Brent
HMND005

Following up after the mental drop by Detroit’s Master of Repetition, Population One, we have a new signing hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun, helping us to set the standards for this new imprint—uncompromised techno funk! Japanese producer Imugem Orihasam has spent the past 3 years slowly evolving. His early work on Ilian Tape and Esperanza sounds like that of an already seasoned craftsman digesting Detroit bit by bit, with a focus on lush textures and swooning eerie melodies. This past year has seen a spike in activity for Imugem, with releases on Patrice Scott’s Sistrum Recordings, Berlin’s Nsyde, and Adam Marshall’s New Kanada—all showcasing a more focused and exuberant approach that has sharpened his reflective compositions. With GEM, Imugem steps away from the supple melodies and tranquil atmospheres for a trip deep into the power plant. Working far from his comfort zone, he has fired off five tracks of puristic, hypnotic techno. We don’t mean template-driven chunky white label Discogs bait either, but something fashioned out of raw sound that places the channeling of energy above composition and cleverness.

International electronic and bass don Mella Dee has remixed legendary Basement Jaxx single ‘Red Alert’, out in April.The two-track remix package opens with the artist’s ‘Panel Beater Mix’, a loopy, stripped-back edit that’s simply made for the dancefloor. Next is the ‘Holding On Mix’, a cut that sees Mella Dee tap into the hardcore continuum with a melange of rave-era wonkiness.In need of no introduction, Basement Jaxx are a platinum-selling English dance duo who burst onto the scene with their UK #1 album ‘Remedy’ in 1999. They have also scored three US Dance #1 singles, five UK ‘Top 10’ singles and performed at some of the world’s most recognisable festival stages. Released back in 1999, Red Alert topped both the UK and US Dance charts and reached #5 in the UK Singles chart. Pitchfork later ranked it at #69 in their list of ‘Top 200 Songs of the 1990s’.With a slew of releases via his own Warehouse Music in 2020 including Sidney Street & Mexicanas, the producer and DJ also donned a host of livestream events. A bespoke broadcast with DJ Mag and E1 alongside the likes of Glastonbury and DGTL Amsterdam for their online festivals were among the highlights. His label also saw exceedingly impressive releases from talents such as Leo Pol and Haider. With plenty more music to come from the electronic mystro, 2021 is primed to be yet another big year for Mella Dee, which he kicks off with these exceptional re-worked compositions.