Brokntoys Vinyl & CDs

Review: Downtempo dystopi-techno from London's brokntoys, who've been going since 2013. The six tracks contained on this EP by Exhausted Modern scour every depth of the frequency spectrum, producing a cosmic affair that challenges our presumptions about cause-and-effect itself (hence the title 'Notions Of Causality', perhaps). For example, 'Raised From Awareness' is a trans-perceptive chugger which cycles through phasey dubby drums and weird paradigmatic zones, while 'Noosphere' brings atmospherics to the abstract, sonically describing the biospheric plane of human reason.

Review: Brokntoys has released a number of superb multi-artist EPs over the years, so it's little surprise to find that their latest compilation style effort consistently hits the mark. Robert Valera impresses with the creepy, minor key techno/electro fusion of "Test 2" - a modular workout that intensifies in waves - before Bristol-based Glaswegian heavyweight Marco Bernadi wraps glistening, Vector Lovers style synth motifs around a shuffling, hardcore style breakbeat on "Tokyo Sunrise". Turn to side B for punchy and spacey electro antics from Vertical67 (whose "Out of Sight" is luscious), not to mention the widescreen chords, cinematic electronics and foreboding, spaced-out beats of "The Last Minute on Earth".