440 Hz
Deep Sea Driving EP

Through 35 hedonistic highlights stretched across three volumes, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac delivers the first ever deep dive into The Netherlands’ colourful house sound of the 90s and the under-celebrated producers and record labels whose music soundtracked a countrywide cultural movement.Plenty of books and documentaries have celebrated the riotous raves, legendary clubs, high profile DJs and promoters who shaped The Netherlands’ hedonistic house scene throughout the 90s. Music For The Radical Xenomaniac dares to challenge these narratives by shining a light, for the first time, on those who created the scene’s kaleidoscopic, game-changing and globally influential soundtrack.Leading the charge were a disparate group of key creators who not only forged links with their counterparts in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also became celebrated figures on the worldwide electronic underground (Eric Nouhan, Aad De Mooy, Orlando Voorn, Stefan Robbers and Steve Rachmad). Alongside key underground imprints (Stealth Records, Basic Energy, ESP, Prime and Outland Records included) and lesser-known producers, these pioneers gave flavour to a radical musical movement via open-mindedness, unheard-of creativity and a genuinely futuristic ethos. All of these artists and labels are represented throughout the series.So, what defined this hedonistic house sound from The Netherlands? Stylistically, it was varied – as the series so emphatically proves – but was defined by a set of distinctive sonic characteristics: emotive musical motifs, high-frequency synth sounds, mellow basslines, pulsating rhythms and more than a touch of hallucinatory intent.Volume 1 boasts a wealth of notable tracks and slept-on gems. There’s ‘No Strings Attached (Freedom of the Soul Work)’ by Marionette, a magical spell of percussion-rich fairy-tale house from 1991 courtesy of R.o.X.Y Amsterdam resident DJ Dimitri and mellow pioneer Eric Nouhan, and the sole single by Eindhoven techno producer MAX404 as Faceless Techno Bastards, the rushing excellence of ‘Go Mellow’.Other highlights include Rachmad Project’s ‘Summer Breeze’, a chirpy house masterpiece from foundational producer Steve Rachmad that first appeared on Outland Records offshoot Spiritual Records, a genuine oddball obscurity from John Krengiëlczak as Land of Fantasy, Tales And Myths (‘And They Lived Happily Ever After’), and a seriously sought-after cut from Rotterdam duo Space Trax, 1992’s ‘Aura’.Packed full of forward-thinking 90s gems remastered for today’s dance floors by Alden Tyrell, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac Volume 1 is a life-affirming celebration of a distinctly Dutch musical movement, whose rich textures and melodies are still inspiring new generations of DJs and dancers today.

New label Bubblin Fresh kicks up with 4 slinky summer bubblers unreleased from 2001.

Mephis is back with All Killer No Filler Vol. 2; yet another faithful compilation of the eclectic Uruguayan underground sound.Elias brings the timeless, hypnotic and energetic loopiness. Stonem comes with the intense and tense, acidic and robotic electro breaks.Alfalfa serves an introspective acid trance bonanza extravaganza and Two Phase U delivers a majestic and melancholic acid-tech-dubby masterpiece.If you don't have enough cash for holidays in Montevideo, feel free to get MPHS004 and have a nice little mind trip to the south.

"I couldn't exactly explain why these tracks created under my Lips Vago guise remained unreleased for so long. I didn't mean to 'hide' them of course, I always considered them on a par with my experimental music that had more luck instead. Perhaps the real reason is that during the years when I was most active there was not much room, and consequently interest, for these kinds of sounds in my social circles, and these pieces never reached the 'right' ears. Then the years passed and I never really tried to 'push' them anyway... I am really glad that things are changing now."Mostly recorded in 1996, the four tracks on the "Fictional Selfs" EP exhibit an attention to melody that is skillfully declined in different ways. Whether it is the epic build-up and refrain of "The Mobility of Her Features" - a track which the author admit was "dedicated to a girl larger than life, in many ways..." - or the incredibly cheesy keyboard solos in "Filler 4" - inspired by no less than Mike Paradinas / Mu-Ziq's alias Jake Slazenger: "I've got my Alesis HR16 drum machine just because I knew it was on his kit list..." - Marutti clearly knows his stuff and the entertaining qualities of his music ooze from every note.Anyone curious to hear the original version of "Laughing Stock" will have to wait a little longer, but the Remix gracing the second side of the EP offers a thoroughly enjoyable version, in which multiple organ parts playfully chase each other over a forest of assorted percussion and synthetic laughter. The last track, "VST Atlas", the only one in this collection dating to 1999, expands the sound range by using various samples - "That was the very first track I recorded using Cubase VST, hence the title." - and opens a window on the more recent productions of the project.As already mentioned, Lips Vago's "Fictional Selfs EP" only manages to scratch the surface of the author's large archive of unpublished recordings, but judging from these four pieces the 'dark side' of Andrea Marutti looks so bright you would not believe it.