Juno Recommends Electro September 2021

Review: Echocentric hits double figures with a glistening new electro outing from Gilbert. This marks the solo debut of the UK producer and a long-awaited done at that. He is a master of his analog machines and layers up bleeping melodies, sublime chords and the sort of twitchy and futuristic sounds that take you into another dimension. The lush and loopy progression of 'Star Cycles' opens up with darker underlapping bass defining the widescreen 'Swamps On Jupiter.' Things get superbly heavenly and brain cleansing thanks to the bright melodies of 'New Reality' while 'Aegean Clouds' and 'Solitude' close out in supple rhythms fashion.

Review: France's Gaugain brothers have built up an impressive discography as G-Prod since making their debut in 2013, in the process releasing music on such established imprints as R&S and Brique Rouge. Here they bring their deservedly high reputation to Fourier Transform, a recently launched imprint. Interestingly, the EP launches not with their original mix of warming, melodious electro number 'Boiling Bubble' (you'll find that later in the EP), but rather a sparkling, surging, sun-kissed and breathlessly life-affirming Reedale Rise remix of the same track that's genuinely brilliant (like much of the Liverpool-based producer's work). Elsewhere, 'Disobedience' is an ambient-influenced chunk of ultra-deep house, while 'Biomatic' is an acid-splattered deep electro treat.

Review: For the latest volume in Tresor's occasional Kern compilation series, the long standing German imprint has turned to balaclava-sporting Detroit legend DJ Stingray. The Drexciya associate has gathered together a typically forthright selection of techno and electro jams, presented here in unmixed form for pure DJ pleasure. Given that all the material is high quality, picking highlights is tough. Our favourites include the deep space electro brilliance of "Musik Politik" by Syncom Data, the trippy, acid-fired madness of vintage Aphex Twin wriggler "Serge Fenix Rendered 2", the throbbing sub-bass and crusty drum machine hits of Herva's "Slam The Laptop" and the bustling techno madness of Dynarec's intergalactic workout "Moving Corridors".

Review: Nite Fleit follows up Amadeezy's hugely successful East Side G-Ride earlier in 2021 with her own intergalactic electro workout for the International Chrome label. Across four searing tracks of hardworking hardware jams she blows all your senses apart. This one comes on heavyweight 140g purple vinyl and opens with the crashing hits and searing bass of 'Effe Bee Eye' (feat Jensen Interceptor). 'Low Voltage' is another coruscated banger, 'Zero Sum' has a baseline fired from a semi-automatic and 'Bad Blood' is a sleazy ghetto number. A fierce EP, make no mistake.

Review: The electro talents of Carl Finlow seemingly known no bounds. The man has been knocking out essential cuts like this for decades and seems to be getting even more prolific and better with each one, if that is possible. The Uk legend now makes his debut proper on Avoidant Records with four more clinical and assault-ready analogue workouts. The intergalactic tension that holds all these tunes totters is perfect. The crispy drum programming, the scurrying basslines and pixeleated leads all come from another dimension. Essential.

Review: Dublin based artist Cignol brings his a-game once again on this four-track electro trip for Orson Records. He kicks off with the supple acid sounds and far-sighted chords of 'Darya Message' with all its crispy drum programming and supple synth work. The Transparent Sound remix is more dialled back and high tempo before the mood grows more pensive and inward on the gorgeous 'Journey To Auriga.' It's back to dance floor tension and unsettling acid lines on closer 'Resist' which locks you in drum loops next to some sawtooth synths and a rasping bassline.

Review: Earlier in the year, shadowy machine music maker Gavelman returned to Lifeforms after two years with a genuine rarity: an analogue techno seven-inch single. Here he steps things up once more with his first mini-album, a bustling and energy-packed collection of growling, acid-fired lo-fi workouts. There's plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the dystopian industrial-electro grittiness of 'Contact 3630' and the fizzing acid-electro brilliance of opener 'Future', to the spacey, TB-303-sporting intergalactic electro of 'Seq M3' and the melodious, trance-inducing pulse of post-techno number 'Still Walking'. Throw in some decidedly murky noise/ambient fusion (the uncomfortable 'Chin Biter') and you have a thrillingly dystopian set.

Review: Electro stalwarts Central Processing Unit look to Texan electro maestro Phillip Washington aka Cygnus for their latest 12" offering. In return, the studio wizard cooks up the sort of interplanetary sounds you would expect: 'Bad RGB Controller' sounds just like a malfunctioning bit of digital machinery. 'CPU Records' is a cyborg love song with talkbox vocals and crunchy drum hits, then '
Float Back To The Surface' gets even more frosted with its brushed metal drums and synths. Closer 'Throwing Shade' carries on in the same frosty aesthetic but with a nice corrugated bassline bumping down low.

Review: Orson Bramley's longstanding electro alias Transparent Sound looks back into the vaults for this long-awaited reissue of their cult 1999-release EP 'Night & Day'. As always with Bramley's Bognor collective, the aesthetics are crisp glacial and pure machine soul as we range from the Detroitian essence of the tight track to the much more angular and synthetic bubbles of the finale 'Sound Splash'. Elsewhere we're sent into space with the anti-gravitational vibes of 'Solar' and the gnarled acid bubble funk of 'Scratch & See'. 22 years and still sounding future; cop this while you can.

Review: Dutch label 030303 is, unsurprisingly given the name, all about acid sounds in various different contexts. This time out they line up four artists and set them free with their Rolands. Freek Fabricius opens up with a portal to another dimension where bight harmonies and shattered melodies, computer game sound effects and bust bass all happily coexist. Geel Acidvarken's 'Birdhood Acid' is a more slow and meandering acid meditation. Bohm gets busy on a nice electro trip and Piepiep's 'System 100' is a nice tripped out wander through downbeat electro bliss.

Review: Must Be On Wax is a vinyl label based in Ourense, Galicia (Spain). Their fourth release comes from the enigmatic Wachita China, known for their collaborations with Colombian EBM merchant Filmmaker. The D1e & Repeat EP features four booming cuts in the tradition of Detroit ghettotech and definitely NSFW if you know what we mean. From the breakneck bass assault of opener 'Blanca Y Dormida', more hyperspeed booty house tackle awaits on the title track, which receives a tunnelling acid techno rework by the man with "macrosolutions to MEGAproblems" - Sansibar from Helsinki.

Review: Welsh imprint Ha?s snaps up Zobol for another of his devastatingly thoughtful electro EPs. He is in a real purple patch right now and the man born Jon Chmielewski continues that with opener Empathy Droid's Lament.' It's a serene trip with melodies cascading down the face and rugged bass powering you along. There is a more defined broken beat funk to 'Rogue Landlord' but still some heart aching and thought-provoking melodies and 'R U OK?' then bangs and booms that bit harder. Reptant's Lizard Tech mix really cuts loose, with squirrelling bass and unhinged hits and pads firing off in all cosmic directions.

Review: Following up some spacey wares by the likes of UhU, Corp and Do Or Die, Berlin-based Saverio Celestri is up next on French label Partout. 'Gorilla' starts out with chiming and hypnotic melodies reminiscent of Jeff Mills before unleashing an acid trance inspired fury, then bringing the tempo down for the trippy rave slow burner 'Halloweeen Track' which takes you into mental overdrive. Over on the flip, Celestri summons you aboard the acid express on the frantic energy of 'Critical Cure' while 'Polykboom' sounds like a cross between Lil Louis and early Underground Resistance - give it a listen and you'll hear what we mean.

Review: Echocentric Records sub-label Eavesdropper Network opens up in tough electro fashion with a new EP from UK artist Tom Place. His fusion of bass and electro is a powerful one that stems from his early love of dubstep and breaks. Having already released on the likes of Typeless and Bade Records he now makes a fine step up with opener 'Surface Tension' twisting up broad bass and taught synths into a snapping and futuristic groove. The Shedbug remix is zoned out and wired up with sci-fi sounds and 'Archelon' lurches on a fat broken beat with plenty of low-end wobble. 'Fragmentation' closes out with slippery synth work and rubbery kicks.