TH ± Tar Hallow is a Dutch record label based in Rotterdam, it starts this year with a fresh and new wax signed by the ARKVS duo and Thanos Hana. Since its born the label output all its EPs on vinyl, keeping alive a peculiar underground and dark vibe. This feature isn’t given just by the choice of pressing on vinyl all its catalogue, but because of the sound proposed to the audience: techno with acid and hardware reminiscences is still functional and appreciate in the North countries.
Shifting back the focus on the TAR005 release, each artist get one side of the vinyl to express as its best with two songs. On the A side we can find the ARKVS productions, a duo from Rotterdam (NL) specialized in dancefloor oriented techno; their ‘Mutable Signs’ track is a solid 4/4 techno tool that starts straight with a hot drum loop, it’s a sort of locked groove but its repetitive structure isn’t boring but really functional, while ‘Human’ avoids all the rules written in the previous song, the scenario is created with a broken beat rhythm filled with a tribal percussion and an incredible surrounding pads, the minimalistic synths and their related effects allow to create a massive mentalism. Imagine this track played on a big soundsystem and the game it’s done.
On the flip Thanos Hana gets the control of the EP with another two productions with high bpm speeds. He adopts a weird tech sound coloured with analogic sounds that gets inspiration from oldschool productions. The B1 titled ‘Big Wheel’ starts in a hot manner too like the A1 with its crazy and robotoid loop, it seems like a hardware jamming. Finally the closing track ‘Stabbing’ hits more than 135 bpm and reveals a crazy acid nature: that typical Roland 303 bassline is great and accompanies admirably the hihat jamming all around the track.
Really rave oriented.

TH ± Tar Hallow – February 21st 2020
Tracklist:
A1. ARKVS – Mutable Signs
A2. ARKVS – Human
B1. Thanos Hana – Big Wheel
B2. Thanos Hana – Stabbing

Buy link: https://thtarhallow.bandcamp.com/album/arkvs-thanos-hana-tar005

More info:
https://soundcloud.com/arkvsrotterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thanoshana
https://soundcloud.com/th-tar-hallow
https://thtarhallow.bandcamp.com/

Review by Matteo Pitton