DJ Spider

Review: Annunaki Cartel's Vanguard Sound! has consistently provided us with some killer house and techno over the last four years, and all of it has been wrapped in an inimitable sound that is showcased by its tight collective of artists. From Amir Alexander to Chris Mitchell, and DJ Spider himself, the label specializes in a distinctly gritty form of club music that is both well structured, but also improvisational in its execution. The New York badman DJ Spider steps up four unsurprisingly dark and foreboding dance structures, with the opener "Planned Obsolescence" dropping a filthy squeal of gutter harmonics over a menacing techno beat, and "Unearthly Kingdom" clicks its snappy percussion away amid a vast ocean of hollow sounds. The B side kicks off with plenty of fire thanks to "Womb Teleportation" and its wavey techno swirl, whereas "Offworld Interfearance" goes for a slow, rugged hip-hop vibe for the head-noddin'. Sick.

Review: The sheer volume of New York maverick DJ Spider's back catalogue is as intimidating as the picture of the man himself holding a machete in the studio, but it's a rich and unpredictable treasure trove of leftfield techno. He makes an appearance on Thema with a record typically diverse in its make up. The opening track "Throwing Hairs" is a masterful trip through atmospheric, organic soundscapes with submerged ecosystems of sound rippling around deathly simple kick n hi hat pattern. His own rework of "Extropy" features similar smudged textures underneath, but the sweet nature of the chords makes for a killer foil to the murk. "The Final Revolution" gets into a tougher frame of mind, placing plenty of emphasis on the low end and letting fly with some seriously dishevelled percussion. "Distress Signal" is oppressive in its sense of desolation, all icy winds blowing into a kick propelled nothingness.

Review: After releases from the likes of Dakini9, Fox and Franklin Da Costa, it was only natural that Jersey City-based label Green Village would turn to DJ Spider for a new 12 inch. Well, it seems natural to us, in any case. The NYC artist is now a respected member of the Big Apple's contemporary house and techno wave, and it's an absolute must for him to be represented on the city's bubbling scene, especially when he's up for firing off tunes like "Space Jungle" and Satsang", two mean, club-minded house bangers with a prominent lower-end. "Divide & Conquer" turns things darker and more ominous thanks to its icy, minimal approach - a cold blend of stripped-back beats and circling bass tones - while "Urantia Of Nebadon" displaces the traditional house framework in favour of a dark, molecular selection of electronic sounds guided by a simple pattern of 4/4 beats. Classic Spider material...

Review: Storming into our fifth release from the dirty shores of New Jersey, Green Village is proud to present Village Elders 001, a compilation EP featuring new material from artists who have already flown the flag for GV. The A-side is held down by the Plan B duo of DJ Spider and Dakini9, purveyors of the Metro Area's dirtiest and deepest house sounds. Spider gets toxic a second time, following his 2013 Instruction drop with 'Toxic Trace 2', a thickly layered deep house cut whose seedy percussion underbelly contrasts vividly with the more traditional deep house pads that accompany it. Dakini9's 'Lost Paradise' is dark and mysterious like its title, the hats, trumpets, and vocals emerging in tangled webs of dub effects, a strong follow-up to her dope EP for the label. Disaroen, a duo from Toronto, half of which previously appeared on GV, turns in the most barren of the four tracks, 'Serious Doorman', heads-down techno that crackles to life halfway in and an auspicious debut for a promising new group. Last is NJ heavyweight Nicuri, a rising star whose 'Ripples of Time' closes the EP in his signature searching, melodic style.

Review: London's Berceuse Heroique sets its sights on a group of fully established artists with another collaboration between DJ Spider and Franklin De Costa, a German producer who himself has been part of the house/techno landscape that verges on the more techy, loopy side of the spectrum. The duo launch a pair of steely, mechanic techno tools with solid grooves at their core, not to mention some gruesome bass bubbling, too, and Shifted's remix is unsurprisingly effective, if a tad on the cold side - but then again, that's just how the Berlin kids love it.