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viewing 1 To 25 of 170 items
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12"
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RB 125EP
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$17.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 10/20/2023
Jordon Alexander (pen name Mall Grab) brilliantly carved out his very own niche in dance music. Influenced by hardcore punk skateboarding and high fashion (Linea Rossa) in equal parts the young Australian delivers precise studies in house and techno. As entertaining as they are excitatory there hasn't been a bump on his road so far. Alexander's debut for Running Back proves this point. How The Dogs Chill Vol. 2 delivers four high octane tracks whose DNA contains traces of deep house and a penchant for atmospheric and dulcet melodies. But they are also muscle-bound soaring and cater to the aptitude of shaking legs. Written in 2022 while he was around the flora and fauna of Australia these tracks are also supposed to sound somewhat botanical -- or at least evoke the sensory experience of a visit to a greenhouse. Carefully sequenced and crafted one is left with an appetite as soon as the playtime is over. Proper nutriment for party people and serious music pendants alike.
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RBTW 009LP
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The musical cosmos is set to bestow upon us a celestial gem that shall set dancefloors ablaze and hearts aflutter. It is none other than the enigmatic Marco Passarani aka David Woods of Tiger & Woods, the sonic alchemist who has been tantalizing senses with his kaleidoscopic grooves. Imagine, if you will, a voyage through a wormhole that transcends time and space, landing you smack dab in the midst of a euphoric dancefloor utopia. This upcoming opus, Shuffling The Cards Again, promises to be a magnum opus of cosmic proportions. David Woods has summoned their sonic forces to curate a soundscape that defies convention, much like a comet hurtling through the night sky, leaving trails of sonic stardust in its wake!
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7"
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RB 123EP
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The lines between off-center synth songs and catchy hits have always and forever been ultrathin. With Immer the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Ede & Deckert managed to turn a red wine and post punk melancholy fueled jam session into a haunting alternative dance jam. While their instrumental sits neatly between the dark wave of Eleven Pond and the British Electric Foundation, it is the voice of the German singer with the mysterious name Sargland. One could think it is possibly an anagram? Called in for spontaneous vocal work, the repetitiveness and heartfelt expression of lovelorn of his tone and lyrics are quite simply irresistible and dichotomic. Whether it's lover's grief or delight, Immer works its magic in every way and for everyone.
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12"
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RB 119EP
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Katerina's full-blown debut EP for Running Back melds cultural images of both places she calls home. Alternatively hailing from Helsinki or Sofia, she serves ethereal vocals, heartbreaking melodies and the chilly melancholic strains of the north to meet an optimistic and at times cheerful mood, paired with pop music themes, heavy bass lines and an upbeat drum section. Six tracks of idiosyncratic and independent dance motifs (including two ambient takes) that all go against the grain of the fast pace of life today, cheap thrills and unnecessary kills. All symbolized in the lyrics of the lead song "Get To Know You" or the instrumental love ballad "Rain In Her Eyes" and bound together by "Marsu The Cat" or "Time Machine." An EP with the depth of an LP, lots of weight and even more character. Powerful, wonderful and more durable than the remains of one day.
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12"
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RB 121EP
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Magically delicious: Lucky Charm completes Roman Flügel's personal-feel-good-tetralogy on Running Back. Joining Garden Party, D.I.S.C.O. and Mega for a quadrophony of fun, it is piano house at the core of the matter. Of course, Roman Flügel wouldn't be himself, if he would work carelessly. Imagine it prepared through the disciplines of molecular gastronomy. In a dystopian world on the edge of information overkill, this is exactly what one needs to relish temporary relaxation and the joys of life again. Simply put: harps, bass lines, tribal drums, brief melodies and pizzicato illuminate the topic from different sides and in different versions. Its correspondent "Luv Armour" is a piece of jewelry that's doing the splits: house, new wave, synth pop and some melancholy for the finishing touches. If you are looking for less action "Whatever That Is" offers you a slow dance. Looking for unheard and unconscionable connections, it twists and turns between can-like sequences, what Underground Resistance dubbed Afrogermanic and some unexpected tunnel, before it ends where it started out finally, "Film 4" is the final dish of this lush meal. Referring to the other "Film" tracks on the Mega 12" and created during the hard and dark times of closed amusement party parks, it is full of yearning. Music for your inner cinema.
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12"
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RB 117X-EP
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An acid house always leaks! Redshape's visits to Running Back are a welcome recurrence and a soothing reminder that techno and house can still come in several shapes and sizes. Related and referring to earlier acid studies on Release Me and to a certain extend on Rise, the masked man continues to find new approaches to the 303 canon with "Acid Leak". True to form, the seasoned producer choses groove over governance, lets batteries leak and strikes a chord or two with old lovers and new votaries of the classic club techno titans of the '90s -- strings included. "Wing Wing" is an exemplary excursion into the special and unmatched Redshape zone that rejoins rock and dental drillers, while "Acid Flow" counterpoints the titles track's opulence with a dub version -- both hit like a streak. The curveball and icing on the cake is "Frantic". Hi-tech-jazz in technique and -soul in attitude, it feels like a late contender to the quintessential Deepest Shade of Techno compilations. Four to the floor!
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12"
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RB 120EP
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Ever since the release of his masterpiece Winona it's hard to imagine modern electronic dance music without DJ Boring. A progressive traditionalist DJ Boring finds new ways in old maps. Just like "Beautiful Strangers". The lead single to his correspondent debut EP for Running Back illustrates his kaleidoscopic sound aesthetic and refreshing style. Harking back to the aural palette of Boring's formative years in the early 2000s it manages to bridge infatuation and lovesickness, wistfulness and bliss, as well sundowns and sunrises dancefloors and living rooms -- and that is no mean feat. "When I'm With You" features Jasper Tygner.
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12"
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RB 118EP
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Ain't no stopping him now. Krystal Klear's streak continues with Automat Kingsland. The recipe remains, perfectly seasoned to taste. The extended menu of four tracks is musical testament to the artist's life of the last six months. Emphasizing movement at a pace that is hard to hold on to, but embraced nonetheless. Trying to transport that "lost in translation" (and transit) sense of normal life due to constant motion to a dancefloor near you. Euphoric melancholia meets rave romance, shutters open to let happiness crawl in and anxiety turns into excitement through the usual cocktail of tearjerkers and white noise risers. Recorded between Paris, New York, Dublin, and London and brought to your city via Running Back. Automatic non-stop existential output.
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12"
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RB 116X-EP
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Dial D for Digitalism. The return of Hamburg's most prolific and bewitching production duo is a two-sided one. Back To Haus is their second outing for Running Back after Reality 2 in 2020. And on top of that, it does what it says on the tin. Based on the roots of house, which was the sound that Ismail Tuefekci and Jens Moelle started their DJ careers with, their modern-day interpretation of it is far from nostalgic, boring or conservative. Take the title track for instance. Now a track-id favorite, it was meant to be a sound test. Its recipe is as simple as it is infectious. Mix some Roland drum machines with a few piano chords and expertly arrange the rest with a marathon intro and a corresponding break down. Voilá! Patience might be bitter, but its fruits are sweet. "Chicagostrasse" is not only an existing street in the warehouse district of Hamburg's harbor, but also a nod to all-time heroes Johnny D and Nicky P of Henry Street fame and their samplers-and-beats approach. Heavy hypno house. "4th Floor" sees the duo sampling themselves (again) for a fast paced and open-airy party jam the references one of their favorite New York labels, when they met at Hamburg's late house music record store institution Underground Solution beginning of this millennium. Happiness is just a state of mind. Closing it all off, but not winding it down is Warehaus and its convoying beat tool "Empty Warehaus". Like Todd Terry visiting a Summer of Love rave in the UK. Descriptive and positively destructive. All in all, a worthy double, a DJ's delight and a dancer's delight.
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Cassette
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RBWPC-CS
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The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt's club history: Wild Pitch Club. A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker. Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the USAmerican roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture's hubs at the time. Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it's an authentic snapshot of the club's vibe and spirit, spread over two separate 2x12" volumes (RBWPC-LP1 and RBWPC-LP2) or a collectable tape (download included), it's the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: "Wild Pitch, I love you." Features Deep 6, Ralph Falcon, Papermusic Issue One, Global Goone, KGB, Angel Moraes, Tom Moulton, Omegaman, Da Rebels, Lectroluv, Joi Cardwell, The Afrodizzact, Dewayne "Powermix" Jensen, Louie Balo, Benji Candelario, Kings Of Tomorrow, Sean Grant, Iz & Diz, Presence, Glenn Vernon, Jovonn, Krystine, Low Key, Free Energy, Wam Kidz, and Tronic Pulse.
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12"
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RB 115X-EP
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Running Back welcomes Firas Waez and his studio character 9th House for a flock of heartfelt and intuitive house tracks. Centered around uplifting chords and joyous melodies, upbeat drums and shuffling hi-hats, it feels like being in a circle dance, watching flowers turning into fruits or caterpillars into butterflies. Made with the tools of today, but with a burdening love for the ancient magic and positivity of this music. The results being highly contagious. Whether it's any of the 9th House's solo works like Reuben or the collaboration with Matrefakt, it's impossible to hold still. But as no one can live off love alone, there is also an odd one out. The eponym Midas swaps vintage techniques and the love potion of its counterparts for sharp and exact peak-time magic that makes endorphins rush and cheeks blush. Whichever you finally pick of the five tracks, any of them are an amulet against bad times. A Midas's touch indeed! Happy house painting artwork courtesy of Luciano Calderon via ruttkoswki;68.
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12"
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RBACID 001EP
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Dial 303! The new and hopefully also durable sampler series on Running Back is here. Dedicated to the twang of Roland's silver baseline box with a varied string of artists: DVS1, Marko East & Jordi Chu (whose collaboration sparked the idea of a whole series), Like A Tim via Prins Thomas, Katerina, and I:Cube. The Parisian put it in a nutshell, too: "Although rinsed to death to the point of becoming a parody of itself, acid will last forever." Therefore, his "Folie Noire" is combining the original recipes with hypnotic European influences, while Marko and Jordi present a rough and direct 303-909 live jam, Prins Thomas puts his wickedest smile on Like A Tim's "Wonderline" from 2005 and Katerina sets a lucid dream to sanguine music. Finally, there is a rare and much desired musical outing by the unique DVS1. A direct ode to Chicago's acid and beatdown styles and its Midwest companions, it is a heads-down-lights-down late-night track made for driving up and down "Lower Wacker Drive". Trippy trip artwork by the inimitable Gasius. Trivia: If the piano is the bread of house music, the acid line is its butter!
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2LP
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RBWPC-LP2
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The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt's club history: Wild Pitch Club. A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker. Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the USAmerican roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture's hubs at the time. Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it's an authentic snapshot of the club's vibe and spirit, spread over two separate 2x12" volumes, a collectable tape (RBWPC-CS, download included), it's the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: "Wild Pitch, I love you." Features Papermusic Issue One, Louie Balo, KGB, Jovonn, Krystine, Wam Kidz, Kings Of Tomorrow, Sean Grant, Free Energy, Omegaman, and Presence.
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2LP
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RBWPC-LP1
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The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt's club history: Wild Pitch Club. A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker. Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the USAmerican roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture's hubs at the time. Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it's an authentic snapshot of the club's vibe and spirit, spread over two separate 2x12" volumes or a collectable tape (RBWPC-CS, download included), it's the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: "Wild Pitch, I love you." Features Deep 6, Ralph Falcon, Tronic Pulse, Global Goone, Low Key, The Afrodizzact, Da Rebels, Iz & Diz, and Kings Of Tomorrow.
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12"
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RB 114X-EP
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Space Dimension Controller's first release in 2023 is also his first outing to Running Back. Needless to say, it pushes all the right buttons. Warm and playful, but forcing and with fresh jive, "Neuclidea" and its siblings revolve around classic SDC values. Nevertheless, the Irish melodist is also moving on to new pastures. Hardware sequencing, vintage digital synthesizers via analog processing spawn a sound that pirouettes as much around the lost cyber-hippie poetry of Border Community as it's the effigy of fast Balearic euphoria -- if Ibiza would have been a party scene in Gattaca. Completing this treasure chest is a remix by Hodge for the pragmatic minded out there. Using some heavy drums of the west, his version of "Neuclidea" extracts the trance-like elements of the original and turns it into a floor-polishing brush. To sum up: music for heartbroken and lovesick victims alike.
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RB 085-5EP
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Part 5 of the various artists series is at it again with five tracks by five different producers and a mixture of feelgood party time music and contemplative music. You will hear familiar Running Back names like Storken (this time together with JStaaf) refining their comic tropes (or imagine Foreigner doing house music) next to newcomers like Archie Ward. His "Pizza Girl" puts musical toppings on a pounding underbelly that wouldn't be out of place in any warehouse, while Moritz and Amount dial it back a bit. Their respective tracks are gleaming with a special kind of elegant end-of-night euphoria that is hard to come by -- and all the nicer if it happens. Remember: trance is a state of mind! Last but not least, Australia's Jonus Eric delivers an IDM-leaning piece of outsider dance.
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RB 113X-EP
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"Essentia" is not only the Latin word for -- you guessed that right -- essential, but also the name of Krystal Klear's return to Running Back. While trance might be a state of mind (according to DJ Dag), it's also a tone theory with a very specific tool kit. Here you get the version that makes sense in the aural universe of a producer that got raised on a diet of hip-hop, boogie, and the foundation tunes in house music. Moderate in tempo, the result is still euphoric to say the least: melted brains, stimulated spinal cords, and rave rampage included. "Essentia" balances the euphoric rush of its topical genre perfectly with the happy-sad moments after the rave. If that is not musical or emotional enough for your taste, you will find content in the "Sunrise" version. Excessive use of the well-beloved choir, breakbeats and breakdowns make it equally irresistible for sun-ups and love-ups. Flip the coin for "Winnies Karaoke". Stemming from the same source and session as "Essentia". Named after the interactive entertainment bar in Chinatown NYC and made sometime in the early morning hours, it's the quintessential Krystal Klear. Sawtooth boogie, if you will. Its counterpoint is the "Sundown" mix. Techno prog for the tilted generation. Sometimes, in the permanent search of happiness, the world of tomorrow needs the sound of yesterday made with the means and minds of today. Essential bliss.
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RB 112X-EP
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Welcome to Retropolis! Known for the inimitable Can't Stop with Coloray, an unhealthy obsession with vintage music machines, a baroque style in the use of synthesizer melodies and a forewarn-looking approach to the past, Chris Barratt's music as Eagles & Butterflies can be as fun-loving as melancholically beautiful. For his long overdue debut on Running Back, the English man dishes out a bit of both in a healthy bowl of broth. "Retropolis" is not only the direction giving title, but bold and bonny at the same time. That its working title was Italo should tell you all you need to know. Suitable for big rooms, major moments, minor miracles and sophisticated car chase scenes alike. "Faster" takes off in another direction. Imagine two people falling in love during a bumper car ride -- heartfelt vocals included. On the flip side, E&B follows a similar state of equilibrium. Like the highs and lows and ups and downs in a John Hughes movie, it also showcases the characteristics of two synthesizer classics: the exuberant piano version of "Juno Ninja" (please look at the digital release for a version devoid of it) offsets the poignant and plangent vibe of "CS-80". In summary: made with lots of synthesizers and for fans of keyboard music. And always keep in mind: the future sounds and looks better than you think.
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LP
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RB 017LP
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Often duplicated, never imitated: the power of Lauer! Albeit being no stranger himself to musical influences from the outside, the producer from Frankfurt managed to carve out a sound that is very much his own. Indie-dance, Italo, power pop, and house music in its traditional sense get mixed up in a blender of happiness, Lauer's latest achievement for Running Back and welcome return is a mini-LP called Cyclone Days. Aptly titled and ably executed, it's everything you would expect or want from him. A world of merry music, where melody is king. On top of that, you get value for your money: Vocal blockbusters like the upbeat "Somebody" (instrumental included) and the more restrained "Friends" (both with frequent collaborator Dena), sit comfortably between instrumental hits. "Resonator" and "Neway" take the role of the proverbial keys to happiness, while the title track or "Exterminate" balance it out with joyful melancholy. Just imagine Righeira signing to Factory Records or Durutti Column on holidays in Rimini and you are halfway there. The days might be like a cyclone, but as long as there are records like this, the shelter isn't blown.
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RBSHAN 005EP
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Enshanté! The long overdue comeback of Shan on Running Back won't disappoint fans new and old. Correctly captioned Warehouse Vol. 1, the EP with six tracks isn't a tribute to the Chicago's legendary club of the same name (with all respect due and even if that's almost impossible). Shan's sixth release for his home town label is rather a nod to all the nameless industrial spaces and places that played and still play a role as shelters and fertile soil for raw and ruff dance music. More a feeling and a sound aesthetic than a concrete set of rules, you will find ingredients as diverse as breakbeats, rave signals, Italo bass lines, Virgoesque piano notes ("Shifter") and up-tempo grooves that all seem to be lifted from an overdriven early '90s mixtape by an unknown DJ: before, during and after the rave. Especially "Abfahrt" (German slang for "rave") deserves special attention for connoisseurs of proto-jungle rage house with big stabs and a Reese bass to die for. Works like a charm at any tempo and almost any peak time. Excuse the pun, but please: Join in the Shant!
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RB 111EP
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Welcome to Anthony Naples's first outing for Running Back. Swerve sees the New York resident putting his dancing shoes back on and taking a pause from his admittedly brilliant other side. A development that 2021's Club Pez on ANS already foreshadowed. While his music is at times ethereal and cerebral, but also engaging and compelling, Naples manages to fill the gap between finesse and function with idiosyncratic abilities. Starting with the title track that builds a bridge between a beehive and Joey Beltram's hoover sound, it's clear that Naples has something unique in case of temperature and tempo. Swerve flows around an addictive bass line, adds a splash of piano and manages to feel big without the usual cheap tricks. Played by Four Tet and Pete Tong. If bangers-not-bangers would be a genre, Naples would have created one of its prime examples. The rest follows lead: "Here With You" uses skippy beats underneath a TB-303, "Right As The Sun Goes" extracts elements of its two predecessors, but mirrors them with delightful mellowness and finally, "Be To" feels like the continuation of the sprawling hypnotism of the mid-nineties. One EP to get your swerve on. High quality artwork by Gasius.
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RBFRONT 001EP
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After the happily received and critically acclaimed Running Back Mastermix retrospective of Hamburg's seminal Front club by Klaus Stockhausen & Boris Dlugosch, another look at the playlists, hits, classics, and unclassics is overdue. Now, the menu is solely set to the nineties -- well after Stockhausen's departure and into Dlugosch's prime at said club. Starting the dance is the sought-after evergreen "Deep Introspection". Produced by Rob Mello and Zaki Dee for the legendary Jump Cutz series on their Luxury Service outfit in 1995, it's as ageless as deep house can be and on heavy rotation since its release. Same goes for "Agitate It" by Body Moods from 1993. Still an insider tip, and touched by the hands of Jazz-N-Groove it wouldn't sound out of place on a Louie Vega tape from that time. The flip comes with DJ Disciple's Street Experience from 1993 and its Todd Terry-esque "Hide-A-Way". Snare roll, please. Rounding off with two home made co-productions by Boris Dlugosch himself: the remix for U96's "Come Together" (yes, the one from the submarine-movie-score-sampling techno chart topper "Das Boot") and his exclusive edit for VDT "Strangest Music". Both proofing the fact that to what seems odd at the beginning (if classic US house is the indicator), can withstand the test of time and even gradually mature. Collector, progammer, dancer, and DJ use only. Also features Sensory Productions. To be continued...
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RB 110X-EP
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Mind Eclipse completes Deetron's triptych for Running Back. After Body Electric and Ego Rave, it's the missing part in a tale of youthful exuberance told by a seasoned raver and transported into the here and now. Taking the essence of the carefree energy of those days, its warehouses and fields minus the (sometimes!) aural clumsiness, Deetron delivers four studies in the transformation of said emotional states. "Mind Eclipse" aka "Trancehouzztool" does exactly what it says on the tin: big synths, swirl and twirl during an extra-long break down for an uproar -- serotonin shower included. "HG" acts like an umbrella to that. Almost melancholic in its presence and meandering between highs and lows, it's the perfect counterpoint and offset. On the other side, "Phoenix" sounds like a lost Border Community hymn that found its way near a Roland 909 for peak time purposes, before "The Shore" closes the book in a hybrid state between electro and disco or the soundtrack to IDM supporters in a gym workout (also available in an alternative version digitally for those who like their beats straight). It won't eclipse your mind though that Deetron knows what he does in the studio, so expect finest artistry, crafty tricks and technical expertise.
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RB 109X-EP
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In the constant state of flux that house and techno are in since their inception, Berlin's Sascha Funke is at once a fixture and an emblem of the city's transformations. Probably best-known for his work on BPitch, Kompakt, or the evergreen MZ, Funke's EP for Running Back is an amalgamation of sounds, influences and atmospheres. Subdued rave euphoria, robotic disco-influenced techno-pop and hints of Berlin's long gone "Dubmission" party ethics get re-arranged, extracted and reconfigured with "German engineering" values. Take the ritual "QAM" for instance. Using a sample and the legendary morse melody of the weather forecast at the end of each "Tagesschau" and putting it in a completely different context, is a prime example of a free-form approach to making music and making nostalgia future-proof. That also holds true for the rest of the EP. While titles like "FEZ" (Freizeit und Erholungszentrum) or "SEZ" (Sport und Erholungszentrum) refer to lost places in East Berlin, the tracks are anything but. Yearning, precisely programmed and full of joie de vivre at the same time, they all lock into and complement each other. So much, that you will find a new favorite with every listen.
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RB 016LP
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For an understanding of the past, you have to look to the future -- or was it the other way round? No matter how you want to put it, some things are an aesthetic choice, and the meaning of style does not necessarily go hand in hand with the latest fashion fad or an incurable retromania. Chinaski's debut (album under that name) on Running Back seems predestined to resume these discussions. Drenched in sepia colors and faded VHS tapes memories, fed by a science-fiction that never became a fact, essentially made with the ultramodern instruments of yesteryear (see back cover for further reference) that became redundant through their own relatives and a need to ensure efficiency (time, space, money), it's either concept art, an ode to Disco Piu, a post card from the early days of Frankfurt's Dorian Gray or the search and itch for a time machine. All of the debate above is rendered useless by the title though: No Pop, No Fun! And those are the main musical reference points here: instrumental pop that you can dance to, pastel melodies that stick with you and fun frequencies. Down-tempo ballads for video game characters in love meet cabriolet anthems and scooter songs. Perfectly composed and carefully made. If John Hughes would have ever aspired to make a high school movie set in a post-apocalyptic Italy: this is what the score would probably sound like. "No Bomba, No Fun House, No Don't Look Now, No Being Boring, No Island Magic, No Fix Me Up, No Air Condition, No Fly High Again. No Pop, No Fun."
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