Toolroom Records Ibiza Underground 2012

August 2, 2012 | Dan Carter

You don’t have to move too far to find a repetitive Electro banger or Euphroic European festival anthem these days. But in a year of the unadventurous overhaul and an allegedly regressive trend for breakthrough underground talents, Toolroom Records look to throw a little heartfelt flare into the thriving Ibiza club scene for 2012.

Boasting a sizeable selection of fresh floor fillers between the sheets of this seasonal nod to all walks of Electronic music, Knights’ renowned House stronghold play their strongest hand to bring forth a slew of talents as ready for the floor as they are aligned with the labels’ creative pulse. Led by exclusive material from Mihalis Safras and long serving British protagonist Jon Rundell excel the new school stead such a compilation might suggest, the likes of Matt Smallwood, Jack Dixon and George FitzGerald hold the new age contenders’ corner with proficient strength. From boisterous European Techno to the more exotic waves of tropical tech grooves and the rare hint of stern British Garage, it takes just 35 cuts to establish that amid the tedium of headline 21^st century Dance music, there is a lot to shout about below the surface of the White Isle’s signature Balearic House bliss.

But with Pirupa, Jay Lumen and Ramon Tapia bringing that essential dose of credibility to this essential nod to the promising culture of collective club integrity, there are few better spotlights of fine European Dance music than collected in this short yet sweet installment that paints Toolroom as an imprint more than capable of feeding both ends of the industry with notable stamina throughout.

Toolroom Records Ibiza Underground 2012 is out now on iTunes & Beatport.

Mihalis Safras

March 4, 2012 | Dan Carter

To call Mihalis Safras ‘Greece’s Techno Philosopher’ may ring as a hackneyed suck-up lesser associated with objectivity, but one conversation with the driving force behind Europe’s most unpredictable musical agenda is enough to pardon the careless associations with Aurelius and Marx alike. Adept to marking such vital imprints and Great Stuff, Snatch! and technological innovators Apple as a home away from home, there is still a fatal dose of heartfelt passion surrounding every note of his finely tailored sound scope and having turned his back on the Greek scene more than six years ago, the world is proving far more fitting a stage for his exotically charged House grooves. Read More