ATTAR! feat. Induce & Santana – 45 Days EP [2014]

ATTAR!, the solo project of Belgian producer/DJ Renaud Deru, has just released “45 Days” on Eskimo Recordings. This nu-disco track features vocals from Santana and Induce, and is backed with remixes by French producer Douze, and Sleazy Deep boss Rob Made, plus an English version of the original track. Get your copy here.

Video: Deft – Emeralds

Following the release of his Always Greener EP last month via Wotnot, Croydon-based producer Deft has unveiled a new video for EP hypnotic cut "Emeralds." Directed by Jack Carmelo & Thomas Rafferty.

Video: KNOX – Redline

Brother and sister Nic and Eliza Coolidge are KNOX, a duo that pairs smoky vocals with equally hazy electronics. Their third EP, Thieving of Well, is out now on Boysnoize, and also features a remix by Throwing Snow. Below you can watch the official video for the lead track, Redline. In case you missed it, check out the video for the title track from their 2012 "Here" EP.

Video: ZHU – Faded

Faded is taken off ‘The Nightday’ EP, LA artist, producer and vocalist ZHU’s debut release. The EP consists of six original tracks showcasing ZHU’s deft production, bringing together bouncy liquid synths, propulsive beats and slinky vocal hooks, drawing from dance music genres ranging from house to disco to futuristic garage-soul to synth-pop which are coupled with ZHU’s pristine vocals.

The video for Faded was filmed in the Montemarte districts’ subterranean Social Club in Paris and directed by ZHU himself, channeling his smoky black-and-white visual aesthetic and seductive exploration of late-night revelling and decadence.

Stelios Vassiloudis & Sasse – Refuse

Berlin-based Klas Sasse Lindblad teams up once more with Athens’ Stelios Vassiloudis to drop some more pure pressure for Audiomatique – subsequent to their 2013 release ‘Options & Futures’. Sasse has been making house for the best part of 20 years, both for his own Moodmusic label and many other imprints. Stelios Vassiloudis has also carved out his own niche, not least via his debut album on John Digweed’s Bedrock label.

Here they combine their strengths again for this exceptional release – ‘Refuse’ is a deep, snarling house bomb, dripping in sex and sweat. The bassline struggles to free itself from its moorings, mutating and evolving menacingly over the tight, driving rhythm.

Play with caution – things may get messy. Johannes Brecht’s remix takes things even further down the rabbit hole – strange bleeps and blips tear through the track, which has been streamlined into a slick tech workout. Beatport customers also get access to the killer dub version, which somehow manages to tame the wild bassline but turns up the heat on the groove. Out on May 19.

Video: Hannes Rasmus – Eine leichte Brise weht über das Sonnendeck

The infallible Traum Schallplatten imprint returns to the fore with the epic thrust of Hannes Rasmus’ "Musik Für Fünf Maschinen" EP – check out the opening cut "Eine Leichte Brise Weht Über Das Sonnendeck" and its non-vinyl remix by Egokid below.

Alex Smoke – Green Man

‘Green Man’ is the opening track of Alex Smoke‘s (a.k.a. Alexander Menzies) upcoming RS 1403 EP for R&S, out on May 20.

Video: Kwabs – Pray For Love

Check out the video for London-based soul singer Kwabs‘ latest single “Pray For Love”, produced by Ben Drew, a.k.a. Plan B, the title track of his forthcoming second EP.  Out on May 20 via Atlantic. Pre-order your copy here. Video directed by Emil Nava.

Róisín Murphy – In Sintesi

Following the beautiful cover of Lucio Battisti’s 1976 classic “Ancora Tu”, the first cut from her Italian-inspired new EP “Mi Senti”, dance-pop queen Róisín Murphy returns with “In Sintesi” (which means ‘In Synthesis’), the EPs only original song.

“In Sintesi came together very quickly and I think we all enjoyed the freedom of creating from scratch our own thing, after the weeks of work involved in getting the cover versions close to something we could be proud of. Knowing one’s own recorded version has to stand up against the great music you are covering is a pressure you don’t have when you write.”

Out on May 28 via The Vinyl Factory. Pre-order your copy here.

Timo Maas – Watching the Robots EP [2014]

Just ahead of the release of his excellent Crossing Wires compilation, Timo Maas’s relationship with the My Favorite Robot label continues to flourish with this new EP. Offering two new and exclusive cuts from said forthcoming compilation – plus another special remix from My Favorite Robot – it is pure techno excellence.

Timo Maas is of course an enduring techno icon famed for his eclectic sound and always compelling EPs and LPs. The most recent of those came late last year and featured high profile collaborations with the likes of James Lavelle, Mikill Pane and Placebo’s Brian Molko, whilst throughout his career he has released on labels including Cocoon and Perfecto as well as running his own Rockets & Ponies outlet.

First comes ‘Watching the Robots’, a meandering bit of deep and mid tempo techno with a fat, dystopian synth line that spreads across the whole horizon of the track like a search light. Subtly fizzing electronics and imposing melodic drones circle to add even more sci-fi ambiance and it makes for a pleasingly otherworldly listen.

On the flip is ‘Z Panorama’, an equally bleak vision of the future with a droning synth line falling down the scale and sucking you right in as a result. The slick beats roll on below and sad piano notes linger long in the air, all the while conjuring filmic intergalactic imagery in the listener’s mind. The My Favorite Robot trio quicken the tempo on their remix, layering in a light dusting of dancing hi hats and miniature melodic explosions that colour the night sky in some style. A molten acid line also creeps in to complete the perfectly future facing and expansive sonic picture.

These tracks are at the very heart of the forthcoming compilation and prove Timo, decades after first announcing his arrival with that remix of Azzido Da Bass, is as pioneering and essential as ever.

Out on June 9 on My Favourite Robot. Preview it via our weekly OFFradio show.