RE:ST Switzerland Vinyl & CDs

Review: Fresh off the back of Cryptographic's intense 'Echo' release comes this fitting V/A from the ever-intriguing Swiss experimental 170 label Re:st. Music to realign our Covid-ravaged chakras to 'Re:align' introduces three new names to the label; Alternate Current steams out of the gates with a dub techno juggernaut 'Borrowed Language' while Dreadmaul & Tobe:n whip a rhythmic stampede that's screaming to be unleashed on a big system with 'Homunculus'. Flip for two slightly more cosmic tales as label founder LCP gently pats us down with the trickling lolloping loops of 'Off Limits' before Books signs us out with the sparse and skippy 'Cosine'. Refine your alignments.

Review: Swiss label re:st: Music welcomes accomplished beatmaker Cedar for another of their leftfield ambient extractions here. Opener 'Transfer' drops you right in at the deep end, with a rolling, rubbery kick drum making a hypnotic rhythm as deft ambient designs and subtle sci-fi cues fill in the spaces. 'Sferics' is a similar pairing of driving and dynamic rhythm with cavernous open spaces while 'Proxima' gets more frosty, with icy minimal synths and a beat that rocks back and forth on its heels as if stuck in some northern tundra. 'VLF' is the most minimalistic of the lot, a barely-there but hugely compelling rhythm with sonar pulses from a distant planet.

Review: Eusebeia returns to re:st after time spent traversing labels like Mindtrick and Western Lore, bringing that strung out dub techno ambience to bear on four more electronic outliers for the experimental corner of your record collection. "Cardinal" is a slow lurching, hugely atmospheric piece that moves like a sound installation, while "Pray" drops some more discernible beats around haunting fugues that take a little hint of Jon Hassell and twist it to some dark designs. "Lord Have Mercy" keeps the dread up, using choral tones to offset the onset of heavy, heavy bass. "Repose" finishes the set with some lighter ambient electronics marked out with crunchy percussion echoing in the dense but harmonic fog.

Review: De Lichting member Human Space Machine makes his debut on Re.st with four uncompromising techno / broken beat fusions. Each cut writhing and exploring a different tempo and style but painting from the same palette, 'Zone' sets the technoid/D&B tone while 'Unmade' hurls us deep into the dubby abyss. Flip for more highly contrasting dynamics as 'Sigh' goes full-on ploughman 4x4 while 'Slo' lives up to its name in a deep and dreamy way. Get lost in the zone!

Review: Re:st regular Lcp has so far proven to be a producer with many musical talents, offering up a string of releases that flit between ambient, techno, IDM and off-kilter dancefloor moves. "Carried From Secret Seas" marks the producer's first solo EP for two years and sees him combine club-ready rhythms with evocative ambient chords and far-sighted, intergalactic electronics. The most robust of the three tracks is "Rural Nightline", a heavy, stripped-back and effects laden drum workout that's as creepy and clandestine as it is tough and intense. The other two cuts, "Minus 10" and "Carried From Secret Seas", are both far more dreamy and positive in tone, with Lcp wrapping ambient textures and soft focus melodies around deep broken techno beats.