I’m back from Nagoya and FUNERAL (I escaped into the countryside of Wakayama for a few days, too), and one of the biggest pieces of news of the last week are the changes with Carbon Based. DJ E-nrg has left the group, but the numbers are made up again by DJ Rx! For the scene to lose E-nrg is a real shame, but Rx’s collabs with CB have been very nice up to now and it’s safe to expect big things (such as Fleshfest, the tune made alongside Proteus). Rx will still be producing under his original name, but focusing there on breaks/drum and bass. Below is the statement from the boys themselves:

12th of March 2010, Lahti, Finland.

We are now ready to release possibly the biggest news in history of our band!

Ari Virtanen (DJ E-nrg) has left the group in standing friendship and we are more than proud to welcome our new member – Ville Sorsa, better known as DJ Rx.

Ville has also done a long career developing harder edge of Finnish electronic music and for the last ten years been like a fifth member of the crew. He is also a key member of our record company FINRG Recordings so decision wasn’t hard. We are sure that Ville will bring fresh ideas, whole lot of creativity and energy that keeps us going and believing in what we do from the bottom of our hearts. Ville’s first gig as a new member will be at Monday Bar Spring Break Cruise on 13th of March 2010.

We have a noteworthy tune in the production pipeline called “Fleshfest”. It’s been produced in co-operation with DJ Proteus and Mika Tauriainen from Finnish heavy metal band Entwine. We’ve planned doing a video out of it and the tune itself will be released during summer.

We are releasing “Carbon Based – Singles 2000 – 2010” double collection during spring. Collection will feature our most important releases during last decade as well as some unreleased material. Collection will be downloadable FOR FREE at http://www.finrg.com/downloads 

Something I missed out on covering while I was away is this upcoming CD release from the UK. Worldwide Freeform is 2 CDs of new tracks, with a very decent selection from some of the current Finnish crew. It’s fair to say that Astraia is the standout track here, but Enchanted Mind and Macropsia are also great tunes. Special congratulations to Aryx for the release of Chaldea – his production is really coming along well, and this one is very professional with some great touches.

Japanese freeform is obviously still a bit too far under the radar for this kind of release, but what’s here should appeal to a lot of different DJs/listeners. Check out the FINRG topic for the full tracklist and previews.

Sinews of Thy Heart (Finrg) Feat. Daztronik by ConfigSys PROJECT

I got back from Hong Kong last night, just the same moment as ConfigSys Project was arriving in Tokyo for their Japan tour. We’ll be heading to Nagoya on Saturday for the Funeral event – bit of a trek for the Tokyo crew, but it should be well worth it.

This is also a good time to mention the ConfigSys tunes on SoundCloud, for those who don’t know. As well as the older tracks released on FINRG, look out for some nice upcoming material like Sinews of Thy Heart and a remix of Project Ritual.

Android lime – Cape town set by Android Lime

Another very good mix for everyone to check out, this time from Android Lime’s recent gig in Cape Town. If you’re into your Hard NRG, this will be perfect, running through a lot of scene classics and Android’s own production. He’s building up a really impressive catalogue now – check out the brand new remix of Sunray, as well as Hannya X. Massive kudos to Android for pushing Japanese tunes too, this time he came up with a great mix from Perfect Drug into Teranoid and Betwixt & Between’s CG25, plus old faithful almegiddo. All in all, a great set – it must have done a fair bit of damage live.

01 – Intro – Android Lime
02 – V for Vengeance – DJ-X (Lab4)
03 – Requiem (heart of darkness remix) – DJ-X (Lab4)
04 – Robot Noize (DJ-X Lab4 rmx) – Android Lime
05 – Sex and Violence (bonkerz) – Android Lime
06 – Neo London – DJ-X (Lab4) & Killa Kouture
07 – Hellnight (Android Lime rmx) – Psycho Keaton
08 – Sunray (Android Lime rmx) – Alek Szahala
09 – Perfect Drug – Lab4
10 – CG25 – Teranoid vs Betwixt & Between
11 – Hellboy – Lab4
12 – Hannya X (Android Lime rmx) – Guld
13 – al megiddo – Thermalforce
14 – The Human Flesh Engine – Alek Szahala

Download here

Matt England – Promo Mix 2010 by FINRG Recordings 

Here’s a very welcome promo mix from Matt England, with an atmosphere that anyone on TYFTH should enjoy. After Psiosis, the set has a less dark feel, but after Alek Szahala’s Lumi it definitely gets going again. I was pleasantly surprised by Lost Soul’s Beyond Salvation, and the sequence following that is really very nice. Listen out too for Evol Intent’s Middle of the Night, a very nice selection followed by Shunt.

It’s highly recommended, and online now at the FINRG SoundCloud. Here’s the tracklist:

1. Matt England – Psiosis
2. Lost Soul – Love Can Destroy
3. Asa & S1 – Cured
4. Matt England – Underground
5. Alek Szahala – Lumi
6. Matt England – Consciousness
7. Lost Soul – Beyond Salvation
8. Alek Szahala – Maruuk
9. Matt England – Decelerate
10. The Qemists – Stompbox (Spor Remix)
11. Evol Intent – Middle of the Night
12. Ephexis – Shunt
13. Alek Szahala – From Flesh to Machines

Seems like a long time since I was at a THC, but the next one is this month. It’s a collab event with Twist (which I’m not too familiar with yet), and the lineup is pretty much perfect.

Lunch (TOKYO HARDCORE CONSTRUCTION/S.H.C.)
Inugami (NIGHTMARELAND/HARDCORE NITRO)
DJ WILD PARTY (赤線企画/PPP)
DJ Technetium vs. MC Tylant (Cis-Trance)
Kanon (Party Pill)
LALA (Love Scream Terror/Death Inferno Eternal)
Redd (Death Inferno Eternal)
Caress128 (HARDCORE NITRO)
A10 Device (HARDCORE NITRO)

VJ PASTA

Really looking forward to this one, and hopefully I’ll dig up some info on Twist and its members before long, too.

TYFTH has been in stasis for a couple of weeks, but we’re back in business now. I’ll try to catch up on a few of the things I’ve missed lately with posts today and tomorrow, because on Friday I’m running away to Hong Kong for a few days.

Just to get things going (and to get me used to writing again), here’s a quick Chill Out Corner.

First track is an anthem, make no mistake – LTJ Bukem’s Horizons. Just listening to it again now, and can’t believe how fresh it still sounds after 15 years.

Continue Reading

Matt England – Psiosis by FINRG Recordings

Along with new tracks from Substanced and Rob.O.T.T, there are two more releases from Matt England on FINRG. Psiosis in particular is a very nice track, with a strong Rx influence – just listen to the bassline and a few of the filtered synths – it’s great to hear someone so obviously going for a ‘Finnish style’ sound and getting this close. Even if the breakdown doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the track, it keeps the atmosphere going nicely, and thankfully stays well away from the typical UK sound.

The other track, Decelerate, is a bit more experimental, with guitar, more Rx style synth work and a breaks/dubstep section in the breakdown. With the right tracks surrounding it, I can imagine this one working really well in a club set, the structure is perfect for a live crowd.