Electronic wizardry from Greek scenester
Who They?
In-demand Athenian producer and DJ Aggelos Baltas operates under various guises, including the house/techno-hued Dream Weapons and the interstellar/krautrocky Fantastikoi Hxoi. As Anatolian Weapons, he’s a crossover of the two, dabbling in trance, dub, ambient and echoes of traditional Greek music as he goes. “I strongly believe that only good things can come from cross-pollination,” he says. “I try to keep an open mind and see what happens. It’s more fun that way.” With a host of well-received AW singles and EPs already under his belt, Baltas’ latest record, ‘Selected Acid Tracks’, should garner him even more attention.
Why Anatolian Weapons?
The follow-up to 2019’s ‘To The Mother Of Gods’, ‘Selected Acid Tracks’ does pretty much what it says on the tin. Loosely inspired by Andrew Weatherall and released on Cheltenham’s fast-rising electronic/experimental label, Byrd Out, the album’s heady, acid-hued cuts are crafted for the dancefloor. Thumper ‘Acid Research 20’ fuses crashing early 80s pads with squelchy synth work (think Baby Ford) and peak Haçienda vibes. Immersive remixes by Serbian producer/DJ AASKA and Coma World (Betamax of The Comet Is Coming and Pete Bennie of Speakers Corner Quartet) temper Baltas’ essential beats with woozy, downtempo vibes. The Guv’nor would approve.
Tell Us More…
His recent Anatolian Weapons remix project is well worth checking out. Released on Lurid Music, ‘May That War Be Cursed’ (four volumes) features cracking rerubs of AW tracks by Philipp Otterbach, Tassilo Vanhöfen, A Strange Wedding, Black Seed and others, with all funds going towards humanitarian aid in Ukraine. “I’ve done over 20 remixes in the past year,” says Baltas, “plus quite a few compilation commissions, which kept me busy and happy.” With further collabs on the way, there’s plenty still to come from this prolific artist. More power to his elbow.
‘Selected Acid Tracks’ is out on Byrd Out
