Offen Music Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Vladimir Ivkovic's Offen remains one of Europe's finest, broadest and least predictable electronic imprints, with the only real guarantee being that output will be interesting, weird and unarguably innovative. The latest from Gains't Nait, made with electronic near-deity Robin Rimbaud under his Scanner moniker (see also Githead), is another case in point.

Depth is the crucial factor - tracks feel dense enough to get lost in, catching listeners in a time-space warp, where there's as much to make us consider the future, and the great unknown, as the past. The familiarity of distant, building, looped brass stabs on 'OB'. The melancholic, cinematic cut scene pianos of '63'. All share their space with distortions, processing sounds, white noise and discordant ambience, to dazzling effect. Like the loose, intermittent breaks of 'Slo', and its spirals of barely-audible space age speech.

Review: Jonny Moy has called his style "melodic acid braindance techno" and it's always been refreshing whenever it has landed on the likes of Analogical Force and Masa Series out of Spain. Here it graces the Offen Music label and open with a fulsome and bubbly acid sounds that's part soothing balm and part cosmic trip. 'Outburst' then rises up with more bold drum patterns and sharper acid that eaves in and out of the breaks and 'Strange Geometry' is wired up with screwy 303 wiggles with celestial synth glows. 'Platonic Solid' shuts down with an acidic pop hook and meandering groove that allows your mind to wander.