Track Of The Day: System 7 - Alphawave (Plastikman's Acid House Remix) (Butterfly)

 

Here are gentle hippie folk System 7, aka Steve Hillage and Martine Giraudy, getting theremin treatment from Plastikman, aka Richie Hawtin, at the height of his powers. There’s something so satisfying about the sound that comes from the 303 on this track. It’s ust a kick and a long drawn out acidic squelch until the handclaps come in, and they sound magnificent too. This is big room techno before the concept existed, but the beauty of it is is it’s excellent. Not a loopy cop out. And once the hi-hats come in at around4 minutes there’s no going back. The intensity just builds and builds. Layer upon layer of sound battering you into submission. And yet it manages to remain eternally funky.

Track Of The Day: Robert Hood - Museum (Axis)

 

From the ‘Minimal Nation’ double pack on Axis that I discovered while leafing through the disorganised boxes in Salinas, a record shop in Montmartre in the early nineties. Tracks like ‘Museum’ defined Robert Hood’s artistic vision at the time and usher din a whole new approach to techno which was undeniably from Detroit, but darker, more introspective, funky and subtle. ‘Museum’ is probably most notable for its elastic approach to syncopation. So much is done with singular elements in this track. Less is more innit.

Track Of The Day: Peace Division - Feel My Drums (Fuju)

 

If Peace Division are known for anything, it’s for their all-out percussive bombs, most of which coincided with the west coast tribal tech house boom at the turn if the century. ‘Feel My Drums’ sort of eponymously explains this. Like a lot of the tracks of the time it sounds better pitched down. Even doing this doesn’t distract from the sonic maelstrom that you find yourself in the middle of though. The drums are the sharpest tool in the box here, with the other elements ranging from the dub, to the parasitic, synthetic embellishments that provide focal points throughout. This was made more than twenty years ago and the magnitude of this sound has never been replicated.

Track Of The Day: Holloware Squad - Surface Intention (Emissions Static)

 

An incredible, early piece of work from Carl Finlow, amongst others. ‘Surface Intention’ is the AA side to the magnificent ‘Moonax’. It’s a brooding, intergalactic monster whose power is in its restraint. I mean the drums don’t kick in until around half way through. It’s all about rewarding the listener, but it is also a bit of a tease. I like tracks where the different elements seem to have been atomised. Everything here feels like constituent base element meltdown. This what happens when you attempt to put a tune in a centrifuge and then try and make sense of it while your head is still spinning.

Track Of The Day: Sweater - Feelings Of The Future (Omnidisc)

 

It’s great when a track sums up its title in such a contradictory way. ‘Feelings Of The Future’ is one such expression. This would have been appropriate in the mid eighties, around the time I visited Berlin for the first time, (about to go for the second this June), and the cold war was in full swing. Not that I was A space-age synth disco connoisseur at that time. That would have made life more interesting. It did seep through though, from time to time. And whether or not I was immersed in it, this track IS it. The “looking back to look forward” aesthetic distilled into fine freaky minutes.

Track Of The Day: E.R.P. - Multipole Vector ll (We're Going Deep)

 

This has recently been released on the excellent We’re Going Deep’ which is overseen by Paul Wise, aka Stasis. The back catalogue is pretty special, so getting Gerard Hanson to contribute is the cherry on top of what has been released so far. All of the tracks are more than worth your while, and I’ve chosen this one because it underscores a lot of what makes Hanson such an outstanding producer. The elements within; sinister growling base, spacial awareness of sound, the disparate flourishes and embellishments which gather around the space but never seem to crowd it out, and the momentum it has, which isn’t always apparent in electro, but is definitely one of Hanson’s calling cards, all contribute to make this track unmistakably one of his. Tracks like this soundtrack our dreams and our imagination And although this is a reworking of one which is nearly twenty years old, it still sounds like the future.

Track Of The Day: Jay Tripwire - What Kind Of Voodoo? (Big Chief)

 

One of many tracks that Jay Tripwire has made over the years, and also one that perhaps typifies more than most a very particular era in house music. This tribal sound, imported mainly from the west coast of America, was everywhere around 25 years ago. You do have to wade through the tech house marshes to extract the good stuff however. So many labels and artists, but maybe only a handful were producing this sound with any real flair. It was absolutely huge in clubs like Wiggle and its various offshoots, and is having its day again. I guess the essence of it is fusing tribal percussion with dub and a thick low end. There are plenty of mutations though. Anyway, this is a lovely piece of work so get the drugs out and throw some shapes.

Track Of The Day: cv313 Plays Mike Huckaby - Our Life With The Wave (Intrusion Dub) (Echospace)

 

A lovely, sensurround dub excursion. Mike Huckaby, who died in 2020, left a wonderful legacy and this eloquent piece of abstract dance flies on the energy generated by its own sonic emissions. It’s another one of those tracks that you can get completely lost in and which unravels slightly differently each time. It’s make up a multitude of inflections based upon whatever you happen to be thinking about.

Justin Aulis Long | KALEIDOSCOPE

 

Track Of The Day: Blue Muse vs Studio Nova - Guerilla Tactics (Zodiak Music)

 

I remember buying this from Tag Records in Rupert Court many moons ago, It was a regular haunt for me and Mark Collings was as responsible as anyone for emptying my pockets of disposable income. It’s nothing remarkable, but its tribal overtones and wild pitch veneer make it pretty irresistible, One of those to break out as a slightly more interesting functional piece of sonic topsoil.

Track Of The Day: Air - Le Soleil est press de Moi (Source Lab)

 

Paris in the mid 90s was such a fertile bed of creativity and productivity were electronic music was concerned. And in amongst all of the house and filter disco there was also a very strong trip hop scene. Air sort of came along via that, while remains completely unique amongst it all. And this track, with its woozy ambience and cinematic scope feels like an abstract beat venture encased in amber. Frozen in time but still encompassing more than its era. A great track that sort of folds in on itself. Very introspective and made for a non specific headspace, while still having a universal feel. Dopplereffekt stepped up to remix duties, which sort of seals its magnificence.

Track Of The Day: Dayglo Maradona - Rock Section (Faber & Faber)

 

Dayglo Maradona was Andrew Weatherall and Julian Cope, each of who turn in a version of the same track on this release. It’s Lord Sabre’s remix being featured today though. ‘Rock Section’ being named after the main protagonist of Cope’s awful ‘One Three One’, “A Time-Shifting Gnostic Hooligan Road Novel”. I say awful because up to tied time it’s possibly the worst book I’ve ever read. And saying it needs a good edit isn’t the half of it. Anyway, no such issues with this superior piece of shape-shifting psychedelic chug, that just unravels and unravels, doing its thing in amongst the multitudes. Maybe I need to revisit the novel, after all I did finish it.

Track Of The Day: The KLF - Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard (KLF Communications)

 

Absolutely swatted after running the Cambridge Half Marathon earlier today. So here’s something that’s going to finish me off and see through that slide into oblivion. I have to cook a roast first though so, in for a penny.

Colin Dale - Abstrakt Dance Show - 05.03.2026

 

Track Of The Day: Big Audio Dynamite - E = MC2 (CBS)

 

Odd to think that Mick Jones’ Big Audio Dynamite was the only post Clash project to emerge with any credibility or lasting legacy. This particular track was huge, and is apparently inspired by the films of Nick Roeg, the verses each reference specific films and the spoken word samples come from ‘Performance’. Anyways, it’s a nice piece of work and takes my back to 1991 when I was at Rutgers University in New Jersey and BAD played an open air gig on the campus, along with The Farm and Downtown Science. Memires are incredibly hazy, but I was definitely there. There is an extended remix of this track ,but it’s not that much longer than the original. So, it’s another one crying out for an edit innit. And why not a future ALFOS classic? Or has it already done its time there?

Track Of The Day: Baris K - 200 (The Asphodells Remix) ([Emotional Especial])

 

The Asphodells, aka Andrew Weatherall and Timothy J. Fairplay, pimp ‘200’ by Baris K into some sort of transcendental accompaniment  to a parallel universe Turkish Delight ad. This is distilled Convenanza. Understated, layered and mystical. If you’re out and about, stick this on.

Track Of Yesterday: Federsen - Solstice (Syncrophone)

 

This track came out yesterday I think so, as it’s been a while, I made good use of Bandcamp Friday and bought the EP. This is the pick of the bunch because it drives that little bit more and uses bongoes, keys and a subtle spoken phrase to help it along. These motifs are important and underrated. More to the point, Federsen is a great producer and Syncrophone is one of the most vital labels in recognising and releasing underground tunes that span a depth spectrum wider than  the Mariana Trench.

Track Of The Day- Adapta - Vohx Continues (Frustrated Funk)

 

Great record win which each separate element seems to be doing its own thing, yet everything falls together. The 303 is probably the dominant element, but the portentous synth swirls heighten the drama and eventually come to dominate just as much. There’s a feeling of collision on this track, between the past and the present. The old and the modern. Adapta was, I think, Bitstream straight outta Northampton Not too far away from where I’m typing these words as the crow flies. Amazing music. When will there be more?

Track Of The Day: Ultraviolet - Union (Stacey Pullen Remix) (Music Man)

A massive track on the 90s South London/Croydon tech house warehouse axis. Stacey Pullen was one of the premium remixers around this time, even if he didn’t do that many 9quality over quantity for sure). After Silent Phase he didn’t do that much under his own name anyway. However, what he did do is memorable. This remix interweaves at least three percussive motifs with an undulating low end synth as well as high end melodic squeaks. Sounds shite? Well it’s ace. I saw him DJ twice. Once at The Rex inn Paris, and at Space at Bar Rhumba. Amazing both times.

Spring 2026 paul-mitchell

 

paul-mitchell · Spring 2026

Track Of The Day: Projekt PM - When The Voices Come (Kay Kay Mix) (Guidance)

 

Track Of The Day- The Hacker: Fadin Away (Heinrich Mueller Remix) (Good Life)

Hitting its stride somewhere between Italo, Kraftwerk and a very DIY aesthetic; this remix for the Hacker from Heinrich Mueller is yet another example of the latter’s versatility and a great example of a track turned inside out by its reinterpretation. The original being a very passable piece of electro with a wistful undertow, something that the remix remodels and amplifies.

Coyote Live Bodega Feb '26

isitbalearic..? · Coyote Live Bodega Feb '26

ani/live Eighty Two: Kia & livwutang @ pe:rsona

 

Animalia · ani/live Eighty Two: Kia & livwutang @ pe:rsona