Active since 1995 as a live performer and producer of experimental electronic dance music, Bjørn Svin has released several albums and 12"s as well as music for films and theatre. In the late nineties he became a "techno pop-star" with the hit “Mer Strøm 2” and reached cult-status in most of Scandinavia. His new album BROWEN will be released on March by Danish Rump Recordings and it shows a different side of Bjørn as composer. The twelve tracks of the album take inspiration from the rhythmic richness of techno/i.d.m. music but add to the mix an experimental attitude. If tracks like "ROwmOR" or "mPmWree" show still traces of techno structures, others like the opening "Browen" or the following "bowbroW" are more experimental oriented thanks to an evolving flow of metallic sounds that form little melodic/rhythmic loops. Minimal tiny melodies change their sound from dissonant to melodic and clashes with other hundreds forming a constant flow of sound. Techno, dub (check the opening part of "mOmWree"), i.d.m., experimental influences blend very well giving to the listener an interesting and wide sound spectrum to explore.

”Same procedure as last year, Mr. Almgren?” He may would answer: ”Same procedure as EVERY year, Mr. Tater”. Well, how to start a new year even more attractive, as to hold a new album of Sweden’s Electronica-expert VOIDE a.k.a. David Almgren proudly in my hands? His fourth and follow-up album to his last years’ effort ”Humachine” is his most matured and stylistically most diverse work so far. It draws perfectly the right balance between the modern sounding hi-tech tunes of ”Humachine” with the slightly harder tracks presented on his masterpiece ”Evolution”. Even better than this, he at least offers slightly different arranged versions of his successful and free downloadable summer tunes like ”Lazy” (David doing some relaxing speech-vocals – does the content really fit with the snowy weather we currently have to bear???) , ”Traffic” and the breath-taking ”Into The Sun”, a collaborative effort with the Australian female vocalist Pixieguts (Marie Craven). Since ”Into The Sun” has been that unexpected well recognized by the audience, David has invited Pixieguts to offer her well-sounding timbre for some additional tracks available on here. There’s at first to name the opener ”The Beat Of You” and it really astonishes, how well the rather cold and Trance-driven Electronica music flirts with the warm vocals of Mrs. Pixieguts. Both artists may have never met personally because of the huge distance between Sweden and Australia, but this track comes out that perfectly arranged, as would both produce music together day by day. Another favorite – again with Pixieguts providing the lead vocals – has to be named with the rather slow and rhythmically different sounding title track. The talent to produce ambience through his complex synth-layer sounds is one of the strongest talents, which David has to offer – I would encourage him to produce more tracks focusing on this kind to balance between Lounge and Dark Electro music. Typical and expected stuff out of David’s skillful hands you’ll get with tracks like “When The Skies Are Grey” and “Beauty For The Wicked” – rhythmically straight arranged Electronica, which supports a top-notch synth-play – this is a feast for ears and legs. Also available is a new version of his first collaborative effort ”Love”, providing the German actress Suzi Electric doing the lead vocals. Comes then the word on a real music experiment, ”Necropolis”, with its gloomy mood and a sick vocal performance including a nasty fx manipulation by Pixieguts. This composition may is intended to satisfy the rather Goth-minded part of the audience, but I guess, that especially these clients will find the synth-arrangements chosen for this track too lovely and not thrilling enough. A decision to give out this tune via a remix-kit to some dark and sick projects out of the harder Electro-/EBM-related styles may could come up with quite interesting and intense sounding results. Lots of new stuff to discover from David, at least 14 tracks and of 1 hour of refreshing Electronica music. And even if some of you have already discovered one or another of his free available tunes, it is nevertheless worth enough, to pick up this album too, since all of the free tunes got revamped. Completely convincing once again, there’s no end of the rope for VOIDE.

If you were thinking about a collective project between Puffy Ami Yjmi, Ayumi Hamasaki, Do As Infinity and Day After Tomorrow joined together by an undetermined humanitarian spirit after reading the name of this amazing project, you’re making a terrible mistake as these Japanese Popstars are neither almond-eyed (but English-speaking…more or less like the real J-pops!) nor MTV-obsessively-broadcasted, but these Irish (coming from the rainy Derry) folks have already won a certain fame and recognition among electronic house djs and disco buffs and well even if they’ve nothing to share with Puffy AmiYumi, their obsession for madcap and madding 8-to-16-bitted sounds whose treatment and retreatment could be counted among ordinary household chores should be another common trait to young Japanese lifestyle! Hotpress introduced them as a sort of unexplainable mass phenomenon (“Never has an Irish Dance Act created so much hysteria from press and industry alike!”), but surely this nice lads, signed by the same label, Gung-Ho Recordings, which recently launched some creamy releases by Gus Gus and Zoo Brasil, has showed that that (al)chemical way of treating beats, bleeps and grooves invented by people such as Chemical Brothers or Orbital is miraculously effective against usual discrepancies between critics and audience as well as against motor function laziness indeed!


You’ll probably argue that titles such as Face Melt could be just an ultra-concrete way for depicting the effect of distorted brass sounds (or alternatively the reaction of a cowardly patient suffering from an annoying tooth-ache after perceiving the noise of a dental drill getting closer and closer…) craving into an infectious electro-house. And maybe you’ll criticize the abuse of such a gummy bumpy beats (such as those bone breakin in Total Distorted Mayhem or Dr.Frenchy Bernard…who’s that boy? Hope’s not the wrestler!!!), 8bit tips & tricks and Nintendo-maniac pulses (Delboys Revenge), joystick’s maneuvered art (it’s just their 11th great “tune” Fisb if you believe your neighbor is dropping a bomb through a modified and potentially lethal version of its Atari!!), acid overtones, (The Madness, B.C.T.T.) , clappy lushing (Rise Of Ulysses), that trashy but hilarious make-up featuring some silly house tunes (..or should it be just a J-pop mirroring? …have a listen to the hilarious the vocal edit of the finalizer of We Just Are…I’d like to comment some tracks with a smiley, but, well, it’s not so professional!), but you couldn’t say they’ve not studied the lesson on “how to make a danceable groove” especially when some tracks will literally cause movements in the same way you’ll be move if remote-controlled throughout a voodoo-doll featuring your face and you’ll easily explain such an hysteric reaction, which let The Japanese Popstars corner in a plenty of awards and nominations in Ireland and in UK! Sometimes I had the impression that the tracks on the first disc are just genetically modifications of the ones included Exclusive Bonus Mix (Eat This!, Sky Channel Flicker and Rebirth-ey clappy whispering TJP mix of Rob Hawk & Mysoul’s “So Shockin” should not be missed…really amazing stuff!!!) , but it’s easy to realize that this collection of head-bangers (a well-stuffed arsenal which is going to be more dangerous than a North Korean long-ray nuclear nuke in the bag of a dj!) has a real destructive power

. …but, no shit Sherlock, folks, believe me!!! Their sound is so emphatic you’ll easily decide you don’t have to loose you time in learned disquisitions in order to dance !!!

Ex Paranoid Zen collective member Boston native Rob Vector has been exploring the electronica worldly sounds for quite awhile. Long time producer with Blues Guitar to his current explorations of the Tibetan Throat-Singing, Rob has a strong resume of assisting the organization of chill rooms and psychedelic vortexes in loft parties and larger events in New England and beyond. ALLAH HOO is his first release on Vermin Street and it contains the original version of the tune plus on the virtual B-side of the digital single a remix by DJ Melee. "Allah Hoo" is a mid tempo track which mix electronic sounds, Indian percussions and vocal samples. It sound like of a worldly version of old Prodigy. Known for being involved into Boston's Red Bull Music Academy Regional Rep and for his local label Monism (which features releases from the likes of Kid Blue, Simply Jeff, and Si Begg), Dj Melee took the Indian chants and melodies of the original tunes and added an upbeat techno bass line, a 4/4 beat and mysterious sounding filtered piano inserts. Nice one...

Recently we listened to some new Petr Passive tracks on the latest Vermin Street digital releases but Basserk, the first label that issued his music, is now releasing the second Petr Passive album and we can check more new songs. Available as digital download SKREAMER contains eight great tracks where Petr Passive confirms himself master of the 8-bit sounds and digital distortion. Packed with energy and fun SKREAMER has no fill ins and convince immediately about its value. Catchy tunes, bouncing syncopated rhythms, bleeps, distorted fat bass sounds make of this album a perfect one to dance with as well as a great home listening. The key elements are the same of the first album "Fat Sauce": electro, grime, dub and a bit of techno. Don't miss it! Available at the usual digital stores and at Basserk's webstore.