flashback #2: Blueline Music

29-01-2026

2000

ESP vs Woody McBride - Jump in the Fire (BLU001)
A1 Jump in the Fire (ESP's original mix)
A2 Jump in the Fire (Humphries & Nuccle mix)
B0 Jump in the Fire (Paul Birken mix)

Although Woody McBride has produced an absolute ton of classic acid techno, this opening number feels like some sort of eurotrance jock jam cash-in, wjhich is dissapointing given the strengths he has shown both before and since this 12". They can't all be winners, I suppose. Humphries and Nuccle are in their own right an absolutely legendary duo who have produced as Area 51, Cold Dust, D.kontrol, D.O.M., Drone, and Tantra as well as Nuccle vs H. Their remix is certainly a quite tools-y but will be a lot more to the taste of more techno fans both behind the decks and on the dancefloor. Insistent, but something that suits use for transitions, fun with filtering, building/releasing tension, or just letting ride. Paul Birken's mix is the highlight of this single, though H&N's mix is only a few notches below it, in my estimation, even if the groove and energy in question in Paul Birken's mix cannot be topped here.

Dietrich Schoenemann - The Pusher (BLU002)
A1 Pusher
A2 Retroglare
B0 Talker

Like Woody McBride, Nuccles, and Humphries, Dietrich Schoenemann is a fairly busy and prolific producer of the third wave from New York City. In addition to DJing and producing, he runs a mastering house called Complete Mastering. The early 2000s was an era that saw the rise in certain approaches to techno increasing: largely the samplebased hardgroove on labels like Ingoma, the often stripped back artier minimal techhouse stylings of the likes of Perlon, and schranz on Energy Industries. Not to call Schoenemann conservative, but here he brings a good amount of energy and flow without doing any one of these, which is to his credit. The title track is very strong but the surprise secret weapon here is the one closing out. Yes, Retroglare isn't bad but it is the least interesting in some respects. Talker uses samples of speech and vocables in a way not dissimilar from how techno producers often use sampled percussion, hence its name, but in an interesting way, never lapsing into any exoticism which is so often a problem for some corners of the hardgroove and other sample based varieties of techno that gained so much traction in this decade--and some fun with drum programming even if the cut sometimes feels a bit toolsier than one might desire.

A² - Our Music Our World(BLU003)
A0 Our Music
B0 Our Music (Remix)

Angel Alanis has done a number of things, but most notably to readers of this site, he is part of that often overlooked cohort of producers from Chicago who produce both techno and house which is so hard and boxy it fits in with techno sets easily (like Robert Armani). In an early example of the former, he released a double 12" on DJ Hyperactive's far too shortlived Contact label. Here on Blueline, however, he provides us two mixes of a cut called Our Music (also known as Our Music Our World), a simply beautiful tune consisting of some sampled bongos (or are they congas?), drum machine hits, some subbass, all coming together with some subbass. Both sides kickass, so don't feel like you have to choose one. That said, I lean towards the B-side if only for the fact that it doesn't make extensive use of some vocoded speech... but that's just my tastes, and you are never expected to play any cut start to finish.

Andrei Morant - Logan Square (BLU004)
A1 Turn Down
A2 Thunder Wookie
B1 Track None
B2 Pain Drain

Despite its name, Turn Down is neither a track to reject, reduce the volume of, nor bring the tempo/energy down with, though you could certainly use it for the last of these. What it may feel lacking in melodic content, it more than makes up for in its extreme boxy goodness. Andrei Morant is a heavyweight of the second wave, starting as early as 1993 co-producing with Boston, MA, USA's Chris Anderson as Phreak on Labworks Germany. Thunder Wookie is definitely the slower number...and almost reaches those halftime tempos of early UK dubstep, so like... 70 bpm but mix it with 140? Some fun sound design here. Can easily imagine it mixed into either side of one of my favourite early releases of Peter "Loefah" Livingston's on Digital Mystikz from five years later, Root [b/w] The Goat Stare (dmz:006). The dub vibes of Morant's offering here persist a little further with the opening number on the flipside, Track None. Though despite it's dubby action on the kick, the rides and bongo or conga groove is so so tasty and pretty fucking chugging for something that started out making you think it would plod. Pain Drain has a very steady pace and motion to it, though it is by no means your typical four-to-the-floor nor electro twostep rhythm, another one for some cool mixing to be done, to be sure. It almost feels like Turn Down turned inside out. I can't choose a single favourite, though Thunder Wookie may be the hardest to make use of.

Tim Xavier - Six Corners (BLU006)
A1 Intake
A2 My Damaged Brain
B1 Construction
B2 Liar's Story

Another do-it-all'er, Tim Xavier is a DJ, producer, recording engineer, and masterer. Intake is very tools-y but nonetheless shines brightly. My Damaged Brain's melodic content is sparse but effective and one of the EP's highlights. Construction is another example of a high energy, syncopated chugger, that has some really fun things happening with the drum programming that obfuscate some of the insistence of the kick, in both rhythm and sound. But then comes the closer,"Liar's Story. Oof! Again, not purely hardgroove, nor schranz but still, some sampling, very insistent, very hard, but not exactly confrontational as the title might suggest. "Threaten me with a good time", you might say.

2001

Frankie Bones - Filthy Dirty Animal Crackers(BLU005)
A1 Workin'
A2 I Can't Control It
B1 Blast Off
B2 Animal Cracker

Starting things off in a manner which is far from unexpected nor unenjoyable is Frankie Bones delivering the disco-sampling (?) variety of hard-as-nails techhouse one would expect from this guy. I Can't Control It feels more old school and mixes some orgasmic female moaning and a disco-y Kraftwerkian line and some electro blips, and it's not bad, but certainly not one of Frankie's best moments. The looped vocal saying "That's right, I can't control it" evokes that used in other classics like Josh Wink's How's the Party So Far? (which also features Lil' Louis), the laughter in his Don't Laugh, Daniel Bell's Losing Control, with it's filter sweeping, but the strength of this particular number is the drum programming, for my own tastes. Blast Off is another looped vocal sample based number, with a little disco-y string synth stab...

Nigel Richards - Lip Dancing (BLU007)
A1 Dark Hole
A2 Iron Man
B0 Dark Hole (Angel Alanis Re-Work)

Nigel Richards is the founder of Philadelphia's Sixeleven Records. Dark Hole is a groovy track which could work in either a house or techno set, Angel Alanis' rework is some molten acid which isn't always recognizable as the same piece. Iron Man is a slowburner but not bad at all.

Andrei Morant - Bots (Male) (BLU008)
A1 Jumper Bot
A2 Knack Bot
B1 Turn Bot
B2 Cropped Bot

Jumper Bot is definitely jumping. Morant doing his thing. Knack Bot is not bad but maybe the least exciting of the four. Croped Bot seems to be an alternate mix of Knack Bot, though one I prefer? Turn Bot is the most distinctive thing here and while a bit stop-start, it has the most flavour of its own.

Andre Morant - Bots (Female) (BLU009)
A1 Feed Shuffler Bot
A2 Bounce Bot
B1 Breast Stroke Bot
B2 Round Bot

Opening number is definitely good one for getting those feet shuffling, though not exactly the type of looped vocal I'm suuuuper keen on. Bounce Bot is choppy but grooooooving, it and its successor are the highlights of the two part Bots series. Breast Stroke Bot is just classic hardhitting techno with one of those almost-no-melody-in-a-good-way type hooks. Round Bot has a certain amount of vocal sampling but much more minimal and less distracting, and easier to dance to and to mix, I'd think.

Dietrich Schoenemann - Pusher 2 (BLU010)
A1 Deep in the Sound
A2 Push Push
B1 Down in It
B2 Push Push (Dirty Mix)

Deep in the Sound has a good energy and would be useful for bringing things up or down in energy for a mix, though I don't love its use of vocals. Push Push revisits The Pusher, does some new stuff with it, including an unintelligible vocal loop. Not my favourite Schoenemann but does its thing pretty well. Decent amount of space and variety, so good for mixing, too. Down in It is more fun for me. Some playful stabs, a B-melody, a C-melody (without even lapsing into proghouse excess) and a general feeling of whimsy which is so often missing from the harder end of techno either then or now, a quarter century later. Maybe one to mix with rather than let ride, but still, a joyful cut to look out for.

Mark EG & Chrissi - Mad Music Engagement (BLU011)
A1 Sex on the 95th Floor [5:20]
A2 Unfinished Steak (Kneel and Beg) [5:07]
B1 The Dirty Deed [4:53]
B2 Chicago 303 (Freak of Nature) [5:37]

Mark E. "Mark EG" Grattan and Christine "Chrissi" Bartholomew are a duo who have released a good amount of harder edged techno under a few aliases together, this being the most plainly named. Others include Mystic Djz, the one-off Stark, Blackout Audio (also the name of a label they run together focusing on the funkier side of the harder side of techno, which I'll write more about), and The Anxious. Together with Chris Knowles (aka Chris Liberator) they have released music as Where? What? When? and The Fuzz. And here on Blueline, Mark and Chrissi mostly give us some more of what they do so well, some harder techno which occasionally dips into acid. The fourth cut isn't weak but it's not quite their forte like the other three are, I suppose.

Glenn Wilson - Bubble World (BLU012)
A1 Surveillance
A2 Response Time
B0 Pace

Glenn Wilson is one of the busiest Swedes from the second wave of techno, releasing since 1992 and founder of no less than Planet Rhythm Records. Response Time is maybe my favourite. The way the melodic content of the sampled percussion is used, the tasteful filtersweeps which never last too long, the just-enough melody... the interplay of the samples and the drum machine programming... Wilson is a techno genius of the first order and this track (and EP) showcase this beautifully. Surveillance is some niiiice hard hitting techno. Next to no melodic content, but far from austere. Pretty constant level of energy, could be mixed in with almost anything at any time. Useful but also fun to let ride. Pace is a claustrophobic but groooooving number with some synth work matching some of the sampled percussion, something one doesn't always encounter in hardgroove.

Tim Xavier - Night and Day (Day) (BLU013)
A1 Level One
A2 Re-Animator
B1 Primula
B2 Side Car

Level One... More lovely interplay of sampled and programmed percussion here. A lovely slightly splashy thing happening here with some of the sounds, but not in the way that it evokes the cliche use of "aquatic", i.e. filterdub this ain't. I'm presuming Re-Animator samples the cult film of the name... now this isn't filterdub either but it definitely has some of the intersection of "aquatic" and "robotic" that much techno exemplifies (I'm not talking about Drexciya when I use this language, and in fact, despite their thematic content, I don't find them to engage in that type of sound). Very nice sound design in the drums at times here, too. Some unbelievably subtle use of rides like you would not believe, as a gentle whirr in the background here. Primula packs a good amount of energy and I could imagine it mixing into the likes of Percolator by Cajmere. Ooooof, Side Car is insistent in an interesting way.

Tim Xavier - Night and Day (Night)(BLU014)
A1 Wet Dream
A2 Harpoon Track
B1 Pressure Point
B2 Twist Drill

Wet Dream is a real treat... reminds me of some of my favourites of Tim's labelmate Andrei Morant and feels like the type of track you could use to introduce someone only into 90s Detroit techno to get them moving towards accepting hardgroove and more recent developments in techno. Harpoon Track is hellllla loopy and doesn't change toooooo much over its runtime but this is a good one to let roll, or use to bring the energy up, down, or drop in almost anytime in your set. Walruses better watch out, because they will get speared. Pressure Point, like Wet Dream could help bridge the gap between hardgroove and older techno styles. Twist Drill will leave your head spinning and begging for more. Whoooooo-eeeeeeeee.

DJ ESP - Feel Like Makin' Love (BLU015)
A0 Feel Like Makin' Love
B1 Feel Like Makin' Love (Instrumental)
B2 Feel Like Makin' Love (DJ Apollo Remix)

Woody doing what he excels at. Some minimal but excellently hard hitting acid that doesn't feel corny or underproduced. DJ Apollo's mix adds some cool funky weirdness and is the standout but the original mix is still nice, feels somewhat similar to Joey Beltram's Forklift but smoother and with a title that will bring you back to the days of disco.

Headroom - Headroom (BLU016)
A1 HR Track One
A2 HR Track Two
B1 Track One (Andrei's Touch)
B2 HR Track Three

Three Swedes: Henrik Larsson, Patrik Skoog, and Niklas Ehrlin. They have also produced an EP as 4th Way for SuperBra called By the Pool, an EP for Glenn Wilson's Template, and as su:real for their imprint of the same name. And have since made names for themselves, not that they were exactly unknown in 2001. Here, they are influenced by both the likes of Vancouver, BC, Canada's Skinny Puppy as well as Detroit techno. The opening number is certainly very insistent, and surprisingly more than serviceable for how much more exciting the synth part could be. But the hats are so delightfully crisp and metallic with their sound design that all is forgiven. The next track uses a type of vocal sample loop I normally don't like but nonetheless goes hard in a really fun way. This one, I like more. Then, the B-side starts with Andrei Morant remixing the first cut of the A-side. Some lovely touches added by Mr. Morant indeed, though I miss the sound design of the hats found in the original. So, hard to choose a favourite of those two, though the synth here is more fun. The closing number is not totally dissimilar to the sort of techtrance one might expect from the earliest days of Planet Rhythm Records.

2002

DJ Slip - Beat the Clock (BLU017)
A1 Beat the Clock
A2 Kanz Electro
B0 Beat the Clock (Tim Xavier Remix)

DJ Slip is another purveyor of Chicago techno and has often put out some of that hard-enough-to-work-in-a-techno-set variety house. Beat the Clock is cool but could pack a bit more oomph. Kanz Electro is a really cool piece which could go a little harder but is still very cool and different, likewise. Tim Xavier's remix of the first track has the momentum the others are missing, but really the whole EP is worth mixing into your set, just not consecutively. I don't mean to shit on DJ Slip, he's put out a ton of great things, most celebrated of which being his offerings on Relief Records, some classic "gray area" (not all music intermediate to house and techno alike is "techhouse").

Andrei Morant - Out of My Head (BLU018)
A1 Lil' Whore
A2 Dropped Toe
B1 That Speaker
B2 Terrible Tactics

Oof. Groo-hoo-hoo-veeeee. Tracky as hell, almost nothing happening, but tell me you don't feel like dancing when Lil' Whore is spinning. Dropped Toe has some lovely interplay between claps, hats, delay, single note riffs, and an insistent push and pull, just bouncing off each other. I want to like That Speaker more than I do... it's not really bad, I just wish the downpitched vocal was a synth hit, that's all. Terrible Tactics is a nice track and I guess I might like it more than the song immediately before it. All in all, this EP showcases much of what I like about Morant's production style(s).

Frankie Vega - Founder Pounder (BLU019)
A0 Found Pound
B0 Found Pount (Dietrich Schoenemann Remix)

Okay, Frankie Vega is a pretty big name and this song isn't bad, but despite the occasional sampled vocal... I'm not sure how classic this particular pounder is, even if it is one that would be sure to get the dancefloor pumping. The remix is... wavier and a fun alternate, but this 12" is not one of my favourite things on this label so far.

Glenn Wilson - Violations (BLU020)
A1 Arrest
A2 Drunk Lock
A3 J Walker
B1 Tepper
B2 50 000 Volts Lock
B3 The Dock

Arrest will not stop you in your tracks but easily feels more of a tool than a track on its own. Drunk Lock is good to sample but won't find a ton of use on the dancefloor necessarily, certianly not on its own. J Walker is a lovely, montonous riff and more hardgrooving hardgroove, but with shorter sample use than someone like Ben Sims might use. Tepper changes things up here and there and can be useful though again, it's more of a tool. The toolsiest are the locked grooves which are indicated as such with the word "lock" in their titles but...

2003

DJ ESP & Woody McBride - Faceless (BLU021)
A0 Faceless Acid
B1 Faceless Club Music
B2 Faceless Techno

None of these is awful, but none would necessarily be something I'd choose personally. Woody has given us so much great music before and after this, it's okay if this one track isn't quite up to snuff.

Dylan Drazen & Tim Xavier - Heavy Flow (BLU022)
A0 Heavy Flow
B0 The Benz

Heavy Flow does some fun things with the way the synths and drum hits come together as well as the difference between the drippy sounds and the atmospheric pads. The Benz does much the same thing but might even flow more heavily than Heavy Flow.

2004

Glenn Wilson - Bubble World 2.0 (BLU023)
A1 Surveillance
A2 Response Time
B1 Pace (Original)
B2 Pace (Side Three Remix)

The new tune here is the remix of Pace. It's certainly a somewhat different feeling from the original. But whether it's better is not clear to me. Sorry, Glenn.

Ian Lehman - New Industrial Formats (BLU024)
A1 Conceptual Model for Communication
A2 Conceptual Model for Native Ceremonies
B1 Conceptual Model for Space Travel
B2 Conceptual Model for Oceanic Exploration

So here are some "conceptual models", courtesy of Ian Lehman, who cofounded two labels with Dustin Zahn: Abiotic Recordings and Enemy Records. Communication is a chugging electro-tinged cut. I am unsure what to make of the second title, not presuming to know Ian Lehman's ethnic background. This one has some nicely matched percussion, synth, drums both sampled and programmed. Space Travel seems to aim for a somewhat more cinematic feel to it and Oceanic Exploration the most brooding of the four mixes. Nothing here is remotely bad, but neither is it one of the most distinctive releases this great label has put out.

Andreas Kremer - American Blackout (BLU025)
A1 American Blackout
A2 Hamock
A3 Mind Trap Samples
B1 Mind Trap
B2 Sweatbox Remix

American Blackout is some chuggy hardgrooving hardgroove and well put together, but not one of the best things on Blueline and not one of Kremer's best necessarily. But it will be nonetheless more than usable. Hamock feels like it tells more of a story and exhibits more creativity, here and there. Mind Trap is based on a sample of something or rather, perhaps some disco, has a little bit of female moaning, could be more exciting, but is still more interesting than some of the hardgroove out there at its best moments. Mind Trap Samples breaks it down into its constituent parts and an invitation to remix the track, which is more than many producers offer, so kudos are due there.

Primal - Primal Tracks 1.0 (BLU026)
A0 Downward
B1 Troubleshooting
B2 Ground Control

Is Downward named for Regis and Female's "Downwards" stalwart label of Birmingham techno? It certainly seems plausible. Sometimes a lack of originality can be made up for by a wellcrafted track anyone would be happy to have in their set. The first and last tracks here are my favourites.

2005

Headroom - Wizards of Ohm (BLU027)
A1 Trackside Hoax [5:42]
A2 Base [5:11]
B0 Timeride [4:31]

Trackside Hoax is some lovely toolsy Swedish hardgroove, and a little fakeout (hence the title) for a measure around 4:35. Base groooooves with some nice FM bass and even has a little unexpected Hoover now and again, a decidedly retro flavour for 2005. Timeride is a lot of fun. A nice just peeeerfectly jittery energy to it, with a litttle Detroit-y ness to it. "Free your mind, take your time" indeed.

2006

Gunjack - 110th Street (BLU028)
A1 110th Street
A2 The Black Hand
B1 Spit Fire
B2 Spit Fire (Bots Remix)

Brian Gibbs... no, not the guy from the Bee Gees, but nonetheless someone responsible for some dancefloor heaters. 110th Street is absolutely a solid chunk of jacking techno. Could bring up energy in your mix but also rides pretty nicely, too. The Black Hand is named after the predecessor of La Cosa Nostra and is some funky electro-tinged tastiness. Spit Fire isn't necessarily the scorcher the name would have you believe. It depends on your PA. It is certainly more than a vibe and a half and would work nicely twenty years later as I write this. Its remix by Avex Axiom and Frankie Vega might make it easier to throw in a mix, but undoes a lot of the delightfully sinister atmosphere Gibbs crafted his original piece with.

2008

Frankie Vega - Pressure Point (BLU030)
A0 Pressure Point
B0 Pressure Point (Angel Alanis Remix)

Frankie Vega's original is cool but takes quite awhile for only a little melodic stuff to come in...maybe there's some subbass I can't hear on my headphones at home. Angel Alanis' remix is strange and changes the vibe.

Frankie Vega - Video Bounce EP(BLU031)
A1 Video Bounce
A2 Video Bounce (Jason Patrick's Detroit Remix)
B1 Video Bounce (Drumcell's Droid Behavior Rework)
B2 Video Bounce (Woody McBride's Shminimal Acid Reflex)

The original feels like a fun, slightly silly, but trippy at times electro-y, tune which is both mellow yet quite jacking. Jason Patrick's remix is fun and adds some strange but cool flavour to it. Drumcell does similarly but with less menace to it and keeps more of the whimsy of Vega's original...not a fan of the vocal snippet though. Woody McBride's remix will be the easiest to use in any given set, though.

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