Terminal M Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: No whimpers, all bangs... Monika Kruse's Terminal M brings another four Richmonds our way, as the label celebrates its silver anniversary (25 years) of releasing. Ignacio Arfeli and Kaspar bring Portuguese fire and German glaciations to a unipolar techno A-side each, with 'Never Look Back' shooting a hideous glower at Orpheus especially with a "don't you ever look back" jet-breakage of the sound barrier, precipitating a massive techno drop, of course. A felt sense of continuation is heard on the strobing 'Masterpeace' by Chris Bekker, before 'Alhalma', where Drumcomplex and Frank Sonic lead us to a cruddy close.

Review: Zafer Atabey shares 'Orbital Overdrive', his latest for Terminal M. With two solemn but still exhilarating euphorisers - destined for the turbine dancefloor - Atabey riffs on the idea of a sped-up revolution of planets around their solar axis, resulting in an overload of syzygies, novas and eclipses, to sheer, stellar celestial breaking point. The title track abounds with odd cockpit interface sonata and cavernously verbed gut-hits, which sound like the exaggerated gurgles of an octopoid monstrosity worming its way through the ducts and vents of an onboard oxygen dispersal system. Meanwhile, 'Sonic Synthesis' offers a brighter sound, its firmly bedded kicks acting as foils for enveloping, toppy synth flora, which scatter about our ears like bionic petals until the various rises and falls of the track combine to form one colossal movement.

Review: Joyhauser's music is back once again on Terminal M for a second instalment of the remix series after the first part proved to be so popular. 'LXR02' is first to get the treatment and it's Alex Stein in control. He brings plenty of frosty, wintry synth textures that cook up a blizzard of techno menace over hard, fast, stomping kicks. On the flip, Balthazar & JackRock remix 'Anamorphic' and bring some subtle hints of trance euphoria to the punishing drum patterns.

Review: Joyhauser's In Memoro has been taken apart for a new selection of remixes on the Terminal M label. First up is Dutch legend Bart Skills with a rework of 'Wasted' that brings out the eerie late night vibes, layers in some flashy trance-tinged synths and lets the raw drums roll. flip it over and you'll find 'Bassdrone' remixed by Teenage Mutants. It's another cut that straddles several worlds - trance, techno and hard techno all come together here with dystopian energy, underlapping drum darkness and bright synths to get hands in the air.

Review: Terminal M and Kaspar reflect on the relationship of releasee and audience with the latter's latest EP 'You & Me'. An incendiary lead techno overture of outsized proportions, 'You & Me' rather quickly portrays the tumult of a psychodramatic relationship, rising and falling through biting hardstyle synths and gaping, kickless letups. B-sider 'Levitate' is equally as armrest-gripping, if not a little catchier in our view, its buildup synth exploiting the natural ebb of a filtrated saw, while fatherly whispers adjure us to "levitate" whilst war-of-the-worlds thunderclap synths emblazon the mix's background.

Review: Colossal-room techno from Terminal M's Kaspar, the German producer rising to mountainous heights almost as sublime as the music he makes. 'The Awakening' is an impressive exercise in held breaths, seatbelt-fastenings and tense contrasts, with the title track spending ample time on a highpassed kickdrum-to-trance lead buildup before dropping into a vibe-switching, Reese-fronted gulf of awe. 'Drum Control', meanwhile, fits in an unusual set of rhythms and percussive sounds to the otherwise adhered-to 'drum code', testing the listener and/or club-goer with syncopated, long-release snares and knocks.

Review: Massively motivational big-room techno truncators here from Germany's Terminal M. Towering over the rave with an august majesty, we kick off with Kaspar's Rocky-sampling 'Sunshine & Rainbows', which overloads the dance with extra-layered sixteenth progressions and infra-textured stabs. Then come Mark Reeve's 'Move Up' and Drunken Kong's 'The Final Night', equal parts devilishly energizing - Belze-bubblers - before a thoroughgoing sendoff from Zafer Atabey with 'Align', which has a paradoxically calming feel, post-drop. Four select cuts from an expanded 10-track compilation, the aptly named 'Bangers Vol. 9' is sure to pulverise you to mash.

Review: German techno figurehead Monika Kruse's latest single 'Morgana' is a fatally attractive one indeed. While the original mix doesn't feature on this vinyl edition for Terminal M, its two remixes by Patrik Berg and Booka Shade bring two further unrelenting, ultrahigh-energy takes to an already intensely layered knockout in the vein of festival stage and/or stadium-ready techno. Berg injects a darker and relatively industrial solution into the original's major vein, amping out its call-to-prayer vocals and panting reeses as prime pre-drop suspenders of tension. Booka Shade's duo remix is much more ambient and building, making clever use of shimmery sample synthesis to evoke something further along the way to a synth-motional sound-nova befitting of a Kruse B-side.

Review: German label Terminal M's place in the techno world has long been established - it deals in fresh sounds for big rooms with hints of minimal. Mark Reeve now adds his work into the mix with this bold and inescapable two tracker. 'Golden' is a wave of techno with textural synth loops spraying about the mix like an untethered hose while chunky drums rattle the walls. 'All We Have' then gets even more extroverted and maximal with tortured synth stabs, big brain frying leads and more dark, all-consuming drums.

Review: Alex Stein's Delusion EP is a sonic rollercoaster of techno innovation. 'Delusion' thrusts listeners into a mesmerizing fusion of heavy techno and trance, dominating the main floor with its colossal sound. The bone-crushing bassline anchors the track, while its futuristic undertones flirt with psy trance, creating a vortex of heavy beats and hypnotic rhythms. On 'The Leap', Stein delves deeper into the realms of acid techno, crafting an intense journey tailor-made for massive rave mainstages. The track's monumental build-up crescendos to euphoric heights, setting dancefloors ablaze with relentless energy. Stein's mastery in constructing immersive soundscapes is evident, ensuring 'The Leap' will leave an indelible mark on the techno scene with its head-turning beats and futuristic allure, sheer intensity and sonic complexities.