electronic directory

It doesn’t sound like too long ago, but the electronic music industry has come a long way since the nineties. Today, August 1st, 2011, marks twenty years of Soma Records. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it ?

On the 1st of August, 1991, Soma Records released its first record, "Eterna" by Slam / "I.B.O." by Rejuvination, a great track and great split release with some Detroit and/or Chicago-rooted dance music. Nowadays, Soma is, as they describe themselves, one of the world’s leading electronic dance music labels.

Slam – Eterna

Rejuvination – I.B.O.

So far, the label has managed to release more than 80 albums and over 300 singles, from the likes of Slam, Funk D’Void, Alex Smoke, and The Black Dog, to name just a few. The Glasgow-based label continues to wow the electronic music world with their music, without a doubt.

Happy Birthday !

Here’s our list of twenty of our favourite Soma tracks:

• 01. Dove – Fallen from Soma 2
• 02. Slam – Positive Education from Soma 8
• 03. Desert Storm – Scoraig 93 from Soma 13
• 04. Daft Punk – Da Funk from Soma 25
• 05. Skintrade – Andomraxess from Soma 27
• 06. Funk D’Void – Jack Me Off from Soma 29
• 07. Chaser – Sides of Iron from Soma 33
• 08. Maas – Look At Me Now, Falling (I:Cube Simple mix) from Soma 54
• 09. Envoy – Emotional from Soma 59
• 10. Funk D’Void – Herbie On Rhodes from Soma 66
• 11. Scott Grooves feat. Parliament/Funkadelic – MotherShip ReConnection (Daft Punk remix) from Soma 71
• 12. Silicone Soul – Right On 4 Tha Darkness from Soma 83
• 13. Master-H – Magic K from Soma 101
• 14. Slam feat. Tyrone Palmer – Lifetimes from Soma 107
• 15. Funk D’Void – Diabla (Funk D’Void’s Heavenly mix) from Soma 112
• 16. Schatrax – Mispent Years (Silicone Soul dub) from Soma 128
• 17. Alex Smoke – Don’t See The Point from Soma 165
• 18. Funk D’Void – Nineteen Ninety-Two from Soma CD23
• 19. Slam – Stepback (Christian Smith & John Selway remix) from Soma LP29
• 20. The Black Dog – Sleep Deprivation 2 from Soma CD83

I haven’t been updating regularly, but I hope you don’t mind my slow pace. Thank you for reading.

• (in no particular order)
• 5 novelties
  • Lee Holman – Back In The Day (CY’s Old School Mix) [GodWrk/White Label] / Rennie Foster – GTC (Claude Young remix) [White Label]
    Claude Young returns with more beautiful and classy remixes. He’s getting better and better and we need more producers like him.
  • Erica LaFay – Rain (Special Vinyl Only Edition) [Wallshaker Music]
    
    Definitely a classic release of Detroit music – Motown techno-house-soul fusion.
  • Polar Pair ft. Atlantis – This Is What Happens (Mark Flash remix) [Botanika]
    
    Fucking wicked. Mark Flash does a tight but funky as hell makeover. This is a full on dancefloor with a spoken vocal from Atlantis.
  • Matt Chester – Die For A Reason EP [11th Hour]
    
    More deep goodness from Matt Chester, big big Detroit business.
  • Various – The Lost Tribe Of Techno [Subject Detroit]
    
    Excellent collection of authentic Motor City machine music. Highly recommended.
• 5 oldies
  • Slam – Positive Education (Original Re-master) [Soma]
    Soma re-release Slam’s classic Positive Education with remixes by Fergie and Octogen, but I still loooove the original.
  • Technasia – Future Mix [Technasia]
  • Solid Gold Playaz – Alone My Life Underground [Kanzleramt]
  • Dopplereffekt – Gesamtkunstwerk [Victoriaville]
  • Round One to Round Five – 1993-99 Main Street Records [Main Street Records]

Last but not least, I switched to Facebook from MySpace.

• (in no particular order)
• Jeff Mills – The Good Robot [Axis]
  
  Classic artist, classic label, classic record.
• Laurent Garnier – Gnanmankoudji [PIAS]
  
  Fantastic. I have been playing ‘Original Broken-Afro Mix’ for a while now and just adore the track !
• Ican – El Quinto EP [Ican Productions]
  
  An absolutely awesome record, very original and super cool.
• Vince Watson – My Desire [Planet E]
  
  Beautiful work as always from Vince Watson.
• Rolando – The Afterlife EP [Saved Records]
  
  For me definitely the finest Rolando work since the Aztec Mystic releases – ‘The Afterlife’, a very classy Detroit shit.
• DJ Bone – Encounter 2 [Bastardo Electrico]
  DJ Bone returns with slammin’ Encounter stuff. Thanks to Jamie Behan for making this happen.
• Santiago Salazar – Arcade [Macro Recordings]
  
  Another S² gem – once again deepness and darkness. Stefan Goldmann does a fine job too, a gorgeous piece of music.
• Stefan Goldmann – Art Of Sorrow [Victoriaville]
  
  Biiiiiiig, fucking massive. Goldmann did it again.
• Dactilar – Phonograph EP [Organica Music Labworks]
  
  Sounds very Detroit/Sheffield inspired. Very good indeed.
• Mark Broom & Mihalis Safras – Jelle [Soma]
  
  Good as always from these two great producers – Mark and Mihalis are always consistent.

Beroshima – Horizon the remixes [Soma]

Another excellent release from Soma – both Beroshima his own remixes are nice but the Funk D’Void remix is nothing short of fantastic ! Lovely production, works well on the dancefloor and radio.

Tracklisting:

• 01. Horizon (Funk D’Void’s Hope remix)
• 02. Horizon (Beroshima’s Deep mix)
• 03. Horizon (Frank Müller’s Corazon mix)

Get "Horizon the remixes" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £4.25
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £3.40
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $4.47

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/beroshima
• www.myspace.com/funkdvoid
• www.myspace.com/somarecords

Corrugated Tunnel – One Night In Barcelona [Elevation]

Very good indeed. Well done to both remixers; wonderful takes on an already cool tune. Chymera remix – oh yes, I like it ! Scope mix is pretty fucking good too. He does the business here with a very deep house workout that really works.

Tracklisting:

• A1. Original mix
• A2. Chymera remix
• B1. Scope’s Noche Urban mix

Get "One Night In Barcelona" here:

• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £2.97
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $4.47

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/corrugatedtunnel
• www.myspace.com/chymeramusic
• www.myspace.com/ricmcclellandmusic
• www.myspace.com/elevationrecordings

Gary Beck – On The Run [Mezzotinto]

I’ve been waiting for new Gary material after his A590 Beats track. Really nice release again from Gary, really efficient, perfect for late night.

Tracklisting:

• 01. On The Run
• 02. Akin Seeya

Get "On The Run" here:

• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $4.98

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/garybeck
• www.myspace.com/mezzotintorecords

James Kumo – Kumomusic Vol 1 [Ann Aimee]

More quality from the Delsin sister label, plenty to choose from this fine package. The production on 45 Days is outstanding – so dark, so beautiful !

Tracklisting:

• 01. Fluid
• 02. 45 Days
• 03. Koma

Get "Kumomusic Vol 1" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £5.10
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £3.40
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $4.47

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/kumomusic
• www.myspace.com/annaimee

Ken Ishii feat. 7th Gate – Sunriser remixes [70Drums]

Good stuff – I haven’t been a big fan of Ken Ishii’s recent stuff but the Spirit Catcher mix works really well and is right up my street for club play. FLR mix is a cool mashup, some great effects and may well drop this in a booze-fuelled backroom scenario !

Tracklisting:

• 01. Spirit Catcher Other View mix
• 02. FLR’s Vox Rise mix
• 03. Publicmind remix

Get "Sunriser remixes" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £10.20

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/70drums
• www.myspace.com/7thgatenet
• www.myspace.com/spiritcatcher1

Kevin Saunderson – History Elevate 2 [KMS / Planet E]

What can I say ? KMS is Detroit’s biggest export and with remixes like these, you can’t go wrong… kick ass dancefloor monsters !

Tracklisting:

• A. Bassline (Joris Voorn mix 07)
• AA. Pump The Move (Samuel L Session remix)

Get "History Elevate 2" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £6.80

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/kevinsaunderson
• www.myspace.com/jorisvoorn
• www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomsamuellsession
• www.myspace.com/planetecom

Funk D’Void & Sian – Ginebra [Soma]

Good solid and soulful deep house which does the business on the dancefloor. Really into all the mixes, but the original’s the best. Yet another winner.

Tracklisting:

• 01. Ginebra (Funk D’Void’s Cocktail mix)
• 02. Ginebra (Sian’s Leopardskin remix)
• 03. Ginebra (Onionz Corrosion remix)
• 04. Ginebra (Djinxx Remix)

Get "Ginebra" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £4.25
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £4.24
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $5.96

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/funkdvoid
• www.myspace.com/sianproductions
• www.myspace.com/djinxx
• www.myspace.com/somarecords

Ican – División del Norte E.P. [Ican Productions]

Pure quality from an ace label. Well impressive with this. Both tracks are equally great. Plastic People is the monster – wrecks the club every time. Maravilla is a tasteful slow-burner, but very nicely done. Can’t go wrong with this bad boys.

Tracklisting:

• A1. Esteban Adame – Maravilla
• B1. Santiago Salazar – Plastic People

Get "División del Norte E.P." here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £5.95
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £2.54
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $2.98

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/icanproductions
• www.myspace.com/s2remix
• www.myspace.com/icanloshermanos

Lee Holman – We Hold True [Fine Art]

Another good release from a new West London imprint. Lovely production on all the tracks, lovely sounds, liking them all. Been playing Mind Emotion out. Lee is the man…

Tracklisting:

• 01. We Hold True
• 02. Memories
• 03. (Let There Be…) Groove
• 04. Mind Emotion

Get "We Hold True" here:

• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £5.10
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $5.96

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/leeholman
• www.myspace.com/fineartrecords

Slam Biography

Following on from the rather massive Azure single, Slam bring you their outstanding fourth studio album HUMAN RESPONSE. Not content to stand still, this album sees Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle pick up the techno baton, twisting the genre even further still, to create a forward-thinking new sound all of their own. These are artists at their creative peak. In this technological age Slam utilise the human touch to inject a myriad of emotions into their electronic machine music. The end result is much more than a collection of tracks. HUMAN RESPONSE flows and grows and, in an era of single track downloads, Slam provide an album that you can listen to from start to finish.

HUMAN RESPONSE opens with "Subject Invisible", a sublime haunting piece of introspective electronica that sets the mood for the journey ahead. "No One Left to Follow", the first of two collaborations, follows, as My Robot Friend delivers a hypnotic vocal over an intricate dubbed-out, deep, twisted modern day work-out. "Weekday Mourning" with its poignant strings is next. A warm emotive interlude which leads on nicely to last year’s "Looking North", (one of the highlights from Soma 200, written specifically as a taster to this album), re-edited and remixed. This is an epic, soulful, Detroit-inspired excursion that weaves a web of glistening, unfathomable melodies and intricate percussion. "Ghost Song" is a swinging, jacking spiritual anthem with syncopated sequences and spacey chord triggers, already a big favourite in Slam’s sets. Next is "We Medicate", an unusually dark, filmic, epic slice of electronica. Add to this, the talent of long-time collaborator, Dot Allison, fresh from her tour with Massive Attack and duets with Baby Shambles singer Pete Doherty. Dot adds her own eerie enchantment to the track making it one of the albums undisputed highlights. "Reluctant Traveller", a beatless, high octane, synth-led expedition, spaced-out and emotional, leads perfectly into "Azure". The first single from HUMAN RESPONSE, has already caused a stir, gaining support from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Sven Vath Mandy, Radioslave, Carl Craig, Josh Wink and a whole host of others. Already huge, this tune is predicted by many to grow further and become one of this Summer’s anthems. "Staccato Rave" is 21st century twisted techno mayhem with unexpected twists and turns. During this dark experimentation the album approaches its ethereal climax before the freakish "We’re Not Here" kicks in, with its hypnotic rhythms and tripped-out sounds and percussion, it bleeds intensity from its pores. The journey ends memorably with the aptly named "Memoir" and its dark edged beauty. Slam respond to what they see around them, releasing an album brimming with emotion and honesty, uplifting and beautiful electronic music, with that moody Slam undercurrent. The end result is a soundtrack for now and for the future.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been getting the records and they have been fantastic ! Keep sending them !

Funk D’Void featuring Jay Leblone – Lovin’ [Soma]

Funk D’Void is back on Soma and in top form: big emotive techno string stabs and a slow house groove which works really really well with Jay’s vocal.

Tracklisting:

• A. Lovin’ (Your Body Remix)
• B. Lovin’ (Hipp-e Remix)

Get "Lovin’" here:

• Buy CD album from Juno Records for £4.25
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £2.54
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $2.98

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/funkdvoid
• www.myspace.com/djhippe
• www.myspace.com/somarecords

Slam – Human Response [Soma]

Superb album. Very strong release – label going well. All quality tracks. Slam at their best again.

Tracklisting:

• 01. Subject Invisible
• 02. No One Left To Follow
• 03. Weekday Mourning
• 04. Looking North
• 05. Ghost Song
• 06. We Medicate
• 07. Reluctant Traveller
• 08. Azure
• 09. Staccato Rave
• 10. We’re Not Here
• 11. Memoir

Get "Human Response" here:

• Buy CD album from Juno Records for £10.20
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £7.65
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $14.99

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/slamofficial
• www.myspace.com/dotallison
• www.myspace.com/myrobotfriend
• www.myspace.com/somarecords

Slam – No One Left To Follow [Soma]

Very cool follow up to the excellent "Human Response" – melodic, funky and deepness.

Tracklisting:

• A. No One Left To Follow (12" Mix)
• AA. We’re Not Here (12" Mix)

Get "No One Left To Follow" here:

• Buy Twelve from Juno Records for £4.25
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £1.95
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $2.98

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/slamofficial
• www.myspace.com/myrobotfriend
• www.myspace.com/somarecords

Slam – Azure [Soma]

This is definitely one of the best techno tracks – the incredible sound of SLAM, loud, hot, funky, emotional… Already a classic !

Tracklisting:

• A. Azure (Part 1)
• AA. Azure (Part 2)

Get "Azure" here:

• Buy Twelve from Soma Records Shop for £5.00
• Buy in 320kbs MP3 format from Juno Download for £2.54
• Buy in MP3 format from Beatport for $2.98

Related Links:

• www.myspace.com/slamofficial
• www.myspace.com/somarecords