Cute Heels is the project of Victor Lenis, a contemporary electronic artist living in Berlin, Germany. He grew up in Bogotá, Columbia during the 1990s, surrounded by the radial punk scene. Over the years, Victor’s passion and fascination for synthesizers and drum machines to produce and compose resulted in his debut album “Spiritual” for Dark Entries in 2014 as well as the “Third Skin” EP in 2016. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses, Drexciya and Black Devil Disco Club, Cute Heels connects the dots between Detroit techno, early Chicago house and Belgium electronic body music.
“State of Mind” is a 4-track EP featuring the vocal talents of Berlin artist Aga Wilk aka Romance Disaster on the the title track. On the A-side are two fresh compositions recorded in New York and Bogota between 2016 and 2017. Victor says, “State of Mind refers to the subconscious as dominated by real facts, natural, unnatural, metaphysical or virtual and dynamism of the body as physical shield.” The track is a slow building foray into techno, elegantly suited for intangible moments. “Golden Tears” kicks off with Cute Heels’ signature metallic EBM funk played with punchy, percussive analog synths. On the flip we present two banging club remixes. The first is from LA-4A, techno DJ and producer Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent, who adds a strong kick drum and lacerating hi-hats that build up to a mind melting breakdown with a full on acid squelch attack. The second remix comes from Noncompliant, Midwest US-based producer Lisa Smith aka DJ Shiva, who creates a raw, thumping exercise though off-kilter mechanics and punishing percussion. All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley.
12″ EP / Digital Album
“Magnetic Moves” is Villa Åbo’s debut album, originally released in an limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016.
Villa Åbo in the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the better part of 30 years as the artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra. Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12″ in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12” singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg.
Clocking in at over 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 ragged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Some songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-sharp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fueled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley.
2 x LP / Digital Album
Dark Entries is honored to release a 4-track EP by Red Axes, the prolific production duo of Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi from Tel Aviv. The pair were raised on a diet of post-punk, new-wave, and Italo-disco at fogged out warehouse and basement parties. Their own productions and remixes have appeared on labels such as I’m a Cliché, Correspondant, and Hivern Discs. ‘Nyx Tape’ features two new compositions backed with two edits from our catalog.
First up is the slick electro anthem “5 Min” another collaboration with French-Canadian born singer Chloé Raunet aka C.A.R. Followed by “Nyx Tape” featuring charismatic singer-lyricist Gina Kikoine aka Gina X, who reached out after hearing their remix of her classic single “No GDM” that was a huge anthem on the Tel Aviv 80s underground scene. The track is an ecstatic dance to the rhythm in the darkness with Gina’s ice cold Teutonic spoken word taking creative inspiration from the Jewish Mourners’ Prayer – The Kaddish.
On the B-side “Destination Moon” by Solid Space from 1982 has been given a dancefloor makeover with moody synths and a haunting guitar line reminiscent of an Adrian Sherwood dub. Closing this EP is a hypnotic edit of “La Machine á Rêver” by French bedroom synth freaks X-Ray Pop from 1984 slowed down to a 4/4 groove that takes the original to outer space and back. All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley.
12″ EP / Digital Album
We are honored to announce the latest album from Michel Amato aka The Hacker, ‘Le Théâtre des Opérations’. Michel began making music in 1989 a the age of 17 in Grenoble, France. He grew up listening to New Wave bands like Duran Duran, The Cure and Depeche Mode as well as the darker side of electro Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire and D.A.F. In 1990s he released a series of 12” singles and an album of cold, calculating and relentless techno. In 1997 he teamed up with Caroline Herve aka Miss Kittin and to release landmark singles and albums that effortlessly channeled the carefree spirit of 80s electro pop (of which we released an EP of lost demos back in 2015). Michel’s new live project sees the enigmatic artist go back to his roots, performing a 100% analogue set directly inspired by his first true loves of New Wave and dark, powerful techno.
‘Le Théâtre des Opérations’ features 8 new tracks spread evenly across 2×12”s cut at 45rpm for maximum sound quality and DJ utility. The title comes from a metaphysical journal by French-born Canadian science fiction writer Maurice G Dantec. Passionate about avant-garde techno, The Hacker has taken his influences and crafted a potent homage to the power of the synthesizer. Songs veer from gritty, raw EBM to dark, subterranean electro, effortlessly channeling the strains of the Michel’s musical DNA: Front 242, Jeff Mills, Dopplereffekt, Drexciya. The only vocal track features an appearance by longtime friend and collaborator Miss Kittin, named “Time X” after the French science fiction television series Temps X. All songs have been mastered and lacquer cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Cover artwork features a collage by London-based artist Anthony Gerace, and each copy includes a postcard featuring a photo of a young Michel from 1989.
2 x LP / Digital Album
Group Rhoda is the solo electronic music project of Mara Barenbaum, based out of Oakland, California. The project started around 2009 with a debut album ‘Out of Time, Out of Touch’ in 2012 on Night School Records and ‘12th House’ in 2013 on Not Not Fun. She is also one half of Max and Mara who released the album ‘Less Ness’ in 2013 on Dark Entries Records. She is committed to live performance, situated within the analog synthesizer and drum machine medium.
‘Wilderless’ is Group Rhoda’s third full length and first for Dark Entries Records. Each of the these 7 songs draw forth tones of tropical darkwave and soft industrial; while negating the sound of conformity and control. The album explore themes of societal and spiritual displacement, contemporary serfdom, the depths of empathy, regeneration through destruction, and the tyranny of claiming recognition and power. Lyrics are poetically expressed through allegory and explore archetypes rooted more in abstract observation rather than hard line experience. Through transgression and imagination, Group Rhoda explores the arc of songwriting interwoven into stark electronic environments; and creates a bridge between the corporeal and the dream worlds.
LP / Digital Album
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