CD Album Recommendations November 2011

Review: If you're going to release a remix album, you best make it interesting and worthwhile. That's certainly what Radiohead have done on TKOL RMX 1234567. Based on a series of seven acclaimed 12" singles, this 19-track double CD boasts contributions from some of electronic music's most forward-thinking contemporary talents. Supposedly handpicked by Thom Yorke himself, the presence of Pearson Sound, Shed, Modeselektor, Caribou, Mark Pritchard, Jamie XX and SBTRKT (whose anthemic version of "Lotus Flower" provides a fitting finale) demonstrate the band have more than a cursory grasp of who is doing good things right now. The end product sees widely varied reimaginations that veer between twisted underground techno, stargazing electronica, maudlin ambience and whatever this week's go to term for the UK bass cognoscenti is.

Review: Japanese producer Makoto Shimizu first made his name on LTJ Bukem's legendary Good Lookin' imprint. In recent times, he's continued his D&B explorations whilst pursuing a more soulful sound that takes in slower tempos and influences from a wide range of styles. Souled Out, his first album in 2007, continues this theme, utilizing a multitude of vocalists and a variety of rhythmic styles to deliver a smart, 21st century soul set brimming with slick and stylish songs. So, while the sparkling D&B jams remain (see "Keep Me Down" and "Woe"), Makoto also offers up sassy future boogie ("Girl Am I Running Back To You"), life-affirming soul stompers ("Tower Of Love"), R&B and broken beats.

Review: Despite making a name for themselves as fine proponents of ambient and IDM, many of the earliest Black Dog releases were thrilling early examples of UK techno. It's perhaps fitting, then, that Liber Dogma - Ken Downie and company's 13th album in total - largely looks towards the dancefloor. While there are moments of typical downtempo clarity - see the Steve Reich like "Eden 353" - much of the album is dark, stripped back, druggy and almost minimal in its pursuit of simplistic techno pleasures. There are, of course, nods to the Detroit techno sounds that first inspired Downie's ever-changing outfit (see the Temple Of Transparent Balls-era thriller "Hype Knot 7"), but these merely offer glistening interludes between the thunderous Germanic fare.

Review: For his third full-length for the constantly enduring Kompakt label, Axel Willner has decided to take his enduring brand of Balearic loop techno to grandiose new heights. Sonically, the template remains the same - intoxicating layers of guitar, voice and ambient synth loops atop hypnotic dancefloor grooves - but the resultant tracks are just, well, bigger - cinematic, even. Given Willner's inherent skill at producing this kind of baggy, organic techno, the results are rarely less than impressive. As a result, Looping State Of Mind makes for thoroughly enjoyable listening, simultaneously appearing ambitiously big and pleasantly intimate. He deserves enormous credit for pulling it off.

Review: While Extrawelt's post-prog house Border Community days are long gone, you can still detect a hint of that early progressive ethos in this second album for Sven Vath's Cocoon imprint. Musically, their various takes on house and techno benefit from a similarly atmospheric approach, even if their aesthetic is more fiercely contemporary and deeply rooted in German club culture. There's certainly something vaguely proggy about the blissful dubbed out sounds of "Schlusslicht" and the melodic dub house of "Die Welt Ist Nacht Schelung". The same can be said for the touchy-feely "Blendwerk", which sounds like classic Orbital reworked by Sasha or John Digweed.

Review: Having initially impressed on Good Lookin' Records in the late 90s with a series of melodic, blissful and far-sighted drum and bass records, Blu Mar Ten have since tried their hand at atmospheric trip-hop and dewy-eyed ambience. Here they return to their first love with a deliriously positive set of shimmering soundscape D&B. To keep things fresh there are occasional diversions into tougher, rolling territory - see the old skool junglisms of "Made In London" and tech-step bounce of "Problem Child" - but for the most part Love Is The Devil is as glorious, soothing and indulgent as you'd expect.

Review: Norwegian disco eccentrics Mungolian Jet Set have long-promised a follow-up to their jazz inclined 2006 debut, Beauty Come To Us In Stone. That it's finally arrived is something of a surprise - but not as much as the set's musical contents. While the Oslo-based duo have always been prone to mixing things up, few would have expected the curious yacht-rock vibes of "Bella Lanay" and "Ties N Downs" - or even the Sheffield bleep/noughties bass music cut "Shelton's On A Bender" - amongst the usual mix of inspired disco lunacy ("Prog Rocks & Moon Jocks") and far-out prog-disco epics ("Smoke N Mirrors"). But then this is Mungolian Jet Set, and anything is possible.

Review: Gilles Peterson has high hopes for 28 year-old British jazz starlet Zara McFarlane. She's already made waves thanks to collaborations with a wide variety of established jazz players - most notably Denys Baptiste, Orphy Robinson, Soweto Kinch and Jazz Jamaica All Stars - and looks likely to gain wider recognition thanks to this small but perfectly formed debut album. Based on her 2010 EP of the same name, it perfectly showcases her talents as a singer and songwriter with enormous potential. Backed by a smart jazz band whose sterling efforts don't go unnoticed, McFarlane's vocals shift between casual sassiness and heartfelt beauty. It's a great sound.

Review: While fidget heavyweights such as Switch, Sinden and Diplo may have long since moved on, Milan-based duo Crookers continue to fly their flag for savage electro-house and twisted dancefloor cut-ups. This second album for Southern Fried - their third studio set in total - is a willy-waving, balls-out romp through the sort of in-your-face dancefloor fodder that will no doubt cause carnage in clubs that like it noisy, bassy and unflinchingly heavy. There are hook-ups aplenty - most notably with Savage Skulls, Style of Eye and His Majesty Andre - and more certified club bangers than your average Pete Tong compilation. If that's your thing, you'll love it.

Review: While Marco Dionigi seemingly knocks out an album as regularly as most people brush their teeth, his collaborations with cosmic disco originator Daniele Baldelli are frustratingly rare. Adaptors, then, is a cause for celebration - particularly as it's arguably the duo's best collaborative work yet. It sees them re-editing, remixing and remaking tracks by New York-based veteran electronic composer Richard Bone, whose early alternative and New Wave records have long been a staple of Badelli's DJ sets. Musically, the duo breathes new life into Bone's quirky compositions, turning them into druggy cosmic disco anthems, cosmic rock chuggers and slo-mo synth pop gems.

Review: When the DVD/CD package A Cross The Universe appeared in 2008, nu-rave was in full swing and Justice were at the top of their game, knocking off noisy dancefloor anthems for fun. Three years on, Audio, Video, Disco finds them switching focus, quietly morphing into a powerpop combo with a warm new sound that blends the old (notably 60s, 70s and 80s rock and pop influences) with the new (their trademark electronics and dancefloor nous). Where there were once eye-popping dancefloor bangers, there are now perm-sporting synth-rock wig-outs, psychedelic prog-pop anthems and Beatles-on-pills singalongs. It's a surprising but highly enjoyable transformation.

Review: Following the double vinyl release of John Heckle's keenly awaited debut long player a few months back, Mathematics belatedly grace us with the compact disc edition. The Second Son is an illuminating follow up to a couple of excellent EPs for Jamal Moss's imprint, with the North West based producer further showcasing his gritty, raw slant on techno. From the murky sci-fi of opener "If One Second Were A Million Years", we're treated to the curious jangling melodies of "Counting Down To Infinity" and 80s electro flex of "Voyager (Voyeur)". The album continues to traverse eclectic terrain, from beatless ambient interludes to raw analogue jams and heaving acid. 2011 has been a fine year for techno albums - overlooking this one would be a crime.