Search results: DNA

Review: Vince Watson released the DnA album in 2019, and now he's revisiting it for a bumper remix package from a frankly dizzying cadre of producers. First up is Carl Craig, who takes 'Ride Or Die' in predictably epic, soaring directions before Jon Dixon lays his ebullient, melodious touch over '(RE)volution'. Steve Rachmad whips up a tight and punchy strain of techno while re-versioning 'Second Wave', and Claude Young takes a delicate approach to 'Universal Language'. Stephen Brown creates a brooding, Detroit indebted mood on his mix of 'Immersion', John Beltran goes predictably far out with 'Second Wave' before Stephen Lopkin's own dreamy, sky-scraping take on the track. Shawn Rudiman completes this all-star cast with a supercharged, uplifting techno workout as he re-interprets 'Metamorphosis'. If you like classically-informed techno, you can't pass up this sterling package.

Review: Xpq? founders D Tiffany and Special Guest DJ are keeping quiet about the identity of the "married outlaws" behind the previously unheard Low Budget Aliens project. This debut album arrives with little or no fanfare or fuss, or even the usual functional info sheet supplied to record stores and media outlets. So what's in store? In summary: peculiar, off-kilter excellence. Jumpy, skittish and imaginative, the majority of the eight tracks twist warped, mind-altering electronics and strange sounds around weighty basslines and unearthly rhythms that variously doff a cap to juke, jungle, grime, IDM and what would once have been called "brain-dance". It's an exciting and sometimes unsettling template, but one that consistently delivers on its eccentric, experimental promise.

Review: 43 years ago French disco legend Cerrone mused on humanity's impact on the earth on "Supernature", his most celebrated record by some distance. He takes a similar approach on his 17th studio set, a collection of dramatic, synth-laden disco cuts that recalls the grandiose, rush-inducing approach of his finest dancefloor moments. There are nods towards fellow French pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre and - more surprisingly - Pink Floyd dotted around the album, as well as plenty of insatiable grooves, thought-provoking vocal samples, soaring strings and colourful synthesizer parts. Cerrone has largely steered clear of disco for decades, so "DNA" feels a little like a thrilling return to his roots.

Review: The Soul in the Horn label is "a movement" with roots in New York City. It is a collaborative project from music curator DProsper and resident DJ Natasha Diggs that is now back with another party-ready 12", this time from Knevrmind. It kicks off with a rugged house cut that chops up some big Kendrick samples to make for something of an anthemic opener. 'Major Hot' then flips the script with more sun-kissed and dusty house loops that are nice and loose and 'Matters Of Time' slows it down again to late-night and loved-up dub house. An instrumental strips it back so the cosmic synths shine brighter.

Review: Kryptox returns with yet another incredible album, once more hammering home their untoppled status as the best out their for weirdo jazz at the minute. This one's from Joel Holmes, a jazz pianist mainly stooped in the dance world, having worked with Carl Craig, Roy Hargrove and Common to name but a few. Into The Abyss is a sonic tour of the the present Berlin jazz and electronic scene, with fellow Berliners such as Ziggy Zeitgeist appearing as cameos, cropping up alongside other international guests such as London's Tenderlonious.

Review: Originally released in 1982, A Flock Of Seagulls' eponymous debut album heard them burst on to the new wave scene with advanced songwriting and catchy guitar laps and lyrics. With Phil Spector hailing the album as 'phenomenal', perhaps for somewhat conforming to his wally production technique, the band ended up being venerated near-timelessly for their quasi-electronic synth tunes like 'I Ran' (clock the use of early electronic drum pads in its breakdown). This is new wave at one its best pop-centric peaks.

Review: New York City techno veteran Adam X returns to Long Island Electrical Systems under the ADMX71 alias, where he once again explores the outer fringes of experimental electronics on his latest LP The Aging Process, existing at the intersection of industrial, EBM and techno. Beginning with the contorted noise soundscape of 'Speaking Via Telepathy' he soon unleashes the seething brain bash of 'Sensor-Tised' followed by the strobing tunnel vision of 'Walking Through Walls'. Elsewhere, there's more dystopian themes aplenty as heard on the static TBM pulse of 'They've Instilled Fear In Us', or the pitch black war funk of 'Leading The Way' and the muscular slow burner 'Leading The Way'.