Basserk is a new label heading from Neatherland and SOME TUNES is their second release which shows the aims and sounds of the label’s roster. The CD opens with a convincing electro distorted tune by Mignon ("Death race") remixed by Patric Catani and if there was a good way to start, this was a really good one. Aux Raus is next with "This is how this works" a breathtaking electro punk anthem that gathers electro sounds, a distorted guitar and a cool melody for a 130 bmp track (or something like that). Genjini is next with "Das funkistador", a nice electro funky lo-fi track that will make you move your asses. 3-1 already released a 12" for Basswerk titled "Dont’t destroy" and here they present a new track, "Gold" a nice track with a certain English flavour (I hear a little bit of latest Chumbawamba atmospheres). Kook Feat. Roxxy Bione already had a release on Pale Music and on this compilation present "Nobody knows" a convincing electro dancey tune. Elle Bandita along with the Scandals (the band of the Pale Music chief that here remix Junesex) and Melomanics play a cool kind of punk with dance attitude while the Dutch Drillem with "Bug" blend western (yes, I mean the movies) atmospheres with crazy electro dance extravaganza. Now it’s the turn of Transformer Di Roboter. I loved so much their cover E.P. that I was curious to check an original tune and I must admit that they didn’t disappoint my expectation as with "Hi-end" I found the elements that made me love their sound (that lo-fi casio syth sounds here enriched with a distorted bass line and several other cool keyboard sounds) into a song that has a perfect melody and which is impossible not to dance to. Sneakthief present here "Les yeux fermes", a nice track of their electro funky style but this time the track is based on guitars/bass guitars sound with a sampled French voice. Nobody Beats The Drum is one of the different Dutch bands on this CD (in total we can count eight out of fourteen) and their "Turn up the box" is an electro dancey tune that sometimes remembered me the latest Daft Punk. Dumbvox and Lucky Goat are the last ones. The first one with "Guardian" present a mixture of electro and e.b.m. and the latter with "No worries" is here with a nice electro reggae tune. At this point I imagine you’ll have understood that this compilation is worth the purchase and you have just to visit www.basserk.com to order your copy!

The 137th release by Bpitch Control is a remix project wished by Paul Kalkbrenner. He decided to make available to other artists he appreciate, all his sources that he used for his previous releases (he did 21 releases, counting 12" and albums, since 1999) and he let them pick up the track they preferred just to do of it whatever they wanted to. In this way the Wighnomy Brothers, Sascha Funke, Agoria, Ellen Allien & Apparat, Joris Voorn, Alexander Kowalski, Modeselector and Michael Mayer picked up tracks coming from "Steinbesser", "F.fwd", "Self", "Press on", "Tatü-tata" and "Superimpose". Also Kalkbrenner did a remix and he picked up "Der berserker", a track originally included into the album "Gemeinsam der berserker". The original tracks have been heavily changed as people like Agoria, for example, on their remix of "Page 1, 2, 3" took only an accordion line from the original version. The various tracks sound now span though minimal techno to ambient with upbeat parts or breakbeat tempos. The remixers did a good job as the tracks have different mood changes (within the same track) and this sense of growth keep them interesting for the whole length.

Limited to only 1000 copies, SURFACE TENSIONS is the third release by Surface 10. While the previous two were containing tracks composed and reworked during the 1994-99 period, this new one contains tracks that have been composed within 1997 and 2006. Dean De Benedictis, the person behind Surface 10, describes the music of this album "techno-tragic sound". The eleven tracks of the album have been composed by Dean with the help of Eddie Loyola (aka Niture) and members of the Fateless Flows Collective. Musically the tracks have a strong electronic background that sound like a mixture of ambient and minimal techno with some i.d.m. here and there but if you listen to it with attention you will also notice a certain jazz or fusion attitude (see "X tension" for example) of the melodies used on some tracks. This is the interesting thing about Surface 10 music: the multi layered structure of the tracks contains so many melodies and rhythms that even if the whole effect sounds like ambient trance music, you’ll be amazed by the richness of the sound. This denote a will to experiment with sounds and solutions that I really appreciated and even if the approach to sound is really minimal you could let yourself lose into the ambience created finding something new that goes beyond the usual ambient music.

Robi Insinna a.k.a. Headman and Manhead is a successful dj which since the early 2000 is rocking the dancefloors. During the last period he’s touring with Soulwax as their official tour dj as well he did many remix for Franz Ferdinand, Royksopp, Yello, Anne, Mylo, Scissor Sisters, etc. The respect he gained during his career allowed him to have on his second full length many guest singers, so ON features: Anthony Roman (from Radio 4), Stephen Dewaele (from Soulwax), Tara, Anton Spivac, Matt Safer (from The Rapture), Ed Laliq, Ben Rymer and Erol Alkan (from Trash). The album contains twelve tracks that mix indie rock urge with dancefloor taste. To tell the truth I was expecting something more electronic and less rock oriented but it seems that Robi wanted the album to be enjoyed also at home and he concentrated the will to party for the remixes you can find on the three singles taken from the album: "Roh", "Moisture" and the upcoming "On & on". Listening to tracks like "Balearica" it seems to hear the Kills affected by a soul fever with electronic arrangements. It sounds nice but it sounds also a bit too MTV oriented.

The first words that pop out in my mind when I listen to this third Karsten Pflum CD, are: deranged, obsessed, minimal and cyclic. From the guinea pig that wanders in a garden between wires and broken amplifiers that you find on the cover, you realize that something is going on. When you start listening to the first track of the CD "Impulse 9" you realize that definitively something is happening: for the first five minutes i.d.m. rhythms make yourself lose your boundaries but after a break the rhythm turns into something more structured as well some melancholic melodies start to fill your room. After the first eight minutes of the album Karsten showed what you have to deal with as the whole album is based on the balance of these ingredients: rhythm, glitch noises, light melodies and suspended atmospheres. Having showed the essence of his music he didn't broke the toy, because each track has something to give and even if I appreciated some titles more than others, IDHAX is a nice album that dare experimenting with some chaotic moments (like during the whole "Draworder") but that at the same is able to create dark or heart moving atmospheres.