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Various Artists - Scores III - Dekmantel - DKMNTL069

a1. Interstellar Funk - Seasonshore Sequences (15:19)
b1. Guenter Råler - Ecotone (15:44)

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/va-scores-iii
https://dekmantel.bandcamp.com/album/v-a-scores-iii

Dekmantel once again teams up with RE:VIVE, the cultural initiative setup by the The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, to pair modern electronic talent with Dutch archival footage. The third EP in the Scores series sees Interstellar Funk and Italian producer Guenter Råler create innovative, modular soundscapes to the graceful visual arts unearthed from the Sound and Vision archives.

As Interstellar Funk, Olf van Elden uses his production competency to craft a heavenly arpeggiated, synth composition to the amateur aquarium movies by J.L. Clement which are edited for this project by Sjoerd Martens. Filmed in the 1940’s, the video’s turn-of-the-century black-and-white style aquatic footage is reanimated through van Elden’s tacit polyphonic, modular sonic soundtrack. Layering together multiple sequences, van Elden pieces together the music as a whole, to mimic the way in which the film was created.

On the B-Side, Italian abstract artist and Dutch native Guenter Raler concocts a deeply introspective, and perfectly choreographed, ambient soundtrack to a select series of pieced together clips from the Collectie Natuurbeelden, [the Institute’s Collection of Natural Images]. The music plays against the depiction of multiple biological communities in transition; what is referred to as an ecotone. The title itself not only recalls that of a musical tone, but represents the ever-evolving aspect of life and nature as similar colours, along with movements of animals and plants pass on from one image to the next.

Within their own right, the new scores not only give the age-old films new context and sonic character, but exist as creative works as their own, full of resonance and individualism that highlight the retrospective artists’ voices to their fullest.

DKMNTL069 // Interstellar Funk | Guenter Råler - Scores III

Phillip Jondo - Little Princess EP - Dekmantel - DKMNTL089

a1. Phillip Jondo & Maxwell Sterling - Dunkelziffer I
a2. Phillip Jondo & Maxwell Sterling - Dunkelziffer II
b1. Phillip Jondo & Dj Plead - Whowhuwho
b2. Phillip Jondo & Dj Plead - Whowhuwho (Moa Pillar Remix)

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/phillip-jondo-little-princess-ep
https://phillipjondo.bandcamp.com/album/little-princess-ep

And here we are, after all is said and done, right at the dawn of club music’s reconstruction era. Granted, listening to dance music these days comes with a weird, two-faced sense of longing: a) for careless times before the world shut down, and b) for a (hopefully) near & ecstatic future, that’s, however, in desperate need of new ideas, sounds, and rave ethics.

In this sense, the Little Princess EP on Dekmantel by Cologne-based producer and DJ Jondo feels especially of the time. Each track draws elements from the hardcore club trajectory, but reassembles them in song-like arrangements that work just as fine in any headphone or home listening scenario, without ever falling for the self-serving traps that people mean when they talk of “deconstructed”.

Of course, none of this was intended. The tracks on this EP were created between pre-pandemic London, Berlin and Cologne in April 2019 and January 2020.
The A-side has Jondo team up with Maxwell Sterling, double bass player, producer, and master of dense soundscapes. Both had been fans of each other’s releases for some time, when they eventually caught up and locked down in a London flat, packed with a Digitakt, a bunch of VSTS, an autotune pedal and Maxwell's double bass. For Jondo, the real-life aspect of their collaboration has been key, as those tracks present a process of consolidation between two musical minds who tackle their craft from entirely different angles. The results are two sprawling, dynamic pieces, grimly titled “Dunkelziffer I” and “Dunkelziffer II” (the German term for “dark figure” has been ubiquitous all year, describing the looming undertow of a much higher number of infections).

The opener’s dimly lit, RPG-like atmospheres remain drumless all the way, giving a nod to the expansive compositions of Maxwell’s long-time collaborator James Ferraro. "Dunkelziffer II”, on the other hand, is a full-on club affair, whose complex grooves and muffled drums get disrupted midway through the track by a set of icy synths, only to break open and trade every bit of rave energy for a comforting ambient variation on the lead melody.

The B-side “Whowhuwho" sees Jondo create a powerful piece of instrumental-grime-turned-quasi-jungle alongside DJ Plead, an Australian producer with Lebanese roots, based in Berlin.
The track is a perfect canvas for their shared love of intensely percussive jams, as glimpses of Diwali-style handclaps, dubby delays and classic breaks drive the track forward.
On his remix, Russian techno prodigy Moa Pillar warps the already minimalist lead synth into an even more sparse yet effective dancefloor weapon.

Jondo curated and finished all these team efforts with the same care and curiosity that inform his DJ sets, as well as his A&R process at Spa, the label he runs with Friday Dunard and DJ Brom. (Given the chemistry between these 4 tracks and the people involved, it comes as no surprise that Spa has put out releases by everyone featured on this record.) Just as in his sets, the Little Princess EP proudly exhibits all of Jondo’s musical roots – but instead of sticking with one style, tempo or formula, he innately trusts the music to let it take us into unexpected territories, time and time again. Buckle up and enjoy the trip.

DKMNTL089 // Phillip Jondo - Little Princess EP

Alberta Balsam - Higher Dreams - Dekmantel - DKMNTL080

a1. Atuan Tombs
a2. Cascade
b1. Metanoia
b2. Higher Dreams
b3. Suspended In The Manifold

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/alberta-balsam-higher-dreams

Spiralling through the space-time continuum, Alberta Balsam's debut EP amalgamates clipped breakbeat with lithe IDM and sawtooth electro. Inspired by the visionary author Ursula K. Le Guin, the vinyl is presented by Dekmantel Records together with a transcendental sci-fi narrative. Printed on a poster-inlay designed by British artist Alex Morgan, the story tells of a quest for survival on a planet ravaged by ecological collapse.

In a bid to rescue all lifeforms from impending destruction, a lone holobot frantically consults her neurobiological interface. Humans can no longer subsist on Earth: waterways are contaminated, and the unbreathable atmosphere has taken on a toxic purple, almost holographic hue. Faced with environmental apocalypse, she turns skyward, to take root among the stars. With nods to the utopian futurism, attunement to nature and alien visions of pioneering electronic artists such as Drexciya and Delia Derbyshire, Alberta transmutes a synergy that's entirely her own. Higher Dreams journeys elsewhere on a passage that's equal parts intergalactic and introspective, questioning how, on the brink of the abyss, we can find hope.

Blasting off the A-side with 'Atuan Tombs' – a reference to Le Guin's masterful Tales From Earthsea series – a cyborg voice narrates plundering through the skeletal remains of an urban landscape. Hollowed out kick-drums thunder in 'Cascade;' glitched-out beats that shatter into incandescent, intricate melodies. On the B-side, the titular track crescendos, it’s biblical vocals conveying the gravitas of an approaching dystopia. Yet Higher Dreams is far from doom-inducing – the EP closes off with ‘Suspended in the Manifold,' the vibrant Roland TR-808 rhythm fuelled by the colossal power of a solar flare.

Renowned for her live hardware-based sets, Alberta flexes her immeasurable skill as a tech-savvy producer adept at constructing danceable, yet simultaneously lush and expansive interludes. Having trained as an epidemiologist, the theme of care reverberates through her music. Crucially, she regards dance as medicine – a primordial remedy to sustain our interconnected existence.

DKMNTL080 // Alberta Balsam - Higher Dreams

BSS - Suikerplein EP - Dekmantel - DKMNTL090

a1. Westerpark
a2. Domela
a3. Spaarndammerplantsoen
b1. Box
b2. Scannen

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/bss-suikerplein-ep

​​From ecstatic highs and sinister textures to sprawling breaks, tight drum programming and bass-heavy undercurrents, Suikerplein EP is the BSS project touching home base. Though by no means a new face to Dekmantel, it marks the debut of BSS on the Dekmantel Records imprint, following a sonically varied string of releases on labels like Hivern Discs, Kitjen, Church and Honey Soundsystem Records. Mastermind behind BSS is Luigi Vittorio Jansen, initially one half of the long-standing musical project formerly known as Beesmunt Soundsystem. The formation slimmed down from two to one, but Luigi’s drive and creative impulse is brimming with energy — this debut EP from BSS as a one-man venture can only serve as a testament of that. In a sound that has been typically evolving throughout an almost decade-spanning catalog, BSS is more than ever crystallising the distinctive palette that forms the BSS microcosm as we step in today.

This hypnotic, mind-melting realm can feel wonderfully strange and extraterrestrial, yet Suikerplein spirals back close to home: the city of Amsterdam, where Luigi grew up and where the whole Beesmunt journey began. The track titles refer to various pinpoints from Luigi’s youth, from the Spaarndammer neighbourhood and the Westerpark to an oddly intriguing statue of a Dutch social anarchist that’s also found somewhere in Amsterdam’s westside. BSS’s journey may have crossed many physical borders and brought them to DJ booths and record players across the world, Suikerplein reaches back at the cradle of both the project and Luigi himself.

The blissful suspense of ‘Westerpark’ is where things are kicked in motion: spacious, slowly menacing breaks push forward while a deeply resonating bass contrasts the gleaming synths that are draped on top. The suspense is quickly redeemed by the tight, electrifying drum workout of ‘Domela’ — a high-voltage, electrifying crawler with sparks spattering throughout. It leads to a foray into the mesmerising melancholia the ‘Spaarndammerplantsoen’, an emotive joint that hovers between fatalistic and hopeful. On the flip, we return with ‘Box’: a not-to-be-messed-with, metallic-sounding sizzler with roughed-out laser-beam textures and jarring breaks. The curtain call comes from ‘Scannen’, a near spiritual closing with a synthetic chant. It recapitulates the heavily textured, break-filled character of the Suikerplein EP as a whole, and concludes it with a thoroughly cathartic comedown.

DKMNTL090 // BSS - Suikerplein EP

Interstellar Funk - Into The Echo - Dekmantel - DKMNTL085

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/interstellar-funk-into-the-echo
https://insterstellarfunkdekmantel.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-echo

a1. Ghost of Kyiv
a2. Crystal Whispers
a3. Dreamers (Part I)
b1. Psycho Panner
b2. The Helium Queen
c1. Last Piece of the Puzzle
c2. Northern Winds (Feat. JASSS)
c3. Octave Echoes (Album Mix)
d1. Crickets at Night (Feat. Loradeniz)
d2. Into the Echo

For his debut album on Dekmantel, Interstellar Funk (@interstellarfunk) has crafted a raw, yet simultaneously hauntingly beautiful and endlessly intricate record. Layers of blended harmonies and melodies form the basis for jettisons into leftfield experimentation, heavily processed drums and oscillating frequencies. The result is as infectious as it is pensive; a transcendental journey into a synth-laden landscape.

A stalwart name on our Dekmantel line-ups and with prior releases on the likes of Rush Hour, Berceuse Heroique and L.I.E.S., Interstellar Funk is synonymous with the more brooding side of Dutch electronica. Akin to his DJ sets, which also glide effortlessly between genre, tempo and sound, Into the Echo is daringly eclectic, combining sung-spoken iterations with hypnotic samples and machinic industrial. The release will be supported by a hardware based live-show tour later in 2022.

Ethereal voices haunt the album, a spectral presence emanating both on the titular track and its eponymous twin, 'Octave Echoes.' The latter is built up around breathy reverberations partnered with steely chords and dissected drumbeats. While 'Crickets at Night,' featuring fellow Amsterdam-based producer Loradeniz, switches pace from ghostly ambient to a pulsating, metronome's tick, clockwork rhythms and eerily looped vocals.

Channelling introspective atmospheres, Into the Echo nevertheless holds steadfast to a club- ready beat and momentous bass. 'Northern Winds,' composed with JASSS, edges along the hardcore continuum, exploding with spiralling percussion and flashes of the pair's shared affinity for electro's gyrating-circuitry and dub's ominous dread. And, ionised by piercing synth and bolts of acid, ‘Psycho Panner’s occultist refrain climbs to an otherworldly crux.

A homage to the potency of analogue machinery and experimental electronica, Into the Echo fluctuates with organic life, often melding synthetic and acoustic instruments together. Guitar riffs flutter on 'Dreamers' before pattering out into warbling, glacial fragments and 'Last Piece of the Puzzle’ features a glockenspiel-esque rhythmic element rising to a harmonic crescendo.

The album will be available in digital formats and on 2x 12” vinyl with printed innersleeves and photograpy by Bea1991.

DKMNTL085 // Interstellar Funk - Into the Echo

Aquarian - Mutations I: Death, Taxes & Hanger - Dekmantel - DKMNTL-UFO11

https://aquariandekmantel.bandcamp.com/album/mutations-i-death-taxes-hanger
https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/aquarian-mutations-1

a1. Death, Taxes & Hanger
a2. Rene Likes The Steak
b1. Sam Handwich
b2. Dead Whale

Canadian born, Berlin based producer @Aquarian debuts on Dekmantel Records’ UFO imprint with Mutations I & II, a series of two EPs following his debut album The Snake That Eats Itself and his collaborative records as AQXDM. The series marks his return to club focused solo material for the first time since 2017.

Originally written as inflection points for his typically boisterous and genre collapsing dj sets, Mutations deftly splices the foundational DNA of his earliest productions — electro, hardcore and broken beat techno – with new and vital influences.

Mutations I: Death, Taxes and Hanger finds Aquarian gleefully contorting mid-2000s dnb tearouts, wrong footed IDM and progressive trance euphoria into thrilling new shapes. Fast techno, hi-tek jazz, amphetamine-addled filter house and breakcore join the fray in Mutations II: Delicious Intent as he pushes intensity levels past breaking point. Whichever the touchstone, the results are clear: distinctly modern, highly-propulsive body music with an unapologetically emotive core.

DKMNTL-UFO11 // Aquarian - Mutations I: Death, Taxes & Hanger

Parrish Smith - Light, Cruel & Vain - Dekmantel - DKMNTL091

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/parrish-smith-light-cruel-vain

a1. Fader
a2. Black Scarlet
a3. Light, Cruel & Vain
b1. Crush The Muse
b2. Slave
b3. IAMNOTTHERE
c1. Perfume Of Oil
c2. Never Break Faith
d1. STRENGTH
d2. I Wanna Be An Idol
d3. The Doomsday Generation

Light, Cruel & Vain

Parrish Smith @parrishsmith is never one to let you breathe easy. As a globally renowned DJ, he’s become synonymous with high-velocity sets that cut and collide through his distinct array of obscure sounds. Meanwhile, however, the artist has been carefully constructing his own musical idiom. Manoeuvring his most delicate and most defiant feelings, Light Cruel & Vain (Dekmantel Records, 2022) is the first fruit of that painstaking process. A compilation of ‘imperfect music’, the record is shrouded in the artist’s characteristic veil of mystery. As always, his sound cuts and chokes – sometimes cruelly, sometimes soothingly – yet this record offers a new, longer, lighter gulp of air. Here, Parrish Smith bares his most private process so far: one of personal transformation and becoming a better version of oneself.

Light Cruel & Vain was developed over the course of nearly three years, following nearly a decade of individual experimentation. Where on the one hand, LC&V reflects an inward pilgrimage (aka Parrish Smith facing the world and Parrish Smith facing Parrish Smith), the project simultaneously reflects the birth and growth of a band. Each track on the record is originally based on a solo idea, moulded and fine-tuned in conversation with contributing musicians Sofiane Brahmi and Javier Vivancos, then finalized by the producer. The collaborative process brought together niches that wouldn’t typically share territory or sound, allowing music to emerge that transcends each of their boundaries. In the making of LC&V no conventional studio sessions occurred; due to covid-19, the full collaboration process was a remote affair of sharing snippets, (re)working recordings and, most of all, exchanging thoughts and feelings.

Those who know Parrish Smith a little, know his long-standing mantra: ‘No elitism, no prejudices, no genre. Hypnotic, tense, comprehensible – a state of mind.’ It’s this dictum that best describes the LC&V sound(s). Tapping into all irreverent niches close to his heart – noise, punk, industrial, electronic, and even pop – Parrish Smith refuses to foreground one influence over another, instead layering and warping his personal interpretations of each. To categorize his seeking sound would be to limit the artist who, more than anything, thrives in limbo. ‘You could call it a concept album because the sounds are so far apart. But perhaps that’s not a concept, perhaps that’s just me…’

Parallel to his extensive musical experimentation, the past years have allowed Parrish Smith to zoom in on his writing. The resulting fragments form the foundation of LC&V’s collage-like, soul-searching lyrics. Never, however, does the artist take his words to the front of stage; instead treating his voice as a malleable instrument, just one of many shifting layers in a bigger picture. The distorted lyrics, as such, are an statement: ‘It’s alright to be insecure about some of your qualities. In fact, the key is to embrace just that, to take matters into your own hands.’

Photography by Abel Minnee and creative direction by parrish smith.

DKMNTL091 // Parrish Smith - Light, Cruel & Vain

Dazion - Grooveboxxx - Dekmantel - DKMNTL093

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/dazion-grooveboxxx
https://daziondekmantel.bandcamp.com/album/grooveboxxx

1. Welcome To Grooveboxxx (Ft. MC Paul T)
2. Meet Me At The Mecca
3. Jetlag
4. La DS
5. Eau Membership
6. Marathon (Rap Version)
7. Kimberly & Nance Backstage Rehearsal
8. Secretly Silly
9. Sound Of The Dune Town
10. Asta Grand Closing
11. Exposure
12. Sandokan (U-nite In Peace)
13. The Temple

Welcome to Dazion’s Grooveboxxx – a maxi-sized love letter to The Hague’s 80s and 90s club scene crafted with minimal tools and loaded with vibe. It’s no coincidence it arrives on Dekmantel, a label with its own roots in the same Dutch city’s electronic music culture.

Dazion is The Hague’s Cris Kuhlen, previously spotted releasing on Second Circle, Safe Trip and Animals Dancing. He cut his teeth clubbing and working at long-since closed clubs like Eau, described in Kuhlen’s own words as, “clubs with blocks to dance on, lazers, decorations, crazy extravert [sic] parties.”

In capturing the spirit of Eau and the other formative parties of his youth, Kuhlen limited himself to just one machine to make his longest work to date – the Roland MC-303 Groovebox. While these entry level units from the mid-90s had stripped down functionality in the wider spectrum of studio gear, they contained all the iconic Roland sounds in a Rompler style, giving the user access to everything necessary to make raw, immediate club tracks without requiring an entire studio’s worth of hardware.

The brash gear of choice set the tone for a record of rough, ready and playful jams which end up more sophisticated than you’d expect from such limited means. ‘La DS’ jacks with a freaky, bleep techno intensity, while ‘Kimberly & Nance Backstage Rehearsal’ rides an angular groove tooled to inspire the weirdest dance moves of the night. Every track is named in reference to a particular nightspot, a hazy memory or moment from Kuhlen’s formative raving years.

This is the sound of Dazion having the time of his life. You might well hear a nod to the odd rock totem being given a re-version in irreverent new beat style or some gnarly US acid breaks vibes riding underneath helium rap licks. But for all the cheekiness, the tracks stand up both as nods to halcyon days and relevant workouts for the sweatiest parties in the here and now. As MC Paul T says in dramatic style heralding the intro of Grooveboxxx, “This movement will live on forever.”

DKMNTL093 // Dazion - Grooveboxxx

Marcel Dettmann - Fear Of Programming - Dekmantel - DKMNTL095

https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/marcel-dettmann-fear-of-programming
https://marceldettmann.bandcamp.com/album/fear-of-programming

a1. Coral
a2. Suffice To Predict
a3. Renewal Theory
a4. Transport
b1. Water (Feat. Ryan Elliott)
b2. Pxls
b3. Reverse Dreams
c1. x12
c2. (Batteries Not Included)
c3. Picture 2020
d1. Selective Dissolution
d2. Tone
d3. Fear Of Programming

Nearly 10 years on since his last solo LP, Berlin techno icon Marcel Dettmann arrives on Dekmantel with an expansive album captured in a flash of inspiration.

In many ways Fear Of Programming is a reflection on the artistic process – the critical hurdles one has to overcome, the constant strive for originality, the ability to capture inspiration in its pure moment of inception. Bar the closing title track (and we all know Marcel loves a surprise closing), these 13 tracks came together during a period in which our hirsute host was able to immerse himself in studio practice and set the intention to record an album’s worth of material every single day. From the resulting mass of work there were many options to choose from, and Fear Of Programming stood out as one of the most complete statements on Dettmann’s approach in the here and now.

Unconcerned with an overarching concept, it was the work in the studio which drove the musical direction. No labouring over knotty arrangements, no painstaking mix downs – just honest expression, a moment caught, a groove locked, a stroke of synth sent pirouetting over a cavernous bed of texture. The results are varied, and while you might well hear plenty of bruising machinations in line with the techno Dettmann has made his name on, there are plenty of other shades expressed across the album.

Ambient sojourns, beatless epics and angular electronica have equal footing with strident, floor-friendly workouts. Standout piece ‘Water’ offers an icy ballet of swinging minimal and drip-drop melodics fronted by Ryan Elliott on lesser-spotted vocal duties, urging, ‘give me a sign, just a little something to let me know that you’re mine’. It’s playful, but still underpinned with the sincerity that comes with Dettmann’s work.

Running on instinct, Dettmann presents an honest version of himself in the here and now, speaking through the sonics and not over-thinking the results. His decades of experience helming a thousand techno parties speak for themselves, while his evolution as a musical entity through collaboration and his own BAD MANNERS label demonstrate his appetite for change. Indeed, the working method which resulted in the album also spurred him on to create a live set beyond his well-established DJ practice. Without resorting to a conceited overhaul, Fear Of Programming opens up the idea of what Dettmann represents in the modern techno landscape.

DKMNTL095 // Marcel Dettmann - Fear Of Programming

Tunik - A New Dawn - Dekmantel - DKMNTL096

dekmantel shop: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/tunik-a-new-dawn
bandcamp: https://tunikmusic.bandcamp.com/album/a-new-dawn

A1. New Dawn Fades
A2. The Aeon
B1. Electro 01
B2. Third Eye Connection
05. MS20 (Digital Only)

Tunik (@tunik303) lands on Dekmantel with his distinctive strain of jacking drum machine electro-techno. The Barcelona-based, Argentina-born artist first emerged in 2020 with a standout EP and collaborative spot for Nicolas Lutz’s My Own Jupiter label before notching up a release with Furthur Electronix, and now his emotionally-charged sound spreads its wings once more.

A New Dawn lands somewhere between original 80s synth-pop, the noirish allure of early 00s electro and sleek modern techno, using a full spectrum of synths to draw out harmonically rich tunes that pack in the feels while holding enough mystery to keep a dancefloor enthralled. From the melancholic chimes of 'New Dawn Fades' to the electro lament of 'The Aeon', 'Electro 01's punchy, bass-warping rave energy to 'Third Eye Connection's acidic introspection, it’s an EP which cements Tunik’s highly developed expression through his array of studio tools, all strapped to finely honed club structures for maximum dancefloor impact.

DKMNTL096 // Tunik - A New Dawn

Nadia Struiwigh - Birds Of Paradise - Dekmantel - DKMNTL092

buy:
https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/nadia-struiwigh-birds-of-paradise
or https://nadiastruiwigh.bandcamp.com/album/birds-of-paradise

a1. Shadow On The Left
a2. Rainbrain
a3. JSF48
b1. hLOw
b2. 02nd
b3. Grown Trancy
c1. Endofthe Tunnel
c2. cmmn cmmn
c3. Dreamsynth204
d1. Parcel 33
d2. Yep, Beavers?
d3. Birds Of Paradise

Celebrating the interconnected strands of head-tripping electronica she holds dear, @NadiaStruiwigh arrives on Dekmantel with her fourth album of widescreen machine soul. Birds Of Paradise joins the dots between electro, techno, ambient and jungle as a reflection of the symbiotic relationship between the contrasting elements which drive all life on earth - the inescapable and chaotic forces of cause and effect. Echoing the free-spirited approach of electronic music in the mid-90s, it’s an album which rejects absolutes in favour of emotionally honest expression, true to Struiwigh’s deeply felt passion for the sounds and styles which defined her own journey into music.

Since first emerging in the wider scene, Struiwigh has ably demonstrated her instinct for different sonic approaches across her accomplished career, whether exploring expansive ambience on album projects or holding down the physical intensity of a residency at Berlin techno temple Tresor. Her 2017 debut album Lenticular on Central Processing Unit most closely resembles the approach on Birds Of Paradise, where introspective beat constructions and nuanced sound design folded into a natural, flowing whole unbound by perceived rules around genre. The narrative flow uses contrasting energies to glide though distinctive spaces, unfolding with the considered pace of a truly immersive listening experience.

From the rich, undulating beatless pastures of ‘JSF48’ to the intricate mechanics of ‘02nd’, the dubby downtempo of ‘cmmn cmmn’ to the crunchy beatdown of ‘Dreamsynth’, the spaces Struiwigh defines on Birds Of Paradise are brilliantly vivid and bound together by an affinity for emotionally-charged ambience. At times the effect is nostalgic, calling to mind the exotic ecosystems of Future Sound Of London or Higher Intelligence Agency, but even these passages are charged with a restless futurism informed by the imagined vistas of science fiction as a comment on the realities of the here and now.

Widely recognised for her expertise in a multitude of production processes (not least her extensive knowledge of outboard gear), Birds Of Paradise pools Struiwigh’s devotion to her craft into an exquisite instant-classic to be savoured and absorbed in the same fashion as so many iconic electronica albums which have come before.

DKMNTL092 // Nadia Struiwigh - Birds Of Paradise

Tunik - Nosferatu - Dekmantel - DKMNTL098

vinyl: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/tunik-nosferatu
digital: https://tunikmusic.bandcamp.com/album/nosferatu

a1. Nosferatu
a2. Slave
b1. W72
b2. Sorrow

Barcelona’s Tunik follows up on last year’s A New Dawn with a distinct turn to the dark side as he pays tribute to the iconic, vampiric creature of the night, Nosferatu.

The horror theme on the title track is a natural fit with the Argentinian artist’s schlocky strain of EBM-styled electro-techno, but the music is no joke. Boxy drum machine jack and a suite of darkly seductive synth lines strike the perfect note between vintage flair and modernist impact, and the macabre mood lingers over the rest of this trip through gothic club music.

Whether it’s the Twilight Zone creep around the edges of ‘Slave’, acid blood raining down on ‘W72’ or the undead getting busy with the grungy bass and dry snare hits on ‘Sorrow’, Tunik has got exactly what you need to send a shiver down the dance floor’s spine and raise the temperature in the room, all in the same heartbeat.

DKMNTL098 // Tunik - Nosferatu

Sepehr - Genesis Domain - Dekmantel - DKMNTL103

buy via dekmantel: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/sepehr-genesis-domain
buy via bandcamp: https://sepehr.bandcamp.com/album/genesis-domain

a1. Genesis Domain
a2. Delicate Senses
a3. Twisted Solstice
b1. Planet Lonely
b2. Queen Of Demons

Making his Dekmantel debut with a flourish of symphonic, transcendental techno, Sepehr takes us into a fictional metaphysical zone he calls the Genesis Domain.

Over the past 10 years NYC-based Sepehr Alimagham’s versatile club music practice has taken in techno, D&B, electro, EBM and acid on a suite of scene-leading labels. This new EP builds on the pseudo-spirituality he explored on recent LP Fall From Grace with an exploration of an imagined space “where your reality can be reinvented at any given moment.”

On the A side, the title track sets the pace with a throbbing, sparkling-yet-spooky trip that allows a touch of trance into the mix, while ‘Delicate Senses’ explores snappier broken beat rhythms and edgy atmospherics with a distinctly moody outlook.

The mystical electro shades of ‘Twisted Solstice’ and ‘Planet Lonely’s melancholic 4/4 pastures strike a note between contemplative introspection and anthemic main stage energy. ‘Queen Of Demons’ is the consummate EP closer, leaning on brooding low end and snaking, intricate beats with a healthy dose of shimmering beauty up top.

Consistent with his versatile approach since day one, Sepehr proves any blend of tempos and rhythms can be folded into his vivid, evocative sound world — the results will always draw you in close until his vision becomes yours.

DKMNTL103 // Sepehr - Genesis Domain

Sam Goku - Radiants - Dekmantel - DKMNTL104

vinyl: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/sam-goku-radiants
digital: https://samgoku.bandcamp.com/album/radiants

a1. Tides (Under The Moonlight)
a2. Tanggu FM
b1. Radiants
b2. Temple Arp

Building on the buzz around his dynamic techno releases of the past few years, Sam Goku @samgoku makes a welcome debut on Dekmantel with four striking set pieces which subvert the rules of the average floor fodder.

Through his steady stream of output on the likes of Atomnation Berlin-based Robin Wang has established himself as a must-check artist with an instinct for the unconventional. That comes through in jaw-dropping fashion on Radiants’ opening cut ‘Tides (Under The Moonlight)’, a swirling, mystical thumper which rises with graceful restraint to a thunderous peak. By way of contrast ‘Tanggu FM’ brings things up close and claustrophobic, using slippery sound design and stuttering vocals to create a different kind of maverick energy on top of the rugged low end. Even when he does reach for anthemic hooks on the EP’s title track, there’s a fundamental otherness to the sparkling chords and a toughness to the beat which edges out the competition.

This is just a snapshot of the versatility at work across Radiants, a record which will cement Goku’s position as a standout producer taking a less obvious path to truly distinctive, devastatingly original showstoppers.

DKMNTL104 // Sam Goku - Radiants

Piezo - Ecstatic Nostalgia - Dekmantel - DKMNTL-UFO13

buy: https://piezopz.bandcamp.com/album/ecstatic-nostalgia

a1. Ultra
a2. Deepa
b1. Sok Lung
b2. Turbines

After a brief pause, Dekmantel are returning to their UFO series to present a cybernetic rush of non-conformist techno from Italian maverick Piezo @piezopz. Anyone familiar with Dekmantel's flagship festival will know the UFO stages showcase spikier strains of modernist body music, and the label series serves to push these sounds forwards in the hands of consistently visionary producers.

Milan-based Piezo is usually found at the helm of his Ansia label, exploring a versatile spectrum of experimental club music grounded in soundsystem presence and non-linear structures. On Ecstatic Nostalgia he edges his sound into a more driving, techno-spirited framework which lends itself to the energy of the UFO series beautifully. From tightly wound, artfully fractured 150 rumble and elegant sci-fi breakbeat on to needlepoint electronica and subtly trance-brushed atmospherics, Piezo's broad palette fuels an ear-snagging EP which balances visceral impact with a deft touch.

DKMNTL-UFO13 // Piezo - Ecstatic Nostalgia

Wata Igarashi - Kaleidoscopic - Dekmantel - DKMNTL-UFO14

buy: https://wataigarashi.bandcamp.com/album/kaleidoscopic

a1. Kaleidoscopic
a2. The Sailage
b1. Steaming
b2. Interweave

Dekmantel continues to shape out the return of its UFO series with an EP of mind-massaging techno-trance futurism from Wata Igarashi. Capturing the energy of the UFO stages which indulge Dekmantel Festival's darker, experimental tastes, Igarashi turns out four shapely serotonin injections in his inimitable style.

There's an immediacy to the Kaleidoscopic 12" which rushes into earshot the moment the EP fires up with the insistent acid throb of the title track. The eternal undulation of a 303 provides the bedrock for Igarashi's fluttering brushstrokes, while a tough yet supple beat charges underneath. Cascading arps are a core element of the richly melodic sound on this release, reaching measured peaks of ecstasy on 'The Sailage' without ever taking a cheap shortcut. Understated, emotionally-charged eloquence spills out of every sequence. There's a softer, blurry-eyed sentiment to the synth work on 'Steaming', while 'Interweave' tempers classic acid techno tropes with gaseous atmospherics.

There are plenty of crisp edges in his tracks for the dancers to latch onto, but Igarashi specialises in a fluid motion that encourages less thinking and more feeling—a lysergic techno flow to truly melt into.

DKMNTL-UFO14 // Wata Igarashi - Kaleidoscopic

upsammy - Open Catalyst - Dekmantel - DKMNTL106

buy vinyl: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/upsammy-open-catalyst
buy digital: https://upsammy.bandcamp.com/album/open-catalyst

a1. Relict
a2. Telluric
b1. Open Catalyst
b2. Background Impact

Four years since her last dancefloor 12", @upsammy returns to Dekmantel with a four-track exploration of gleaming, sprightly drum and bass with a restorative centre. Thessa Torsing's moves in upper tempo zones have been defined by her light touch, finding power and presence in finely chiseled sounds and sculpting space between intricate, interwoven rhythms.

The dynamic movement of her pristinely moulded percussion is absolutely geared up for the club, but it's also matched with an uplifting, meditative sound palette which tempers the busy energy of the drums. Pushing and pulling on her arrangements with ever-increasing expressiveness and revelling in the subtlest of modulations to her kinetic beat systems, upsammy proves once again that moving in time to fast music can be an incredibly restorative experience.

DKMNTL106 // upsammy - Open Catalyst

Broken English Club - Songs Of Love And Decay - Dekmantel - DKMNTL-UFO15

buy digital: https://deathandleisure.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-love-and-decay
buy vinyl: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/broken-english-club-songs-of-love-and-decay

1. A Shallow Lake
2. Crawling
3. England Heretic
4. Love And Decay
5. Death Cult
6. Vessel Of Skin
7. Night Fall
8. Pacific Island Kill
9. Lost Gods
10. Prisoner
11. Sacred Sacrifice
12. Ghost
13. Non Place
14. The Occult Body

Dekmantel UFO Series continues its resurgent form with a new album of bruising, industrial wave and techno from Broken English Club. UK techno mainstay Oliver Ho (@oliverho13) debuted his dark and brooding alias more than 10 years ago with a release on Jealous God under the guidance of the late, great Juan Mendez (Silent Servant) — Songs Of Love And Decay is explicitly dedicated to Mendez, whose influence runs deep in this seductively sinister corner of underground, independent electronic music.

Within the overarching aesthetic of the Broken English Club sound, Ho finds the freedom to deliver a full spectrum album as diverse as it is consistent. You can sense the shadow of his roots in 90s tribal techno punching through on 'Crawling' and 'Death Cult', while 'England Heretic' leans on thick swathes of analogue synthesis indebted to Giallo soundtracks and the ever-compelling lure of 80s synthwave. In its grinding layers of distortion and dubbed out vocals 'Vessel Of Skin' speaks more to the post-punk influences which have set Broken English Club apart since the outset. This isn't a purely retro-fetishist expedition, though — 'Pacific Island Kill' and 'Lost Gods' exude stark modernism in their sharply-angled sequences and dramatic sound design, moving beyond the functional demands of 4/4 dance music to reach to more cinematic zones.

These are but some of the approaches Ho burrows into as he shapes out the depth and breadth of his muse on Songs Of Love And Decay. It's marked by the undeniable impact of his production, perfected over a decades-deep career at the bleeding edge of machine music. At times the album celebrates the addictive thrust of the dancefloor, while elsewhere it relishes the tension of suspended animation. Throughout, the gritty veneer binds together this accomplished, uncompromising body of work as both a fierce artistic statement and a loving tribute to Mendez — an artist who equally embodied the darker side of the dance.

DKMNTL-UFO15 // Broken English Club - Songs Of Love And Decay

Ploy - It's Later Than You Think - Dekmantel - DKMNTL107

vinyl: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/ploy-its-later-than-you-think
digital: https://ployuk.bandcamp.com/album/its-later-than-you-think

a1. When In Room
a2. Stringz
b1. Admirer
b2. Terrazza
c1. It's Later Than You Think
c2. Monsters
d1. Sauna
d2. Deleted

Percussion mastermind Ploy (@deejayploy) arrives on Dekmantel with a double-pack of unbridled dancefloor heat that sees him reconnecting with his house roots.

Before he made a striking breakthrough as Ploy with wayward broken techno for Hessle Audio and Timedance, Samuel Smith's first releases as Samuel were leftfield house excursions. On this release for Dekmantel he wanted to reflect on a decade of releasing music and the many high-impact dancefloors he's shared with the label, from Selectors to De School, over the years.

The common denominator across these eight tracks is no-nonsense house, offering up grooves that will serve a DJ exactly what they want in the mix. At the same time, Ploy doesn't dilute the distinctive edge of his sound, from the abundance of perfectly balanced percussion to the nagging hooks of an off-key synth line dropped at just the right moment. Wry samples inject the mischievous humour he's always creeping into his craft. This is where dancefloor magic is nurtured, hitting the sweet spot between rock solid reliability and the wild card energy that brings a heads-down set to life.

From 'Admirer's big room peaks to 'It's Later Than You Think's cosmic incantations, this is the sound of Ploy showing exactly what it takes to make laser-focused club bombs without losing one iota of his inimitable style.

DKMNTL107 // Ploy - It's Later Than You Think

upsammy - Bend - Dekmantel - DKMNTL087

a1. Flutter
a2. Spat
b1. Worm
b2. Metallic

vinyl & merch: https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/upsammy-bend
digital: https://upsammy.bandcamp.com/album/bend

Following 2020’s debut album ‘Zoom’, upsammy returns to Dekmantel with a dualistic four-tracker called 'Bend', incorporating familiar sonic palettes and novel paths carved out in times of isolation.

Where Zoom channelled upsammy’s conceptual depth, Bend leans into artistic intuition, juxtaposing the floral and martial, propelling along her signature sound of textured electronica. Lilac chimes rise and fall along the melodic Flutter and Metallic, while the sinister creeps from Spat and Worm’s spacious cracks. All in all, Bend discloses upsammy’s versatility yet again, ever-shifting as the ambiguous modernity she continues to wander - an artist able to shift through the complexity of modernity with rare grace.

DKMNTL087 // upsammy - Bend

Amsterdam based DJs, events company and record label. - support@dekmantel.com for all your webshop and label enquiries.