Juno Recommends Techno November 2018

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Cisco Ferreira continues to fly the flag for rugged hardware powered techno with personality, well over 20 years since he first emerged. The Advent is rightly hailed as a mark of assured quality for good reason, and Thema make a smart move in signing up this fresh grip of tracks from the veteran producer. "Kombination 100" is a lurid, slightly unhinged acid workout from the outer limits, while "Dorian Blue" sets a more moody, aquatic tone with a dash of electro thrown in for good measure. "In Time" brings things up in tempo and attitude, sporting some surging 909 drums guaranteed to get bodies striding with purpose, and then "Rhythm" spins out into trippy electro territory for the heads-down travelers to get spiritually expanded to.

Review: Surprisingly, it's been some 18 months since the last limited-edition single from Brianna Price AKA B. Traits. Happily, she's in fine form on "People's Nation", with the throbbing, glassy-eyed title track delivering little less than a whole-hearted techno tribute to the second summer of love. Bounding and warehouse-friendly, the track's most ear-catching elements are a riff reminiscent of Lil' Louis classic "French Kiss" and a loved-up vocal encouraging people of all nations to dance together - a positive message we can all surely sign up to. Flip for "Inside My Love", a similarly stomping techno cut rich in cheery disco loops and sweaty peak-time energy.

Review: John Shima's recent rise has been built on an uncanny ability to produce futurist electronic club music that's almost overpoweringly melodious. Or, to put it another way, the Sheffield producer makes high-grade tracks that simultaneously move the head, heart and feet. Shima's latest outing - his first for DMK - is another superb collection of cuts. Such is the quality, it's hard picking favourites, though we'd direct you towards the glistening, sun-bright melodies and snappy machine drums of "Din Sync", the contemporary clonk (look it up, kids) meets Detroit flex of "Rotary" and the technological sweetness of opener "Stealth". Recommended.

Review: Helena Hauff's Return To Disorder label plunges once more into the grimy underworld of electro and wave music, this time guided by dungeon dweller Morah who debuted on the label in 2015 and has since gone on to great things via Lux Rec, Berceuse Heroique, brokntoys and more. "I Saw, Strained Her Eyes Peering Into The Gloom" is a bittersweet dance with distortion as disheveled as it is catchy, while "Dance When Lights Off" pushes even further into the red with scintillating results. "Against Your Beloved" sounds positively shimmering by comparison, even if on its own it's still a truly dirty slice of jacked up electro. "One Shade The Less, One Ray The More" is a strong closing bout that draws from a similar sound bank and applies it to a more techno-minded structure.

Review: The mysterious Olympos project continues to serve up some of the finest minimal techno sounds currently in circulation without making a big fuss about it, simply accrediting each release to a Greek god until all 12 of the Olympians have been revealed. On this fourth installment, 'Hermes' is channeling some reflective, introspective moods with the lingering synth tones and detailed, snaking percussive lines of "Astraia" and the equally downcast "Eidolon." "Stasis" is a true standout on the record with its gorgeous melodic leads calling to the vanguard of 90s UK techno. "Phone" finishes the record off on a more ominous, crunchy note that will appeal to those craving a darker side to this ever-intriguing label project.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: After strong turns from buttechno and label founder Pavel Milyakov, RASSVET makes one of its most decisive moves yet with this crucial slab of dance-wrecking badness from Shadowax. The Russian artist made her first appearance on a compilation on Nina Kraviz's Trip label, and now steps forward with some seriously badass techno that will draw in curious trainspotters and head-in-the-clouds ravers alike. "A & B" is a cover of 90s Russian hip-hop crew Pyanstvu Boys, and Shadowax's version is pure fire, her voice poising eerily over a punchy off-beat and droning bass. Buttechno delivers a simple, savage remix, while the B side presents an alternative mix and an acappella that should see lots of action from remixers and creative DJs alike.

Review: Sometime Trilogy Tapes and Zodiac 44 artist Buttechno (real name Pavel Milyakov) arrives on Minimal Wave offshoot Cititrax with his fourth album-length excursion. It could well be his best to date too, as we can confirm it has very few flaws, but plenty of atmospheric, ear catching fare to enjoy. He begins with the fuzzy, metallic mid-tempo techno creepiness of "March Cherskogo", before proceeding to flit between smooth horror-techno ("Back 2 The E"), melodious and spacey electro ("Elektroshirka", the foreboding "AXF"), mind-altering intergalactic chug ("Slow Durk") and sparse, crackling industrial techno (L.I.E.S-ish closer "808 Exec Dirty").

Review: Last year, Kuniyuki Takahashi brilliantly blended his past and present on Newwave Project, a set that superbly fused his deep and emotional house and techno sound with raw and grimey nods to EBM, proto-techno, industrial and '80s alternative. Here, two tracks from that inspired set by Houndstooth regular Call Super. First he tackles "Newwave Project #2", wrapping dreamy, stretched-out chords, far-sighted synthesizer melodies and dubbed-out electronics around a rubbery, jazz-flecked deep house groove. Next, he turns his attention to "Puzzle", delivering a breathlessly loved-up interpretation rich in trippy, alien-sounding chords, shimmering electronic sweeps and huggable deep house grooves. It's stunningly beautiful, all told, with the remixer's use of glistening guitar passages only adding to the picturesque mood.

Review: Enzo Siragusa is no stranger to collaboration, having previously released studio hook-ups with the likes of Alexkid, Subb-An, Nima Gorji, Archie Hamilton and Seb Zito. Here German veteran Martin Buttrich joins the London-based FUSE regular for a tasty three-track hoedown. They hit the ground running on A-side "Dangerman", a formidably funk-fuelled chunk of bouncy tech-house rich in trippy minimalist vocal samples and undulating TB-303 bass. Flip the record and you're greeted with "Lifted Spirits", where meandering choral style vocals and razor-sharp acid lines dance across a foreboding groove, before Siragusa and Buttrich round off proceedings with the heavy, feverish Afro-house/tech-house fusion of fine EP closer "Apache". Get on it (the record, we mean).

Review: The Poverty Is Violence stable are firmly established now as an essential conductor for rabid, rowdy and downright rasping mechanics from subterranean operators of all shapes and sizes. Anonymous but reportedly veteran Dutch producer XXX previously appeared on the label in 2016 with the wild Noorder Scannen 12", and now returns with a bludgeoning new release. There's a consistent metal grind to the percussion on Westzaan Doelen, while the synth tones in between tend towards the jagged and abrasive, there's space and poise in the arrangement to lift this out of knuckleheaded noise. "Don't Go After Her" reverberates with clamouring intensity while the beefy chassis of "Just The Two Of You" shimmers under an acidic glaze - this is full-tilt deviant music executed with finesse to match the grime.

Review: One of the standout cuts from Daniel Avery's superb Song For Alpha album, "Diminuendo", gets a deserved single release. The title track - an alien-sounding chunk of psychedelic darkroom techno made in collaboration with recent Tresor signing Manni Dee - kicks off the EP, before Avery serves up a trio of previously unheard workouts. The first of these, "Hyper Detail", is a weighty chunk of creepy and intense techno propelled forwards by thunderous beats and wickedly wild TB-303 acid lines, while B-side opener "Light of Falling Rain" is an equally trippy slab of wonky electro/modular techno fusion. Closer "Time Marked Its Irregular Pulse In Her Eyes", meanwhile, is the kind of twisted ambient - all barely decipherable electronic speech and spacey noises - that sounds like it was beamed down from another universe.

Review: The master returns: Atavisme chief Pepe Bradock presents four eccentric groove experiments executed in ever impressive fashion for his label's 19th release. This one is more uptempo than previous efforts, as heard on the trippy "Panique Manucure" - a wonky and textured stomper incorporating layers of disorienting samples, with grinding monosynths and rusty rhythm patterns meandering between. Proving he's got oddball grooves for any occasion, there's the moody slow burner "Furious Yogi" or "Ave Psychic" on the flip - which sees the French legend slam out the most unique take on techno that we've heard in a while.

Review: Following previous appearances on Station Shiva and Discos Pandemicos, Estrato Aurora makes his first appearance on Bliq with some advanced deep techno immersions that match the profile of the label perfectly. "Ursus Dolinensis" takes a slow ride into submission, placing all the emphasis on the low end and using subtle background frequencies to shape out the atmosphere. "Lunanosorex" takes a particularly tripped out approach to electro, while "Glyphodon" adds a little industrial bite into the machine funk framework without losing that steely atmosphere that makes the whole EP so appealing. Leonid's remix of "Ursus Dolnensis" is the perfect complementary addition to the EP - the Dolly and Sistrum artist adds his own rugged deep techno machinations to the track to deadly, understated effect.

Review: Skee Mask, who only recently was found out to be called Bryan Muller, comes through with his second LP to date, making a wonderful follow-up to 2016's Shred. Compro is, ironically, comprised of a much more explorative palette of sounds, with many corners of the album veering off into otherworldly ambient, often through a striking new-age sensibility. The most impressive element of this album is its flow and evolution across its 12 tracks, sounding a lot more like one single-minded thought rather than a collection of disparate dance-not-dance tunes. The quality of the recording is noticeable, too, with tracks like "Rev8617" or "Via Sub Mids" sounding professional, both in vision and style. Through an intricate collage of breaks, samples, polyphonies, and subtle electronic manipulations, Skee Mask has truly mastered his own art, and is giving a new direction to the wider 'UK rave' sound. BIG.

Review: Neil Landstrumm began his solo production in 1993, influenced by the Sheffield school of bleep as well as electro and Miami bass. His unique sound soon caught the ears of a wide variety of the world's finest electronic labels - going on to record for Tresor and Planet Mu among others and he remains one of the scene's innovators. Featured here are timeless classics such as "Takks" or "Sniff & Destroy" which nailed that similar kind of minimal funk that label mate Daniel Bell was creating at the time, through to the bang and clatter of frantic jams like "Swing/Jerk" and "Blam The Target" (Inhabit The Machines) which are still a true zeitgeist of early '90s UK techno.

Review: Underrated producer Craig Stainton returns, this time for Finnish imprint ProForm Series on this raw and uncompromised four track EP. Stainton has been releasing under several aliases such as Acid Phreex, Monofonix and Nite Vision (with Nigel Rogers) since 2005, and under the Mantra alias on labels such as Bunker Records, Polybius Trax, Solar One Music and Abstract Acid. The Abyss EP features four deep down and dirty acid cuts, with that little silver Roland box gliding and resonating away in classic form on the killer "Next Culture", the adrenalised warehouse jack of "Beat Methods" and the tunneling trip down the vortex that is the title track - this is perfect to lose yourself under the strobe light.

Review: Three heavyweights are featured on the next installment of the Truncate remix series. Heiko Laux revisits the Truncate classic 'Dial' with his deep, stripped down rendition. Ray Kajioka remits his interpretation of 'Wave 1' with his deep, melodic touch. Lastly, Steve Rachmad aka Sterac delivers his touch to two remixes of the track '30' - one stripped version as Sterac alongside one electro version as Sterac Electronics. Techno tools for everyone.