the blog of makemassair

WIDE records presents a lovely little package from the geezer known as Paul Blackford.

Goes something like this:

Paul Blackford – Outlaw [WIDE]

Outlaw sample
Tribal hits, fast and with bassed bounce. Electrotech with all the right elements. Tearing up a dancefloor near you.

Revenge Of The Bionic Bassline sample
Dancefloor electro perfection with that proper darker electro feel. Pacey infectious and with a kick to it. Banging shit.

Rockin In The Third Dimension sample
More of a stripped back take than the previous tracks, until that big round bass infects that big old space between your ears. Although simple, there is quite a chunk of heavy sub ebbing out on this track

The Bomb Squad sample
Starts off dark and clicking before launching into a 4am roller. That b-line is just damn fine. This track is just excellent electro. Proper pure electro. Jacking hits meld with synth stabs. A fucking great track.

The Groove sample
Bassline melody led with raved house hands in the air snippets sprinkled about the place. This track is likely to go off somewhat.

The Groove (Shinra Remix) sample
A lot more of that classic house rave sample going on in this reworking by Shinra (who’s becoming a fave of mine. Check out the new 1986 release on WIDE). This then is a different direction to the original, the melodies are of the kind that in the right hands would make for a haunting vibe on the dancefloor. More edits and glitches than Paul’s original. Another club weapon this.

The Groove (Vadz Remix) sample
Darker, faster and with a heavier pound on those hits. That sample is pitched down and fits with that fatter wide bass beautifully. Vadz odd quirkiness in his approach to production comes through with gusto. The original is a strong solid track and Vadz has made this remix clearly his own.

Overall
The whole package is just great. Spot on perfect electro. This is one of those rare releases that although new, has that feeling it’s an old classic and much loved underground gem. Like it’s always been in your record collection.

Full support from myself (DVNT) and MANTIS radio.

Links
www.wideadventure.com

Fresh 4 tracker EP on Armatura Records.

Andy B – Sonar sample
A swirling min ranged lead with doubled up beats powering into the solid, strictly dancefloor track. The breakdown is like a galloping  bloodthirsty horse.

Concrete DJz – Beyond Recognition sample
Sharp hi-hats ripple across the ebbing beat. A track that keeps on building and layering itself up. Chunky and hypnotic

Distek – Dingy Folk sample
Hard, compressed and direct. This is dark warehouse Techno… and I love it.

Tadox – Dancing Queen sample
Saving the best for last. My pick of this mighty fine collection of tracks. Sounds like Hawtin’s Orange/Yellow track of the mid 90s. After having a course of anabolic steroids. Dark, heavy, jacking with awesome percussion and drum programming.

Well recommended if you likes you Techno full on. Concrete DJz recently featured on the MANTIS showcase (our 21st show) and provided a storming mix of hard and dark beats.

Links
www.myspace.com/armaturarecords
www.junodownload.com/labels/Armatura/releases/

Ion Driver is about to release a new EP and Lord, it’s a big deal. His showcase back on MANTIS 019 (click to check it out) caused a big stir in the Brap FM radio station’s chatroom, with heavy breaks loving diehards falling under his deep spell.

Coming out on the mighty Digital Distortions in mid September in all the usual music download sites. This then would be my review of said EP.

1. Ion Driver – Elemental
2. Ion Driver – BBRobot
3. Ion Driver – BBRobot (Sen?or Frio Remix)
4. Ion Driver – BBRobot (Odnu Remix)
5. Ion Driver – BBRobot (214 Remix)
6. Ion Driver – Sio

Elemental
Dubbed out electro scatters of sound with a gated stuttered vox rising in the lower levels. Glitches, edits and scratches and even rewinds perpetuate around the deep wall of aural delight. Just awesome.

BBRobot
More of those beautiful stuttered style vocal stabs with driving hi hats and bubbling bass. Come the drop and this track gets darker and falls through the floor with it’s depth. Brooding and ready to bite.

BBRobot (Señor Frio Remix)
Dark rumbling and woodblock hits capture the feel of the original but make it take on a fresh identity. Slick and waiting to slice your throat in a dark alley.

BBRobot (Odnu Remix)
Melody rich and uplifting even in parts yet still retaining the beauty of the original. A fresh name to these ears on the remix. But one I shall be looking out for in the future.

BBRobot (214 Remix)
A minimal element remix. Simpler with a nice electro style beat.

Sio
Downtempo and just a joy to listen to. Stunningly simple and heartfelt.

Dennis Bunton aka Ion Driver is carving out quite a niche for himself with his sculpturing of electronica. With his recent showcase on MANTIS attracting a plethora of fresh and even obsessive fans to his sounds, combined with his previous releases I’ve no doubt this boy is going to go far.

Fucking awesome.

Check him out at his myspace: myspace/iondriver.

Awesome news. MANTIS has been featured in the dance music magazine FREEZE. It’s based in Greece and as such it’s all greek to me. Funny that. Huge love goes out to Vasilis (who is an artist I’ve played on the show quite a number of times as Fabrics) for spreading the word and for providing a translation. Here’s what the guys at FREEZE magazine had to say about us:

DVNT presents for a while now the cream of the crop in electronic music through his MANTIS radio show on Brap FM, showcasing the modern urban culture. 2 hour length shows full of unreleased tracks, guest artists and many flavors: breaks, electro, techno, dubstep, idm, ebm, trip hop, you name it. For all us, too far away from Brighton, we can always download the shows from the MANTIS myspace. Download and listen carefully…

Thanks guy.