Scuba
The Hope 12”
Hotflush

Soon, Scuba will release his third album through Hotflush. Entitled Personality and featuring 11 brand new tracks, it takes in a wealth of genres across contemporary dance music, proving once again Scuba’s place at the cutting edge of the electronic music scene. Preceding his LP will be The Hope, pushing on from the tense atmospherics of previous Scuba material, the single fizzes with claustrophobic bass pressure and menacing narration. Backed by an exclusive non-album cut Flash Addict, The Hope will proceed the album on the 6th February.

Purchase The Hope here:



Christian Naujoks
True Life/In Flames LP
Dial

Gatefold LP version. After his self-titled debut of 2009, True Life/In Flames is the second album by Berlin-based Christian Naujoks. Recorded by Tobias Levin at the Laiszhalle Philharmony Hamburg. A dense concert atmosphere sets the tone. Stringent seriality is combined with a romanticism of the minor key which one also finds in a certain corner of modern 20th-century piano music, in the vein of Michael Nyman, Wim Mertens, Arvo Pärt, John Cage and György Kurtág. Deep contemplation and solemn expression paired with intellectual clarity. Each note has weight, and every sound a purpose. Unlike Naujoks' debut, True Life/In Flames completely relinquishes the use of any sort of electronically-generated sound. Instead, there is a consistent stylization of what one might call "organic sound." The figure of the bedroom producer is relieved here by that of the composer and pianist. There's a piano, played by Naujoks; there's the marimba of Martin Krause and then Naujoks' voice. This album could be designated as a suite with various movements, bracketed by the conspicuous reprise of its most song-like piece, "Moments I" and "Moments II," as well as by the economy of the unchanging instrumentation and the black and white cover photograph by Dirk Stewen that references the recording location: the Laeiszhalle of the Hamburg Philharmonic. Piano and marimba stand there on an almost cave-like stage, surrounded by music stands, microphones and stacked Egon Eiermann SE 68 SU chairs -- a company of genuine instruments. Again, Christian Naujoks embraces the world of contemporary music-loving connaisseurs. True Life/In Flames is a gift for all those hunting the unique, the deep, the outstanding. All's quiet at the beginning, as it is at the end.

Morphosis
What Have We Learned
Delsin

This full-length from techno tastemakers Delsin is co-released by the man who made it, Morphosis aka Ra.H aka Rabih Beaini, on his own Morphine Records, as well as by close associate M>O>S. Beaini has been crafting away in the nether-regions of the techno underworld since the '90s. Initially as a DJ, it was a move to Italy in 1996 which proved the catalyst for him to start experimenting in the studio. And he really did experiment: few people craft the sort of emotional, imaginative techno as has Beaini for labels like M>O>S and Morphine Records. Keen followers of techno will already have heard some of the offerings from this album, as both "Androids Among Us" and "Dirty Matter" were remixed by T++ and Newworldaquarium for a limited edition white label. The excitement surrounding that release was palpable enough, but get lost in a full-length Morphosis experience and you enter a whole new world of techno excellence. Kicking off with the Redshape-channeling, misty, slo-techno march and buried percussive clatter of "Silent Screamer," the album builds through a plethora of grainy landscapes. They're sometimes dense with a dusty static, sometimes lit up by a female vocal or occasionally paired with a round house kick, but always sound rooted in some real (albeit far off and desolate) world. The hum and buzz of Beaini's bottom-ends have instruments and synths spiraling round as the only reference points in an otherwise engulfing sonic fog. Churning the listener round and round with his confident, assertive grooves, Morphosis' dark and long house and techno fusions explore -- like few others can -- engaging new ground with their every subtle turn. Influences range from Krautrock via new wave but, importantly, all are digested by Morphosis before being re-imagined as something wholly fresh and original which, in turn, stands up well to both dancefloor deployment and intense home listening. What have we leaned? That house and techno still have a lot to offer thanks to the likes of Morphosis.

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