Cold Blow Vinyl & CDs

Review: Halvtrak is hardly prolific - this EP is just his fourth solo vinyl outing in a decade - but what he does release is invariably excellent. The Finnish producer's trademark sound is rooted in the past, referencing British breakbeats, ambient techno, bleep, Motor City futurism and Chicago house, but always sounds fresh, pleasingly melodic and analogue rich. Opener 'X-Pressed' is probably the most peak-time ready of the strong bunch of tracks on show, with glassy-eyed chords and spacey melodies riding a thrusting bassline and sweaty breakbeats, though the house-tempo melodic techno strut of 'Rhythm Overture' pushes it close. Elsewhere, 'Phase Distorshun' is a more angular, deeper and lo-fi techno excursion, while 'Doubt' sounds like a cross between deep bleep minimalism and hypnotic, mid-90s Detroit techno.

Review: The Jaffa Kid is a pseudonym from long-serving braindancer Daniel Pringle, who also released a lovely 12" as Qeta on La Beaute du Negatif last year. His recent output on Bandcamp has been a lot to catch up with, but he's also snuck out releases on Deeptrax, Obsolete Future, Utter and Pulse State. Now he comes to Cold Blow with another six divine drops from unheralded dimensions, spanning a spectrum of energy levels from the feisty thrust of 'Itled' to the sad-eyed somnambulant electronica closer, 'Dolt'. Grabbing hold of melody with two hands and creating his own variation on the braindance theme, The Jaffa Kid once again proves himself to be a leading light, appearing on a label which is buy on sight.

Review: Mono Junk has long been putting Finland on the map with his unique take on techno for decades. The irrepressible talisman this time makes a solo debut on Cold Blow with his IATI EP. As always it is atmospheric stuff that brings more than just machine grooves: the opener and title track marries slick drums with molten synth work and a dreamy male vocal which has a meditative effect. There is also synth heavy techno such as 'Love Divine' and the deep and bleeping sonic pulses of 'I Am Yours (You're Mine)' to lock you in. Another artful EP.

Review: Mono Junk only loosely uses techno as a foundation for exploration of various different forms on this new EP on Cold Blow. The opener has jacked-up beats with an electro feel and prying bass that brings great bounce. 'Gamma' is brilliantly dark and moody with domineering synth notes and shuffling hi-hats getting heads down and feet marching. Katerina's Mind mix of the opener then opens it up into a more expansive and widescreen synth world and the Sansibar is pure muscular rhythm.

Review: .Stepping into spring with true style and just the right amount of nostalgic sass, unpredictable Finnish artist Otto Taimela follows a string of techno dispatches with this sublime four track jungle narrative that's perfect the sunnier seasons. With its lively, unkempt edits and jumps, 'Sunflower' has a powerful warmth of a timeless jungle dancefloor tune while carrying a certain amount of nostalgic IDM haze. It's a vibe which is maintained throughout the EP; 'Sunwarmed Window' has a dreamier edge that wouldn't have gone amiss on Warp at any point during the early to mid-90s, 'Sunshine Reloading' rides a much busier drums palette while 'Imagined U' brings us back down to earth with a gentle beatless ambient kiss. Stunning.

Review: This release features four club tracks from the recent Cold Blow fifth anniversary CD compilation. It includes contributions from Matti Turunen of the renowned electro group Morphology who does a good job of serving up his signature while the EP also highlights a funky electro collaboration between Qwerty and Ed DMX. Additionally, there's a true minimal techno banger from the legendary Mono Junk and last but not least is the introduction of an enigmatic new producer named Sleep Mathew. He adds an intriguing touch to this diverse collection that marks five years of Cold Blow in style.