Lisbon's Paraíso bring their A&R a-game once again with a stellar EP by one of the city's most beloved techno DJs - @vilmusic - and a chef's kiss remix by the one and only queen of twisted dance, @ednd from Algarve.

VIL effortlessly strikes a balance between his seasoned raver's effective ammunition approach and his penchant for freshness that has accompanied him since his early days as a dubstep DJ. Concise elegance and banging inventiveness meet in the opener Rotari, as the A2 follows with detroitian levels of class and relentlessness, all ecstatic hats, warm stabs and beautiful percussion. Ghet09 closes the A side with tom-filled jack-infused beats and smooth keys with an instant-classic quality, all offset by eerie pads cause it's techno we're gladly witnessing after all.

Anjos, the new Birmingham brings in-your-face energy in the tight drum programming and a dash of trippy, quasi-dubby melodic elements in an ode to Lisbon's tentative premier techno neighbourhood Anjos.

Deranged yet loved-up, the B2 is a perfect peak-time dreamy mood-setter - proving we're in the hands of a skilled emotion-to-dance translator. The record closes with a stellar remix by one of Portugal's innovators, EDND herself, who drowns the opening track in mysterious waters and adds beautiful melodic elements, perfect for that much-appreciated deep dive moment on the dancefloor. There's a wonderful digi bonus for the heads, where oneiric pads are punctuated by vocal chops from a very familiar classic.

BUY VINYL/DIGI

Digital Bonus - Vil - Soul Thing

Recreation

Spice Up

Human Safari - Jazz Affair (RS2309) [clip]

Stadium Techno

Daft Punk Is Playing At My Garage

At what point does a new tool or technology become so integral to a process as to be intrinsic? And what happens if that technology starts to subordinate its user? 

By reflecting on these questions Machine Alliance, the new EP by Irish producer Kerrie on Tresor Records, connects her music to the sci-fi origins of techno and electronic music in general.

With inspiration from classic books and films of the genre such as The Machine Stops, The Matrix, and Blade Runner as well as modern explorations in art and philosophy like Free Your Mind and Technopoly, the EP's title takes on two opposing but intersecting meanings. 

One, based on the potential for machines to take over or replace humans, is a key idea of sci-fi that seems closer to reality with the arrival of machine learning and real artificial intelligence.

The second has a much more positive view, one where the "alliance" is between the artist and machine to create the music, a process she places immense value on, being both cathartic and therapeutic, whilst also being a vehicle of addition and expansion:


"I feel that it's a collaboration&hellip;the machines are precise in their timing and I add the human touch (literally) in the live performance which adds natural imperfections, so we both provide something the other can't. There's also an element of growth; the machines get updates and so are always expanding in terms of their musical capabilities. And the more I push my own technical abilities I feel we are growing together in a constant synchronised dance."

This "dance" results in four tracks (plus three digital-only bonuses) of classic machine funk which combine the aforementioned ideas in sci-fi with a deep lifelong affection for techno. Tracks like Ode to the D, and Technopoly Dream display this love through her choice of sounds and structure, both intentional and subconscious, while Replicants, and Human in the Loop project into other genres to fully round this release off as a contemporary example of music rooted in both past and future.

BANDCAMP

Kerrie - Human In The Loop

DJ AGITATED, the alias of a well known producer first appeared on Steffi’s The Red Hunter Remix LP and now joins the acclaimed Dolly TS series. The ‘Magic Overlooked’ EP is music that lasts. Beautiful high quality, Detroit infused melodic techno for the soul!

4 DJ AGITATED - Vallinote

Fireground's live sets brim with joy and Mediterranean warmth, so as we have now passed the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and are well on en route to leave the long, cold winter behind, what could be more fitting than a new release from the duo? 

As with their three previous releases on Tresor (Dualism, Refreshing Part 1, and Dreams) for Love Letter Angela and Daniele have created a heady melange of styles of techno synonymous with the turn of the century with such outrageous elan and jubilation that they practically embody the musical term giocoso:

"We had the "summer" concept in mind from the beginning, this pushed us to create a message in our sound making it uplifting and engaging, capable of conveying a positive, romantic and warm vibe.

In our productions we always give priority to the harmonic parts such as melodies, pads, piano and guitar riffs, the peculiarity of this EP is that all the tracks were born first from these elements, and only at the end the groove was crafted, not due to a difference in importance, rather to ensure that the rhythmic part paid as much respect as possible to the harmonic part."

This decision to build upwards from the harmonics has paid dividends: the entrance of a string section provokes visions of a rapt club crowd cheering with exultation; a looped groove stimulates a connection to such gleeful nostalgia that is almost certain to be heard at many festivals in coming months; a blissful pad sweeps over a track like the first rays of sun in the morning; a filtered synth rises to be met with a xylophone-like countermelody&hellip;every track has a moment where the music overflows with some form of happiness. Together the collection promises, and perhaps even delivers, a summer both ecstatic and joyful.

Reachin' (Andreas Saag Mix)

Samuel L Session

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