Juno Recommends Electro: June 2023

Review: For those too young to remember the days of glitch-house and electro-house at the turn of the noughties (think Herve, Switch, Claude Vonstroke etc), Fake Blood was one of the true masters of the style. He released a swathe of big records for Cheap Thrills and others, with the two tracks collected here - both of which date from 2009 - being the biggest. A-side 'I Think I Like It' is a superb example of the style, with the producer expertly cutting up a pleasingly silly and over-the-top disco-pop number and turning it into sweat-soaked, hands-aloft gold. 'Mars', meanwhile, gains its dancefloor power from a frankly filthy, mind-altering bassline-turned-lead-line, around which crispy drums, breakbeats and Mylo-esque synth stabs make their presence felt.

Review: Raw Takes offers up exactly that - perfectly imperfect electro jams direct from his machines. We last heard from him here at Juno back in 2020 on a VA via the Sample Delivery label but here he takes charge of all six cuts on this new Zement EP. '901 Area' opens with wobbly sheet metal synths and zippy pads that eventually coalesce around a nice snappy electro breakbeat. 'Sxx' pairs ambient pads with machine gun laser fire and 'JMS' then brings a more deep and reverential viber. The rich variation continues on the flip so that there is everything from tripped-out acid to hard-hitting and ear-drum-shattering electro-tech.

Review: Martin Muller is based in Offenbach, where for over 10 years he's been releasing punchy club cuts and building up his label Traffic. The sound he's pushing is full fat and catchy, touching a little on electro, trance and techno, winding up as something which will absolutely go down a storm in larger party situations. 'The Life' has some cheeky samples and a nasty bassline to draw you in, while 'Gangster' gets into a slightly more machine-funk oriented sound with creepy pads on top. The hi-jinks continue on the B-side with the playful 'Amen' and boxy beatdown 'Shodan', all adding to the direct impact of Martyne operating on home turf.

Review: More hand-stamped headiness from Keith Farrugia AKA Sound Synthesis on his own Orbital Mechanics imprint. In keeping with the Maltese producer's trademark sound, what's on offer is an attractive, highly accomplished blend of electro, glassy-eyed underground electronica, acid and ambient techno. Our pick of an extremely strong bunch is closing cut 'Memory Re-Generation', a deep, melodious and loved-up affair in which TB-303 acid lines and gorgeous melodies bubble away atop tight electro beats, warm bass and ultra-dreamy chords. There's plenty to get the pulse racing elsewhere across the EP too, including the lovely - and hard-to pigeonhole - opener 'Don't Let Go' and the tighter, tougher electro club jam 'Let The Music Take Control'.

Review: When it comes to the UK electro underground, Si Begg is a real one, make no mistake. He's been doing it since day one and pushing the scene forwards instead of resting on his laurels, and that shines through on this welcome drop for one of electro's most important contemporary labels, CPU. The ideas and flair are simply flying off each of these tracks, from the driving rave pressure of 'Energy' to the slippery machine funk of 'Buckfunk Beatz'. 'MS10 Machine Funk' meanwhile heads into some truly gnarly territory, but Begg manages to balance the analogue filth with an air of elegance which is testament to his years of experience. Forget the imitators and stick to the innovators - this record is what electro is really all about.

Review: Exit Planet Earth continues its exploration of the world of electro universe with an expansive, extended six track EP, featuring The Advent x Zein Ferreira, DeFeKT, London Modular Alliance, Konertymi and Zobol. The Advent, whose weekly Gardening Club residency in the mid-90s helped to drag electro out of the realms of the retro and back into the future, team up with Zein Ferreira for a Kraftwerk-on-speed extended mix of 'CarpeDiem', before London Modular Alliance's more moderately paced but still squiggle and bleep laced 'Lump of Coal' plus a 'beats' breakdown for the DJs. The B-side brings us the acid-powered 'Pulssi' by Konerytmi, the bouncy, breakdance-friendly 'Radar' by DeFeKT, and the relatively pure, optimistic sonics of Zobol's 'Data Wars'. Thumbs up all round.

Review: For our money, some of the best electro in the world comes out of the Netherlands, and it has done foursome time. It's not just the famous West Coast sound out of The Hague that's worth checking in with either as labels and artists all over the flat lands seem to excel. Here we have CEM3340 in blistering form across four sides of vinyl on the Curtis Electronic label. e covers plenty of ground from cyborg funk to rugged techno-infused bangers, always with pummeling drum programming and lithe, bright synth work that almost makes your eyes water.

Review: Dark Entries label regulars De-Bons-en-Pierre are back with more of their scuzzy delights in the form of their Card Short of a Full Deck EP. It's drenched in textbook sludginess as is often the way with Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti ever since they came together in 2016. These tunes were all originally written back in 2019 for live performances and really find the pair pushing at the boundaries of accepted social norms. The absurd sounds pair skipping rhythms with dark and freaky basslines and plenty of eerie rave chords to make for an all-new kind of dance floor energy.

Review: Whether turning his attention to electro or techno, Umwelt is a master of hard, mind-mangling club cuts whose efforts over the last 25 years have included a string of classics and a wealth of overlooked gems. Here he returns to long-serving Dutch stable Shipwrec for the first time since 2017 with another quintet of moody, all-action workouts. He begins with the deliciously twisted, energy-packed intensity of bustling acid-electro number 'Galactic Empire', before opting for a darker, more clandestine feel on the doom-laden electro shuffle of 'Collapsar'. 'Reflectivity' is a more shimmering slab of far-sighted soundscape electro that doffs a cap towards mid-90s ambient techno, 'Redemption Arc' is an immersive ambient interlude, and 'Day Zero' is a fiendishly psychedelic slab of hallucinatory acid electro.

Review: In the busy field of modern day electro, Alex Jann's star continues to rise following standout performances on Censor, Infiltrate and Dance Trax. Now it's Mechatronica who are carrying his brittle, intense workouts, with 'Psy Culture' instantly nodding to those who prefer their electro in the DJ Stingray vein. The uptempo, angular machinations continue apace with 'Data Exploit', 'Infomaterial' and 'Kill Disk', while 'Let Us Control Your Mind' slows down just a touch and lets some seriously slippery acid textures creep into the mix. This is dystopian electro gear of the highest order - use it wisely and it won't let you down.

Review: Before his untimely death in 2002, Drexciya member James Stinson recorded a number of killer solo records. Hyperspace Soundlab, initially released in 1991 and credited to Clarence G, is undoubtedly one of his best. It's long been something of an in-demand gem, with copies changing hands for several hundred pounds. Here, Clone have done us all a favour and given it a much-needed reissuevia their Aqualung series dedicated to all things Drexciyan. As you'd perhaps expect, all four tracks explore the Detroit elecro sound Stinson did much to develop, with the producer adding his own rap vocals to the killer "Clarence G's Club", and the ghetto-influenced bounce of "Cause I Said It Right". Elsewhere, "Turbine" is an exercise in industrial-tinged drum machine abuse, while "Data Transfer" sees Stinson doffing a cap to classic Chicago acid.

Review: Portuguese electronic artist Pedro Goya lends his latest and best efforts to French label YoY - a sublabel of the Yoyaku family - for a textured sway through dreamy minimal house and elegant acid progressions. Much like picking flowers, the EP puts across the feeling of being 'in the zone', with the tracks seeming to flow seamlessly through similar keys and timbres, all while nailing a raw, real, even ancient feel.

Review: 'Lords Of Miami' is a fantastic name for this new one from Domesticated, a label run by one of Berlin's best electro aficionados, Robyrt Hecht. Sshadess, The Coomers, Girlcop and Emscho Shoshe each contribute original cuts ranging from the janky to the smooth, with choice bits like 'Carbonara' remaining unpretentious and not-too-produced, yet also peppery on the glitches. Shoshe's 'Give Up' lends an experiment to vocal booty house too, adding an extra creep factor to the genre with freq-scooping phasers on the sample.

Review: Belgium's history with electro is almost as rich as that of the Motor City, so this coming together of Detroit native Kenny Hooper and the Elypsia Records label is a fine one. It marks Hooper's debut release on the label and is one EP of three-part series that shows off his serious skills. Cybotron and Model 500 influences abound, of course, with fresh cyborg funk, slick contemporary production and a mix of grooves from driving and cosmic to more physical and banging. The tight drums and freaky vocals of 'Encrypted' are a particular highlight for us.

Review: German imprint Clear Memory focus on the trusted and true admixture of electro, IDM and every angle of experimental music in between. Six tracks by different local artists appear on this heater, which carries an extra-hard edge with it. In particular, the amusingly titled A-sider 'Lidl Darknet' steals the show with its classic string detunings and patchy drumwork, while increasingly distorted numbers also pique our interest, like 0341 Hills' 'No Sense' or Varum's 'Dusky'.

Review: The music of Russian producer Volta Cab is known for is blend of post-punk, synthwave and downtempo elements, resulting in a dark and cosmetic plod though nightmarish yet cartoonish sonic backstreets. Like living somewhere sun-soaked in the 1980s and bowling down the road in the the driver's seat of a car that converts into a giant mechanised owl at night, the tracks here are at once sinister and sultry. Catch the tonal shift on the B-side, however, where the EP undergoes a sea-change into Meat-Beat style electro.

Review: Speakwave is a lesser-spotted alias from Frenchman Dynarec, who has been exploring the outer edges of electro on various superb labels for years. Here he builds on his famously melodic sound across a trio of cosmic cuts. 'Cartographic Venture' kicks off and is a ten-minute odyssey with cold melodies and tinny drums that have a retro-future feel. Distant vocals add an extra edge to 'Coming On Monday' which has wispy sci-fi lines darting about over more cold drums. 'Exposition To Revolution' closes out with an introspective feel but a widescreen sound that is clean and has lovely spiraling skyward melodies.

Review: French label Nocta Numerica clocks up a quarter of a century of releases with a suitably stylish electro trip from Martin Matiske. The German claims to have been mixing records and making tapes since he was 10 and the maturity and high production values of his sound certainly back that up. There is a Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe feel to his brand of electro - deep and reflective in mood, with sleek lines and celestial chords that carry the mind and body away into the cosmos. It's timeless material that oozes class. Kudos to both label and artist.

Review: 2021 was a big year for D3070, the shadowy electro operative who debuted with a splash on Cyberdome, Lobster Theremin and Dance Trax. Now they return on Dutch label LDI (short for Lloyd's Dark Imperium, fact fans), following the likes of Martin Matiske and Cliff Dalton with more of that sinewy, dark-side machine funk gear. From 'Data Transmission's reduced, blippy maze building to the steely punch of 'Phantom Operation' and onwards, D3070 weaves a seductive, dystopian web of robotic rhythms which are essential listening for anyone who takes electro seriously. Don't sleep on the remix from The Exaltics either - a treat tucked away on the B2 for the dedicated diggers.

Review: Martin Matiske was discovered by DJ Hell as something of a child prodigy already deeply immersed in the history and present moment of electro and synth-pop, and by 2012 he had already released his debut album Robotermusik. This release on Bordello A Parigi revives one of the tracks from that album, 'Dimension Phantasy', and gives it a standalone release with some interesting remixes. Captain Mustache does a fine job of threading extra arpeggio sparkle into the track without derailing it, while Play Paul turns the track into his own bombastic synth-pop anthem which appears in vocal and instrumental versions.

Review: It's five up for the Future Tones label and taking charge for this latest 12" is Jorge Gamarra feat Ecstatic. Gamarra has been featured on plenty of different labels up to now, always with quality levels remaining high. Nothing changes here as 'Tricky' kicks off with a bit of tech house intrigue - unresolved loops and freaky sounds. 'Illapa' is a more dark and turbulent space-tech workout and 'Universe' then bumps on big drums with taught synths and 90s motifs while closer '52598' spins out on bleeps and warped pads that are heart of the dance floor perfection.

Review: Cosmoba's debut release made all the right moves and now label owner Kalcagni builds on that early momentum by stepping up himself with a new four-tracker packed with fresh vibes. 'Mute Mode' is first up with the sort of meaningful chords that have you thinking deep while the reverberating kick lan with plenty of infectious bounce and acid lines fill in the spaces. 'Up Here (In The Head)' is serene electro to take you to the stars, then 'System Addict' gets more down and dirty on slapping hits and flashy leads while 'Worn Out Version' closes down with sci-fi effects and radiant chord smears. Top-class electro.