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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 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 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 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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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD098
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Mihalis Safras is back with another release on Trapez Ltd. produced together with Pascal Mollin. Here, they lean strongly on the techno side while still showing roots in post-Detroit and Chicago house. "Jaws" starts classically with a fat-sounding Safras beat, but introduces a crass, electronic-sounding noise, which will pull clubbers out of their bubble and throw them onto the dancefloor. "Move" starts out with static but soon reveals itself as a heavy, hypnotic clubber that works in some skillful repetition.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 116EP
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Taster Peter aka Pietro Marsili, former drummer of the Italian band Taster's Choice, releases a real techno stormer. The opener is a piece of euphoric madness named "Skatebored" that has Trapez go peak-time. This is not about Berlin modernism but about hi-frequency techno at its best. Call it a rollerskating anthem, call it nostalgic or cliché, there are classic leads here, a massacre of vocals and a storming break... total DJ weaponry. Features a remix by Samuel L. Session.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD096
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Teach Me House features new school versions of the early "jack" tracks. "Lord Teach Me House" is a groove monster that plunges into the catchy vocals of a TV preacher, evoking that early house spirit while connecting it to M.in's indisputably funky beats. "Le Cirque Du Tambours" comes in an original version and a remix by Den Ishu that is pure, driving house with frantic female vocals, pumping M.in's soulfulness onto the dancefloor.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD095
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David Keno delivers a fine selection of four bouncy house cuts that are elegant, bloomy, sunny and uplifting. "Watermelons" is a very poppy track that defines itself through the vocals much more than with the other tracks. "Towards You" is a slacker -- gentle and floating, leaving a stain of romance. "Catnip" features walking bass lines -- their acoustic quality and small digits of melody often meeting Detroit-sounding chords, making this a true Berlin product.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 114EP
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Trapez welcomes back Cologne's André Kraml. Spiced with samples and effects he assembled through his work for cinema soundtrack production, this pounding piece of deep techno is unique. "Black Water" connects psychedelia with a melodic sequence similar to Derrick May's "Strings Of Life," "Koerbchen" is a short funk track one would expect from Christian Martin, and "Der Springende Punkt" is a meditative techno track with deep, mighty production. Pinto reworked "Black Water" into a heavy, beat freak.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD094
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The Greek icon Mihalis Safras returns with a powerful 4-track EP. The title track is a masterpiece of post-Chicago sexiness -- sensual and very rhythmic. The DJ Madskillz remix is reduced and funky dub techno. "Sirano" puts more emphasis on the Latin groove factor and is a track for people who know how to dance -- seductive and hypnotic, a perfect flipside track.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD093
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Amir has planned a series of releases that all run under the title of Vernissage, intending to create space for creativity, showing that his skills are not limited to one kind of style. With Vernissage One, he kicks off a beat which could have been written by Herbert. "Cadaques" highlights a spiritual quality that is expressed by ethno sounds, constantly shifting dynamics and a feeling for deepness.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 113EP
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Roland M. Dill is a techno architect and "Casino Capitalism" is a hell of a funk monster -- a cool, elegant odyssey changing angles of perspective and dynamics. "The Hierarchy Of Peeps And Booms" is a slacker of a track. The bass line is almost disco and sounds like mosquitoes on a mission to dart into your skin. The remix of "Hash Browns" by Patrick Lindsey is a body mover with down-pitched vocals -- deep techno of the most advanced kind.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 112EP
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Michael Boenig is a true product of the German techno scene, participating in the Frankfurt trance and techno of the early '90s and constantly developing his skills behind the decks and on his own productions. "Toris Moon" possesses a new school minimalism which Pascal Feos has remixed with a stronger house feel. "Tanzviertelan" is a peak-time hymn with bold beats and restrained chords that will raise goosebumps.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD091
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Italoboyz present their Phantasmino EP. The title track features a wealth of analog equipment, giving it a real psychedelic profile with a kind of Eurasian melodic flavor. A real drugged-out epic hymn for party people who want to go all the way. "9/96" is a drum track that could be part of a mad marching drumming band -- somehow surreal, but which absolutely takes dancefloors apart.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD090
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Mark Henning & Den's 4-track EP features the tracks "La Galaxia Llorona" and "Close Encounters Of The Deep Kind" plus two remixes, one by Ed Davenport and another by Sebastian Russell. This EP is a hell of a techno EP -- the revenge of Detroit techno. "La Galaxia Llorona" is a pulsating, emotional techno track, and Ed Davenport has made a bass line-driven DJ tool out of it. Sebastian Russell keeps his remix on the house-y side of things, with a velvety, deep kick.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 109EP
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Leeks has a cool techno attitude with swing-like programming and odd sounds. "Qwerty," for example, does not bow to the daily routine of "today's techno," but moves upright and proudly. "Not So Late" opens with an obscure electronic sound, but then has a big, house-y bass line drop in. "Adhesive" is a bit of a Dadaistic track... its cool rhythm production makes it the most advanced on this EP. Quirky, with a bit of a nonsense sequence running through it.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD088
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Circular Star works techno in a post-Detroit fashion... the sounds smell of industrial sites, burned rubber and has that certain sexy machine rhythm to it. "Burner" is a stripped-down beat monster and a rocker, and "Red" carries this feeling a step further with an industrial melody. This is a true Berlin basement jam and a cool DJ tool. "Egyptian Eye" is a track that never touches the ground with a loop structure that increases intensity.
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12"
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TRAPEZ LTD089
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Hugo's remix of Mihalis Safras' "There Is No Place" invites us to celebrate the party with a filtered vocal sample and cool hook-line. A great house tune. "Materialistic" keeps jitters and quivers alongside small bits of vocals, thunderous delays and walking bass lines. This track has a nice Detroit feeling to it, somewhere along the way makes Blake Baxter come alive. Last but not least, the original version of "There Is No Place" shows us what triggered this release.
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12"
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TRAPEZ 108EP
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Roland M. Dill's "Baked Potato" is an excursion into deep waters, dirt paths, rocky hill tops and descending slopes, bending and twisting the dynamic in different ways, making it a forceful techno epic. "Hash Browns" is a funky affair... it wiggles and squeaks and shifts from acoustic to synthetic to "live recorded" sounds and back. "Bubble And Squeak" is a bit of a bonus track and a DJ tool -- the groaning bass line plays a strong and efficient melody.
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