Juno Recommends Techno: May 2022

Review: "Way back in the 1990s, Mark Hand, Neil Iceton & Jez Nicholl channelled their love of sci-fi-fired Motor City techno into a string of inspired releases under the alias Cubic Space Collective.

After reuniting for a memorable machine jam at Freerotation festival in 2016, Hand & Iceton headed back into the studio for a one-off session and recorded 'Holiday in Beta Centauri', a musical love letter to Mad Mike and the rest of Detroit's most militant futurist techno crew.

Sending us surging skywards via 'Binary System', where lilting lead lines, fizzing electronics and enveloping chords dance atop a snappy, cymbal-heavy drum machine rhythm, before 'Arps in Hyperspace' sees them step things up a notch via layered waves of synths, sparkling melodies and a driving, hyper-speed groove.

The North-East-based twosome then attempt to warm us to the core in the shape of 'Rigil': restless organ stabs, undulating Michigan bass, alien electronics, psychedelic acid lines and Galaxy 2 Galaxy style chords catching the ear. Bringing us gently back down to earth, they complete their deep space mission with 'Beyond The Nebula (Holiday in Beta Centauri)', a bustling electro number full of stabbing analogue bass, star-burst electronics, meditative ambient chords that shimmer full of night-sky melodies.

A fine return to action for this Teesside UR-loving techno twosome... 3,167 miles away in Detroit, their achievement will be noted."

Review: Mihail P brings us a 4 tracker, including a special John Shima remix. We start with the title track "Relinquish", a nice journey through deep space at a modest tempo. It features electro breaks rhythm patterns and harmonics to send you in to orbit. Following is "Shifting", a more acid tech vibe and straight 4/4 chugger, in line with proper Detroit / UK lushness from the 90's and forward. Flip to the B side for "Reliquish John Shima remix". It's hard to say which track is the peak, but this one's a contender. John Shima is known for his signature bleepy, but danceable sound. He adds layers of synth programming intelligence and great basslines as usual. Finally the B2 "Close to Zero" is the closing tune. Similar to the opener, we find more electro breaks, synth basses and a cool pad to complete the perfect journey.

Review: Here's something to excite fans of Detroit techno and far-sighted Motor City deep house - a full release for Underground Resistance member Gerald Mitchell's EP, previously available in strictly limited numbers as part of UR's Battle Weapons series of DJ tools. It's as immersive, deep and classy as you'd expect, with Mitchell sashaying between hazy late-night hypnotism (the 'is-it-house-or-is-it-techno' warmth of 'Midnight Inspiration'), bustling deep and jazzy techno ('Essence of Bass', where crunchy drum machine snares and twinkling electric piano motifs catch the ear), surging sci-fi techno (the unsurprisingly futurist flex of 'Funky Revolutions') and rolling, warehouse-ready fare (the tight looped bass, intergalactic synths and deep, hypnotic vibes of 'In Traffic'). In other words, it's a high-grade EP from one of Detroit techno's most storied producers.

Review: 25 years ago, one of the most essential deep & dubby techno projects put forth its roots in the form of the 'JS' and 'MCMLXV' labels. Two decades later the consistency & quality of James' output is as solid as ever. The aptly titled Universe EP showcases the breadth of his talent; from the atmosphere-skimming feel of 'Refracted', to the melodic vibes of 'Cyclic'. The flip sees more familiar territory in the abrasive 'Gravity Waves', and the expansive & soaring 'Blueshift' has future classic written all over it. Timeless material.

Review: Duck Hunt was a videogame many of us missed the boat to play, so now we can thank Deniro for blessing us the opportunity to revisit the 8-bit era with an exploration of the contemporaneous sound of the Akai MPC. Recalling the 'lo-fi bangers' style of DJ Guy or DJ Plant Texture, albeit with a bit more kitschness thrown into the mix, this 4-track EP is one for all the family; whether you're an oldhead raver or a newhead nerd. Tooly and compressed to nigh-searing levels of heat, it's hard to feel you can't get down to this one.

Review: Mark Broom is a techno veteran, but just because he enjoys that sot of status doesn't mean he has lost his edge. He proves that here with a hefty new record on Radio Salve's mighty Rekids. It bangs from the off with his signature heavy drums defining each of the tracks across all four sides of vinyl. '100% Juice' is peak time tackle with incendiary hit hats and loopy synths, 'Slush' is a head melter with more warped lines and elsewhere 'Wonky Workout' does exactly what says on the tin. There is a brilliantly unsettling and eerie vibe to 'Boxed In' and straight up dance floor fire in 'Wiggle Me This.'

Review: We Are The Brave (WATB), owned by inimitable DJ and waxmaker Alan Fitzpatrick, here presents their very first physical release from the man himself. Two collabs with hard trance legends Rebuke and Sasha lend this four-piece a very hard edge; the first bit, of course, is called 'Ultimate Distortion', and hears farting buildups and huge leads inevitably scoop out rooms the world over - that reese though! Hard big room dub techno ensues on 'El Jefe', while voguing electro house ('I Still Remember') and a slapping slab of deep tech house ('Eleven Eleven') round off the B.

Review: Artur Moreira has been building up a formidable catalogue of pummelling techno gear in recent years, with albums for Axis and Warm Up last year and drops on Edit Select, Modularz, MindTrip and Mord amongst his many high-end achievements. Soma have been strong supporters of the producer's sound, and so it continues with this latest EP for Slam's long-standing institution. 'His Reign Is Over' showcases Moreira's Norbak sound as a finely sculpted, dynamic kind of percussive techno, where there's subtlety to match the impact of the drums. Reeko then steps up for a remix which takes the original and hammers it into a more linear, industrial tool. The B side belongs strictly to Norbak, and he uses the space to exercise his drum design with exacting detail.

Review: Inspired by the late, great Andrew Weatherall - whom they represented for many years - the Spun Out DJ agency has decided to release a swathe of compilation style EPs showcasing the work of some of their artists. Somewhat predictably, this second volume in the series is as inspired as its must-check predecessor. Paranoid London gets things going with a typically mind-mangling analogue acid jam ('Spinning Out'), before Fantastic Twins join the dots between acid and EBM on 'Kali's Tongue Was a Weapon'. Over on the flip, Manfredas offers up some wayward punk-funk/post-punk fun ('Hfuhruhurr') before Glasgow's Naum Gabo gets ready for the apocalypse via the angular electronics and hallucinatory intent of 'Cold Sold'.

Review: Inspired by the late, great Andrew Weatherall - whom they represented for many years - the Spun Out DJ agency has decided to release a swathe of compilation style EPs showcasing the work of some of their artists. Fittingly, this first volume in the series begins with something Weatherall-related: a deliciously trippy and psychedelic remix of a track by the Ashpodells (AKA Lord Sabre himself and Timothy J Fairplay) from long-time DJ buddy Sean Johnston as Hardway Brothers. It's followed by another raw, razor-sharp chunk of chugging electronic wonkiness from Aukratic ('Sleepover'), a gorgeously colourful Italo-disco bubbler from Ruf Dug ('Manctalo Banger') and a low-slung, post-punk-inspired dancefloor workout from James Savage and Optimo's Johnnie Wilkes and Naum Gabo.

Review: Charlotte De Witte has been leading techno's new school from the front for a couple of years now. The irrepressible Belgian has big, hard and fast sound but increasingly she brings various different influences into the mix. After ambient design on her previous EP, this time she looks deeper into trance, spy-trance and psychedelic sounds for inspiration. 'Satori' is a serene and hypnotic roller with transcendental vocals, 'Kali' ups the pace with sleek retro-future video game sounds and 'Universal Consciousness' brings some visceral acid to the booming kicks. 'Ahimsa' closes down in unrelenting big room fashion.

Review: Well Street Records present their second release of 2022 and third in the Various Artists series. Enjoy 4 broken beat gems from emerging talents First Epoque, Practitioner, Planete and label head Robert Fleck. Limited pressing!

Review: Detroit techno luminary Terrence Dixon joins Kynant with six tracks of signature minimalism. Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci (aka Neel) @ EnissLab Studios, Rome.

Review: Matt Edwards aka Radio Slave's Rekids label is a fine factory line of functional but characterful techno. Next to roll out the jams is Radio Hell across two intense and mind melting cuts. The titular offering is built on vast rolling drums, with pounding kicks and siren-like synths next to aline life forms trapped in the mix. It will trance you out in no time. 'Lost Souls' on the flip cuts a little more loose with twitchy synths and more pudding kicks, this time standing a little more upright with loopy synths going up and down the mix.

Review: Next up on Kalahari Oyster Cult is Aarhus scene stalwart and Regelbau chief Natal Zaks (aka Central) under the Picture alias, with some soulful techno expressions on the Metric EP. The hypnotic chords on opening cut "Rul" are underpinned by slamming peak time beats, while the following track "Silke" takes its cues from Detroit's style of hi-tech soul for this emotive journey. Over on the flip, Zaks goes deep on the late night mood music of "Forskudt", followed by the lo-slung groove of "Targil".

Review: Next up on Dusseldorf's Themes For Great Cities is the debut LP from local trio Folie 2, comprised of vocalist Marlene Kollender, Gregor Darman (aka Rasputin) and Sebastian Welicki (LSW/Trashlagoon). Anyone who caught their great podcast on LYL Radio full of slow, trancey music knows what to expect on this one. There's a strong nod to '80s pop for the most part, but also taking in chugging dark disco slow burners ('Confrontation') neon-lit boogie down numbers ('Night Times') and taking influence from sounds of their homeland circa the '70s ('Fullness Of My Heart').

Review: Opening track 'Bruise' could be HVOB's toughest and most driving, while 'The Lack of You' definitely ranks up there with their most emotionally captivating and moving. Overall, Too may be the electronic-dance-alt-pop team's finest hour to date, and that's no mean feat considering just how insanely good everything they have done up to this point has been.

While packing plenty for the dancefloor, and being built entirely from machines, Too is a human work at its core, running through the gamut of our vast emotional scope, from the joyful to the mournful, teeth-clenched determination to absolute oblivion. From arena-filling body movers like 'Kid Anthem' to the intimate euphoria of 'A Piece of Me', it's quite literally all here.

Review: Italian DJ and producer and Afrotemplum co-founder, Feel Fly, revisits the sunned, balearic mood of his childhood on this early-stage career definer of an EP. As a series, 'Mediterranean Dreams' lets the light in on only the haziest of sonic visions, letting in island stenches and coconut skitters between the palms. Everything from dub, ambient, balearic and kraut is here channelled into a realised smattering of deep trance, tittilating the senses with an echoic foray into navel-gazing reverie.

Review: This first album from Sons proves them adept at a range of techno soundscapes, It was written as the soundtrack to a movie that does not exists and it plays out with a great sense of narrative because of that. It tells the story of Anna and her escape from earth to a new planet, Seylanide. The record features well-received singles such as 'Identity' (ft. Sun) and 'Eternity' (ft. OCB), complete with plenty of rich layers of emotive pads, deep basslines and melodic vibes that have your mind cast adrift in a cosmic abyss.

Review: Chilean-born, Berlin-based techno producer Christian Cespedes makes his debut vinyl outing here with four tracks of punchy, noirish techno. 'Pantano' has a textural line in acid squelch and plenty of nervy arpeggios flitting around a steadfast beat, while 'Black Minerals' vamps up the eerie pad tones for an explicitly spooky mood. 'Systematix' kicks off the B-side with a slick line in darkside acid breaks that teeters close to psy-trance, and then Terremoto cruises in for a remix of 'Pantano' which fattens up key elements of the track without losing it's seductive, moody vibe.

Review: The ARTS label inclines to serve up some of the many great tunes it has previously only released digitally. This one brings together Shlomo and Kmlye for three no frills techno bangers. The first groans and moans with trippy pads and gritty chords, then Emmanuel remixes it into something bright and trance inducing. On the flips side, 'Ora' is the standout with its booming and rolling drums and more heavenly and celestial pads up top making for a fine tension. 'Capital' is the four piece of this puzzle and a loopy, hypnotic one at that.

Review: I Love Acid founders Posthuman are naturally most often associated with drum-machine-driven, TB-303 sporting jacking house, though in truth their output has always been far more varied than that. As if to prove that point, 'Hack Jammer' is not a straight-up acid house monster, but rather a deliciously rubbery, loose-limbed number that sits somewhere between electro, hip-house and acid, with rugged TB-303 motifs twisting themselves around a weighty sub-bass boom and crispy breakbeats. Bonus cut 'Airstrip 1', meanwhile, is bleep-laden acid-electro sleaziness of the highest quality. Elsewhere across the EP, you'll find contrasting takes on 'Hack Jammer' - a pulsating acid techno version from WTCHKRFT, and a hard-to-pigeonhole, synth-heavy rework from LDNLDN - and a punchy electro revision of 'Airstiop 1' courtesy of DJ Karawai.

Review: Acido records has grown older. In the meantime hang on in there for the deep cinematic joyride that is Synaptic Sugar and Gentle Hell, 2 epic fantasy trax with increasing tension. A spiritual sort of thing, written and produced by drummer and curator Andres Loo from Tallin, Estonia... it could be Detroit.