Search results: Texture

Review: Everyone's favourite low-res poly-rendered rave organism DJ Plant Texture returns to their fave label Ilian Tape for their least forgiving, least fluffy and most wayside-thrown techno EP yet. Contrasting to their earlier lo-fi MPC workouts and electro freak-shows, the best of which were also released on the Amsterdam imprint, Plant Texture here switches things up, offering up four jackbooted 4x4 techno bits so menacing that they verge on a dastard take on the Brummy school. An obsession with rhythm and percussive texture rears its head; A-siders 'DDrumz' and 'Mechanical Bongos' are truly intrigued by the drum, revelling in pure, circular samply bongo and timbalero repetition; the theme continues on B-sider 'Dubbish', which only does so much as add a scopeout dub chord stab to the mix, yet still sounds sick; 'Let The Machine Speak (Jazz Mix)', finally, seems to hold the work of fellow techy rhythmusoidal geek Machinedrum firmly in mind, seeming to cleverly parody the artist's Ninja Tune/Vapor City IDM era with a jeering nu-footwork-jazz half-smile.

Review: DJ Plant Texture is Donato Basile, a diverse producer from Bari. He returns to Munich-based Ilian Tape to follow up 2017's The Bongoman Archive with four slamming cuts on his latest EP. Whether it's pummelling, bass-driven ruckus of 'MPC Jam 1' (Breaks mix) or the off-kilter slam of MPC Jam 2' (Saturator mix) on the A side, to the proper, peak time heads-down stomp of 'MPC Jam 3' (Exp Forever mix). Finally, the early '90s zeitgeist of 'Ciao Ragazze Jungle Style' goes out all guns blazing. On the MPC Thangs EP, this talented Italian producer is at his most fearsome yet.

Review: Two key pushers of New York tactile ambient-techno, Anthony Naples and DJ Python, here present a fittingly named compilation (and the third in the series) curating only the best found in that style and scene: 'Air Texture VIII'. Spurred on by a cost of living crisis in Manhattan, areas further afield in neighbouring Brooklyn have become much more central to artists such as Beta Librae, Downstairs J and 5AM, spurring their rise and that of producers like them. Don't miss this important chronicling of the scene, which still unfolds in real time.

Review: Aubrey's Don Gardon alias was a one-shot decoy deployed in 1997 with the now highly sought-after "Textures" 12" on Aubrey's own Textures label. While the provenance of these new tracks is a little foggy at this stage, what you can be sure of is the grade of techno we're dealing with here. Aubrey's illustrious career speaks for itself, and so do these tracks in the first Textures release since 2001. "The Phase" is an effervescent, funk laced race to the stars, while "Vari Tube" takes a more intimate route through dusty house that wouldn't sound out of place in the Workshop stratosphere. "Slam Dunk" is a cheeky, jazzy affair while "Dons Slide" gets a little more freaky and far out in the finest tradition of B2 tracks.

Review: Roland Klinkenberg is back on Late Night Burners with his Sim o1/Trance Textures 2 EP and does a fine job of hooking you in form the first beat. 'Planetoide' is warm, surging tech house with an underlapping bassline to die for. 'Loopy Tune' is a different proposition with a much more bumpy and playful rhythm full of bounce and 'Encountings' closes down with the more teary eyed and trance-tinged euphoria of the whole EP. In between is the raw, stripped back 'Subterranean Express' to make for a fourth different tune in this fine and varied package.

Review: Stuttgart's Luca Daniel Schwarz returns to Dax J's Monnom Black with an astonishing take on modern dub techno, featuring six futuristic grooves. LDS is an artist that stands at the cutting edge of technology, influenced by artificial intelligence and digital innovation and the Digi Spa EP extensively showcases this aesthetic. On the A-side, you've got the direct attack peak-time onslaught of sturdy DJ tools like 'Nord Dab' or 'Gl03'. Over on the flip, there's the pounding minimalist terror of the title track and the strobe-lit frenzy of 'Fuend Formen' which will definitely have you reaching for the lasers.