Perseus Traxx

Review: Following sterling entries from Derek Carr, John Shima and Mihail P, Distant Worlds reaches out to Perseus Traxx for a demonstration of the emotional heft and utopian optimism that classic techno promises in its most compelling moments. This is relatable, familiar territory, but executed with finesse beyond the reach of the average producer. "A New Mystery" is bathed in swirling synth tones as elegant as they are moving, while "Simulacra" places a bold square wave riff front and centre for an impactful deep techno meditation. "Circumstantial" reframes the same rich melodic approach in a frantic chassis of snapping beats darting around the grid with playful glee, and then "The Map Is Not The Territory" applies the same logic to a mystical but rhythmically charged trip into the netherworld of machine soul.

Review: Cyber Dance Records are back on the attack with a fresh release from the legendary Perseus Traxx aka Nigel Rogers, a 4-track EP entitled after recent scientific developments 'An Apparent Horizon'. It's a firmly machine-based and totally jam-packed affair reflecting diverse sounds from the UK's own rich history of electronic dance music, with elements from the classic Warp "deep space sound" prominent as much as the more usual 303-jacking acid house grooves in the vein of Baby Ford or Bam Bam. 'Lost Dreams' opens the record with a floaty dream-like hypnosis from the depths of space and sets the tone in magnificent style, followed up on Side A with the irresistible roll of 'Reverse The Trend' that takes the groove harder, further and deeperstraight off to the beyond. Dark strings reminiscent of old LFO, B-12 or Autechre vinyls from the early 90s propel us into Side B on 'Darkness Stalks', and then we're transported onto the concluding track on the EP, 'Distances'; an epic closer that opens with beautiful reverbed claps and acid squelches before diving into an inky black void of timeless space-travelling and slow-building tension that could surely echo hauntingly around any M25 rave in the depths of a late 1980s night.

Review: Prolific analogue explorer Perseus Traxx is on top form on this fifth and final 12" of 2017. It marks his first appearance on Holland's Pareidolia Recordings and contains a quartet of cuts that brilliantly blur the boundaries between electro, techno and early Chicago house. We've particularly been enjoying the foreboding, minor key melodies, ragged machine percussion, fizzing acid flashes and mud-caked lo-fi production of opener "Atlantis", though mazy acid-electro jam "Electric Duo" and meandering jack-track "When I Think Of You" - all Adonis beats, tumbling synthesizer melodies and acid bass - are equally as impressive. If you get time, check "Offerings To Herne", too - while the melodies are poignant and alluring, the track's other elements are tough and foreboding.

Review: Horn Wax is always a trusted outpost for intriguing, often haunting forays into the world of machine powered house and techno, and so it goes on edition 11 as Perseus Traxx and Posthuman take a side each to extol the virtues of electronic exploration. Perseus Traxx is in an especially romantic mood with the blown out tones of "Manque" straining through a fog of reverb and dust, creating a truly mesmerizing jacker in the process. Posthuman by way of contrast keeps things clear and concise, preferring a sinsister, sleazy approach to acid that rides a slower tempo and sounds all the more alluring for it.