This week at Juno
Dub techno, instrumental grime and distorted dancehall featured among the week’s best records.
Reaganz – The Periodic Table (The Bunker New York)
The Bunker New York has had an impressive first year in existence by anyone’s standards, and here they cap it all off with an album from Move D and Jonah Sharp’s Reagenz collaboration. Like much of the label’s material so far, The Periodic Table has ties to the label’s New York club night of the same name, with the six tracks being edited down from a 180-minute live performance at the club last year. The duo supposedly used the same gear they did when they originally formed 20 years ago, which gives the whole package a vintage feel, but really its the tactile, modern sheen that marks this excellent set out.
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Klara Lewis – Msuic (Peder Manerfelt Produktion)
Klara Lewis came to prominence with the standout album Ett on Editions Mego earlier this year, which combining ethereal field recordings with complex electronic textures and rhythms in a wholly distinctive manner. Given the similarity in tone to fellow Swede Peder Mannerfelt’s work, an EP on his label makes perfect sense, offering a fuller take on the sound displayed on Ett. While Msuic – split into four parts – isn’t without its darker moments, its the sombre horns of the fourth section that stick out, showing that for all the strange sounds she’s capable of conjuring up, her music his an emotive experience at its heart.
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Ryo Murakami – Spectrum EP (Meakusma)
Belgian label Meakusma is well known for its diverse approach, and this release sees it travel into dubbier techno realms. Ryo Murakami has been constructing deep, minimal and experimental grooves since 2007, and his approach on the Spectrum EP fits Meakusma like a glove. However, it’s the remix from dub techno pioneers Porter Ricks that’s likely to have most peoploe interested. Their first since a rework of Nine Inch Nails back in 2002, it’s the sound of bathing yourself in an ocean of digital sound – not only is this quite the coup for Meakusma, it’s a killer remix too.
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Various – Keysound presents Certified Connections (Keysound Recordings)
A few years ago Keysound Recordings released This Is How We Roll, a collection from tracks by producers like Visionist, Beneath, Wen, Moleskin and more. It offered a snapshot of bass-led UK club music operating in the 130 BPM zone, and acted as a mission statement for where the label was headed next. Now things have had time to develop, the label delivers another collection called Certified Connections, featuring label regulars and new faces alike. If you want a look at how UK club music might be developing over the next few years, this is a good place to look.
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Mumdance – Springtime EP (Unknown To The Unknown)
2014 has been a defining year for Mumdance, and his pair of wavy grime tracks for Unknown To The Unknown earlier this year were one of his many highlights. Here both “Springtime” and “Its Peak” get a deserved vinyl pressing, but it’s not actually these tracks that provide the central attraction. On the flipside are 20 locked grooves for adventurous DJs to use creatively – if you’re aware of the kind of curveball rhythms Mumdance has been creating this year you’ll have some idea what to expect – think masonry drills, birdsong, laughter, bubbling toms and other strange effects. Probably the weirdest Unknown To The Unknown moment yet, and that’s saying something.
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Powell – Club Music Remixes/Prostitutes – Ecstasy, Crashing Beats & Fantasy (Diagonal)
We recently declared Diagonal Records the second best record label of the year, and rightfully so – no techno label has been as exciting or as innovative in 2014. It closes out with a powerful double vinyl salvo, with James Donadio returning under his Prostitutes guise with four surprisingly funky techno cuts, and Powell’s Club Music being remixed by Ancient Methods and Richard H Kirk. If you’re looking for some classic EBM flavour then both of Ancient Methods’ remixes provide some particularly visceral thrills.
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Jack Murphy – Points Zero (Don’t Be Afraid)
Having established his stripped-back techno sound with two under-the-radar 12”s on Reference last year, the man known fondly by Juno Plus as “the techno detective” makes his label debut on Don’t Be Afraid. If you’re yet to acquaint yourself with his sound, this is the ideal place to start – the four cuts on offer here are showcase his refreshingly straightforward aesthetic better than anything he’s made to date. “Prefec-R” is a particular favourite here, shifting rhythmically in all kinds of unexpected ways – this is a highlight of 2014 for Don’t Be Afraid for sure.
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IVVVO – Theories of Anxiety EP (Danse Noire)
Since coming to prominence on Opal Tapes in 2012, IVVVO has taken his melancholic take on rave nostalgia to increasingly strange places on releases for Public Information and Fourth Wave. This seven-track EP is on Danse Noire however, is undoubtedly his best material to date. Though it’s still imbued with the spectres of raves gone by, there’s a new found fluidity to his sound – tracks like “Closer” and “Consumed” flow in a strange and unusual manner, though the driving kicks of “Fear” and “So Much” still aim at the dancefloor in his uniquely strange manner.
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Karl Lukas Pettersson – Paradise Island (Acido Records)
Lukas ‘Eargoggle’ Pettersson resurfaces on Acido Records in a way not too often seen by the electro devotee. The Paradise Island single has the Swede in a playful mood, taking a break from the harder style his productions are known for on labels like Bunker and Abstract Forms. This is the first record Pettersson’s released under his own name however, and he provides Dynamo Dreesen’s label with a funky two-track treat of fun electro shot through with a pulse of odd wave: think Gerald Donald’s Der Zyklus meets Das Ding. If you’re familiar with SVN and Takashi Wada’s Tase project it’s a certainty you’ll dig this, with the diminutive vocal of the B-side’s “I Travel The World” just too good.
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DJ Ape vs DJ Oa$is – Sleng Again (FuckPunk)
FuckPunk is a new label from Young Echo members Vessel and Ossia, supposedly “instigated by a slap round the head from the old man, and a firm squeeze of the bum by the ancient grandma, yelling – ‘Get off your ass and stop making vanilla music, it’s time to sort your shit out and get real'”. This sense of humour extends to the music they release, with the pair adopting their DJ Ape vs DJ Oa$is monikers for this 12″ of distorted dancehall riddims. The music is satisfyingly grotty, but the NSFW B-side illustration and etching really have to be seen to be believed.
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