#59 Feat. Staff Picks in Electronica

Following last years 'Theta State' EP, Oliver Way continues his take on different states of mind with the Gamma State EP. First of all we have the deep bass and breaks driven electronica of The Fabulous Mr. Baker, a track dedicated to the sadly departed techno and house producer, Tim Baker. Building upon layered pads and heart-felt keys, Oliver evokes the sound of early 90s Artificial Intelligence era techno, drawing warmth and emotion from his machines. This is backed by the jacking foot stomp of no non-sense floor banger Rubberband. Fused with bassy rave stabs, the tracks linear groove propels ever onwards into a dark, sweat-soaked cavern. Dancefloor techno, pure and simple. Both tracks are taken from Olivers second studio album due at the end of the year.

Oliver Way

#69 Feat. Staff Picks in Electro (Classic / Detroit / Modern)

'EPM Selected Vol. 9' features ten tracks from the EPMmusic archive and two unreleased mixes of classics from Mark Broom and Ben Sims. This collection goes right to our techno roots featuring artists such as Regis, Robert Hood, Oliver Way, Arno Vancolen, Carl Taylor, Lee J. Malcolm, Stare5 (aka Bryan Zentz), Bryan Chapman, Techmarine Bottom Feeders and Theiz plus the exclusive remixes of Ben Simss Xotnuc from Stevie Cox and the Chimes remix of Mark Brooms One Sound. We start Vol. 9 with Ben Simss Xotnuc which featured in our EPM 20 celebrations in 2021 but this time gets a brand new remix from Stevie Cox who brings the tempo down into a shimmering breakbeat before the mighty Karl OConnor (aka Regis) who brings a touch of rolling techno-funk with No Love From Above from his Beyond the Reach of Time EP. Bryan Chapman then gets a fortified techno remix from fellow UK producer, Inigo Kennedy who fires up Io into a solid dancefloor missile before the minimal master Robert Hood drops Shadows, showcasing his unique blend of techno minimalism to the full. Continuing in Hoods minimal vein we have Stare5 (aka Bryan Zentz) whose The Adverse Within was first unveiled on 2018s Void Swimmer EP and then we reveal another exclusive as the Chimes mix of Mark Brooms One Sound adds another layer of sonic depth to the techno crowd pleaser. Taking it back to 2012 Carl Taylors Onyx is quality tech-house through and through, with that added ingredient of funk, delivered from his True Faith album before the Techmarine Bottom Feeders (aka Paris the Black Fu and Emeric Di Paolo (Luxus Varta)) take us into an acid soaked vortex with The Vision (Radio Edit) and EPMs own Oliver Way rips into some Chi-town tech-boogie with Shuffle Rush that featured on 2022s V-Series: Chicago Connex EP alongside stompers from Robert Armani and Lester Fitzpatrick. The multi-talented Lee J. Malcolm then tackles Yellos classic Oh Yeah and Theiz takes us to the sounds of classic Black Dog / Plaid techno with his superb 1000 Year Cycle of the Dragonfly taken from his All That Remains album. Finally, signing off we have Bryan Chapmans hauntingly beautiful remix of Arno Vancolens Venus Loop Revisite.

Ben Sims, Regis, Bryan Chapman, Robert Hood, Stare5, Mark Broom, Carl Taylor, Techmarine Bottom Feeders, Oliver Way, Lee J Malcolm, Theiz, Arno Vancolen