ALIGNMENT Vinyl & CDs

Review: Charlotte De Witte's KNTXT label is one of new school techno's most influential and has very much helped to take techno into harder, darker, trance-tinged realms in recent times. Alignment is one of the artists who has helped with that and now serves up more blistering cuts on the Close Your Eyes EP. The title track is a monstrous opener with bright synths and serrated saw-shaped sounds cutting up the flat-footed drums. The hard techno vibes continue on 'Deep Space' and more trance energy washes over 'Dance For Me' which is decidedly 90s in vibe. 'Fight For A New World' closes down with the sort of hands-in-the-air energy of an epic festival anthem.

Review: A fresh top-up to the vogue of 'trance-infused techno' by Alignment, the Berlin producer whose heavyset techno chops come straight to Charlotte De Witte's KNTXT label, which has launched the careers of several younger artists. Burbling Detroit voices command us to 'attack' through the opening droner 'Attack', an inception boomer if we've ever heard one. Followers 'Dream State' and 'Multiverse' timeslip through grit and dirt and arpeggios, getting faster and faster before Alignment shows us 'The Way' on the final roundoff.

Review: Following up last year's Time And Nothingness on Charlotte De Witte's KNTXT, Francesco Pierfelici aka Alignment returns to the imprint for an absolutely riveting new EP. Power is a fitting title for this massive four tracker, where the Berlin-based Italian wastes no time in an attempt to fire the synapses. Pure elevation is to be experienced on the euphoric rave energy of the title track which opens up in a big way, followed by 'Disconnection' which will pummel you into submission - peak time style - with its assortment of classic dance music motifs throughout. Over on the flip, the EP's highlight exists in the form of the euphoric modern trance reconstruction titled 'Frequency'.