Track of The Day: Levon Vincent - Invisible Bitchslap (Deconstruct)

One of the best and most menacing pieces of dance floor focussed dub techno in existence. I doubt there’s anything to beat it, but what do I know. Such a large full sound that would be equally at home in a big room or a front room. Has to be heard on the right sound system though. No half measures with the equalising. This was the first release on Deconstruct, a label Vincent set up with Anthony Parasole which, while it had a short existence, contributed more than the sum of its parts. Vincent’s insistent, linear and tribal beats remind me a lot of what Octave One have always done. And, coming from New York, there’s also the shadow of Danny Tenaglia in there as well. These are Levon Vincent’s beats though, and it’s a pity he’s not still churning them out.

Hamish & Toby B2B XDB - Recorded live from fabric

 

fabric · 031 - Hamish & Toby B2B XDB - Recorded live from fabric

Truancy Volume 365: Mariiin

 

TRUANTS · Truancy Volume 365: Mariiin

Track Of The Day: B(if)tek - Wired For Sound (Murmur)

 

B (if) tek, an all-female group out of darkest Australia who I’m just discovering, released this, an homage to Cliff Richard’s tune of the same name, back in the year 2000. I wonder if it sounded as futuristic then as it does now. I mean Cliff’s original back in 1981 with its roller skating video was avant-garde enough, but this. And as Australlia take part in Eurovision, why not B (if) tek? This would sweep the board. It might even be enough to get Cliff to crawl out from under his carapace and slither into the audience to beam his positive waves towards the stage. 

Track Of The Day: Dorau/Kohncke - Durch Die Nacht (Geiger Mix) (Kompakt)

 

I randomly grabbed this from the shelves and played it for the first time in ages. It comes with a couple of remixes, the other by Wolfgang Voight. This is the one I prefer though. The filtered looped vocal played over the wistful, bittersweet beats. It’s got great chug potential too. Well, almost everything on Kompakt with the schaffel stride has. Great track that takes you somewhere.

Plant43 - Spells For Warding Off Evil (Silver Threads)

 

Title: Spells For Warding Off Evil

Artist: Plant43

Label: Silver Threads

Cat Number: 

Genre: Ambient/Drone

1: Spheres Of Protection

2: The City Lies Silent

3: Broken Hex

4: Music For Surgery

5: Dreams In Viridian

6: Resisting Infernal Gravity

7: Haunted Fields

8: Prey Of The Nocturnal Raptor

9: Bittersweet Tears Fall

10: Dreams In Vermillion

11: Buried Codex

12: Embers Of The Old World Fade

Well, if it’s an immersive experience you want, listen no further than ‘Spells For Warding Off Evil’. The sound design of this album feels like an experiment in expressing a stream of consciousness through the layering of undulating drone patterns against a backdrop of emotive, sonic dissonance. The tracks seem to have the potential to overlay themselves as well, with each of them occupying a specific region of sound that is prone to movement and, as a result, containment. Some tracks are more robust than others: ‘Bittersweet Tears Fall’, for example, feels concrete and onomatopoeic. ‘Haunted Fields’ is the soundtrack to a Battle Of Britain dogfight in a parallel universe, while ‘Dreams In Vermillion’ is the soundtrack to demons being invoked through a short wave radio. That these frequencies operate in regions of the subconscious which have suddenly been rendered concrete. From the ominous, subdued, opening of ‘Spheres Of Protection’, the sound design of which is subtly augmented by ‘The City Lies Silent’. Through to the twin pillars of ‘Buried Codex’ and ‘Embers Of The Old World Fade’, the confrontational former blending into the uncertain and unsettling latter. This is a voyage into sound.

Track Of The Day: Surgeon - Optic (Downwards)

 

This is a cut from Surgeon’s debut album, ‘Communications’ and seems to blend the minimalism of Robert Hood with the scything bleeps of Neil Landstrumm. What’s goos about it is the way the bulk of the track retreats into the distance whilst the bleep remains in the foreground, only to come back of course, but maybe not into as sharp relief as the listener might like. It’s a lovely track to have on the headphones, in spite of its viscerally uncompromising stance and slices up the senses from a different angle compared to its Detroit overseers.

Track Of The Day: e-n - The Horn Ride (Ian's Classic Cut) (Tribal)

 

In some nightclubs in the mid  nineties, the messy, druggy, decadent sound espoused by Tribal ruled the dance floors. Coming from New York, it had a certain depth and versatility about it which saw records on the label find their way into all sorts of DJ sets. ‘The Horn Ride’ was released as a double pack with a range of remixes, but I like this one the most, for its minimalistic darkness Tardis-like ability to invoke a sense of space.

Vladimir Ivkovic ‪@TheLotRadio‬ 05-11-2026

 

Track Of The Day: Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (Virgin)

 

One of the most memorable guitar riffs ever, which first appeared, if memory serves, on ‘Lipstick’ by Buzzcocks. That means of course that Pete Shelley gets a writing credit for this tune. It’s a monster, and this video, which I’ve posted on account of some great crowd expressions and Howard Devoto’s uncanny hairline (defo going through some sort of Roxy/Eno phase with it), is great. I don’t know it’s context though, so if anyone does feel free to let me know. I’ve a feeling it was filmed in Belgium or Holland not long after release. One of my all time most persistent eagworms, and I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve posted it.

Shawescape Renegade - Exoframe (Tresor)

 

Title: Exoframe

Artist: Shawescape Renegade

Label: Tresor

Cat Number: Tresor. 382

Genre: Electro/Techno

1: Light Years From Earth

2: Mechanise 9

3: Terraformers Warning

4: Terraformers Warning (Arpanet Terraformation Quanta Remodel)

5: Ignition One

Shawescape Renegade, aka Jeremiah Shaw is a new name to me, which just goes to show how out of the loop I am I suppose. Anyway, it’s an early Tuesday morning in Suffolk, the dog is being lazy and doesn’t want to go out, so I’ve started listening to ‘Exoframe’, his debut release on Tresor. And it’s stated well, apart, that is, from me typing “Shawshank” and having to go back and correct my mistakes. I guess a release like this represents a milestone of sorts in the evolution of electro as there aren’t that many new artists breaking through and coming from Detroit always carries extra kudos. However, no one gets a free pass so it had better be good. And, while it isn’t going to revolutionise the genre in one fell swoop, it’s everything that you want an electro funk excursion to be. The production is pleasingly heavy and crisp without being excessive. The bass is concave and economical filling a lot more space than might be apparent. And the emphasis is on the beats throughout, which are all strictly electro with the exception of ‘Mechanise 9’, where the steam hammers take over and the beat is ironed out. The Arpanet mix of ‘Terraformers Warning’ doesn’t differ that much from the original inasmuch as its trace elements are recognisable in a much more urgent, fidgety take which sounds like it’s been recorded inside a washing machine inside an echo chamber. The bookends, ‘Light Years From Earth’, and ‘Ignition One’, are the funkiest tracks on this release. Both of them coast through the twilit electro hinterland within the chassis of a metaphysical lowrider powered by their own beat flatulence, and who doesn’t like that?

Track Of The Day: Public Space - Menuditis (Underwater)

 

This is one of a handful of releases I still have on Darren Emerson’s Underwater label from around the mid nineties. It’s the B side to ‘Prometheus’ and showcases a young Steve Rachmad effortlessly doing what he does best. This isn’t as complex as many of his releases from around that time, with his output on 100% Pure being particularly high quality, as well as that on Fragile. It is, though, as good as it gets for contemporary dance floor focussed techno that isn’t loop based. There are dubby, depth-endowing overtones to it, as well as good momentum (the two don’t always sit side-by-side). And, as you would expect from Steve Rachmad, great production and clarity. Lovely stuff.