Pseudonym – Whitehall EP / Darken remixed

Ronan Scullion aka Pseudonym is one of the freshest sounds to come out of Belfast in many years. Inspired by home boys Phil Kiernan, David Holmes, Alan Simms and Timmy Stewart to name a few, Ronan follows in the footsteps of some techno giants.

Pseudonym is a very Detroit influenced sound but the UK and Irish scenes but also you will find hints of ambient, dubstep and minimal. This is the sound if Belfast, the original home of Nice & Nasty. Pseudonym is also quite Sheffield sounding too. It’s techno, pure and simple.

This promo is a full frontal of Pseudonym in all his glory. Tracks 1-3 (Alpha, Bedroom Voice and Disguise) make up the forthcoming Whitehall EP whilst tracks 4 -8 are Darken and remixes by Dave-G, DJ Mourad,Nachklangmusik and Javier Orduna which adds a wonderful European flavour to the Irish sound as French, Swedish, German and Spanish techno producers add their own distinct influences. What it is 100% is Nice & Nasty.

Whitehall EP is a splendid debut from Pseudonum and features three wonderfully crafted techno tracks.Darken is a deep, dark groove that gets some fun remix treatment by Nice & Nasty’s international family.

Nice & Nasty is 20 years old ine 2013 and continues to be a techno veteran and purveyor of nothing but bespoke techno soul. Ronan may not have the history that Orlando Voorn, Marco Bernardi or Terrence Dixon has but he belongs to call these guys, these pioneers, these techno veterans as his peers as his music, that you can hear and judge belongs alongside. Ronan may represent the future sound of Ireland but alongside Derek Carr, Box Cutter, T-Polar and Phil Keiran he is ensuring that Irish techno is top drawer and equal if not peerless.

Anyway, judge for yourself, that’s why we have sent this to you. We hope you like it, we hope you enjoy, chart, play loud and play often. If you’d like us to come and do it for you and help celebrate this release, other releases and our 20 years in techno making then get in touch. If you are writing about this and need more info please contact desy balmer.

Harem Tone – “The First Step EP” (ToneKontrol Recordings)

“The First Step EP”

Harem Tone

ToneKontrol Recordings – TNKT001

Release Date: 17 Jan 2013

ToneKontrol Recordings is a brand new label owned and run by Jay Riordan. After having a successful year in 2012 with his Harem Tone project with releases and remixes on labels such as Baroque, Remedy, Nice & Nasty, DXR and Circle Music Germany, Jay decided to take it one step further with his own label and speed up the process of getting music from the studio to the dance floor.

The label will focus on quality house and techno and various permutations of both genres and sometimes delving into the darker and more ambient side of electronic music. We are looking forward to this journey and hope you can join us along the way. Starting us off is Harem Tone – “The First Step EP” featuring three tracks which give a good example of what Harem Tone is about.

“First Step” is a nice little number with a funky bassline, accompanied by crisp kicks and snares and swinging percs. It’s perfect for getting the feet moving.

“That Feeling” has a deep minimal techno setting with heavy kicks and crisp percussion, with emotional spaced out synths and ethnic chants, all together give you that feeling!

“Elementar Teilchen” (German for “elementary particle”) named by sometimes production collaborator NachKlangMusik. The track has a deep uplifting vibe, cool building chords and nice percussion layered with spacey verging on disco style synths. Perfect for a set opener.

Nachklangmusik – Small Steps

Tim Treubrodt aka Nachklangmusik states that, “Great things started with small steps. A walk on the moon or the jump from the stratosphere to earth are the results of technical evolution and cooperating humanity. We were all born by the Dust of Stars” and similarly Nachklangmusik‘s latest endeavour on Nice & Nasty is a fusion of technology, evolution and human collaboration. Collaboration for Innovation in small steps, one after each other only in this case each step is a sonic journey created by Tim and recreated by a plethora of music makers from around the globe.

The original version of One Small Step apearred on The Continuum EP and it represented a journey back to Moon and reduced gravity, weightlessness, emotional drifting and intellectual stasis. Stasis brought about by melody and hi tech soul – Deep Pads, spacey, sci fi melodies and subtle yet lush guitar strings will take you back to the surface of the moon and onto a sonic journey of cerebral funk that may seem a million light years away but can be found deep within the soul.

The global music makers from Canada, USA, UK, Holland, Germany and ireland, however, have recreated, reinterpreted and reinvented Tim’s steps with the full force of the Moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth. They have all, except Travino and NewtownSoul, all went with gravity in the shape and form of a 4/4 groove and kick drum. Each beat pounds the soul and shakes the brain as every step is taken rooted in terra firma.

Tim has remixed some of the leading lights in modern techno and the collection of remixer collaborators showcases the depth and and wealth of talent at Nice & Nasty: Ronan Scullion aka Pseudonym, John Shina,John Shima with Richard Benson as Edge Effect, Marc de Breyne aka Iron Horse, Noraj Cue, NewtownSoul (elektrosouls), Travino, Scott Gray aka Texture and Frank Kratzer aka Sparkinzi all join Tim on his sonic journey through space and time.

Various – Back 2 School

Alvina Red & Manuel Perez return to Nice & Nasty with a subtle disco funk groove that pays homage to the 80s B-Boy and the 70s Disco Queen. Back 2 School, however, is a full frontal sonic assualt of deep house and Detroit techno with the B-Boy and Disco references being subtle undercurrents.

Back 2 School is the duos follow up to Celica and Velvet Police and comes complete with remix es by Erell Ranson, Pseudonym and Harem Tone.

As a bonus this promo pack features 2 remixes by Manuel Perez from the Nice & nasty vaults and one future remix.

Erell Ranson drops a wonderful Detroit inspired piece that will easily supply energy to the DJ sets of Techno, Progressive and House DJs. Its is just so deep and at times lush.

Northern Ireland’s Pseudonym follows Ranson with another Detroit inspired piece that adds weight to the growing repertoire of the young Ulster man.

Dublin’s Harem Tone gets the party rocking with a House, Funky House and party Rockin’ mix.

The finally mix by Vax 1 is one of the funkiest, new approaches to techno we have heard this year and are deliighted to release. We’ll let you decide its genre.

As a bonus this promo features Manuel’s remix of Love to Me by Hakan Lidbo feat Yota which will be out soon on nice & nasty and is a funky, sexy, dirty little tune. Finally the promo features two older remixes from Manuel from the vaults of Nice & Nasty 2009 and 2010’s remixesd for Heretics of Disko and Rennie Foster, respectively.

Manuel is a proper funk DJ, purveying soul, house and disco but his productions take the elements to a new, higher level of techno. It isn’t quite classic Detroit nor is it purely house but what it most definitely is, is pure class.

Alvina Red & Manuel Perez – Back to School (Erell Ranson’s Soul Dancer remix)
Alvina Red & Manuel Perez – Back 2 School (Original Mix)
Alvina Red & Manuel Perez – Back to School (Pseudonym Remix)
Alvina Red & Manuel Perez – Back to School (Harem Tone Remix)
Alvina Red & Manuel Perez – Back 2 School (Vax 1 Remix)
Hakan Lidbo – Love to Me (Manuel Perez Remix)
Rennie Foster – Searchin’ (Manuel Perez Remix)
Heretic’s of Disko – Feelin’ Elecrified (Manuel Perez Remix)