Alec Empire– Squeeze the Trigger

It’s time, people. It’s time to rehabilitate Digital Hardcore. Let’s look at the facts: sonically exciting, innovative within their genre, created genres unto themselves, wildly varying releases (in quality, but more importantly in sound.) So what’s not to like? The politics, obviously. The endless sloganeering that descended into parody? Yeah. It’s all there. But it’s not all in this track. Most people forget about Alec Empire’s rather amazing instrumental work and instead focus on Atari Teenage Riot when talking about him. Listen to this for initial (or further) proof that he’s got something more up his sleeve.

[visit a website here, buy a disc here]

Patric Catani- Freedom Without Direction

Of course Empire is hardly the only guy to float in and out of bands on the label. Patric Catani seemed to have a hand in nearly everything that was done on the label outside of Atari for a few years. This is a good thing. Catani could be overbearinly repetitous at times, but what he was usually repeating was worth it. I look it, as I imagine he did, as any sort of dance music where you have to slightly ignore the repetition and begin to focus on the micro-changes much more for your aural fix.

[visit a website here, buy a disc here]

Hanin Elias- In Flames (Christoph de Babalon Mix)

Babalon was sort of the odd man out. Released, I think, just one solo album of note and then virtually disappeared from the scene. It’s a shame because that album stands as an amazing mission statement for the label with its breadth of sound and texture. This mix of Hanin Elias’ “In Flames” is something this side of extraordinary for stripping the song of a lot of its agression and infusing with a healthy dose of tension.

[visit a website here, buy a disc here]

Utopia Burns

Tomas Andersson- Happy Happy

Here’s what I wrote in the Rubber Room today:

A lot of people seem to love themselves some BPitch Control. I’m not exactly in that camp. I like them. But I find them to be way too inconsistent for me to ever get the hype. Of course every so often they just hit it so hard, it hurts. Festivities is one of those times: “Happy Happy” is wet-yr-pants God-like electo-house, “The Birthday Party” is its slightly lesser cousin, and “Congratulations” will rock dancefloors, no questions asked. Only complaint? Running times. The latter two are begging for extended mixes of their combined ten-minute running time. Cop this.

[visit a website here, buy it here]

Alex Smoke- What’s The Point?

The joint on his debut record, which veers between brilliance and half-finished sketches rather annoyingly throughout. Smoke’s main predilections are all on show here, though: minimal house beats, odd sounding melodic lead (here provided by a bulbous synth pattern), and a monotone vocal. It’s the finest moment on the disc because it’s where it all comes together finally.

[visit a website here, buy a disc here]

Heiko Voss- Call Me Now

What, you thought he left you after “I Think About You”? Nah, he’s just gotten more insistent. Go ahead. Call him.

[visit a website here, buy a disc here]