Levon Vincent 'Untitled A2' / Rubadub / 27 May
Landing among May's top selection pack is Levon Vincent's first EP of 2016. The four-tracker places you in a position of tough deliberation if pushed to choose just one cut from the American producer's latest craft. Monolithic in stature, it's been fitted with gritty industrial rhythms and lean, dubbed-out basslines that should make it a mandatory tool for the firmest of techno zealots.
Mark E. 'Sky Horn' / Public Release / 13 May
West Midlands producer, Mark E, fell hard for electronic music via dance trips to raves of Britain's bygone dance years. Snapped from his latest four-track EP, the 12' kicks off with a titular track that chooses to skip any form of formulaic introduction, and instead lands you bang in what could be its meaty midway point. With a stinging bite wrapped firmly round a heavy, jagged synth line, it's an absolute brute fit for any hostile basement.
Karachi Files 'Dust' / Noland / May
In May 2015, 12 electronic musicians from Pakistan, the Maldives and Germany met for two weeks in a house re-moulded into a temporary recording studio in Karachi; Pakistan's industrial capital. Over the course of the two-week intensive stint, what transpired was a 17-track electronica collection that readily reveals its rich cultural catalogue. Dust, one of the more beat orientated brews, finds its charms in its discordant details.
Traumprinz '2 The Sky' (Metatron's What If There's No End And No Beginning Mix) / 2 May
DJ Meatron, aka Traumprinz and Prince of Denmark, adds to his discography with a selection of new works released on Weimar-based label, Giegling. Glinting piano notes trickle unevenly from the celestial sphere, while everything else heads skyward. A gospel singer's uplifting G-major plea quivers over synth notes that threaten to fall out of key.
Matthias Tazmann, Sven Tasnadi 'Coriolis' / Moon Harbour Recordings / 15 May
As Matthias Tanzmann's label enjoys its 16th year with neoteric Eps and much lauded events across the globe, the boss steps up with a new EP in collaboration with label mainstay, Sven Tasnadi. Support rallied in from a long list of big names, including Philip Bader, Paco Osuna, UNER, Sasha Dive, Karotte, Guido Schneider, Cuartero and Nick Curly, it's been positioned as a backroom music track for heads down dancing.
Aera 'Keeping The Book' (Steve Rachmad Version 1) / Innervisions / 13 May
Rachmad and Aera's Running Hot EP has been blasted regularly by Dixon and the Innervisions label boss has been hard pushed to pick a favourite from the six-track project. Steve Rachmad, an artist who's not commonly associated with the German label, does a solid job of turning the original into a deep, palpitating techno track, stressing the enveloping spacey-ness.
Jean Jacques Smoothie '2 People' / Blonde Sound Records / 24 May
Back in 2001, Jean Jacques Smoothie reworked '70s track, 'Inside My Love' by Minnie Ripperton into a huge, inescapable '90s anthem. Fast forward to 2016 and powerhouse duo, Blonde, have deservedly brought it to our attention again, just in time for another summer blast. The track's sexualised, sultry vocals don't deviate from the original, but it arrives on our plates 15 years on with a smoother, modernised vibration. Lovely sunset material.
Purple Disco Machine & Boris Dlugosch 'Set It Out' / Defected / 30 May
Purple Disco Machine joins forces once again with Boris Dlugosch for what is certified to be a summer cruiser. Chins were sent wagging when news of their first collaboration as a production duo hit the music news stand and those clubbers who like their house music infected with disco-flavoured funk, will be adding this timeless record to their collection.
Axwell /\ Ingrosso 'Thinking About You' / Virgin EMI / 27 May
The duo are back at Ushuaïa every Wednesday from 6 July for 10 weeks and here's their latest release that we can confidently predict will be blasted from the venue's big stage. It's a summer cut submerged in melodic house waters, with a bouncing bassline led by a male and female duet, which, as hinted by the title, is coated in a big bit of romance.
Ape Drums 'The Way We Do This' (feat. Major Lazer & Busy Signal) / Mad Decent / 27 May
Electronic-dancehall connoisseur, Ape Drums, made his first breakthrough when he was featured on the Major Lazer remix pack for 'Jet Blue Jet', and later collaborated with Diplo on his chart topper 'Duttiest Wine.' The Houston-based producer's latest team effort is a ballsy bass brute with reggae vocalist leading in the plunging air-horn drops.
WORDS | Aimee Lawrence
