SK Eleven Vinyl & CDs

Review: Border One is an alias for Steven Petit, who has been exploring tough, tunnelling techno since 2015 and taking in prominent labels like Wolfskuil, Token and Voltage along the way. Now he makes a return to SK_Eleven with four formidable workouts pitched towards the most serious of dancefloors. Just listen to the creeping drones sweeping through the middle distance on 'Optical Void' and you'll know this record is no laughing matter. 'Inner Sight' is possibly the most psychoactive track on the EP thanks to its relentlessly looping synth phrases, but in fairness each and every one of these tracks will work wonders when you want to get everyone locked in good and proper.

Review: We're able to see the vanguard of New York techno with clearer eyes thanks to this new EP from Holden Federico, whose mission statement is to reinvent the early grittiness of incipient techno sounds for the present day. 'Inner Order' collects four rough and minimally-produced cuts. Like the filterpassed rave stabs on 'Emergence' or the wonky techno ambivalence of 'Hours & Hours', we can almost guarantee your mood to swing when whacking this one on the 'tables.

Review: There is something of an original 90s feel to the techno explored on this new drop from Holden Federico on the SK Eleven label: it is hard and fast, stripped-back but packed with atmosphere and also comes with artwork that harks back to the great work of Jeff Mill on Axis. After a cinematic and scene-setting opener, it's heads down on 'Myth' then 'Corner of the Room' brings some flashy synth light and 'The Beginning & The End traps you in suspenseful loops that never resolve. Two further cuts bring more physical techno thrills.

Review: Since emerging at the beginning of the last decade, Berlin-based Spaniard Kwartz (real name Mario Campos) has become a reliable source of dark, atmospheric, clandestine techno. He specialises in combining dense, thickset grooves with mildly creepy melodic motifs, minor-key riffs and bags of unabashed energy. All those sonic traits can be clearly heard on his latest EP, which marks Campos's first vinyl outing for two years. We're particularly enjoying the panicked urgency of 'Fast Focus' and the entrancing heaviness of 'Impulse', where weirdo electronics and echoing melodic loops catch the ear, but all four cuts are undoubtedly tried and tested peak-time treats.

Review: Setaoc Mass' SK11_X offshoot calls upon the services of Brighton-based producer Rene Wise for its seventh outing. The producer is in a real purple patch right now after collaborating with Rodhad and landing on Luuk Slater's pivotal Mote Evolver imprint. He has a loopy, stripped back sound of pure techno brilliance that is all about precise drums, dubby flavours and deft design. There is some real static skating over the surface of 'Pleasure Note' to get us going while 'Swamp Dancer' sinks into underwater dub territory. 'Hollow' is a spooky and empty tunnel of deep techno bliss and 'Changa' closes with pulsing, bleeping intensity.

Review: Originally founded in Manchester but now well entrenched in Berlin, SK Eleven continues to fly the flag for stern, unrelenting techno shrouded in gothic undertones with this essential drop from Zippo. The approach is one focused on needlepoint drum programming, running from the twitchy hats and thunderous kicks of 'Pulse & Distortion' to the snappy 909 hits of 'Xukro' on to the mind-warping arps of 'Cannot Stop Thinking', which also features Celina Marie's detached voice calling out the track title in the middle of the maelstrom. At all times it's techno delivered with an accomplished tone, making for must-check gear for any dedicated diggers and DJs.