SKUDGE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Elias Landberg continues to press ahead with the instantly identifiable Skudge sound, where the best of contemporary techno locks in for tight but funky grooves of the highest calibre. It's not often we see the project break away from the self-titled label, but here it's gracing Syncrophone with some of the finest uptempo, deep-diving gear you'll hear all year. 'Wander' has a snappy strut to the beat and lead riff alike, with the drums coming on like uptempo house as much as techno. 'Hidden Location' locks in harder thanks to the enduring creep of the background pads, while 'The Wind' takes on the dubbiest duties as it stretches out across the B-side.

Review: Berlin-based Bright Sounds is a prime example of quality over quantity, dropping its first release in a year and making it count by inviting the mighty Skudge on board. If the Swedish techno project has always marked itself with an affinity for the instinctive groove of house, this record goes further into that idea with tracks which could easily slot into a rolling tech house session as much as a funked up techno warm-up. 'Tension' capitalises on off beat dub techno chords as the magic ingredient for a flawless, looped up trip. 'Basement' is a deeper affair, but no less focused on the subtle swing on the drums as a framework for those metallic synth strokes. 'Rounds' on the B-side is a more swirling affair which gets honed into a sleeker chassis for the attendant 'Dub' version.

Review: Mighty Swedish loop-techno and dub maestro Skudge takes care of one side of this new 12", while Dutch artist and Lazy Reflex Complex founder 543FF takes care of the flip. The first trio of tunes are all expertly reduced mixes of rolling and dubby drums, subtle synth motifs and generally dusty, li-fi aesthetics that are perfect for deployment in a basement or warehouse. The flipside is more heady and Millsian in approach with tightly woven layers of synth and drums all locking you into a state of deep meditation. The pulsating 'Zoning' is our favourite.