We spent the last 10 prolific months growing our independent media platform and sharing with you the highlights of the underground music scene we’re all in. We’ve listened to what you’ve listened and you’ve listened to what we’ve recommended for you to listen to. Now, the time has come to take a look at what has mostly stuck in our heads throughout this year, let it be something we’ve mentioned already or is still something for you to discover in these last days of 2018. Albums, compilations, EP’s, reissues, go!

Nonetheless Nonetheless
Neubau

It has been a rich year for Neubau and it’s boss Florian Stöffelbauer. Having a few releases under his label’s belt this year, Nonetheless LP stood out of them the most. Formed of Florian Bocksrucker and Felix Bergleiter, Nonetheless brings us dystopian night themed tracks, both heavy and deep. Starting from acidic punches of the first track to a velvety sounding ending and thriller infused yet hypnotic last track “Thanksgiving”, this album easily takes a high position on our this year’s top releases.

Steve Pepe Danza Moderna
Hivern Discs

Flutes and synthesizers. Manuel Cascone aka Steve Pepe proves that some producers don’t need to be in the spotlight to work well their musical skills. Perfect for a more crooked dance floor or early hours of the next day in your favourite music festival.

A Strange Wedding Meta Romance
Worst Records

We have our eyes kept on the Worst Records label since their early start this year, especially since it is coming from another big name of our interest spectrum, Positive Education. Formed by a young French producer Adrien Van de Velde, Meta Romance has a somewhat raw energy in music we’ve been craving for this year. Filled with dark and mystical ceremonial sounds, the release brings us to hypnotic tribalism and crossed genres.

Kluentah Muskelbein
Public System Recordings

This one’s intense. Brutal even, I may say. That’s what fits to me and Myn’s Public System Recordings label. It’s an eccentric journey through the dark corners of the dance floor with some bombing in the process. Filled with partial analogue arpeggios and sludgy breaks, the record brings us to a perfect 4am rave in the club.

Tara In Tibet Spirit & Violence
Clan Destine Records

Not less violent than the previous, either. Produced by Alessio de Felice, who is also a part of She Lost Kontrol label, release falls in our interest spectrum with it’s dark, ritualistic melodics and raw, industrial punches throughout the tracks. Frankly, we are patiently looking for a live show next year.

Eva Geist Desfãn
Macadam Mambo

Macadam Mambo has been one of our favourite labels this year and soon you’ll figure out why. Desfãn was the first album we’ve reviewed on Calypso and your can read a full overview right here. It has been a perfectly balanced piece of this year for us personally, which is a very honest creation of Eva Geist, the producer behind. It’s a cinematic and marine themed collection of sounds, which proves she’s not a newcomer in the field.

Nixxon / Franz Scala Mechatronica White 2
Mechatronica

Berlin based collective Mechatronica dedicates this release to the sounds across synth wave, EBM, Italo and electro produced by Danish Nixxon and Italian psychedelic disco wizard Franz Scala. This EP falls in our tops due to it’s cosmic electro and colossal bassline and razor sharp synth notes in the last track.

E.R.P. Afterimage
Forgotten Future

Not your ordinary pick. Classic Detroit tinged, deep and dreamy electro, it’s one of my personal favourite releases of the year. What the music sparks into visual imagination, is a previously mentioned night theme, played in a car driven across brutalist constructions. Atmospheric, melodious, calming and intense just enough to keep on repeating the tracks. Listen.

Pasiphae Siphax
Artificial Dance

Another great release on Interstellar Funk’s Dutch label Artificial Dance. First solo EP by a Greek producer Pasiphae, it comes packed with a mutant funk and throbbing soundscapes of the opening track Tachyons. Murky and rather dark, the release is a relevant proof of a great talent in deep corners of Dutch electronics.

As Longitude That’s When Animals Turned Into Humans
Macadam Mambo

Poof! French label comes back just at the end of this year with one more great release. We’ve premiered the same titled track on our Calypso Sessions here and were dragged into psychedelic madness that brought us back to our primitive instincts, when we were still close to animals.

Boris Barksdale Eternal Remorse
Eye For An Eye Recordings

Fierce drums and rude vocals from the start by emerging Greek producer Kyriakos Boris Tsirkinidis aka Boris Barksdale. Militarist instructions can be heard in fierce vocal samples as well as industrial society’s march to oblivion. Eternal Remorse is an equivalent of an infinite aggressive and distorted vibrance, if you asked.

Betek Discipline
Rotterdam Electronix

’80s and early ’90s oriented four track EP is another Dutch release you could simply work out to or learn some discipline. Very acidic, filled with dark and deep euphoria, it causes us a rather great pleasure.

Mutant Beat Dance Mutant Beat Dance
Rush Hour

This release is my eyes the hugest compilation of 2018. Formed originally by Traxx and Beau Wanzer, Mutant Beat Dance has been working on this massive concept throughout the last decade in various forms for many well known music labels. After a rack full of releases, the duo developed this massive, 25 track album for Rush Hour. It is filled with huge diversity of tracks’ styles starting from obscure electronics to industrial soundscapes and is the exact reason why it’s worth checking out.

Kris Baha In Your Arms
She Lost Kontrol

Written, performed and recorded by Kris Baha, the EP states nothing except restless melancholy, sinister beats and dramatic twists. Having in mind that the release is no stranger for dark romanticism, nor for any other artistic expression, the full review of it can be read on Calypso over here. More thoughts of Kris’ towards modern electro industrial music production can be found, too.

S. M. Presents Various Danzas Electricas vol. II
Macadam Mambo

A fruitful and metallic compilation curated by Macadam Mambo’s label boss Sacha Mambo. Filled with related artists to the label, such as Wosto, Konsistent, Eva Geist, release invites new ones like Nixxon and Spacelex, Sauerstofff and Houschyard for industrial but never too dark electronics.

As mentioned previously and could be seen from this list, our 2018 was looking rather rich from the music perspective, and we’re happy to participate in it one way or another, let it be a review or a premiere on our sessions. We hope it was the same for you having discovered something new, as well – perhaps, even in this post. Now, let’s look forward to the next year, as we don’t even have the slightest doubt that it will be as good as this one.