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March is the month when record companies awake from their winter hibernation and things start to warm up in the music industry in preparation for the year to come. From techno to electro, this spring there's plenty of quality music for those who smile at the smell of freshly pressed wax. Seems everyone has an opinion on Swedish techno these days. The G-Force label is up to 9 releases now, and their latest is the "United Efforts Vol 1: Interference Invention" compilation featuring locals Mhonolink, Svart Vit, and Per Mikael P, plus Brooklyn's Dylan Drazen. Germany's Minimal man Wolfgang Voigt (formerly known as Mike Ink), has the "Orange Red" EP out on his Freiland, while Dettinger's "Blond" continues the Kompakt reputation for goodness and Andy Vaz's Background gets tracky with Todd Sines' "Null" EP. On milky blue vinyl you'll find the disco meets techno strut of "Lift Off" from The Parallax Corporation (NL Viewlexx), while 3 releases of import hit the racks in the UK. First up is the latest from Magic Feet magazine's Magic Trax, the KMS-styled "Le Danseur Parfait" EP from France's The Hacker (Michael Amato), Unspecified Enemies' "Multi-Ordinal Tracking Unit" on Counterattack (6 tracks including a catchy number that rides a snatch of Cybotron's "Cosmic Cars"), and DJ Future Shock's "The Third Wave" (South West 20) with a techno cut flipped by a slice of electro. California's DJ Jasper and Kit Clayton have a track remixed by DJ Hyperactive on their "Detention" EP (Cytrax) and Oliver Ho does the same on their second Delay release. Expect to see Stewart S. Walker's name on a lot of records this year. His "Jet Fuel And Longing" is out now on Belief Systems, Texas' Tektite has his "Abstract Symbols Of Decadence", and material is forthcoming on Tresor, Background, Parotic, and Sidereal, just to name a few. Also on Tektite is owner/operator Merrick Brown with the "Crime Of Stealth" EP--two harder pieces and a more laidback one to finish. Dan Bell's Seventh City has a winner in Anthony Shakir's "Tracks For My Father"; check it for some severe mind expansion from the always-on Shake. Heading toward the east, we find Donnell Knox's "Mystical Illusions" on Sonic Mind and Tim Baker in techno territory on the "Underground Authority" EP for his Elephanthaus. "Spatial Relationships" is the first release from Dan Curtin on his own Metamorphic since 1993 and it's damn fine; look for Belgium's Elypsia to release his "Through the Nexus" single and "Pregenesis" album. Getting gritty on Abe Duque's Tension in New York is Tekonivel (Mike Vainio of Pan Sonic) for "Gulab Jamoon" (don't ask me what it means), while fellow Rotten Apple label Proper has head honcho Steve Stoll with "Observer". Cristian Vogel has 5 albums to his credit and number 6 is set to be hailed as one of the best techno albums of 1999. Not that he plays it straight, though. There's a wide variety of beats on "Busca Invisibles" (DM Tresor), and they're all juggled to perfection. Also out on the same label is the "Spektrum Weltweit" full length from the Sender Berlin collective. If the rhythms of electro are more to your liking, you can't go wrong with I-F's "Playstation #2" (DM Disko B); the "Man From P.A.C.K." LP is out soon on Interdimensional Transmissions for North America and DB for the rest of the world. More quality output from The Netherlands continues with the Novamen's "Try To Be A Novaman" (Murdercapital) and "The Men You'll Never See" compilation on Clone/C2 featuring Holland's Electronome and I-F and Detroit's D.I.E. and Adult. Detroit's Twilight 76 has EPs just out from Sekter 17, DJ Godfather, and Digitek 3 that are rugged and ready for floor moving. Naquil from neighboring Redford has the "Spellin' P" EP out on his Infra-Red, but USPS or Canada Post somehow snapped my copy in two somewhere between MI and NS, so I can't report on the result. Integrale Muzique has helped a 2-tracker from Vex, originally out in 1990 limited to 200 promos only, get a proper release. Old school that still sounds fresh for '99, and that's what it's all about: keeping the past in mind, while making music for the future. Cognition Audioworks March 1999 Techno/Electro Top 20: 1. Cristian Vogel--"Busca Invisibles" 2 X LP (DM Tresor test)
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