Basic Rhythm
Still

MOTO017 - SW - 2021

Deeptrax go even deeper with 'Hi8tus' - the first album from Detroit pioneer and forerunner Suburban Knight in over 12 years. One of the earliest protagonists in the epoch-defining, landscape-changing Motor City cultural movement, and a card-carrying Underground Resistance member, James Pennington's fingerprints are all over Detroit's nascent phases as he mentored the likes of Mike Banks, collaborated with Kevin Saunderson and appeared on formative Transmat dispatches in the late 80s and early 90s. Preferring a behind the scenes role for many years, Pennington has operated in the shadows, only ever releasing music when he's had something to say. There have been long periods of silence in his discography but in recent times he's returned with a series of singles and outings on Mollison Folson & Derrick Lewis's Detroit Techno Records. Now time to level up once again and remind us of his sonic skills and stature, 'Hi8tus' thrives off its timeless futurist schematics, each one instantly tapping into the deepest of Detroit sources, but doing so without any repetition or covering old routes. Largely breakbeat-based, Pennington pays homage to the electro foundations in a wide range of forward-facing ways; the uncompromising icy opener 'Far Far Away', the hazy soul and dreamy waves of 'Spiritual Ride' and the gnarled, brittle brutalism of 'Stalker Turned Electro' (a nod to one of this most enduring bangers back in the day - 'The Art Of Stalking') map out the parameters of Knight's navigations. In between we have brooding, pensive moments of tension. The four-to-the-floor prowl of 'Thy Will Be Done', the b-boy swagger of 'Machete', the glacial dark side voyage of '2 Different Worlds', the list of immersive explorations goes on... Proof that when it's in your DNA it doesn't matter how long you pause between releases; it's about what you say with your music. Suburban Knight's hiatus is well and truly over.

Neck-breaking swing and deep moody pads; that when good Naybas make good beats.

The first release in a new catalog series dedicated to the 7" . Here are two reworks produced between Italy and the United States, inspired by Italian cosmic atmospheres of the late 70s: “Cascades” by Stephen Schlacks (1978) and “Pulsazioni” by Filippo Trecca (1979).“Cascate Emozionali Volume One” is a tribute to these two composers, and to all others that, just like them, have created immortal melodies and atmospheres. This project is also a work of sound archeology, of careful research of the synthesizers and the sounds that have given life to the original versions, here reproduced with a contemporary luster, honoring their original essence.This music is a container full of emotions, of nostalgia for an era that no longer exists, of faded memories that are suspended in the cosmos, of moments that we miss. All of them connected to our childhood, our family, to our loved ones, and to the objects that were there all along, like the “Selene” chair of Vico Magistretti, redesigned for the cover by French illustrator Alexis Jamet.Music to remember.

ABT024 - CA - 2012Tender Opposites by TOPS

Pure Virgin EP, compiling 3 original tracks that were produce by Vietnamese artist "TrinhNu" during the most intense lockdown in Vietnam, is considered as a love letter to the early 90s dance music - unconventional, progressive and fearlessly fun. “A Shout Going Out” kicks off as a quasi-breakbeat House track, accompanied by the nostalgic samples. “The Cliffhanger”, inspired by European proto-Trance, offers a mystical ambience and a darker atmosphere to the club. On the other side, peak-time “Tu Nay” is the journey of ravey sounds with euphoric M1 synth-lines and classic samples. Liquid Earth guides “Tu Nay” into an orbit around a trippier and richer sphere of Tech House.