Downstairs People
DSP

Now in its tenth year, Frankfurt-based record label Die Orakel has earned itself a strong catalogue of classy releases in a distinct sonic and visual attitude, its latest being a compilation called Braindance.A fair assumption about Braindance as a genre could be, that it's rather in the zone of kaleidoscopic and whimsical quirktronica, less about IDM's futurist tropes. From Die Orakel's point of view, its very own Braindance compilation marks the label's tenth anniversary by releasing an intense listener's atlas, to its own and their creative collaborators' musical slant of mind.While much could be said about spectral traces of a leftfield past, nostalgia isn't heard anywhere. The more you listen to this selection, the deeper the tracks plug into your brain—stretching from ethereal harmonic licks rippling with fragile glitches, bleepy to bass-heavy electroid steppers of any BPM range, to abstract-scientific neo-modular artistry.Die Orakel's Braindance transmission can be had as a 15-track digi-release, as well as a 4-track vinyl EP. Pick either for your library of the future.

sr² - Diving Solo [ar_003]. All tracks are written and produced by sr². Mastered by MaSpaventi. Manufactured at Record Industry BV.Photograph by sr².Design by Anton Braun. Soundscapes from Planet Earth, created by humans. Augmented Research 2024.

For the next Blue Hour Music chapter, a special friend of the label’s family is stepping in. Hailing from the city of Delft, Dutch composer Spekki Webu delivers ‘Tenzan’, a forceful 4-track EP which might be the producer’s most ambitious project to date. Spawned from a place of personal reflection, Tenzan is the result of the ongoing cycle of life that has been influencing Webu since his early years. This philosophy was heightened after a fascination for mountains and a series of dreams about enlightenment on top of a sacred hill. These dreams later became reality after witnessing a ‘Tenzan’ (translated as ‘heavenly mountain’) during a trip in the Japanese wilderness. The cycle of life as represented by the heavenly mountain formed the spiritual direction to complete the narrative for this long-running Blue Hour project - as the leaves fell into place a new cycle began. Aligned in force and vigor, the A-side takes off with ‘Okada’, a grooving tension builder led by ominous melodies that drift off into the depths of the forests. Entering a state of empyrean elevation, ‘Horizon’ is a dub-induced peak-time roller of monumental grandeur. On the B side, the gears shift as ‘Solaris’ unveils a contemporary reinterpretation of 90s acid trance, fusing psyche-warping panned drones and minimalistic drum programming set to make blood pressures rise. Coming full circle, ‘Eion’ delivers euphoric salvation with a pulsating bassline guided by dreamy, repetitive soundscapes that reach for atmospheric heights. Vertigo-induced and wisdom-fueled, Spekki Webu opens the portal to the next cycle of sonic exploration marking the 25th release on Blue Hour Music.

A third Punctuality enters the chat; its latest member Maara proclaiming Drama On for Spray’s ever-evolving label. The Montreal maverick cues up a psy-eyed sesh for the ages, 5 wily thumpers shaded sapphic for those enthralled by the mischievous dance.Since 2021, Maara has operated on an ‘all pills, no frills’ basis. Her prolific run of EPs for the likes of Kalahari Oyster Cult, Step Ball Chain and Radiant Records has cemented her rightful place within the club pantheon of the prog and divine. Spray and his Punctuality cohort reside there also, teasing clubland salvation for those who dare. Maara giddily joins for the ride, offering a gift in the name of Drama On; an EP of direct dancefloor transmissions that map out kinetic paths to sordid euphoria.The curtains rise as What U Do 2 Me skips, gallops and jumps across theatrical plains, breaking for a titular reflection before reuniting with its ravey chaos. Drama On swings sharper, riding a sleazy donk through a dimly lit groove of pulsating vulgarity. An outright sassier affair celebrates Sigmund Freud’s Big Day Out; an unconscious slip of the hard house tongue that feeds an otherwise techno-driven delirium with wry glee. Give Me Ecstasy eases the tempo while raising the temperature, commanding your gaze with a noxious roller that seductively writhes in sexed-up delight. The house lights beckon, and Not My Web, Not My Problem she retorts with an unforgiving groove thrusting its charged-up rump through a cauldron of salacious murmurs and groans.It’s Maara’s world, and we’re all just dancing in it.

Fluxing between ambient, mutant-idm and swashes of bass, ‘Luvaphy’ is a drift through the morass that arrives at a leafy plateau. An album that tickles your inner sentience and supplies endless indulgence for the inquiring-mind.Available on limited edition 12” vinyl, with special embossed print-work.