Best New Releases from June

by Irina Kotik

The month of June brings a panoply of amazing releases, stunning remixes, and impressive albums from the likes of Bicep, Love Over Entropy, Marc Piñol, Maarten Mittendorff, Fideles, Denis Horvat, Ripperton, Marc Romboy, LOR, Vails and Floyd Lavine.

Bicep
Aura
Ninja Tune

Belfast’s musically versatile duo Bicep will release their self-titled, full-length debut album via Ninja Tune. The album will hit shelves on September 1st. 

The masterminds behind Bicep, Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson "have pulled off the rarest of feats, to make a singularly unique electronic record founded on the blueprint of classic house, techno, electro, and Italo Disco, but flipped and morphed into a fresh design bearing the unique Bicep sonic signature", according to the label. "It was a happy experiment… you may call it an accident," Bicep describe in a press release. "We'd been playing with this specific and very complicated gear-chain for a while but nothing worked, or didn't feel musical enough...then it all just fell into place and 'Aura' appeared. The first single is a well crafted big room anthem and an impressive introduction to the upcoming eleven track album. 

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Cosime
Fyr (Maarten Mittendorff Auro Mix)
Nous'klaer Audio

Nous’klaer Audio's latest release is Cosime’s Fyr (Maarten Mittendorff Mixes) EP, a mind-bending techno re-imaging of last year’s gorgeous track from the Dutch producer and Indigo label co-founder, Maarten Mittendorff.

The beautifully crafted two-track remix package contains the sensual but incredibly powerful ‘Auro’ and a slightly darker ‘Radia’. The sonically rich and intensly detailed ‘Auro’ is a perfect peak-time dancefloor tool for forward-thinking DJs. 

Clone.nl
Soundcloud
Facebook

Margot
Moderno (Marc Piñol Acid Remix)
Hivern Discs

Italian duo Margot is part of a new breed of producers bringing a timeless sound to John Talabot's forward-thinking Hivern Discs imprint. Following the releases on La Terra, Les Des Disques De La Mort and Internasjonal, Margot works their magic on the 'Moderno' EP. The four-track package consists of two original tracks and two stunning remixes of the title track from Marc Piñol. His acid-laced take of ‘Moderno’, originally produced in 2003 for a punk oriented art installation, is brimming with hypnotic grooves and acid TB 303 romance.

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Masaya
Haumea (Love Over Entropy remix)
Chapter 24

Swiss-Chilean producer, DJ, and a record label owner Masaya gets a startling sonic makeover on her new album, 'Picking Up The Pieces', which debuted earlier this year on Chapter 24. She links up with well-established producers to bring together a musically diverse 13 track remix package, 'Picking Up The Pieces {The Editions}', featuring revisions from Ripperton, Love Over Entropy, Patrice Baumel, Paul Nolan, Patlac, Neil Flynn, Johannes Brecht among others. 

Dutch craftsman Love Over Entropy paints a compelling landscape for Masaya's Haumea. Filled with intricacy, hypnotism, and power, this stunning version effortlessly takes the listener's mind for a ride. 

Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Facebook

Fideles
Secret Garden
Exit Strategy

Italian duo, Daniele Aprile and Mario Roberti, a.k.a. Fideles, has been on a fast rise to stardom since the debut of the “Esencia” EP on Moan Recodings. Their extensive release catalog includes EPs and remixes for Defected, Be As One, Little Helpers, Truesoul, Poker Flat Recordings, Upon You and Last Night on Earth to name a few. This month Fideles is back with a brand new ‘The Border’ EP to debut on Exit Strategy. Kristian of Ame described this release as “4 diverse tracks made for dance-floor and in some moments it reminds me of the glorious UMM days when Italy ruled the house world for some summers.”

The second track on the A-side, “Secret Garden”, is a creatively notable summer anthem with a mesmeric groove, silky intricate textures, warm pads, and an immensely addictive melody. 

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Denis Horvat
Bruto
Afterlife

German imprint Afterlife returns with the second installment of the ‘Realm Of Consciousness’ compilation series featuring label bosses Tale Of Us, Recondite, Mathew Johnson, Denis Horvat, and Hunter/Game among other talented artists. The 12-track compilation, according to the label, “bottles the spirit of the Afterlife events” and arrives from a “mixture of richly accomplished artists and new talents" to "provide a focused and consistently high-quality collection." 

Pt.II sees Denis Horvat making his debut on the label with a sumptuous club track ‘Bruno’ that is straight up fire. The track has been heavily featured in Dixon, Ame and Denis Horvat sets. It truly represents the Afterlife philosophy to make you “body and brain dance through the realm of consciousness”.

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Marc Romboy
Trapped In An Orbit
These Eyes

Andre Hommen’s newly launched imprint These Eyes welcomes the pillar of German electronic music scene, Marc Romboy. Following his first full-length solo production in over eight years, the album “Voyage de la planet” via Hyperharmonic, Marc Romboy beautifully crafted the label’s third release, ‘Trapped In An Orbit’ EP.  The two-track EP comes with the original and a remix, courtesy of Phillip Lauer, who is one-half of Tuff City Kids, with Running Back’s Gerd Janson.

The title track is an expertly constructed big-room anthem that features a celestial melody interlaced with rich layers of textures floating in the introspective atmosphere atop a hypnotic groove.

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Love Over Entropy featuring Ripperton
Saints De Glacé
Something Happening Somewhere

In the heart of the summer, the Something Happening Somewhere label has put together another impressive compilation 'SOMEWHERE III' as part of their 'SOMEWHERE' series. The compilation journeys through the wide spectrum of moods, and features 9 tracks over two vinyl samplers from artists like label boss Nuno Dos Santos, Love Over Entropy, Ripperton, Kiani & His Legion, Aril Brikha, Quince, just to name a few.

One of the gorgeous tracks on the compilation ‘Saints De Glacé’ finds the two incredibly talented artists, Love Over Entropy and Ripperton, working in a perfect tandem to create supremely beautiful, hazy-chill soundscapes full of melodic brilliance. 

“Over a year ago”, describes the Dutch maestro Love Over Entropy, “I visited Ripperton in his studio on the shores of Lake Geneva, where we recorded some sounds that I later turned into a track. I remember a cold wind blowing from the lake, even though spring was already well underway." Ripeprton adds "In folk meteorology, Saints de Glace, or Ice Saints in English, are the last days of spring where night frost is to be expected.”

Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Facebook

LOR & Vails
Lustral
L’enfant Terrible Records

Cutting-edge Belfast-based DJ/producer Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (a.k.a. LOR) and Irish producer Vails team up for their impressive debut EP on Montreal’s imprint L’Enfant Terrible, which is sure to work its way into many DJ sets. 

The original, beautifully introspective ‘Lustral’ is an elegant track which bursts into life with a haze-fueled synth melody, intricately evolving percussion, and driving bassline. The package comes backed with remixes from Vails and Innervisions stalwart Francesco Chiocci.

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook

Floyd Lavine
Masala (African Techno Mix)
RISE Music

Mysterious German producer Hyenah has launched his Rise Music imprint with the inaugural release from the South African-born Floyd Lavine. 

In Traxsource own words: “The “Masala EP” is the first release from RISE MUSIC, a natural evolution of the RISE events, showcasing some of the world’s forward thinking African-influenced producers and artists. Bold, expressive, and playful in approach, the EP is a true testament to the new wave of artists and evocative soundscapes that are emerging from Africa. 

Floyd Lavine, the South African-born, Berlin-based producer is one of the founding members of RISE. As Floyd proudly states “I draw inspiration from the magic of Africa and expressing the future through an unlimited sonic expression which I call African Techno. For me when I think of Africa I envision beautiful enigmatic bright colours, I see humility, I see pain, I see joy, I see determination, I see perseverance, I see dance, laughter, ritual, tradition, an undefined unity but above all I feel pure expression and eternal love.“ Floyd Lavine’s quirky yet solemn approach to the craft can be felt in the production of the original tracks Masala (African Techno Mix) and Masala (Jungle Boogie Mix). The African Techno mix is a stripped back techno journey, a driving prime time roller, subtle in nature yet a primal, defiantly menacing track. Jungle Boogie embraces a more playful approach with off beat rhythms, a deep baseline whilst still keeping with the theme of sonically combining the past with the future. This is truly a special track that has to be played at the right time during a set. The EP is complimented by two beautifully crafted remixes from the talented and seasoned producers David Mayer and Pablo Fierro.

Beatport
Soundcloud
Facebook