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CD
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TRAPEZ 011CD
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This is the sixth album by Justin Berkovi. Justin has been on the rise again, taking each step with care and a lot of understatement. His live set for FUSE in Belgium in 2011 and his set showcasing new material at Berghain's 7th Anniversary in December 2011 left unmistakable traces as well as recent releases with prominent English artists such as Kirk Degeorgio and Perc. On this album he has skillfully stitched together tracks with emotional depth as well as mighty groove, making this a very special work culminating in both a phenomenal diversity and togetherness. Mondrian is a true, encompassing voyage through marvelous, mellifluous masterpieces of music. It also displays a crucial sense of emotional sensibility and melodic sensuality throughout. Atmosphere and space meet a heavenly monotone funk. The album starts with "Godspeed" -- a track that could be the soundtrack for the "Underworld" and a civilization that is falling apart. Berkovi here twists vintage strings and bends emotions with a sense of spaciousness and urban gleam. "Mondrian" directly hits with a superb blast of post-Detroit techno at its best. Tension is built up in waves, making it a beast of a club track. "Nadir" expands like a balloon in slow-motion, filling up the space with moody 3-D string arrangements. "Mainline Tension" is a cool piece of purposeful techno while "Ocean" is all vintage with a fantastic bass line. "Voices" sends out alarming sounds building up hysteria and urgency, while "Children of the Night (Rise Again)" rises gently -- all moody and poetic. "Days Go By" is a masterpiece of post-Detroit techno music with a complex and sexy arrangement. "Surveillance" walks in and introduces itself step by step, waiting like a stalker in the dark, while "Heritage" evokes Berlin techno days at their best. "The Observer" establishes a bloomy garden of sounds and "City Lights" is a soundtrack of a track -- all grey and rainy and dark. "Heat" summarizes what this album is all about -- a perfect "tech noir" trip in an urban jungle.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 133EP
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These two tracks from Harvey McKay can loosely be considered dub techno, although they bend the genre in a nice way. "Pressure" carries that industrial early Basic Channel flair, but extends it to follow paths and discover regions of soulful deepness. When vocals kick in and big reverbs create space, kick and bassline make dinosaur steps look small. A raw and mega-cool affair. Play it out loud and people will suddenly leap forward. This is real techno.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD111
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The grand master from Greece Mihalis Safras throws in all the goodies he has collected in his toolbox, spiced up with slashing white noise, modulation sounds and nice echoing spaces. "Ozinio" rocks the club in a stylish and cool way, whereas "Giannakis" works with big, pounding drums, a kinky melody plus vocals and ethno passages. The first remix is a great techno tool from Luigi Madonna, very linear and keeping it steady, whereas Simone Tavazzi works with stronger, stop-and-go programming.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD106
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Mihalis Safras turns slightly towards hi-energy as it was executed in perfection by genius Bobby Orlando. Sure, Mihalis keeps his new Trapez Ltd track "Alba" techno, but he uses these catchy arpeggiator sounds that give it a rush of adrenaline. A big track from the Greek Adonis. Remixes by Simone Tavazzi and Wehbba.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 124EP
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John Tejada and Justin Maxwell have been floating on top now for more than 10 years. Starting with "Domerocker," Tejada and Maxwell show us the world of warm-sounding basslines, cool chords and grainy percussion in a soulful rocker. "Our Aimless Dance" is an electronic treat with some extra funk. "The Friction Of Today" feels like Morse code at first, but opens up towards melodic synth pads that bring back memories of super-cool vintage Detroit techno.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD103
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M.in on Trapez Ltd. in collaboration with Jonas Fahz. "Welcome To My House" features a "jack" track, produced and written by a whole team including: M.in, Jonas Fahz, Peter Eilmers and featuring Nick Maurer on vocals, bringing together old school and new school. "Welcome To My House" has a mean, rough, tough, live jammed attitude to it. The alienated and twisted voice of Nick Maurer adds a psychedelic touch.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 122EP
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This is a 4-track EP from Roland M. Dill. Developing from within rather than being developed, the tracks seem to have a stronger hypnotic edge to them. "The Evil" is not very obvious but works very much by itself, whereas "The Good" is a perfect intermezzo for DJs who really build up their sets. "The Ugly" is a mental track -- madness on the highest level. "The Bad" is also written in this vein, with a remix by Ronan Portela.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD102
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Remerc opens this Trapez release with "Ruhewolf," a restless funkadelic rocker with a beat that juggles elements in a loose and totally cool way. On the flipside, we find a Hanne & Lore remix that tightens and fattens up the beat and pimps up the bass lines. "Just A Bards Tale" is a unique Remerc track and stands out from all the productions he has done so far. Here, New Wave-colored edgy vocals meet a post-Detroit string-chord arrangement.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD100
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Trapez celebrates their 100th Trapez limited release with the first edition of cool remixes of a lot of their classics and a new label design! Next to paying tribute to artists who have been with them since the start, Trapez also wants to introduce new artists; for example, Remerc, who remixes of Butch's "Muskatnuss," an obscure track which has been played by many DJs who like the underground vibe. Also includes remixes by Roland M. Dill & Mozambeat, Deep'a & Biri and Milhalis Safras.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD099
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Amir turns towards house music even more than on his last releases for Vernissage Four. He has set the focus here on a stronger mixdown with less small snippets and bold, fat, jacking sounds. "Imperial Monuments" is low-key, but works with a texture that is built on skillfully-looped themes that have a serious impact on the floor. "Soft Watch" is a deeper and "softer" almost U.S.-styled house tune with wild pitch strings and animal sounds that shift gears elegantly.
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