‘Outta Limits’ – Quarterly Crate

Damo B's Quarterly Crate

The platters that matter in December 2020: selected by ‘Outta Limits Radio Show’ host Damo B

Undoubtedly a go to weekly showcase of some of the world’s finest sounds in electronic music. The ‘Outta Limits Radio Show’ is a weekly throw down courtesy of Mancunian maestro – Damo B.

In normal times, Damo is a resident DJ at Manchester’s infamous Bohemian Grove parties, also known for putting on the bi-monthly ‘Nothing but the truth’ sessions at Eastern Bloc Record Shop. There’s few people out there that dedicate their time and passion more boldly behind the mic and turntables, having rarely missed a slot since launching the show back in 2012 on Manchester’s Unity Radio 92.8 Fm. You’ll find him broadcasting across the airwaves and over the internet every Thursday night. Over the last 8 years, Damo has cultivated a loyal following and entertaining shows dedicated to the best of Techno, House and Electronica all up in the mix, as he puts it: ‘Nothing but the truth’.

As avid listeners ourselves, we know that Damo works tirelessly each and every day to sift through hundreds of promos to select cuts that hit both the hips and the heart: emotional content as he puts it. It’s exactly why we asked him to present a quarterly series, rounding up his top picks that have featured on the show during the last 3 months.

Here’s the latest set of tracks that made the cut:

“Welcome to my Quarterly Crate on the mighty INNATE, as you see I’ve been practising my rhyming skills, lol. As ever with these reviews, they’re just a snapshot and hopefully a guide to some of the lesser played records that you may or may not have heard, bought that I think are worth being brought to your attention.”

Synchrojack – A3 E.P – Molar 003

“First out the box and we’re hit with 4 varying styles of tracks from stalwarts of the scene, Synchrojack. Brought to us by the lovely people at Molar in Berlin and from what I can gather from the very small print on the label, the tracks were all written between 1995 and 1998 respectively: gorgeous, deeper than deep house, breaks and varying tempo’s are the order of the day. As I say ‘something for everyone’, my pick of the bunch is the A2 cut ‘Telling Lies’. Classy, deeper than Atlantis mood music to be used to get the punters on the dance floor (remember them?)… ACE!”

Unknown Artist – The Bruce Forsyth E.P – Exalt Records

“A fabulous 4 tracker from the person who still remains a mystery. If beautiful melodies and strings awash with 303’s and punchy 808 beats sound like your bag, then you are in for a treat. Value for money as there are no weak tracks on this EP. It’s hard to pick a favourite so I’m going to go with the emotional techno touch of ‘Priority’ and the lush electro workout ‘Sunday Session’… STRONG sounds!

Biochip – Crux Alley – Central Processing Unit

“Almost like a mini LP from the elusive duo on the omni present C.P.U Records. I.D.M/Braindance alongside smatterings of deep house and electronica sit either side of gnarly electro beat workouts. Superb production and pristine compositions are the order of the day. Tips from myself being ‘Brain Bubbles’ and my fave track ‘Dopamine City’. You really can’t complain about this fantastic collection of tracks on the edging towards legendary status imprint.”

Various Artists – We’re Going Deep 001 – We’re Going Deep

“4 tracks from heavyweights of the scene, curated by the deep meister himself Paul Wise aka Placid. A new label run by an old head as the blurb says, Mr Wise knows his onions and chooses 4 absolute ‘grade A weapons’ for those who know. First up the heavy Jacker from TIN MAN, ‘Jerkin Acid’ is aimed squarely at the dancefloor as this 303 workout gurgles and spits out razor sharp beats and acid lines to seriously twist your melon. Next, the man with the bag aka Mr Derek Carr and his offering ‘The Highlander’: seriously melodic, deep house that just builds and builds, sub bass and bleeps for the heads. I Love it when Derek steps outside his comfort zone and flexes different musical muscles. This is built for long as fuck blends/mixes and for big systems which can handle the lower end frequencies. Posthuman are the biggest surprise for me on the 12, not your usual track from the I Love Acid man dem. Oh no, deeper than the mind of Minolta, picture house music with female spoken word samples about sound and feelings, amidst swirly sound fx and heavy bass kicks. Last but by no means least is a real slow burner of a downtempo track from Dircsen. Gently easing out the head nodding acid lines and reminding me of the laid back Bristol sound from ‘Smith & Mighty’ from way back a time, which is no bad thing. Splendid!”

Sound Synthesis – Inside Your mind – Specimen Records

“4 tracks of heads down, no nonsense, uptempo electro from Keith aka Sound Synthesis. He’s one who is on top of his game and it really shows here in this release from Paul Rip’s imprint. Adaptation opens up the A side, a real stepper of a tune packed full of bubbling melodies that unfurl as the track moves along nicely introducing a thunderous bass line and crisp beats. ‘Inside Your Mind’ is a real bouncing bass driven monster, tough acid lines after the first breakdown beat you into submission, building the tension as the track twists and turns. ‘Riding The Cosmos’ mixes zooming bass tones with a blistering 303 workout and cut up vocoder robot voices. If that wasn’t enough, the soaring strings, clever edits, punchy beats and pummeling bass make for the sounds of the apocalypse, or rather ‘Robotique Electronique’. Joined together by a wigged out acid line and space fx to take you to new heights of consciousness. CERTIFIED ROY CROPPER!”

MOY – The Orbital Resonance – EMOTEC

“Kicking off proceedings of the new EMOTEC imprint is MOY. What with his forthcoming album (reviewed later) and this fine EP, I predict that 2021 will be a busy year for the London based producer. When I approached MOY and asked about an EP after our initial short but brief meeting in Hackney earlier this year, he said ‘Yeah why not’. Fast forward to our next chat where I said slight change of plan, you are now going to be 001. After agreeing on an initial track that had aired on ‘The Outta Limits Radio Show’, Mr MOY returned a number of weeks later with the remainder of the tracks to finalise the everything. To say I was amazed would be selling this short. From the opening breakbeats and haunting melodies of ‘Dreamcoast,’ you’re transported to a land that time forgot. Rewound beats make way for the kind of acid lines you dream about producing yourself as chopped female voices and sound bwoy chants emerge from deep in the mix – more changes than Ru Paul, this one hits! ‘Wheel Of Time’ intertwines crisp 808 beats with ‘THAT’ MOY sound and what I can best describe as a ‘New Order-esque’ melody (Hearing is believing). Superduper bouncing bass and acid lines, this guy goes from strength to strength! ‘Echolab’ welcomes the thunderous bass kicks and the deepest bass tones on the EP, joined by filtered breaks and intergalactic bleep melodies to conjure up the kind of jam that will have the spotters rushing to the box. Closing the EP in style with ‘Cyclotron’, slightly less aggressive in tone than the other tracks and is a real builder. Tugging at your heartstrings and then some, the smile inducing bass and then the filtered acid lines caress your neurons and bring a sense of joy.

MOY – The Dynamics Of Acid – Altered Sense

“MOY treats us to 9 tracks in total for his debut long player on Anil Lal’s off-shoot label, Altered Sense. As with everything MOY touché,s it oozes class, powered mostly by breakbeats and from its title, obviously swathes and swathes of gut wrenchingly good acid. The opening track ‘Pi 1-1-0’ is somewhat rather special, with bird song and orchestral melodies spiced with breaks that almost disappear from the composition before your very ears before reappearing to carry you to another stratosphere. Elsewhere MOY creates playfully and at the same time, takes tough compositions that can be used in the clubs and be listened to at home, recorded over the last seven years – this album is a modern classic and will hopefully propel this creative master to unbridled heights. Bigger than King Kong’s underpants!

Here is a wonderful video by Tony Marrison of the opening track ‘Pi 1-1-0’:

J.S Zeiter – Radium/Silver – Ryoko

“Manchester uber god of the dub techno genre and lovely all round guy Mr J.S Zeiter kicks off the mysterious Ryoko 10 inch vinyl imprint. 2 stretched out deeper than deep excursions to lose yourself in. Subtle changes throughout the tracks bring new textures to the rich palette of sounds, woven by this master of his craft. ‘Silver’ is perfect for early in the night or that track that resets the room around 5am, to build it back up again. Radium is more peak time and around 125 beats per minute ensuring peak time plays. Buy on sight!”

Various Artists – Innate 004 – Innate

“A wondrous collection of ear pleasing musical delights, 4 tracks aimed at the connoisseurs of electronic music. Aroy Dee offers up ‘Leegte’, his hard to define track that sets the scene with its warm bass tones and tough beats coupled with metallic sound fx and haunting melodies. Next and for me the strongest cut on the 12, the man like Gilbert. A superb electro meets booty kinda bass attack. Chopped up acid lines and bubbling melodies carry the track into the next stratosphere. ‘Furthest Planet’ can be deployed anywhere in your set, easily played at -6% for the warm up and pitched up for those sweaty moments later on. Jonski’s ‘Venusian Surface’ steps into the 4/4 territory which isn’t the producer’s usual forte but shows he can turn his hand to almost anything. Beautiful melodies cascade over tightly programmed beats and a head nodding, smile inducing bass. Dj Guy’s ‘Aphelion Orbit’ Slamming technoid business, for later on in the night with its Detroit-esque sounds and drums.  Only for the headstrong!”