Folding Spaces – ‘Folding Spaces EP III’

Niche techno label Folding Spaces are pleased to announce their third EP, ‘Folding Spaces III’, curated by pioneering electronic download store Digital Tunes, is out now.

Home to a multinational array of artists, including Black Tide and Photonz, this EP continues the label’s penchant for championing underground house and techno talent.

First on the bill is Portuguese DJ/producer PeteBlas, real name Pedro dos Reis, whose influences range from the Detroit and German dub techno arenas to Lisbon’s underground scene, where he has been DJing regularly since 2004. With a sound that ranges from abstract to warm and melodic, here Pedro offers one of his first experiments with analogue equipment, building up from a stripped-down machine funk pattern to reach ecstatic, almost psychedelic, bursts of sound with a palpably spontaneous sense of improvisation.

Next up is Roundhouse Kick, the moniker of Adriana Lourinho and Igor Inácio, whose material appeared on ‘Folding Spaces I’ as Lost In Space. A couple from the Algarve with a fixation on experimenting with hardware synths and drum-machines, their 2012 debut release ‘Arm1X’ earned acclaim from the likes of Jackmaster and Daniel Avery, while their remix for Bo’tox, on Cosmo Vitelli’s I’m A Cliché label, was surely one of last year’s most underrated techno moments. RHK’s first contribution for the Folding Spaces series is a lush and spacious late-night tripper, combining acidic synths, hypnotic time signatures and meditative pads over raw, driving percussion.

Also featuring on the release is Osti M, aka Max Wilde – founder and resident DJ of London/Norwich club night 808 – whose track ‘Workout’ is exemplary of his raw yet soulful machine jams, capturing the energy of a moment that is bigger than the sum of its parts: sparse, yet alive and flowing. He’s followed by Mharia, the semi-secret alias of one of last year’s most celebrated new artists of inventive techno. Usually known for his atmospheric and sonically overdriven romanticisations of the early days of Rave culture, here he takes things to Detroit-style electro in great form.

The two final contributions come from Parisian DJ/producer Voiron, whose sound sits somewhere between early Warp releases and the stark machine funk of Aphex Twin’s Rephlex imprint. His trademark sound is both basic, characterised by raw, hardware synths and drum-machines, and musically complex, with baroque melody lines and dextrous compositional details. ‘Itinéris’ is a great example of ethereal electronic funk, and is reworked by compelling performer Legowelt, aka Danny Wolfers, whose unique style lies in an unfaltering devotion to hardware and veers from dense techno to whizzing electro, deep electronic and sounds for which there isn’t even a name yet.

With artwork again created by skilled artist and techno performer João Ervedosa, ‘Folding Spaces III’ continues to follow in the forward-thinking footsteps of the music already available on Digital Tunes, and reinforces the label’s commitment to heralding both rising and established talents from across the niche electronic circuit.