GUNJACK Vinyl & CDs

Review: Percussive, frantic techno from Brian Gibbs aka. Gunjack, in celebration of 25 years of the artist project so named. Somewhere between an EP and LP, this six-track 12" is packed to the brim with pressurised prangouts on the harder side, and includes a ream of reinterpretations of Gunjack classics, as well as a version of Ritual48 by Japanese techno icon DJ Shufflemaster. Our favourite here has to be the hangar-scouring toller 'Warehouse Ghost', with its heavy use of pan effects on the lead barrage.

Review: As always there are no frills, no fads and nothing fancy about this fresh slab of techno goodness from Planet Rhythm, just pure and unadulterated rhythms to lose your shit to. Gunlock is the one firing them out and 'Thorax' sure does come at you like machine gun bullets, while 'Mo' Future' is more metal and trippy with its busy, tight synth loops. '19th & Nicollet' keeps things lively with nimble drums and shot, pithy synth details that ping about the mix. There is more brutalism to the hammering drums of 'Good Droids Gone Bad' and still space for two more techno tools that will rewire any dancefloor.

Review: Strap in and prepare to go through the wormhole once you drop the needle on this new one from Gunjack. It taps into mind-melting 90s techno and Millsian synth work on opener 'Arson '78' which is a linear banger of the highest order. 'Plastic Horns' brings more unseating tension and anxiousness in the buzzy synth motifs and hammering hits, then 'Stormbells' is a perfectly entitled cut given the unrelenting bell loops and surging drums that sweep you off your feet. Last of all is 'Liquid Crystals' which is another tightly woven tapestry of malfunctioning blips, rippling synths and cantering drum funk.

Review: Gunjack indents a lasting impression with the 'Detroit Tango' EP for Planet Rhythm, taking after the distinct Motor Citied techno style whilst also bringing a supremely balanced and original slant. The producer shows off a clinical, precise, nigh surgical approach to texture, gain staging and mixing, building on a genre that otherwise prides itself on 'rawness' (i.e. gritty street-realist unpolish) and moving further into a direction of serenity and clarity. Take the low end movements of 'Rocket Surgery', on which the track's coltish hook and subnautical kick do not sound separate, but rather one sounds to 'emerge' from the other; and 'The Drumz', which evidently takes after Millsart's 'The Bells' for a more enlivened jamboree, albeit one that still somehow fits in with the softer subtleties of the EP's obverse trax.

Review: Planet Rhythm has been one of the premier hard techno labels for over 30 years now. Exploring some different avenues in the last decade, the label recently launched a series of heavy dub techno related records identified as DUBWARS. Volume two features four different artists this time with each submitting a new piece to the label focus. Fans of Basic Channel's 'Phylyps Trak' should quickly head to OFF/GRID - 'One Stab Ahead' for that main room filler. Gunjack's 'Memory Man' is another upbeat killer in its own right adding a bit of acid along with the melodic chord progression. For the second side, Antic Soul's 'Mandalore' stirs in a bit of house culture to the hard dub techno sound to great effect. Lastly, Lenny San bring's the party to their feet with 'Hedonist'. Heavy techno heads should really enjoy this packed 12"