May this album title gives already out a hint, what kind of music hides behind this Hungarian-based project. FIRST AID 4 SOULS is five-persons collective, consisting of István Gazdag (lead synths, vocals), Katalin Helfenbein (e-drums, vocals)., Eszter Agiston (vocals), Zoltan Havasi (live sampling/VJ), and Attila Palvaly (drums). They too have hired several guest vocalists to help them out on this album, names like Linda Deamon of the Hungarian Metal-act DRUGZONE, or Aaron Russel of the US-based Electro-project IMPURFEKT coming up here. Musically this album is a bit a victim of different music interests of the single members. You’ll a colorful mixture out of Synth-/Futurepop-related tunes ("Before The Light"), some rather harmless Hellectro-related tracks ("Painkiller"), while you’ll also in between get a sort of Neo-Classic inspired work like "First Aid". They offer diversity to fight against that typical stereotyped thinking – everything seems to be musically allowed, as long as it is difficult enough for us fucking reviewers to sort them stylistically clear in. Personally impressed I felt with that energetic tune "Powa", although some heavy guitar-like inserts can be noticed. These Hungarians seem to feel familiar with multiple styles, although that album looses a bit intensity with the latter tracks. But to tip on some unnecessary lengths and avoidable repetitions may wouldn’t be fair for a quite good and entertaining debut release, although I fear that a versatile style-listener still needs to be born at first. As for a fine passing mention, FIRST AID 4 SOULS is the first music-project directly signed by the German Electro-Arc label and its mastermind Michael "Intrendent" Maier. Under this label moniker he has previously released some well recognized underground compilations featuring new talents completed with a few known band names, so this release means a new challenge for him.

It’s unbelievable, that a new audio sign of life behind the New York-based Electronica-project DIGITAL GEIST has taken 3,5 years in the making, since the last album, the high prolific and awarded "The Zero Engine", has been a promising start into a seemingly bright future for this act. This music project of Alex Kourelis and his partner N3wt offers with this EP 4 new and long-awaited tracks. Still providing the state-of-art regarding sound and recording quality, his newest audio results convince the audience once again with skillful Electronica sequencer works, modern synthesizer sounds and a straight and steady beating rhythm section. Mainly active in an attractive form of Techno-/Trance-related sound environment, this EP is an appetizer for an upcoming new album as well as a promotional tool for live performances. The opening track "Aeroplane" may works as being the best tune here, especially its deep drilling synth bass lines approving Alex’ and N3wt’s talent to create modern sounding arrangements, which also entertain the listener under a pair of headphones. Second and third track is "Luna Patrol" in two parts, which both push the speed to a higher and more dancefloor-oriented level. Since both parts got right in time separated into two versions, this track – consumed in one spin – gets a bit too repetitive. Last, but not least, they present us the title tracks of this EP, which continues with a comparable bpm number, as well as with a guest appearance of Bill Boulden/Spruke for the vocals. This guy also provided some guitar riffs to back up the depth of the arrangements for this track, which means a relatively new form to express music for DIGITAL GEIST. Only 4 tracks and 21 minutes aren’t enough, to catch an impression of the whole DIGITAL GEIST sound empire – no wonder, since "The Zero Engine" is still in mind. This EP sounds promising enough, to bridge easily the time for the next full-length album.

Distributed by Juno Digital, BUBBLE & FREEZE is the newest Playdoe release. It contains two new tunes by the South African duo, I interviewed some months ago, plus nine remixes of the main song. "Ice cream" is an upbeat electro tune with hip hop vocals and grime bass/drums rhythms. It's refrain will stick into your head and make it perfect for a sunny ride near the seaside while surfists cover the horizon. Also the female/male duets are making of this a really catchy song. "Champoon" is more focused on electro hop standards with its mid tempo rhythms and dark atmospheres. With these new tracks Playdoe confirm themselves a great band that for sure are ready for releazing an album that for sure will be a blast. Last but not least on this digital release you'll find nine remixes of "Ice scream" that are able to enhance its melodies or change it in particular ways (check Kaptain Cadillac dry version where picked guitar samples change the song in a nice way). Riot Kid, Kaptain Cadillac, Zôl & Illstm, Square Tune Magician, Digital Fighter, Club Cheval, D.L.i.d and Chris de Luca are giving their best to entertain you and make you dance... a great song for great remixes.

We recently talked about Robot Koch because of his solo album but this time I'm talking about him because he's also involved into Jahcoozi along with Sasha Perera and Oren Gerlitz. Active since early 00's with on their back releases for WMF Records, Kitty-Yo or A-Records, the trio is now releasing through BPitch Control their third album BAREFOOT WANDERER. If you were used to Robot breakbeats, well in this case you have to look somewhere else, but if you are into pop, dub, reggae and deep bass lines the eleven tracks of the album would satisfy your thirst for chill-out atmospheres. As the title suggests the band approached to the album with a new spirit and thanks to the Goethe Institute they went to Kenya to record the track "Msoto Millions" along with MCs from Uko Flani, a Kenyan dancehall/reggae crew in Nairobi. This was the first of their collaborations but this album see the band traveling and collaborating with people overseas (percussionist Guillermo Brown from New York or clay pot percussionist Oori Shalev from Israel) or in Europe (Belgian singer Barbara Panther). Ethnic influences found their home into the upbeat rhythmic textures of BAREFOOT WANDERER and if you aren't afraid of a jazzy vocal approach mixed with dub electronics you can check Jahcoozi. Personally "Wasteland" was the track I appreciated most because of its light ethnic percussion that duet with a soft female vocal and synth waves.

It’s quite difficult not sharing the ideas by Glitterbug, Ronni Shendar and other lads thickening c.sides’ music hordes about the compositional skills of this 24 years old producer, whose musical path begun on his father’s old-fashioned computer through which he moved his very first steps towards the electronic music potentially infinite planet. The lack of any academic knowledge depending on the circumstance he lived in a secluded region has not been an obstacle for the development of its own (very melancholic) style and after some interesting excerpts on Orphanear (a sort of Dial’s sub-label, founded by Pawel aka Turner) and an astonishing release, Heights EP, for Cologne’s Ki-Records, he finally joined c.sides. The common factor of the four tracks of this ep maybe stands in the fact the listener could easily isolate all the acoustic stimuli combined within a track, but the way Christian Loeffler entwines them makes him powerless in front of its gradual sliding towards the emotive sphere resulting in a deep listening experience, beginning with the fluffy sounds, suffocated chirps, a sequenced puff at the end of rhythmical pattern motioning Cord – a track which is akin to some new definitions of techno (for clubs) recently spread by the legendary Cocoon -, whose initial mechanical gusts are propelled by a floating church organ, conferring a mystical aura to the track, and a clappy ambient-techno programming on drums; a bouncing bass drum, a metallic pit-a-pat, an absorbing monochord ultra-low tone and an impalpable resonance introduce the listener to the hypnotic progression of Glare, while there’s a sense of familiar warmth in the micromelody which seems to be emanated by a childhood memory in the lovely track giving name to this ep, Raise, akin to that kind of mood partially explored in the past by Anthony Rother. Some emotional tears are going to stream down your brain and your soul during the listening of the moving ambient miniature of the closing track, Core, potentially able to reach the core (as self-declared by the title) of the target aimed by Loeffler enchanting music. But don’t hang your head in sorrow please, human robots!