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Sprechen
Harmonise E.P.PREORDER
Tales Of Acid Fellowship E.PEXCLUSIVE
Review: No one seems to know much about who Viper Patrol is or where he/she/they hail from, but their music has appeared previously on respected labels such as Tici Taci and Rare Wiri. And now you can add Manchester's Sprechen imprint to that list, as they bring us this acid-flecked three-tracker. 'Space Hammer' merges electronic disco, acid and progressive house tropes to deadly effect, while 'Hang Boat' is a lower-paced chugger and maybe better suited to daytime or warm-up play. But it's the oddball, unhinged 'Hunting A Snark' that's the EP's most notable inclusion - a track packed full of bleeps and FX that was surely designed to take frazzled 5am floors well and truly through the looking glass!
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SM 088
24 Mar 26
Funky/Club House
24 Mar 26
Funky/Club House
Review: Lines Of Silence are a loose collective of musicians from the northwest of England, helmed by one David Little, who describe their sound as "an eclectic mix of motorik grooves, psychedelic rock, ambient and sprinklings of exotica and electronic jazz". This EP opens with the hazy, lazy ambience of 'Transcendental Radiance', which is then given an even more horizontal and out-there remix by Bristolian AV artist Kayla Painter, who's worked with the likes of Gilles Peterson and Scrimshire. The EP's then completed by 'Walrus', which has been remixed by Amaury Cambuzat, formerly of Krautrock legends Faust.
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SM 087
04 Mar 26
Balearic/Downtempo
04 Mar 26
Balearic/Downtempo
Review: Irish production duo Opus Klien come with the first of two EPs on Sprechen. Drawn from a wider batch of studio cuts, Inhale feels narrows it down to three impressive and distinct shades of their club focused sound. Title track "Inhale" floats in on ambient techno textures, featuring light breakbeat rhythms and crisp acid lines that does a great job floating around the track. It's nostalgic and full of emotion. It's a subtle nod to rave days while remaining very live and analog feeling. "Transition" lives up to its name as a proper techno builder while the closing cut "Berta" strkes hard. Minimal in structure but maximal in impact, its punchy tribal percussion and devastating bassline evolve into a storming anthem. It's the type of closing tracks that keeps people wanting more and more. This is a very successful EP for these two producers.
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SM 086
02 Mar 26
Funky/Club House
02 Mar 26
Funky/Club House
Played by: Juno Recommends Disco
Review: The Thief Of Time - a duo led by label boss Chris Massey - channel 80s synth-pop on this new five-tracker for Manchester's Sprechen. We start off in almost Pet Shop Boys-ish territory with 'Shadows Cast' and its singsong, dream pop-style vox, before 'Metropolis Rising' takes us down a more sci-fi kinda road. 'GateKeepers' follows, blends the two approaches and steals the gold with its chanted, vaguely no wave-ish "try so hard, why even bother/say one thing but mean another", before we end up back in pure pop territory with shimmering, surging synth-fest 'Cosmic' and its chilled, organic mate.
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SMV 012
30 Jan 26
Disco/Nu-Disco
30 Jan 26
Disco/Nu-Disco
Review: Fresh from celebrating a decade in business, Chris Massey's Sprechen label strides into 2026 via a label debut from former Nein contributor From Beyond. The publicity-shy producer starts in typically atmospheric and far-sighted fashion with 'Strung Together', where synth-strings and spaced-out analogue electronics recline over a hypnotic mid-tempo groove, before reaching for wild organs, thickset acid motifs and effects aplenty on the lightly psychedelic 'Into These Feelings'. Our hero dips the tempo further on the picturesque and melody-rich beauty of 'Horsehead Nebula', while title track 'Star Villa' sees From Beyond wrap star-fall synth sounds, spacey pads and echoing samples around a dirty analogue bassline and dark disco beats.
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SM 084
06 Jan 26
Funky/Club House
06 Jan 26
Funky/Club House
Various
Review: If a week is a long time in politics then 10 years is definitely a long time in electronic dance music, so congratulations to Manchester-based Sprechen, who've now racked up one whole decade in the game. They celebrate with the release of this compilation featuring nine cuts - some brand new, some previously released - from label stalwarts, friends and kindred spirits, including the mighty A Certain Ratio alongside the likes of Lindstrom, PBR Streetgang and label boss Chris Massey himself. Leftfield, experimental electronica that keeps one eye on the dancefloor at all times is the label's stock-in-trade, with tracks here ranging from the slow-moving, contemplative 'Pelago' by Lena C to the pure 80s electro/synth-pop of The Thief Of Time & Lindstrom's 'Escape Into Neon', via the haunting future R&B of Low Pulse's 'Pillowtalk', Psychederek's hypnotic, chant-like 'Hopes And Dreams' and Gina Breeze's fairly self-explanatory 'Acid Strings'.
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SMV 011
05 Sep 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
05 Sep 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
Played by: Juno Recommends Funky House
Review: First released last year as a single-track salvo on Revolve Records, veteran twosome Dave K and Jon Pleased Wimmin's surging and hands-aloft workout 'Higher' lands on Sprechen with two fresh new rubs by the two men behind the release. Naturally, the pair's original version, a fine combination of effects-laden, intergalactic-sounding organs, heavy organ bass, fizzing mid-90s 'hardbag' stabs and chunky house beats, is up first, delivering glamourous grooves and life-affirming breakdowns. Dave K steps up next, wrapping spine-tingling pianos and effected vocals around a sequenced, synth-pop style bassline and hybrid nu-disco/house beats. Jon Pleased Wimmin opts for a more throbbing, pulsating and early morning-friendly vibe on his 'Poppers mix', tipping a cap to Jon Marsh's vocals on Beloved records in the process.
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SM 081
13 Aug 25
Funky/Club House
13 Aug 25
Funky/Club House
Review: Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange, led the Dutch army in their 17th Century war with Spain and was the grandfather of British king William III. But Frederik Hendrik is ALSO the production alias of a London-based Dutch producer with half a dozen EPs under his belt. "Electronic music inspired by growing up in Amsterdam during the late 80s" is how he describes his sound and accordingly, you can hear influences from coldwave, synthpop and acid house alike in 'Het Spiraal', while 'Andere Landen' is a more eclectic outing that opens with a simple house/disco beat but veers into plinky-plonk synth territory as it goes on, augmented by snatches of Indian/Middle Eastern-style female vocal.
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SM 083
29 Jul 25
Funky/Club House
29 Jul 25
Funky/Club House
Review: Manchester label Sprechen bring us two contrasting but complementary cuts from NYC producer Nutritious. First up is 'Norway In Italy', which really isn't much more than a simple mid-paced lolloping, looping funk groove - but what a groove it is, with seven-and-a-half minutes of warm, enveloping bass augmented by sparkling keys, haunting vocal fragments and all manner of moody, cinematic stabs and FX. The accompanying 'Acid Reign' is another simple chugger but slightly darker this time, with (as the title suggests) strong influences from acid house as well as some cool little synth-string squiggles.
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SM 082
08 Jul 25
Funky/Club House
08 Jul 25
Funky/Club House
Review: The nostalgic/retro Force is strong in this three-tracker from Blackpool-based producer Ed Mahon, which is brought to you by Manchester label Sprechen. Ask an AI "what would 90s chill-out sound like if you gave it an injection of more current-sounding, Afro-inspired beats?" and the answer it came up with might sound a lot like opener 'Hoomba Hoomba', while 'What You Need' looks to the cold wave and industrial sounds of 80s Europe for inspiration. It's 'Temptation' that's the standout though, a gloriously hazy, comedown-friendly concoction that brings together Balearic beats, a soulful female vocal and garage-y organs.
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SM 078
20 May 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
20 May 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
Played by: Juno Recommends Funky House
Review: Manchester's Sprechen bring us a two-tracker from Evan Michael, a New York-based producer whose work over the past decade or so has appeared on such highly esteemed labels as Moiss Music, Hudd Traxx and Drumpoet Community. 'Empty Body' itself is a surging, pulsating affair that sits somewhere between electronic disco and the Balearic/Italian house of the late 80s and early 90s, while the accompanying 'Pain & Pleasure' has a similar MO overall but veers a little closer to the progressive side of the street. Both have energy to spare and so will be eminently suitable for peaktime play.
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SM 077
28 Apr 25
Funky/Club House
28 Apr 25
Funky/Club House
Review: Kieran Boyle has a degree in sound engineering and aims to make music that fuses the sounds of house and techno with the structures of his beloved hip-hop. This new EP for Manchester's Sprechen label opens with 'Northern Solar', a heavily electronic affair that fuses elements of techno and progressive house, its big, pulsating synths eventually veering into borderline trance territory towards the end. The accompanying 'And Then Some', though, is far less in-your-face - an ever-evolving electronic soundscape, with interesting hints of Middle Eastern music in the sound palette, that'll go down well on slightly more leftfield floors.
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SM 079
03 Apr 25
Funky/Club House
03 Apr 25
Funky/Club House
Review: He may well be best-known for serving up Balearic soundscapes and heady downtempo grooves, but Steve Cobby has plenty of house pedigree - as anyone who has heard the early Fila Brazillia records (made alongside his long-term collaborator Dave McSherry) will attest. Should you doubt this assertion, listen to this EP. Opener 'No Rope Will Bind Those Who Refuse To Submit' sounds like 'Old Codes, New Chaos' era Fila Brazillia fused with organ-rich Afro-house, while 'This House' is undoubtedly the deepest, most loved-up and evocative deep house roller we've heard this week. Predictably, Cobby maintains his sky-high standards on 'I Need a Fix', a wonky acid jacker that sounds like it could have come out of Crooked Man's studio, and the starry, nu-disco-goes-early-90s-house flex of 'Korero'.
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SM 076
07 Mar 25
Funky/Club House
07 Mar 25
Funky/Club House
Review: At the tail end of 2024, American synth-wave duo Causeway (AKA long-serving San Francisco sort Marshall Watson and studio buddy Alisson Rae) made their bow on Sprechen via a fine single, 'Dancing With Shadows'. Here they go one significant step further, offering up an expansive debut album, 'Anywhere'. Sitting somewhere between the stylish and moody analogue synth-pop of the Italians Do It Better, synth-wave and the more psychedelic corners of the nu-disco movement, the ten tracks on show - 'Dancing With Shadows' included - are atmospheric, retro-futurist and pleasingly varied in terms of tempo and intensity. Rae makes for a fitting frontwoman, with her superb delivery of her own potent lyrics standing out.
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SMV 010
14 Feb 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
14 Feb 25
Disco/Nu-Disco
Hotel Motel feat Pat Fulgoni
Review: Manchester label Sprechen bring us a new offering from Hotel Motel, the occasional duo comprising veteran DJ, journalist and author Bill Brewster and Alex 'Futureshock' Tepper. Featuring a vocal from solo artist and in-demand tonsils-for-hire Pat Fulgoni, 'Without Your Love' is an 80s-inspired, indie-dance/pop oddity in its original form but it's the remixes that'll be of most interest for dancefloor purposes, Ted Wily adding some pleasing low-end squelch on his two rubs (one disco-ish, the other looking to '88 for inspiration) while the Dark Revisited remix goes full-on Italo/cosmic. No dub/instrumental options but maybe those will follow?
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SM 070
13 Jan 25
Funky/Club House
13 Jan 25
Funky/Club House
Review: Sprechen boss Chris Massey has long been friends with sometime Italians Do It Better artists Causeway (AKA Allison Rae and San Francisco scene stalwart Marshall Watson), so it's no surprise to see them pop up on his imprint. 'Dancing With Shadows' is dark, moody and throbbing, joining the dots between goth synth-pop of the 1980s and acid-fired 21st century 'dark disco'. The remix package is predictably strong too. As well as Watson's own 'club mix' - an atmospheric, slowly building extension that re-frames it as a 1980s alt-pop 12" mix - we get takes from Hardway Brothers (slow-motion, saucer-eyed chug), Kiaki (mid-tempo acid disco darkness) and Massey (throbbing, acid-flecked dark disco heaviness).
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SM 075
11 Nov 24
Coldwave/Synth
11 Nov 24
Coldwave/Synth
Review: Amuse Bouche is the chosen artistic alias of producer Tim Shaw, who debuts here with an expansive and quietly impressive five-track salvo. Wisely, Shaw has chosen to hit the ground running - with a little help from vocalist Lady Lady - with a killer cover of Kelis classic 'Acapella' which craftily re-imagines the 2009 electro-house hit as a squelchy, acid-powered nu-disco anthem in the making. It's great, as is the moody, synth pop-tinged intergalactic breakbeat excellence of 'Serendipity' and the bustling, Faith Evans-sampling electro-breaks shuffle of 'Pastiche'. Elsewhere, 'Take It Easy' is a cyber-sonic nu-disco number and 'Night Drive' is a chugging, synth-heavy soundscape of the sort that Italians Do It Better used to release all the time.
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SM 074
30 Sep 24
Funky/Club House
30 Sep 24
Funky/Club House
Review: Sprechen's latest missive - a three-track affair entitled 'The Experience of Space' - brings together newcomer Bayu Putra and label founder Chris Massey. They set their stall out in colourful fashion via 'Hang The Love', where waves of kaleidoscopic synthesiser melodies and the dreamiest of pads provide a rush-inducing counterpoint to the Italo-influenced sequenced bassline and shuffling nu-disco drums. The pair ups the tempo on 'Anila Dancer', reaching for the lasers via cosmic electronics, snappy drum machine fills, twisted electronic bass and trippy noises - Manchester's Red Laser Records crew would no doubt approve - before closing things out with the hands-in-the-air Italo-disco-meets-piano-house rush of 'Future Departure'.
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SM 072
20 Aug 24
Funky/Club House
20 Aug 24
Funky/Club House
Review: Mallorca's Fran Deeper comes to Manchester label Sprechen with two hazy, summery jams that sit right on the deep house/nu-disco cusp. 'Bye Bonsai' is up first, opening with atmospheric synth chords and crisp hand percussion before introducing an insistent two-note synth bassline, flute-like sounds and finally a robotic "ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for the ultimate journey into sound, space and time" vocal... it's all quite mid-80s-sounding but no less danceable for that, while the accompanying 'Safari' starts out nice and dreamy on a straight-up deep house tip, then introduces a mantra-like spoken female vocal and some very fine stabs.
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SM 069
27 May 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
27 May 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
Played by: Chris Massey, PBR Streetgang, Flash Atkins, Chris Coco, Juno Recommends Disco, Rayko, Phat Phil Cooper, Super FU, Citizens Of Vice, FRAN DEEPER, Warriors of the Dystotheque
Review: Manchester lad Psychederek serves up a four-tracker for local label Sprechen that blurs the lines between nu-disco, indie-dance, Balearica, alt-pop and psychedelia. "ALT!" itself comes on like Love trying their hand at 80s synth-pop, "Nowhere To Nowhere" is an epic and expansive slab of cosmic disco that gets more and more acidic as it progresses, and "Hapi" is a delicate, dreamy affair with ethereal vox - and no beats at all for a full minute at the start. But taking the gold, to these ears, is a truly out-there rendering of 808 State classic "Pacific State" - proof that you just can't keep a good riff down!
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SMV 008
20 May 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
20 May 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
Various
Review: Sprechen are never afraid to explore electronic music's more leftfield, arty fringes, and you'll find plenty of such shenanigans on this new six-track V/A. Coyote kicks us off with the downtempo drifter 'Cami De Sa Veleta'. Things then get a little more cinematic on La Guardia De La Luz's 'Los Eiyani' before Mummy's Boy's 'Giddy Up' provides the EP's only real dancefloor moment. Popsneon then channel 80s Visage vibes on 'Caffeine Detox', MinimalArchiv's 'The Weak And The True' marries sweeping synths to glitchy beats, before it's back over to La Guardia De La Luz for the inevitable epic closer, 'Libertad'.
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EFD 6
22 Apr 24
Funky/Club House
22 Apr 24
Funky/Club House
Review: The Sprechen team have delivered a tasty selection of futuristic house-driven taste on this latest link up with Acolyte, unveiling three dancefloor ready bubblers with a tonne of original nostalgic influence woven throughout. First up, we take in the title track 'Helter Skelter', a steady, moog-driven chop through old school drum processing and euphoric pad textures, before the swirling synth patterns and distant vocal reverberations of 'Kill The Bill' sweep into play. Finally, 'Sirens' slows the pace down massively with a much calmer combination of moog-like bass notation and atmospheric texturing, rounding off this one with a dash of additional finesse.
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SM 066
11 Mar 24
Breakbeat
11 Mar 24
Breakbeat
Review: Having previously appeared on Sprechen's 'Edgy Future Discotheque' compilation, newcomer Ed Mahon has been given the opportunity to return to the label for a first full EP. He's embraced the opportunity, too, first delivering a moody Depeche Mode-meets-acid-and-dark-disco workout (the excellent 'Lights Go Down'), before wrapping echoing piano motifs and reverb-heavy spoken word snippets around a metronomic electronic disco groove on 'Don't Be Serious'. Arguably best of all though is closing cut 'Say You Care', a gorgeous, sunset-ready combination of Italian dream house piano riffs, bustling bongos and wide-eyed female vocal snippets. It has already received plays at Ibiza institution Café Mambo, so we can safely say that it's definitely Balearic.
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SM 065
15 Jan 24
Funky/Club House
15 Jan 24
Funky/Club House
Review: The Sprechen label's inaugural album release takes listeners on a captivating journey through the celestial realms of electronica and the vibrant, neon-lit streets of South Manchester. "Where Do I Belong?" marks the debut long player by The Thief Of Time, a new studio endeavour from Sprechen founder Chris Massey. Drawing inspiration from a life steeped in clubs, comic books, cult movies, and cosmic adventures, the album weaves a semi-autobiographical narrative through a tapestry of electronic artists and synth-heavy movie scores. Chris Massey's approach to the project is refreshingly unbound, allowing loose ideas to evolve into a collection of songs that pays homage to diverse sonic influences, featuring contributions from Manchester artists like A Certain Ratio, Bay Bryan, Psychederek and NIIX to Love Letters From Space and Allison Rae from Causeway.
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SMV 007
06 Dec 23
Experimental/Electronic
06 Dec 23
Experimental/Electronic
Review: ISO City is a new collaborative project from Sprechen main man Chris Massey and pal Elliot Lion, inspired by their joint love of Italo-disco, EBM, vintage synths and the soundtrack to sci-fi movie 'Tron'. On opener 'Light Cycles', those influences are expressed via bold, throbbing, pulsating, reverb-laden synthesizer lead lines, arpeggio-style sequenced bass, unfussy machine drums and star-fall melodies. On 'Master Control Programme', it's tactile synth-bass, fizzing electronic melodies, wide-eyed chords and more bubbly melodic motifs. The results are ear-catching, entertaining and enjoyable, suggesting that the ISO City project is only just getting going. More, please!
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SM 063
31 Oct 23
Funky/Club House
31 Oct 23
Funky/Club House
Review: A third outing here for Sprechen main man Chris Massey's The Thief Of Time project, which sees him exploring more downtempo and filmic musical pastures. As with previous releases 'Imposter Syndrome' and 'Pavement Soul' there's a guest vocalist on mic duties: in this case it's Allison Rae from Idaho dreamwave duo Causeway, so it's perhaps not surprising that 'Find Each Other' draws heavily on the more contemplative side of 80s synth-pop for inspiration. There's an accompanying Instrumental that might find its way into a wider range of leftfield/downtempo/Balearic sets, while a Radio Edit completes the package.
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SM 064
21 Sep 23
Disco/Nu-Disco
21 Sep 23
Disco/Nu-Disco
Various
Played by: FINGERMAN, Flash Atkins, Juno Recommends Funky House, Paper Recordings, Andy Buchan, Nutritious
Review: What would you expect to hear when you stepped on an "edgy future discotheque"? That's the concept behind one of Sprechen's most popular series of multi-artist EPs, which here reaches its fifth instalment. Rising star Andy Buchan delivers a study start via the grandiose piano house/nu-disco/electro fusion of 'Body Heat', before Flash Atkins lays down a gorgeous fusion of stretched-pit piano solos, lolloping house beats and classy synth-pop sonics on 'Mistpoffer' (a cut that Daco later re-imagines as a throbbing, Patrick Cowley inspired electro-disco throb-job). Elsewhere, Mangetout's 'Body Vibrations' is a lolloping disco-funk shuffler, Jimmy Turnbull's 'Still I Rise' is funky, tech-tinged deep house workout, Ed Mahon's 'Seismic Guitar' is a weirdo electro number par excellence, and Tom2Trax's 'Heatwave Horizon (Lunar Mix)' is a big room house treat.
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EFD 5
27 Jun 23
Funky/Club House
27 Jun 23
Funky/Club House
Played by: Flash Atkins, Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Paper Recordings, Andy Buchan, Chris Massey/The Thief Of Time
Review: What we have is the debut offering from a new project starring Sprechen boss Chris Massey. Atop a backdrop that's one-part Balearic to one-part early house to one-part Morricone-esque soundtrack vibes, guest singer-songwriter Bay Bryan lends his dulcet tones in the form of a heavily treated, pop-style chorus while Massey himself waxes poetic and philosophical in spoken word form. If the Pet Shop Boys ever made a comedown album, it might sound something like this... but if the vocals are a bit too much, you can still make good use of the accompanying instrumental.
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TOT 2
01 Jun 23
Funky/Club House
01 Jun 23
Funky/Club House
Review: Sprechen main man Chris Massey is Mancunian through and through, hence using the title of his new two-tracker to offer some light-hearted advice to his city's new generation of techno producers. Lead cut 'Inside My Head' does offer a few nods to mind-mangling German techno and tech-house productions of old, with echoing electronic riffs, wavey acid lines and angular motifs riding a tidy drum machine rhythm and Teutonic bassline. He joins forces with Dan Wainwright on the brilliantly titled 'Gnome Terrace', opting for a more outwardly Balearic, sun-soaked sound rich in warming bass, early Chicago house beats, attractive synth sounds and sparkling piano flourishes.
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SM 059
28 Feb 23
Funky/Club House
28 Feb 23
Funky/Club House
Review: French born, Manchester-based DJ and producer Lena C. loves digging and sharing sounds from all around the world on her Reform Radio show. Her latest release comes courtesy of local imprint Sprechen titled Promenade. "Shokran" is a blissed-out balearic instrumental that's perfect for road trips or watching sunsets alike, while the hypnotic yet subtle polyrhythms on the downbeat affair "Breeze" provide an equally impressive backdrop for summertime chilling, and finally the slo-mo deep chug disco of "Azur" closes it out in style.
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SMV 006
31 Jan 23
Balearic/Downtempo
31 Jan 23
Balearic/Downtempo
Various
Review: There's plenty of good quality cuts scattered across the latest edition of Sprechen's eclectic, multi-artist 'Edgy Future Discotheque', though perhaps a bit less edginess than the title suggests. That's not a criticism though, and the psychedelic, hallucinatory flex of Hunterbrau's 'Obelisk', a muscular neo Italo-disco throb-job smothered in tough TB-303 tweaks and paranoid chords, and TJ Lawton's frankly filthy, min-bending 'Erasure' certainly offers an interesting definition of future disco. Straight-up joy abounds elsewhere across the EP, from the nostalgic classic house-goes-nu-disco flex of Joe Roche's fittingly titled 'Joy' and the warming Balearic shuffle of Sun Sone's gorgeous 'Dolphin', to the funk-fuelled disco-house hedonism of S.N.U.S (the low-slung 'Work It Out') and Black Hawks of Panama's sparkling cover of Cherelle's '80s boogie classic 'Didn't Mean To Turn You On'.
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EFD 4
22 Nov 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
22 Nov 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
Sprechen X Double Deer & Kallula - "Coming Together" (feat James Yuill - original mix) - (5:31) 100 BPM
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SM 056
06 Sep 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
06 Sep 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
Review: Ivan Fabra, a 30-year veteran of the Spanish scene, comes to Manchester-based Sprechen with three tracks of chunky, synth-heavy house that pack elements of both prog and disco, and as such should have quite wide-ranging appeal. The EP opens with the drifty, spangly and strongly Italo-flavoured 'No One Knows', before along comes a huge, squelchin' 303 bassline to power along the far more housified 'Kosmische', a 5.5-minute chugger built for small-hours floors. Completing the EP is 'Little Pigments', which is in a similar stylistic vein to its predecessor, but a tad lighter on its feet.
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SM 055
05 Jul 22
Funky/Club House
05 Jul 22
Funky/Club House
Played by: Pete Herbert, Juno Recommends Funky House, Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Andy Downtown Science, Paper Recordings, Andy Buchan, Balearic Ultras, James Bright
Review: Balearic veteran James Bright - formerly one-half of Lux alongside Steve 'Afterlife' Miller - flexes his electronic muscles on this three-tracker for Sprechen. 'These Machines' itself kicks things off, fusing elements of Italo and vintage acid into an angular concoction that's sure to inspire the thowing of a few shapes out on the floor. 'Vibration' then takes us into proper Balearic territory, being a piano-sprinkled head-nodder powered along by a pleasingly chunky bassline, while 'Hot Metropolis' offers up a more contemplative, late-night variation on the overall synth-y theme. Forward-thinking stuff as ever from the Manchester label.
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SM 054
24 May 22
Funky/Club House
24 May 22
Funky/Club House
Played by: Chris Massey, Juno Recommends Disco, Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Super FU, Paper Recordings, Andy Buchan
Review: Based in Jakarta in Indonesia, where he works as a tattooist and graphic designer by day and DJs by night, Bayu Putra Pratama AKA Baypoet has just one previous release to his name that we know of, on the Metropolis label. Now he comes to Manchester's Sprechen with a two-tracker that blends house, disco, prog and Italo influences. It's probably the latter that gives 'Outer' most of its flavour - just check out those analogue synth throbs. It's the title cut that stands out for yours truly, though - mostly thanks to some old school hands-in-the-air pianos that render the mid-section a truly uplifting experience.
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SM 052
07 Mar 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
07 Mar 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
Various
Played by: Chris Massey, FINGERMAN, Flash Atkins, Juno Recommends Disco, Discolypso, Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Rayko, Martin Brodin, CHEWY RUBS, Super FU, Citizens Of Vice, FRAN DEEPER, NaCL, Paper Recordings, D.S.D., Andy Buchan
Review: No less a personage than dance music historian extraordinaire Bill Brewster is the man wearing the 'selecter' hat for this five-track V/A offering from Stretford-based Sprechen. Andy Buchan's 'Reasons' is a reworking of Ian Dury classic 'Reasons To Be Cheerful', Yum Yum Club's 'An Acid Love Feel Track' bites Donna Summer and Yootis's 'Preach' takes liberties with the Peech Boys' 'Don't Make Me Wait'; that suggests the other two cuts may also be re-edits, though if that's true we couldn't tell you what of! All the same, these are five reliable workouts that'll get contemporary disco floors shimmying for sure.
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EFD 3
18 Jan 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
18 Jan 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
Review: Chris Massey's label outta the UK has been going strong in 2021 with a string of releases that's taken in jams from Elliott Lion and classy Leeds act PBR StreetGang - alongside debuting the sounds Psychederek. Keeping it bouncing is JIGGYJIGGYJIGGY with The Gyration E.P. that introduces a fresh new name to the Sprechen label via four rave-tainted, techy, disco and classic house bangers. With slamming claps, rhodesy keys and deft "Who's Afraid Of Detroit" references killing it in "Hot At The Time", "Kong" keeps it deep yet warm with its bassline and pads - and with trippy vocals to boot - find some straight up soulful and warm house numbers in "I Can't Describe". With some gnarly electro thrown in the mix thanks to "Venezuela", it's an EP super reminiscent of an emerging Azari & III - Hungry For The Power!
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SM 051
16 Nov 21
Funky/Club House
16 Nov 21
Funky/Club House
Played by: Dj XS (FVUK), Chris Massey, MAN2.0, PBR Streetgang, Juno Recommends Disco, Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Dave Mathmos, CHEWY RUBS, JAMES ROD, Grant Williams | eclectics, D.S.D., Andy Buchan, Aleito
Review: An apt title here for an EP that comes from a Leeds-based duo on a label that's headquartered in Stretford. The EP packs two tracks in four mixes, and is very much the proverbial game of two halves: Bonar Bradbury and Tom Thorpe's two originals both draw heavily on Italo/cosmic disco for inspiration, the latter also having something of an epic, proggy kinda feel, but the accompanying remixes - Elle's Gotta Chase Paradise Reshape of 'GCP' and the Psychederek Remix of 'Condor' - have much more of an indie-ish edge, the former rocking an almost coldwave/goth-y vibe while the latter recalls assorted UK indie bands' late 80s electronic dabblings.
from $1.88
SMV 005
01 Nov 21
Disco/Nu-Disco
01 Nov 21
Disco/Nu-Disco
