OFF GRID Vinyl & CDs

Review: Considering he debuted this year, Hamburg's Off / Grid is already a strong presence in the upper reaches of the techno tempo range, having dropped two knockout 12"s on Planet Rhythm that presented his driving, funked up sound to the world. Now he appears on Life In Patterns with another assured drop to close the year out, kicking off with the pressure cooker 'Step Back' before diverting into the warm, melodious swathes of 'Layercake' with its dreamy pads and harmonic 303 lines. 'Masterpiece' switches back to high-impact peak time gear and then 'Real Deal' takes those thunderous techno rhythms into deeper climes thanks to some brooding synth work lingering in the middle distance.

Review: Gale-force sonic apneas from Planet Rhythm, the label and unstoppable phonic force from Rotterdam. The imprint's latest V/A release in the Dubwars series this time takes on its own name, 'Minerals', and welcomes rambunctious techno troilers from the likes of Unknown Code, OFF / GRID, and Luca Accardi. Rhythmically dragged, diminished stab-chords define the A1 and A2 against metal girdered kick patterns, with 'Moment' especially nailing that ever-sought-after sweet spot of energy and anhedonia, a mixed feeling perhaps only achievable within techno's ambit. Dub techno inflections turn to infarctions, as Accardi's 'Minerals' sucks the sonic substrate dry with ballistic echoes, giving way to Gockel's minimal mountaintop NDE, 'Meditation In Tibet'.