Christian AB
Untitled

OPIA sister label Euphoric State steps up this autumn with more unearthed gems from the 90s, this time at the controls is Skat aka Andy Panayi & Alec Stone, Skat being their name before they took on what became their acclaimed A2 moniker in 94. The “Skatmode” EP spans across innovative strains of house and electro, packed with energy and charming emotions.On the A side you can find two slabs of reissued heat from the versatile duo, packing more of a punch than ever. Cruising on an irresistible house groove is “Is Dis Love”, tight drum work and elastic bass lines teased by the nostalgic vocal. “Dinowarp” is a pure example of a hazy deep house chugger for the early hours of the morning, taking you on a trip of blissful synths and melt in your mind textures.Taking up the B side are two unreleased diamonds from the vast archives of the UK duo, “Jamaica” and “Jump Around”. The first being a playful and animated outing, classy house dynamics driving the dance floor up a notch. “Jump Around” maintains the depth and emotion but at the heart lays a pulsating sub heavy bass to keep you on the move, conversing with the pacey and crisp drum patterns within.Euphoric State continues to propel dusted off beats for the dance floors of modern day!

A new wave hits with our close friend Locky Mazzucchelli. The record matches his sound as a dj, one of a kind. Trippy hardware minimal to influence the mind of your crowd.

No Moon returns to Mechatronica with an intricate blend of tripped-out machinefunk, colorful breaks, obscure bass music slo-chuggers and outsider electro, following up on his Sirens EP from 2018 on the Berlin based label and collective.

Vinyl only

Marco Funari’s Music Institute Records make’s a return with it’s first ever release from 1993, remastered and re-released. Another lost house classic !

Over the past decade, Vienna-based Florian Stöffelbauer – also known as Heap, has built a consistent reputation as a skilled DJ, producer and Neubau’s label head.Isla is proud to present his latest effort “False Hope” which explores the intersections between industrial, electro and dark wave – all with a leftfield twist.As diverse as it is powerful, the 7 tracks featured here almost feel like nocturnal tales, chalking out Heap’s observations wandering through the streets of a silent city, with cigarette smoke permeating the air and sirens ringing in the distance.The cinematic essence of the release emerges from the very beginning, with the atmospheric beauty “Diall” transporting us straight into some late-80s scenery of Kraftwerkian nostalgia. In “Jetzt Oder Nie” a sharp knit of drums is placed on top of the grave frequencies of the bass: it’s indeed “now or never”, the moral imperative of the release, requiring us to take action.Throughout the whole album, hypnotic sounds punctuate the dark space, bouncing between the polyrhythmic and uplifting energies of “Inner peace” and “No Palm Too Big”, a sneaky slow-burner with a nocturnal groove and Gayna Rose Madder’s robotic voice reciting the stream of consciousness of this urban wanderer.“Trist” rises slowly yet powerfully thanks to its mystical synths covering the ground and preparing us for what comes next.The title track “False Hope” holds the unique charm of a creature effortlessly floating in between dualities. As obscure as it is airy, as delicate as it is forceful, this hybrid composition is rich in details and plot twists.At the end of this journey, “Losing time” reminds us of the urgency to take action expressed at the beginning of the album. In a rarefied canvas, an off-kilter solitary sound comes in, starting off as insistent as a car horn in rush hour, and evolving into a beautiful instrument arpeggiating the melody.Here Heap concludes his narrative for now. We like to imagine him walking away, a shadow fading in the smoke of the city as the first lights of the day appear.