It looks like Colombia has a rich techno scene, and the record label Psicodelica are spearheading it. Gruvi seem to be based in Romania, and produce a very rich, bass-heavy minimal techno sound. It is both dubby and danceable, and the B-track is even more stripped down with a remix by Serbian DJ CVTKVC.
Chinese-Canadian composer Yu Su produces an album that left me pleasantly surprised by. Though I found this download under “ambient” music, it turns out that it may have more to do with the motorik music of Neu! quietly subdued by elements of dub, dance music and wee touches of Chinese traditional music buried underneath. She has launched her own record label, bié Records, which is based in my working location, Beijing, China. As I plan to return in June, provided the government there opens the doors again, I’ll have to look the label up and see what else is coming…
A good remix album should have the same song remixed by several pros and not sound a thing like the original. I think Nigel & Derek of Tunnelmental have pulled it off in this three-track album. The original track is a bouncy raver with the sampled refrain, “Life is a state of mind.” I can agree with that. Track two is remixed by Tony Byker, whose previous remixing work I’m not familiar with, but he ups the bpm to make this into something actually dancefloor-ready. The final track is a house-style reworking by Derek which closes the EP quite well.
Though I know Thomas Jackson Park’s work in its more experimental form, this new release is a nice surprise as the dub influence is obvious, and a pleasant distraction from all the brutal noise I’ve been going through today.