a day the mood took them in the direction of the dance floor. True to form and still escaping any kind of prescribed formula, the music embodies this fluid, evolving journey and a sense of losing yourself...
Both long-time figureheads of electronic music, Mathew Jonson (one third of Cobblestone Jazz) and Sebastian Mullaert (one half of techno duo Minilogue) have been collaborators and an inspiration to each other for over a decade, first with releases on Jonson's label Wagon Repair and most recently as live trio Mathew Jonson vs. Minilogue, which only stopped touring last year. Originally meeting at the fabled Labyrinth festival in Japan 2005, Mullaert explains "our paths have crossed in different ways and now it's time for an EP together; the fruit of Mathew's visit to Röstånga. Pollen 4 Life".
It’s hard to imagine being at the cutting edge of electronic dance music for over three decades, and never resorting to cliché or tired gimmicks in order to create unique and forward thinking music, but Matthew Herbert is still channelling original and thought provoking ideas into his projects all these years later. Via his Accidental record label, he has always excelled at left of centre productions, and through a variety of genre aliases (including Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain and The Matthew Herbert Big Band), his imagination has always run wild, resulting in an infectious catalogue of music over the years. “Brand New Love", featuring the vocals of rising star, Zilla, finds Herbert creating a dense and dramatic bass heavy cut. A steppers beat, utilizing Herbert’s trademark sampling techniques, it’s a killer cut with sweeping cinematic qualities that sounds head and shoulders ahead of the rest. Special Request, the jungle heavy arm of Paul Woolford’s many recording talents, is enlisted to put his breakbeat spin on the original, and turns in an absolutely lethal version; choppy breaks, spinbacks and booming subs come with intent, whilst a sumptuous string arrangement accompanies Zilla’s vocal for a truly uplifting spirit. “The Peacock", with its loose beats and opaque stabs, rolls along with its industrial undertones and ravey motif, discordant at times but a truly hypnotizing but in the finest of side B1 traditions. Bringing up the rear, “Cheekbone” is frenetic and charging micro tribal rave (a new genre classification right there); a glorious medley of percussion, earworm synths and guillotined vocal samples, showing just why Matthew Herbert is as vital an artist now as he has ever been.
Hailing from Tel Aviv, and cutting her chops on the Los Angeles underground, Mor Elian is a relatively new name on the block, but her deft tastes have seen her share the stage with the likes of Kerri Chandler, Mike Dunn, Seven Davis Jnr, DJ Qu and many more, and most recently, releasing her debut vinyl release on the excellent Prime Numbers label, featuring FXHE's OB Ignitt on remix duties.
On 'Drum Vortex', Mor strikes a killer release for Hypercolour, enlisting two big remixes on the release from Joey Anderson and Markus Suckut. On her original mix, 'Drum Vortex' rolls out a ricocheting drum workout that indeed goes through the vortex; otherworldly voices and cosmic drones sit in the middle of the mix whilst the rides and hats intensify.
Joey Anderson has proven himself as one of the most diverse house producers out there, with offerings for Dekmantel, Syncrophone Recordings and Tanstaafl Planets.Joey remodels 'Drum Vortex' into an old style warehouse dub; rolling congas and snares with incessant synth stabs and bending strings, making up for one serious remix from Mr. Anderson.
Another interpretation is on offer from Markus Suckut, whose techno prowess has shone for labels like Rekids, Be As One, Mosaic and his own Exile label (run with Johannes Heil).Suckut's trademark dense beats are in play here, shuffling hats and micro bleeps weave through vocal elements and sturdy percussive work, bringing a touch of the Berghain style to this remix package.
Closing the release is another original production from Mor; 'Basma' again focuses of the drum groove, with bright and springing claps bouncing off the hazy bottom ends and melodic touches. Pacey and energetic, Mor gets bang on the groove to carve out a club little B2 style track in time honoured tradition.
Very few artists have influenced the sound of house and techno as much as RomanFlügel.
Having been active since the early 90’s under various aliases, few have been revered so widely as a DJ, live performer, producer, remixer, intellectual and record label owner. The record labels he helped found, Ongaku, Klang and Playhouse, are pivotal imprints in the electronic music scene, and his ability to gracefully incorporate and master most styles of 4/4 has seen him create a range of genres from techno, house, electro, ambient, IDM, downtempo, and acid house. Respected both as a solo artist and collaborator, this veteran of the scene has just ticked the label’s bucket list with an incredible double vinyl for Hypercolour. 6 tracks of highly polished techno/electronica cover a range of tempos and styles on ‘Monday Brain’, a double pack vinyl to be released this October. Flügel demonstrates his ability to morph his sound with the times, and displays his breadth of sound design magnificently over the release.
With previous releases for Four Tet’s Text Records label, and his own Geej imprint, Taraval debuts for Hypercolour with the ‘No Coast’ EP. Four tracks of brain scrambling and colourful techno joints right here.
![Roman Flügel - Monday Brain [2x12" Vinyl] - Unearthed Sounds](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/ppiff3XiR4iXqDX56M0I_hype048_{width}x.jpeg?v=1607049342)
