Umwelt, Blotnik Brothers, Bytecon

Satamile is the self-proclaimed ‘longest running electro music label in NYC, devoted to pushing electro into the future’. On their roster are better known acts like Lowfish, Decal and Umwelt, but also various new names. The label is devoted to electro in various manifestations, but usually (and luckily) not of the slick superficial type.

Umwelt – Post Humain EP
12″, 4 tracks, 2005 [SAT028]
Umwelt is the project of an experienced French producer, who earlier got good reviews for his EP on Kommando 6. The four long tracks on ‘Post Humain are also worthwhile. They have a dark mood and a varied style, where some breakbeats as well as soundscapish elements are thrown into the analogue electro mix. A track like ‘P.O.W.’ is very dense and uptempo, with a nervous sound, while the excellent ‘Zeta Retuli incident’ is much more atmospheric and melodic, my favourite piece of the record.
Recently the full Umwelt album “Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation” was also released on Satamile.

Blotnik Brothers – Museful Revolution EP
12″, 4 tracks, 2004 [SAT023]
No Frenchmen or Belgians, but three guys from Sweden form the Blotnik Brothers. Their electro tracks sound quite clean and spacious, with some elements from classic synth pop and EBM. Kraftwerk and Telex are not far away in the mechanical ‘Le Monde’, a piece which I enjoy a lot. But there are also harder, percussive pieces on the record like ‘Electro Manifesto’ which will move your body for sure. Recommended for fans of robotic electro.

Bytecon – R.A.T. EP
12″, 4 tracks, 2004 [SAT024]
Bytecon is the project of Opbrouck Stijn from Belgium. This is his second release for Satamile, after a 12″ called ‘T-Wrex’. He displays a dark futuristic sound with tasty deep basses, sleazy synth patterns, dynamic rhythms and robotic voices. The record sounds energetic and uptempo, but perhaps too adventurous to be a real dancefloor blast. In general it has a cool dark style (except for the hiphop-metal fusion on ‘Land of the dark), though not all tracks can hold my attention until the end. Best piece for me is ‘Road to the madness’.

artist: Umwelt
label: Satamile Records
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