New In – Summer Edition 2024 – frohfroh – electronic music from leipzig

And here is the second part of our New In review of some exciting Leipzig releases. This time music from the summer months.

Mario Wiedemann – “It Just happened” (O*RS)

Let's start with Mario Wiedemann. On his EP “It Just Happened”, released on O*RS on July 12, 2024, he takes us on a nostalgic little walk through the recent history of the Filter House. The EP starts with a beautiful bassline, around which “Joice Voice” is created, a very classic house track. Drums, synths, then at some point the sample is filtered in – everything heard thousands of times and yet always beautiful. The track develops track by track into a glamorous French-touch nostalgia anthem that conjures up a pleasantly carefree spirit in its full imago. The track lacks the broken charm of nightlife, but that doesn't bother you. Rather, it celebrates the blink of an eye of a golden moment, sending us on a journey through time through the great Ed Banger years with their musical and visual splendor of color and a promise of hedonism to the Dionysian collective. Wait a minute, here and now and time travel – contradiction!? No no, because the moment that is being celebrated has long passed. But Wiedemann brings him back.

The second track “Jack in a Box” takes a slightly different direction. Start with a drum pattern, then come snares and kicks, a relatively unbroken heavily filtered sample, at some point even more drums are added – and everything gains a patina. At some point there is a phone sound, then drums come out and a voice sample comes in, which somehow sounds like trip hop. Not minimal, but the musical expression is limited to a limited number of individual tracks, which are strong enough on their own to collectively carry an atmospheric track. In contrast to “Joice Voice”, this is not about hedonistic opulence, but rather about a relaxed, cooled-down self-confidence. For the sake of the argument: If “Joice Voice” is supposed to be a glittering homage to French Touch, then “Jack in a Box” would be a confident nod to the Cologne noughties, just as we see in the compilations of the legendary Cologne label Kompakt the grandmasters Jürgen Paape and Wolfgang Voigt have been preserved and handed down.

Davids' hit: “Joice Voice” the first time you hear it, but “Jack in a Box” after the fifth time at the latest. Why: Because the growers are always the best tracks.

Perm & HAL – “Lookout Mountain Studios” (Kann Records)

Kann put out a Bandcamp-only release at the end of August. When I first listen to it, I understand the label “couldn’t wait any longer” to release the thing into the digital world.

“Untitled (Cheese Reaction Mix)” is a super atmospheric and dubby track that mutates into a synth beast after a good minute of percussion clapper intro – with a kick somewhere in the sub-bass range. There is a lot of space here, everything can unfold. “Tenure Track III” is really a pure electronic dub dream. Basic Channel wave over. “Tenure Track II” concludes with the best of both worlds. Super nice and fresh sound on Kann.

Nils' Here: „Tenure Track II“. Why: It can certainly be mixed well with a bit of uptempo techno.

Llewellyn “Instant Crush” (Riotvan)

I'll say it right up front: I'm a Llewellyn fan. It started with the release of the “Point EP” by Lake People, Martin Enke’s other big project. This EP was largely responsible for getting me interested in electronic music in the 4-to-the-floor sector again a few years ago. There was so much love and feeling in the music – it was somehow unexpected for me at the time.

Since then I have been following every release of this producer's various projects. Even though each one stands alone and has a different sound, I can relate to most of the releases because they have a similar spirit to the EP mentioned above. Always a little melancholic and flat synths all over that say a lot to me. Whether breakbeat inferno (Amrint Keen), tech house (Lake People) or the slightly discoid sound of Llewellyn with an 80s touch. A lot of favorite tracks have come together over the last few years.

Llewellyn's new (long) EP on Riotvan includes six tracks and celebrates the sound that was already present on the last three EPs on the label. Danceable 80s vibes on a 4/4 beat or broken basis, basslines à la Giorgio Moroder, the synths super tasteful. There's always an element that pops in that picks me up and is so cachty that it gets stuck in the ear canal. No track, just filler material and the artwork is once again really beautiful. I'll remain a fan, that's for sure.

Nils' Hit: “Fractured Memories” Why: The use of surface after about 20 seconds is pure love.

Janein “Virtual Universe” (Souls.)

At the beginning of August, Seelen., one of Leipzig's best-known techno labels, was able to celebrate a new highlight: the debut album by label co-founder Janein. “Virtual Universe” explores different nuances of classic and contemporary techno with a very fine sense.

Hypnotically unfolding over long periods of time, sometimes deep-dubby, sometimes hectic-dystopian. In between there are also breaky tracks like “Kaleid” to breathe deeply. Janein's heavy, bass-laden pieces like “Exploring Scan” or “Virtual Universe” always stand out and completely take you over. In short: a very good techno artist album – and all vinyl only. You can only hear these snippets online.

Jens' hit: “Ground Control” Why: Because it's just great drama.

Hearts “s/t” (All My Ghosts)

In the summer, glad-froh author Nils also brought out two new releases on his wonderful label All My Ghosts. Hearts' EP sets sweet melancholy to music with shimmering, breaky beats and dreamy chords. Somewhere between deep house, electronica and pop-tinged field recordings, Hearts has found the perfect middle between listening and dancing. Some Bicep memories flicker up, but with significantly more understatement and fewer big-room ambitions. This EP will definitely help you survive the coming winter.

Jens' hit: “Elotranc (Rebirth) Why: Because such a calming power unfolds in the jagged beats and the gentle piano chords.

Gregor Dys “Riss Remixed” (All My Ghosts)

The second All My Ghosts EP of this summer once again provides new perspectives on the very good, experimental, crystalline-sounding album “Riss” by the Berlin musician Gregor Dys. In the form of seven remixes. And it's very exciting to see how the experimental character is respected and yet expanded to include many facets through the new shifting and addition of straight or broken beats. In any case, “Riss Remixed” is not a clumsy dancefloor transformation of the originals, but rather a subtle examination of the work of Gregor Dys.

Jens' hit: “hdcNO1408 (catalog version) Why: Because the clanging, unpredictable beats and the dubby reverb rooms harmonize very well.