Techno Recommendations March 2012

Review: ** Repress for the Tang fans ** Obsolete Music Technology aka Steven Tang has had another great year, nurturing his personal take on Chicago-filtered house music. "Mmmmmusic" is just sublime, taking us on a journey through rugged, drum machine terrains, swaying pads and crafty vocals; whilst the reprise version unearths those synths to create a majestic soundscape which develops into a semi-groove thanks to its smart melodies. Over to the B-side, "Distance" is as deep as one can go, aligning sharp slabs of percussion to more tranquil pads and woozy synth chimes. We even get a boisterous Chicago Skyway refix of the title track, rendering almost unrecognisable thanks to a truly mesmerising bundle of hi-hats and toms. Beautiful.

Review: Given the broad spectrum of Hotflush's output, it's easy to forget Sigha's place on the label's roster, given that his concise sound has always been far more aligned with the concrete Berghain sound than the colourful palette of his labelmates. However, there's a warmth in his sound that makes his place on the label appropriate, especially on this superb EP. "Something In Between Us" opens with an ambient flourish of warm chords - it's a stark contrast to "Where I Come To Forget" with its solid kick drum and dry percussion, but there's something about Sigha's production that coats everything in a subtle warmth, free of the mechanical feel of some of his German peers. "How To Disappear" provides further warmth - rather than cold, hard edges, its hypnotic arpeggio ripples invite you in like a warm spring. Even though "Drown" which follows is a fairly bleak finish with only subtle clicks to carry it forward, it envelops you in a blanket of crackly sonics. Highly recommended.

Review: Having become something of a regular fixture in the Mote Evolver camp, Shifted is back once again to head up Side A of the second Parallel Series 12". As you might expect, the techno comes bleak and throbbing from the Shifty one, although avoiding excessive heaviness over immersive progression and dubby FX. On the flip Samuli Kemppi plies his quirkier trade, using offbeat synth mess to counteract the steady rhythm of the bottom end on "Trans Neptunian". "Detached Object" meanwhile fires off streams of interlocking sounds which spiral around the relentless kick for a classy exercise in techno restraint. Highly recommended.

Review: Sex Tags Mania alumni DJ Sotofett returns with some more idiosyncratic house movements on the Wania label, after the blink and you'll have to shell out on Discogs Driftett EP that proved so popular last year (Jackmaster and Ben UFO among that single's more illustrious fan base). Lead track "Pulehouse (Reggi mix)" sounds like a Workshop artist covering "Pacific State" then subsequently getting bent out of proportion by John Heckle, deftly combining dreamy synth work with gurgling analogue textures and rippling, metallic drum sounds that threaten to pierce the ankle high sub bass. "Pulehouse's" soothing powers are intoxicating enough you can easily picture Move D ending one of his emotive sets at Freerotation with it while holding back the tears. It's complemented by two further tropical excursions on the flip with the lolloping rainforest beatdown of "Sta Opp Med Sola (Chiang Mai version)" complemented by the full on "scare a darkened room of people at 3am" psychedelic afro house wig out of "Assa Med Den Derre Floyta". Highly recommended.

Review: Boddika and Cosmin TRG join the ranks of Appleblim & October, Aardvarck, Fengler, Rolando and 2562 in reworking the wall shuddering sounds of Skudge on the fifth - and perhaps most incendiary to date - Skudge Remixes 12". Al Boddika Bleeky is at the top of his game right now, thanks in no small part to a cluster of Joy O collaborations and his A Side revision of "Below" continues the producer's lineage of deadly acid re-rubs, twisting the diva vocal led original down an altogether darker path. Cosmin TRG is nominally charged with a harder task in reworking "Ursa Major" the beatless opening excursion from Skudge's debut LP Phantom, but does an equally accomplished job in stamping his own sonic agenda on proceedings, firming up the track with some granular handclaps and white-hot chords. What's Swedish for 'must have'?

Review: The latest release on Field pulls together four wildly diverse tracks and in the process proves that fresh thinking in techno need not revolve around Berghain-style repetition. Dutch producer Delta Funktionen though does demonstrate on "Work" that there is still some life left in the dub techno sound, presenting a tougher, jacking track with a visceral filter that tears its way through the arrangement. Rod's contribution is also an unusual proposition, rougher than his dense, loopy releases on Klockworks, as doubled up rhythms and metal-plated, gained drums vie for the listener's attention. Counteracting these intense peaks is Mark Du Mosch's "L'Argeant"; the groove is stripped back and bassy, but suddenly Du Mosch lets loose with a flamboyant Italo melody line, breathing colour into the greyscale surroundings. Roberto Auser throws one final curveball on "Fatal Attraction" - a beatless affair, its epic synths loom as ominously as a Resse bassline and will tingle as many spines as Derrick May's strings.

Review: Blackest Ever Black have carved themselves an intriguing little niche with their array of releases to date, accruing attractive if decidedly bleak contributions from the likes of Regis, Tropic Of Cancer and Raime which differ in sound if not in tone. Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95 is perhaps the London label's most ambitious work to date, presenting seven fully remastered tracks from Black Rain, the industrial project of NYC avant garde icon Stuart Argabright and Shinichi Shimokawa. All the tracks featured here originate from Black Rain being commissioned to provide music for both William Gibson's audio book adaptation of his seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer as well as Robert Longo's poorly conceived film Johnny Mnemonic. With their productions for the latter being cut from the finished film, the only chance prior to this release of hearing them was on the 1995 album 1.0. Fully remastered for your audio pleasure by Matt Colton at Air, the deeply dystopian nature of Black Rain's music will thrill those with more esoteric tastes and it's probably best left to the sound clips for you to get a full idea of the lurching, foreboding industrial nature.

Review: In the seemingly endless slew of prime techno that Mr. Watson issues forth, it seems as though everything is coming full circle as he settles into a regular thing with Tresor. After last year's Atom EP, he's back with more of that uncompromising, melodically-endowed business. "Interference" is pure drama, with nail-biting synth lines pursuing a tense end, while "The Secret" opts for a more effervescent outlook, lightening the mood considerably. As with previous efforts from Vince, the synths rule the day, giving you plenty of punch to pack in your bag for those standout moments in the heat of the night.

Review: Marking his first outright appearance on his own Balans imprint, Dutch techno fiend Darko Esser steps right up to the "pure and honest...old school flavour" remit the label has set out. "Slightly Disturbed" thrums away on a heavyweight undercarriage of booming kicks and bass, while a manic tapestry of tonal and atonal bleeps and arpeggios interweave over the top. On remix duties, Peter Van Hoesen cools the tempestuous elements into a dubby mist, while Sandwell District make matters no brighter with their locomotions. Whether you want spangly head-rush techno or primal body-moving techno, this EP has plenty to get stuck into. Highly recommended.

Review: "Mada Theory" is a deep and dubby workout, as shattered pads hang above a solid kick drum that slowly begins to run away with itself. This track constructs the atmosphere beautifully, your body locked, frozen in time within a cave of sparkling glass. "Mada Theory" is a solid dub-techno track that follows the blueprint laid down by the likes of Maurizio and Basic Channel. "East Box" however, takes on a darker feel, making use of a lot of more sounds to build a picture of deep-cave exploration. Gentle drips of water echo off stone as some unknown reptile hisses in the darkened cavern that lies ahead. Far from a basic dub-techno track, "East Box" cleverly builds a horrifying soundscape based around dark, cold underground caves and an unknown beast that lurks ever closer as you explore the centre of the earth.

Review: Whilst Alexander Matlahov may have also graced digital labels such as Sonntag Morgen and Gynoid Audio in recent times with his frosted techno productions as Unbalance, it's the ongoing series of EPs for his eponymous DBH backed label where the Russian producer really excels. The fourth in this series of clear vinyl releases leaves all titular ambitions behind for three untitled productions that crunch their way through Millsian Martian techno and Fachwerk style claustrophobia inducing rhythms with the second track a particularly unnerving combination of shifting granite textures, survival horror drones and disjointed vocal yearnings. The third track is the closest approximation to something geared towards the dancefloor, but that only happens after Unbalance carefully lifts a dizzying rhythmic thrust through the thick viscous swirls of sonic crud that characterise the lolloping sludgy opening moments.

Review: Grounded Theory chief Henning Baer is on the verge of big things, and here he makes his debut on Adam X's iconic Sonic Groove imprint with an EP that sees abrasive industrial tones rub up menacingly against solid funk in a curious matching of audio devices. "Folsom" celebrates its graininess, but the beat remains an addictive and accessible one in the vein of the Live Jam collective. "The Spies" is more dangerous in its demeanour, as the stop-start groove does battle with decaying bleeps and kettle drum bass hits. "You Rhyth Me" on the flip ups the ante even more with a positively gruesome slow techno throwdown designed purely to terrify. Highly recommended.

Review: Given the quality of his dreamy, stargazing synth-wave and nu-disco productions, it was probably only a matter of time before Cosmic Metal Mother ended up on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label. It's not hard to see why the Norwegian leftfield disco don snapped up "Italian Cowboy". Slow, synth-heavy and almost dizzyingly claustrophobic, it sounds like an experimental take of nu-Balearica. If you liked the looser, distinctly sunnier Windsurf releases on Internasjonal, "Italian Cowboy" should be right up your street. Thomas himself and Stallions provide the obligatory uptempo remixes, the latter delivering a Bobby O-goes-Nu-disco version that simply bristles with masculine intent.

Review: The steadily-rising Modularz imprint strikes back once more with some killer, no-nonsense techno wares from Developer and Eduardo De La Calle. Developer's tracks plumb bleak depths, where the only tones allowed into the mix clang in atonal disharmony. De La Calle's "The Solution" has a little more warmth in its pulsing dub chords, but still maintaining that linear function for elongated mixes and hypnotic sets. The real jam is Developer's funky-assed "Under" which gets its jack off the nagging hi-hat, while the cavernous hits punch out off beat for a devastating rhythmic slayer which should get techno heads body popping like there's no tomorrow morning.

Review: Andy Graham aka Sei A has put out a series of impressive releases for Tiga's Turbo - and "Flux" is no exception. It sounds like Graham has been listening closely to the work of crossover techno/bass artists like Martyn, Shed and Cosmin TRG, as the title track is a raucous mixture of dense off-beats, squealing riffs and soaring, billowing chords. "Break the Pattern" is mellower, with dubby drums underscoring breathy filters and trippy acid lines. Martyn completes the package with a slamming, lurching take on the title track. Highly recommended.