You’ll hear us talk about it a bit on the podcast this week, but consider this fair warning: come the end of the month we will be removing We Have a Technical from Spotify. That doesn’t mean the podcast is going anywhere, we will still be available on the major podcast platforms and directly via the site, this is purely going to affect availability via an application and company we aren’t looking to be associated with anymore. Change will happen come the end of the month, if you’re one of the folks who listens on Spotify we hope you’ll join us elsewhere.
Alpha Sect in the sector
Ah Cama-Sotz, “Dusha”
True Hands Productions stalwarts Ah Cama-Sotz have always stayed true: for more than 25 years the ritual rhythmic noise project out of Belgium has been making hard-hitting, beat driven music that doesn’t skimp on the atmospherics. New EP Burning Souls. Brandende Zielen comes replete with exactly the kind of music that ACS has been doing their whole career, and it’s kind of remarkable how much the world has caught up with them – you could easily here a track like “Tamashii” or “Dusha” in a set of ultra-modern dark techno.
Alpha Sect feat. Sydney Valette, “La Liberté”
We got familiar with Greek act Alpha Sect via various compilation appearances for the likes of Sharped Records, Endless and Idlestates, not to mention the host of EPs they’ve released showcasing their EBM/techno crossover style. Given that, new track “La Liberté” is a bit of a surprise, leaning more towards darkwave (albeit quite upbeat darkwave with plenty of club appeal), the monotone vocal from guest Sydney Valette giving the whole affair a certain continental aloofness. It’s always a pleasure to hear a producer expand the boundaries of their style and we’re keen to hear what else Alpha Sect might have in store. We likely won’t be waiting long as their release schedule is hectic.
Dominique Slva, “Lovers Cannot See”
Here’s a pleasantly moody nodder that’s not too far afield from what we’ve come to love about X-IMG’s releases, but situates familiar kicks and programming in a murkier and dreamier context. New-to-us Argentine producer Dominique Slva says the forthcoming Siren Song EP is meant to be “more mysterious and not rigidly grounded into reality or the typical club format”, and this first taster certainly hits that mark.
Daniel Myer, “Not 2 Much V4”
You can always count on the prolific Myer to have something tasty ready for Bandcamp Friday. This time it’s a set of three fully realized dark techno outtakes from his forthcoming new LP which showcase the man’s ability to pack innumerable flourishes of percussion and sound design into the corners of tracks, lending them that unmistakable Myer depth while still riding a solid groove. Maybe a little hint of Vertical Theory throwback flavour on this one?
Anne Clark, “Our Darkness (Infravision remix)”
Anne Clark is in many ways an unsung forbearer of dark electronic music; you can draw a pretty direct line from the poeticism and atmosphere of her early-to-mid eighties singles and albums to modern day electronic darkwave. Thus it’s a pleasure to hear Infravision (aka Pablo Bozzi and Kendall) apply their italo-body sound to her all-time classic “Our Darkness”, the addition of gated pads and a beefy-funky bass sound to the track’s unmistakable progression. As nice a bootleg mix of a familiar tune as you’re likely to hear and an easy addition to your DJ playlist.
Affet Robot, “Kills You Again”
Winter weather still have you down? Have a little preview of spring in the form of this light and breezy synthpop number from Affet Robot. We’ve come to appreciate the one-man Istanbul band for their smooth and hooky take on classic coldwave sounds, but Eren Günsan sounds right at home rolling through this OMD-esque number.
