Perlon Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Thomas Melchior's take on minimalist house and techno - wonky and off-kilter, but surprisingly funky, far-sighted and pleasingly atmospheric - is amongst the most accessible and ear-catching around. It's a sound that works as well on albums as it does on singles and EPs, so it's somewhat surprising to discover that Vulnerabilities is his first full-length as Melchior Productions since 2007. It's been worth the wait though, with the veteran producer offering up tracks that combine brilliantly programmed, often off-kilter drums with smooth but druggy basslines, tactile chords, addictive melodic refrains and his usual subtle (and occasional not to subtle) nods towards deep house, dub techno, two-step garage, trippy ambient and the quirky, funk-fuelled eccentricity of Ricardo Villalobos productions.

Review: Seven years after Superlongevity Five, Zip and Marcus Nicolai's Perlon ushers in its 20th anniversary celebrations with the long-awaited follow up. 18 exclusive cuts from label family and firm friends old and new, Perlon's whole range is on display; from the pensive, restrained and dense house music of Baby Ford right through to the cosmic p-funk of Kalabrese, every Perlon shade and hue is on display. Highlights across the deep, widescreen trip include Villalobos's freaky "Gonzo Funk", the planet-leaping jacks of Spacetravel's "No More" and the late night trooping power of International Anything's "When It's Dark". Super.

Review: Ricardo Villalobos has clearly found a kindred spirit in former Sun Electric and Moritz Von Oswald trio man Max Loderbauer. The duo has been remixing together for some time, delivering some notable reworks, including a stunning minimal jazz re-imagining of Nightmares on Wax's "Aftermath". Safe in Harbour marks the Berlin-based pair's first original work together under the Vilod alias, and continues their theme of melding elements of fizzing jazz, minimal, and dub techno. It's an impressive set, all told, full of wonky, off-kilter fusions of live instrumentation - most notably some brilliant drumming - glitchy electronics and a Berghain-friendly attitude. In fact, it may be Villalobos' most impressive studio work to date.

Review: Originally formed in 2014 as a trio dedicated to blurring the boundaries, the Waves now exists as a solo project of one of the members: Berlin-based Maayan Nidam. Here she presents her long-promised debut album, 'Motorikherz', an atmospheric and off-kilter affair that confidently joins the dots between eyes-closed experimentalism, wonky post-punk-pop, minimal house, opioid electronica and stylish new wave pop. It's opaque and atmospheric in the extreme, with Nidam's evocative vocals rising above (or sometimes being buried beneath) sparse but warming analogue electronics, stripped-back rhythms, heavily processed instrumentation and inventive production trickery. As you can see, it's hard to describe, but it's adventurous, entertaining and - for the most part - surprisingly soothing.