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Review: DJ/producer Philip Lauer from Frankfurt has teamed up with Berlin vocalist Dena to create a modern take on Julie Stapleton's soulful house classic, containing multiple versions. Lauer's Hotel Lauer EP on Especial in 2016 cemented his position in the scene, with albums for Permanent Vacation and Running Back. Dena, born in Bulgaria and raised in Berlin, has released electronic dance-pop stylings on Kitsune Music and K7. The EP features a Club Mix, a Demo Mix, a deep tech remix by DJ Slyngshot, and a drifting Balearic version for late summer nights and dawn.

Review: Odopt have been responsible for some serious, sinewy heaters on labels like Born Free, 777 and Discos Capablanca. That should give you some idea of the kind of sonic sphere they operate in - rugged hardware house with a wavey bite and a playful instinct. It makes total sense then to see them sidle up to [Emotional] Especial with this four-tracker of surefooted deviant dance. 'A14' opens up proceedings on an ominous bassline and plenty of mechanical grind, while 'Keylat' jacks things up a smidge while resolutely wallowing in the muck of Odopt's studio practices. 'Sample Commerce Shot' is the catchiest cut on the record, riding a slinky beat and featuring a powerful lead hook that sounds beamed in from somewhere in a distant galaxy. 'Holy Motor$' finishes the record off on another brooding, death disco groover, bringing things full circle with the nocturnal offerings of 'A14'.

Review: Kris Baha had a big year in 2019 with the release of his debut album on CockTail d'Amore and an EP on Pinkman, and now the Australian body music man in Berlin is back with a high-pressure heater for [Emotional] Especial. "Barely Alive" is the kind of sinewy proto-industrial cut that will appeal to fans of Ministry's earlier work, when the synths reigned supreme and there was pop to match the noir. Especial then call on a cast of remixers to interpret the track in different ways, from Timothy J Fairplay amping up the dystopian disco tropes to Das Ding creating a sleek electro-funk twist with the original's gothic undertones intact.

Review: (Emotional) Especial and Giraffi Dog join forces once more to offer up the second installment of their concept EP series. It is focussed on live and studio collaborations and this one comes in two halves: the first half kicks off with '6th Chakra' (feat DJ Deflektorschild) - a fully live deep house and hi-tek soul exploration with mind-expanding synths and Detroit drum sounds. 'King OTN' is a jack dup acid cut ripped with cosmic synth details and 'DX Metero' has sheet metal synths lashing about next to ethereal synths and busted drum breaks. 'Starfather' is a star-facing closer with elegant piano notes dancing over serene grooves. A vital showcase of this essential live artist.

Review: The always adventurous Especial label is back on its world travels once more for another cultured EP, this time from Jonne Lyden aka 53X. This is a widescreen bass exploration with trance-tinged steppas looking firmly to the future from the Finnish-born artist. He has a background in punk bands but a trip to Berlin turned his ear and now he makes experimental fusions that draw on everything from industrial to Berghain to Detroit for inspiration. His tunes are mostly started out as live jams and then edited into what we have here - club-ready sounds, rich atmospherics, acid, breaks and hypnotic rhythms.

Review: In 1735, Swedish scientist Carl Linneaus theorised the hierarchical classes of the natural world, paving the way for modern taxonomy as we know it. In tributary fashion, 012 Records, hailing from Berlin, present the second edition of 'Systema Naturae II', an EP series dedicated to Linnaeus and nature. Dub techno tropes, bioorganic ambient tones and knocks and delays abound.

Review: Here is the third and final chapter of the 'Systema Naturae' series on Berlin-based 012, with fresh deep techno visions from newcomers such as Daniel(i) from Belgium (Whispering Signals) who ventures into foreboding and murky territory on the off-kilter journey of 'Carabus', and there's the return of Greek producer Alex Tomb who gets into some hypnotic minimal techno on 'Paradisaea'. Elsewhere, Leipzig-based Kontinum pushes into full mental overdrive on the strobing cut 'Octandria' and finally you have the collaboration between Mary Yuzovskaya and label head Claudio PRC titled 'Marmor' which perfectly nails that ethereal Sound Of Rome vibe.

Review: You can't have missed the hype surrounding Stormzy's new full-length - it's one of the most hotly-anticipated albums of the year. The question is: has it delivered on the promise? Yes - and then some. The grime superstar recorded the set on location with an extended group of trusted collaborators - Ms Banks, Sampha, Black Sherif, Debbie, Jacob Collier and NAO included - and the results are more sonically beautiful and soulful than much of his previous output. The distinctive flows are still there, though the subjects covered are often more personal and thoughtful than some may have expected, but Stormzy sings as much as he raps, and the accompany beats - often laden in strings, jazzy guitar flourishes and warming electric piano - are informed as much by R&B and hip-hop as the grizzled, sub-heavy East London vibes of grime.

Review: Stormzy has risen up from being one of the baddest underground mic men on the streets of London to pretty much being a national treasure all before he is thirty. He is a grime pin-up who has helped establish the genre on the world stage but who has also moved on from it in recent times. He has proven himself to be as able to open his heart and sing tender tones as spit about spats with Wiley. His dazzling wordsmithery, unrestrained attacks on the British government and support from disadvantaged young Black people have made him the voice of a generation and we are lucky to have him. This new album finds him opening his heart and being more honest and vulnerable than ever.

Review: Rave Angst is an alias of German producer Alexander Potthof. He invites us deep into his soul here with a superb double pack of deeply atmospheric sonics that features food for the mind, body and soul. Plenty of these cuts will challenge you as a listener but then reward you in equal measure. They are deeply emotional even when rather apocalyptic sounding and there is plenty to love here for those who enjoy the sounds of Aphex Twin and early Plastikman as metallic rhythms suck you into Potthof's unique sound world.

Review: Netherlands-based 030303 Records is back with a fifth installment in its various artists series. As with the previous four editions, this is high-class electronic music pure and simple. Caramel Chameleon kicks off with a good time mix of cheery melodies and chattery drums, then Perseus Traxx brings his signature analogue murkiness to the lo-fi house trudge that is 'Something More Than This.' Elsewhere you will find quietly optimistic cuts like Raving Kid' restless 'Edgware Acid' or the dream house reveries of Kreggo's 'Hearthpulse' amongst many other varied treasures.

Review: 8-piece soul unit Stone Foundation return after just two years for another album, going full-pelt with yet another array of collaborators and guest singers. Now comfortable with their relatively newfound home at 100% Records, the band here portray a musical mood of peace, with 'Echoes Of Joy' edging on religiosity, and alongside 'Outside Looking In', nailing that post-chic fusion of modern EDM and funk that has bagged them numerous Top 40 spots.

Review: Confounding critics (and, to a lesser extent, fans) has long been one of Dexy's calling cards, though even by Kevin Rowland and company's standards The Feminine Divine is a surprising set. The surprise lies not in the fact that it exists at all (Rowland publicly exclaimed that he was "done with music" back in 2016), but the sound of the music on show. Alongside the kind of horn-heavy 1970s soul that delighted fans in their early 80s heyday, The Feminine Divine also includes Serge Gainsbourg-esque spoken word vocals, Prince-inspired electrofunk, slow-motion breakbeats, hands-in-the-air house pianos and nods towards the kaleidoscopic, saucer-eyed rush of Ibiza-inspired Balearica. It's hugely entertaining and, for all the welcome musical surprises, still very much a Dexys album.

Review: Eight-piece soul unit Stone Foundation have been turning out their own distinctive brand of soul for a full quarter of a century now. They have dropped plenty of albums in that time and have a new one to mark the occasion on the way - Standing In The Light: 25 Years Of Stone Foundation, which features all of their greatest tunes, including some originals such as this one, which is also getting its own limited purple vinyl 7" release. As always this is all new but with an authentic vintage aesthetic that makes it impossible to date. The noodling guitar work and funky bass is irresistible with fat synths up top and the playful vocals add further layers of funk.

Review: .Named after the iconic stairs in the Bauhaus building, Dessau, Germany, designed by Walter Gropius, OMD's 45th anniversary record is worthy of that name: an inimitable piece of design. Musically, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have given us many landmarks over their near-half century making tunes (not something you get to write every day) and this is certainly up there. It's also very OMD to opt for a completely fresh addition to the burgeoning catalogue, rather than a series of reissues, to mark the event. That said, Bauhaus is new by definition but perhaps not really design. One of the most immediately captivating things about the record is the fact so much of what's here feels like it's OMD through the ages. Film noir-ish 'Veruschka', politicised numbers like 'Kleptocracy' and dramatic high energy pop aplenty ('Don't Go'), these have always been totems of the duo, and all are back again.

Review: DJ Panthr is the "shadow self" (or, as we'd put it, alternative alias) of Hunter P Thompson, better known for his genre-bending ambient house and ambient techno releases as Akasha System. 100% Silk describes 'Jade District' as a 'technoid night ride inspired by the fern-shoruded neon streets' of South Tabor in his home city of Portland. It's an atmospheric and fairly accurate description all told, with Thompson combining his usual dreamy chords and colourful sonics with grooves and musical motifs more often associated with electro, acid, sci-fi techno, 'Artificial Intelligence' style IDM and hypnotic dub techno. What unites it all, aside from the colourful stylishness of the whole thing, is a pervasive sense of loved-up, wide-eyed tactility.

Notes: Black version of Bitbox's excellent sampling module. Touchscreen-based design allowing up to eight stereo samples, recording directly or loaded from SD card.

Supplier's Notes:
Bitbox micro provides Eurorack sampling for smaller racks and smaller budgets. In only 18 HP of rack space you can get a touch screen based sampler with support for 8 stereo sample pads. Now you can record samples directly into the module or load them from the microSD card. Trigger your samples via CV or MIDI, then apply effects and mix the outputs. Save your configurations to multiple presets for later reuse.

Powerful Sampling Capabilities in a Smaller Form Factor

With the sampling features of Bitbox micro you can add interesting new ways of generating sound and music to your Eurorack. Trigger one shots, play time synched loops or record live looping. Bitbox micro is equally at home in your studio or as a component of your live performance.

Features

Sample Playback
Play up to 24 stereo polyphonic notes when your samples fit in the 64 MB of internal memory or up to 8 larger stereo samples streaming directly from the microSD card
Configure 8 stereo sample pads per preset as single or multi-samples, clips, slicers, granular or new recordings
Stream long samples from the microSD card with a max sample size of 4 GB, which can be many hours of audio
Trigger samples with the touch screen, CV gate inputs, or MIDI input
Control how samples start and stop by choosing from one-shot, toggle, and gate launch modes
Tweak playback through a variety of sample parameters, including start position, length, pitch, gain, filter, loop mode, launch quantization, ADSR, Exclusive Grouping, clip synchronization, slice placement and sequencing, grain size, grain spread, grain count, and MIDI note and channel mapping

Sample Recording

Record Eurorack level audio straight into the module:
Record samples from a stereo audio input pair
Configure each pad for stereo or mono recording with the option to synchronize the start and stop times to clock inputs
Trigger recording via audio level threshold
Create perfectly sized loops by setting the recording length
Enable immediate playback after recording for live looping capabilities
Make recordings up to 4 hours in length
Resample the master output without patching
Automate recording of a multi-sample bank via MIDI and CV
Store recorded samples as WAV files on the micro SD card then remove the card to transfer them to your computer

Sample Modes

Find creative ways of using your samples with our 5 sample playback modes:
Trigger one shots or launch loops using sample mode
Load a folder of samples into a sample mode pad to improve the quality of the pitch shifting when playing a sample chromatically or to trigger different samples with each note
Play time-synchronized loops with constant pitch time shifting in clip mode
Skip between slices of a WAV using slicer mode
Create rich textures and other worldly sounds with granular mode

Inputs and Outputs

Use the 8 inputs the way you want: assignments include a stereo audio input, up to 8 gate inputs, up to 8 CV inputs and 1 clock input.
Route the audio from each pad out to one of 3 stereo audio outputs or one of 6 mono audio outputs
Listen to all of the pad outputs combined on the master stereo output
Inputs and outputs are DC coupled so you can record and play out CV signals
External Control and Synchronization
Playback can be immediate or synchronized to internal clock, TRS clock in, or MIDI clock in and out
Confidently connect with both TRS MIDI Type A and Type B, no adapter needed
Play a single or multi-sample pad pitch shifted using MIDI notes or CV
Trigger different sample slices using MIDI notes or CV
Modulate a wide variety of sample parameters through the MIDI input and up to 8 CV signals
Quickly set up MIDI modulation using Learn mode i no need to look up CC numbers

Module Features

Use the 2" diagonal touch screen to intuitively explore the features of the module
Get more creative with double the processing power of the original bitbox
Refine your sound with reverb and delay
Import or export WAV files with your Mac or PC using a microSD card
Save and recall multiple presets
Increase your capacity with larger microSD cards
Compare to Our Other Samplers
Our Sampler Selection Guide shows you how bitbox micro compares to our other samplers.

What Is Included

When you purchase bitbox micro, you will receive:

a bitbox micro Eurorack module
a microSD card with a bank of demo presets and samples loaded on it
a Eurorack power cable
a bitbox micro Quick Start guide
a MIDI Adapter
Firmware Updates
Get new features by downloading firmware updates from forum.1010music.com.

Documentation and Video Tutorials

The Bitbox Micro Support page has links to videos, the quick start guide and the full user manual to get you up and running quickly and answer your detailed questions. If you can't find answers there, reach out to the community with questions on the 1010 Music forum.

Review: Pinhead Gunpowder started out as a recording project only back in the 90s. Bt the band soon realised they had a fully formed sound that translated well, as evidenced by this 1997 album Goodbye Ellston Avenue. It's a record that takes cues from brands like The Big Cats and Green Day but with their own fresh influences. It originally came on Lookout Records and for this one has been recut at 45rpm on limited edition and coloured vinyl. This is the first part on a multi-phase and ongoing reissue project across 2022 so fans should keep their eyes peeled for more.

Review: Pinhead Gunpowder are most famous for featuring Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day in a more furious mood than his day job requires, but the band was originally formed by Aaron Cometbus who remained the main songwriter. In 2000 they released a split EP with Dillinger Four, and the three Pinhead Gunpowder tracks from that release now make their mark on this release. Included is the searing 'At Your Funeral', which sounds like classic Armstrong finding artful ways of expressing his hatred for someone in snotty punk style. The B side is made up of live cuts from radio shows, making this a must grab for fans of the band and West Coast punk in general.

Review: You've always been able to hear the West Coast in Monocoastal, but it's particularly present when you shut your eyes after 12 months of lockdown stopping you from visiting the region. Less active L.A., and more observing in Oregon, Fischer's career didn't end with this in 2011 and the multi-disciplinary artist has produced great things since, but the album is certainly one of turning points in terms of reputation and note.

The idea of slowly watching time unfold in un-rushed places is also highly appropriate. Among the washes of tape and the waves of refrain that make up this beautiful, meditative outing, you'll hear takes and half-harmonies from found instruments including a piano and xylophone. Overall, it feels like a place removed from linearity. A liminal masterpiece, if you are that way inclined.

Review: ."Post-fluxos 'broken music'" is how the official release information describes this spellbinding outing from Miradasvacas. Made from fragments of recordings by Madrid's Pablo Miron and Juan Vacas, hence the artist name here, the two heads - who some will know from the Real No Real collective and Ediciones Fontenebro label - adopt a collage approach that stops some way short of musique concrete but, at times, is certainly barking up a similar tree. Taking influence from the likes of the Dieter Roth school, Anne Gillis, Leyland Kirby and Henry Krutzen, perhaps what's so technically impressive about this effort is the way tones and sounds and bits and pieces, when heard separately, don't always lay out their stall as complementary. But here, brought together as one, they create what can only be described as a magnificent whole.

Review: RBCHMBRS pushes his MPC - if that is the tool he used for this - to the max with a heavy mix of ramshackle loops, samples, busted drums and wonky rhythms on this great new EP for 1432 R US. It is steeped in hip-hop style for the way the grooves are so loosely assembled, but with a more rooted four-four house vibe. 'OD' is a deep and dusty opener for the back room, 'Eloise' brings hi tek funk and intense soul with Motor City overtones and 'Toe The Line' is a humid deep house cut that Theo Parrish or Moodymann might admire. 'Take Me' rounds out with twanging bass riffs and smeared chords that ooze heartfelt warmth.

Review: 1432 R US could as well be called Tech R US in a nod to the great toy shop as it is known as one of the key labels in the sub-genre. Sami is the artist behind this latest slab having previously appeared on the likes of Random Mind State and World Building. He gets mad busy on the opener, with wires synths, bleeping machines, smeared dub chords and jostling drums all layered up to competing rhythmic effect. 'Way Up' has a darker vibe with heavier drums and more edgy synths. 'Twin' is a percussive jumble that is loose but will lock you in with its freaky vocals and 'Deep Blue' is a stripped-back and more serene deep tech trip that encourages daydreaming.

Review: Bad, Bad, Bad is a historical compilation that brings together the fantastic work of Clive Hunt, a roots and reggae producer from the 1970s and 1980s. Plenty of the guests helped bring him rightful acclaim and this collection has all the rare highlights with Bonny Gayle, The Abyssinians, Junior Murvin, Max Romeo and more all making the cut. Hunt himself also appears in his 'Lizzard' persona and as the lead singer of the In Crowd and next to that gem the iconic falsetto of Junior Murvin will always standout in any reggae collection.

Review: Produced by Henry 'Junjo' Lawes and mixed by Scientist, 'Ice Cream Love' first slipped out it in its native Jamaica way back in 1980. The typically languid, weighty and dub flecked cut is built around a tweaked, replayed version of Coxsone Dodd's legendary 'He Prayed' riddim (a groove that has been used on countless reggae records before and since). Osbourne's lead vocal is typically relaxed and quietly soulful, while the involvement of Scientist on mixing desk duties guarantees more bass-weight and subtle dub inflections than your average roots number. Turn to the flip for a more spaced-out instrumental dub version based around the same riddim recording, with more effects-laden magic from Scientist.

Review: Following on from the CD version of this reissue, 17 North Prada now follow it up with a welcome vinyl edition. Prince Far I worked with Joe Gibbs's house band The Professionals on Under Heavy Manners, his 1976 full-length recorded at Gibbs's studio in Kingston, Jamaica. His messages throughout his career were always focussed on social and political issues and lend this album its extra lyrical edge on top of the killer rhythms. Gibbs composed all of the tracks bar one from Errol Thompson and it is generally considered one of his finer works. Snap this one up now because it will soon disappear again.

Review: On the first instalment in the Wamono A to Z compilation series, released in September 2020, dusty-fingered diggers DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite.jp and Chintam focused on Japanese jazz-funk and rare groove gems recorded and released between 1968 and '80. For this speedy sequel, they've narrowed their focus further in order to showcase little-known Japanese funk slammers pressed to wax between 1970 and '77. As you'd expect, there's tons of absolute bangers amongst the 10 tracks on show, with highlights including the Blaxploitation movie soundtrack vibes of Mieko Hirota's 'Theme of Doberman Cop', the fuzzy, Hammond-sporting psych-funk of Fujio Tokita's quirky 'Watashi No Beatles', and the energetic, proto disco-funk of Hatsumi Shibata's 'Singer Lady'.

Review: Unlike previous instalments in the 180g label's Wamono series, this isn't a compilation in the strictest sense of the term, but rather a retrospective. It showcases a range of killer jazz-funk and rare groove tunes recorded at Nippon Columbia studios in the mid 1970s by arranger Kiyoshi Yamaya, koto legend Toshiko Yonekawa and shakahuchi master Kifu Mitsuhashi. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the mellow, slow-burn lusciousness of 'Nanbu Ushioi-Uta' and the up-beat, guitar solo-laden brilliance of 'Hohai-Bushi', to the all-time Japanese jazz-funk classic that is 'Saitaro-Bushi' and the solo-laden brilliance of 'Asadoya Yunti', whose dazzling Fender Rhodes solos are reminiscent of the early '70s work of the late, great Billy Preston.

Review: Another comprehensive collection of jazz here from the good people at Light in The Attic. This 14 track compilation has been carefully selected and compiled by Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa, who is the owner of Tokyo's Universounds record store. It comes on heavyweight vinyl with vast track-by-track liner notes by Ogawa and take sin everything from hard bop to free jazz with plenty of big and explosive moments as well as more deep and introspective sections of calm, all of which has been plucked from the vaults of Nippon Columbia. There is a reason Japanese jazz is so revered, and this record shows why.

Review: For the latest edition of their essential Wamano A to Z compilation series - the third to date - DJ Yoshiwza Dynamite JP and Chintam have decided to focus on "Japanese light mellow funk, disco and boogie" tracks recorded between 1978 and '88. Like its' predecessors, the eight-track set is heavy on obscurities and little-known cuts, as well as bona fide killer cuts. There's much to savour throughout, from the intergalactic, slap-bass propelled boogie brilliance of Jadoes' 'Friday Night (Extended Mix)' and the laidback funk bliss of Yumi Sato's 'Ame', to the smooth jazz-funk lusciousness of Hitomi Tohyama's 'Rainy Driver' and the Latin-infused, Teena Marie style electrofunk brilliance of Mizuki Koyami's 'Kare Niwa Kanawanai'.

Review: 18437 is only four releases deep but is already a revered outlet renowned for its quality output thanks to, in part, a couple of great EPs by the late great Soulphiction. This time out it is Nico Lahs using his NLXLB moniker who takes control with deep, dubby techno for the backroom or late-night hours. The blissful 'Dazed Dreams' is a pad-laced early evening warm-up. 'Dirty Vision' is a little more textured with background drums trying to hurry as lush freeform chords do a slow dance in the foreground. 'Synthetic Wars' gets all squelchy, with hefty, splintered, and wooden drums and hits tumbling in off-grid patterns.

Review: Mott The Hoople's original line up were on hand when the band went in to the BBC to record this live show for radio. It was back in 1970 and the set list they went for mixes up their Dylan-influenced ballads with plenty of more does eyed stoner rock sounds. Fans will recognise most of these tunes from various Mott the Hoople long players, although three of them were never actually on any record other than this one. The pressing is of great quality given the age of the recording and is a must for fans with extensive sleeve notes.

Review: Everyone has their favourite Fleetwood Mac jams and that's because the band had such great versatility. That is displayed on this collection of BBC2 Sessions which were recorded between 1968-9. The 14 tracks all take in a mix of R&B, electric blues, acoustic blues and more. The sessions were originally recorded for a variety of TV and radio programs and these versions have never made it onto any studio album. This collection is a sister release to the official Live At The BBC album and includes tracks that have guest spots from Christine Perfect, who as Christine McVie became a big part of the band going forwards.

Review: By 1972, Family had really hit their stride after big success with albums Fearless and Bandstand. Boston Music Hall 1972 was recorded live at the eponymous venue on September 28th 1972 although ' A Song For Me' was recorded for "Rockenstock" French TV earlier in January of that year. It was recorded for radio during their Autumn tour and has big tunes like 'Burlesque', 'My Friend The Sun' and 'The Weaver's Answer' as well as a special bonus recording of 'A Song For Me,' which was originally written for French TV/A super sounding album from one of the great 70s bands.

Review: The Beatles' EP From Us To You #3 captures a 1964 BBC session that encapsulates the band's early charm and infectious energy. Featuring a whopping ten tracks, it was recorded in the BBC's Paris Studios in Regent Street, London and fact fans will note that 'Honey Don't which was later included on the album Beatles For Sale and sung by Ringo, here features John on the vocals. Elsewhere the EP captures the band's irresistible melodies and tight harmonies with three of the tunes originally penned by the band's favourite rockabilly star Carl Perkins. Each song is a testament to The Beatles' enduring influence on popular music and overall serves as a timeless reminder of the band's unmatched creativity which continues to this day with new AI-produced singles that the much talked about one earlier in the year.

Review: As we write this The Beatles have just managed to put out their last ever, they say, new single. By harnessing the vast powers of AI and feeding it a dusty old clip of him singing back in the day, they have even managed to recreate the voice of John Lennon. It's a reminder of how ahead of their time the Liverpool band always was, even back in the 1960s. And that's when this album London to Manchester was recorded live on October 13, 1963, which marked the point at which the press knew the band was going to be global superstars and features all their biggest hits from this early-on time.

Review: .There's plenty to talk about with The Who's historic show at Fete De L'Humanite, a huge open-air event hosted by L'Humanite, the main newspaper of the French Communist Party. For starters, on the day - Saturday 9th September, 1972 - an estimated 400,000 people were in attendance, a crowd size that dwarves pretty much anything we can think of today, and remains the band's largest ever gig. Taking to the stage as evening set in, they set to with a typically ferocious set, and four of the most standout pieces for the show are immortalised here on record. Unsurprisingly, that timeless anthem of misspent youth, love, rebellion, and hope for change, 'Baba O'Riley', is a dominant factor, although epic finale 'Relay' is perhaps where the might of their rock 'n' roll juggernaut is most felt here.

Review: Around the world in 12 wubs; Alix Perez's superlative 1985 continues to dig deeper and deeper into our psyche with the third volume of their faultless Atlas VA series. As always, the tempos are set to flexible as we slide and glide between the style and speeds courtesy of some incredible names... Cesco brings some proper dark UKG on 'Superstealth', Sir Hiss gets angular with the electro funk of 'Shower Man Time', Visages go all slinky and futurist on 'Margit' while the bossman Perez and GLXY link up for something truly sexy and soulful with 'Green Lane'. All this and so much more, from Rockwell & Scepticz to Settle Down to Eprom, this is yet another exceptional adventure from the 1985 crew.

Review: Everything Is Alright, says FINN. And it is, frankly, when you're lost in the midst of his new album on 2 B Real. It's a superbly fun and feelgood mix of house from the 90s, UK garage from this revival era and contemporary sound designs. The title track opens up and soon sweeps you off to a good place then there are loose vocals and bright chords on 'AYOYO' while 'Ere U R' sinks into a deeper groove with a heavy sense of plod and more fresh melodies. The B-side picks up the pace with the retro house throb of 'Things, Things, Things!' and 'Big Raver' brings the pianos that will set the club alight.

Review: It took just a year and a half for Florida's Worm to follow up their widely acclaimed doom, funeral, scary-men-grunting-over-engine-room-guitars album Gloomlord with this latest effort. In the world of modern music, that's actually relatively rapid (long gone are the days when rock bands would pump out one LP per year minimum), and yet the contents of Foreverglade feel remarkably un-rushed and, perhaps not patient - that would be a misleading way to describe such commanding and uncompromising sounds - but nevertheless meticulous in planning and production. While the uninitiated may be tricked into believing that this kind of heavyweight, oppressive-sounding noise has one track, the truth is what makes Worm's new offering so refreshing and essential is the way it pays respect to a gamut of metal, playing with tempos and time signatures and generally wanting to f*!k stuff up in a way that only true artists seem capable of.

Review: 20/20 Vision has always been a label that sets the bar high when it comes to dancefloor releases - one of Yorkshire's most treasured institutions, to say the least. And while historically the imprint has often been on a tech-y house tip, lest we forget the is the crew that were letting a then-emergent Paul Woolford explore the outer reaches of electro house and breaks way back when, and that attitude hasn't really changed since.

Here the team hand the spotlight to another Leeds name, Alfred, who responds with three original tracks that are punchy, funky, engaging and hugely impactful. Broken beats, subtle rave hoover lines, mind-melting synth arpeggiations and a thoroughly futuristic feeling throughout. Definitely a powerful addition to any DJ's arsenal - the sort of tunes that can marry up well with so many styles and always grab maximum attention.

Review: Carl Finlow has been a prominent name in UK electro since the mid-90s, releasing music at an astonishing rate under a variety of monikers. Silicon Scally defines his most strictly electro-oriented project, reflective of the Kraftwerk era and the emerging electro-scene, with releases on respected labels such as Cultivated Electronics, CPU and of course 20/20 Vision, with music from a variety of Carl's monikers being amongst the labels earliest releases.

'Crushed' is a sought after album project originally self-released on Finlow's Bandcamp during the 2020 lockdown. We felt the release was to important to be overlooked without a much deserved run of vinyl, so have pressed a limited run of records featuring futuristic electro highlights and the best unreleased cuts.

'Proton Mass' kicks things off with perfectly crafted robotic funk, solid mechanical breaks and mind bending glitches, setting the landscape for a journey into the abyss with Silicon Scally unshakeably at the helm. 'Centronix' follows up with razor-sharp rocking beats, squelchy bass and jarring grooves as if designed for high pace no nonsense club sets from the likes of DJ Stingray or Helena Hauff.

On the flip side 'Axiom' takes us deeper into the void with dark basslines, complex drums and unapologetically disorientating frequencies. A track that makes us question if Finlow has transcend to a future state where he is more machine than man, sending psychoactive messages in the form of killer electro cuts.

'Cascade Lasers' wraps up this epic dose of electro with interstellar energy, driving things home with deep bass wobbles, high octane breaks, wrapped grooves and tormenting yet playful synth licks. Yet another release that has us convinced the late great Andrew Weatherall was indeed correct!

"For quite a number of years now I have been convinced that Mr Finlow is a conduit for musical transmissions beamed from a parallel universe, sometime in the future" - Andrew Weatherall.

Review: 20/20 Vision present the debut release from Manchester based artists Armec. Following releases for Cultivated Electronics and Furthur Electronix, the Caged EP hits the ground running - with a record that spans heavy club-ready electro and futuristic soundscapes. Complete with a hefty remix from German acid connoisseurs Hardfloor.

'Caged' sucks us down the rabbit hole with dense textures fortified by an infectious groove, vast pads, and bubbling synth lines. The Hardfloor remix of 'Caged' submerges us into an acidic electro trip - fuelled by quirky melodic licks, a menacing low-end and body shaking drums.

On the flip side 'Curvature' is an out-and-out understated bomb. Propelled by a squelching, supercharged bassline which soars over Armec's signature textural landscape, it's reinforced by razor sharp hats and a heavy kick-drum. 'Replicants' is a side-winding, emotionally charged cut that feels truly fresh and forward-thinking. Deep, luscious pads are underpinned by a superbly engineered break-beat driven groove.

Review: 20/20 Vision are exiting planet Earth once again with the latest in their perfectly formed series of electro explorations, as Extrawelt leads the charge with an illustrious slice of braindance-tinted funk titled 'Hail The Whale (Coexisting Mix)'. Djedjotronic follows that up with a bold blast of mammoth synth work which hits pretty damn hard without being pointlessly brutal. Ste Roberts takes a break from his self-titled label run to offer up a freaky foray into acid-speckled territory, and Ivna Ji gets expressive with a rich palette of synths moving in harmony around a sharp and snappy beat.

Review: To date, Kim Cosmk has generally done her own thing - self-releasing a string of digital-only singles and albums which variously mix and mangle elements of electro, IDM, techno and dubstep. Here she pops up on an established label - Ralph Lawson's 2020 Vision to be exact - for the very first time. First, she whips up a frenzy courtesy of the fuzzy and aggressive riffs of techno roller 'Night Flight', complete with creepy chords and foreboding motifs. She then delivers raw, heavy, industrial-fired electro on 'Ore', whilst warped dubstep and electro are brilliantly mixed on 'Nocturnal'. To round things up nicely, 'Drifting' is a partial vocal number built around a wobbling dubstep bass with punchy electro drums and twinkling pianos.

Review: Ralph Lawson's Leeds based 20/20 Vision label has made a distinctive shift into electro territory over the last couple years. It is a sound the boss has said has long been in his heart despite him being best known as a house head and longtime resident at Back to Basics, and the quality of the tunes he unearths to put out more than backs that up. The Exaltics & Paris The Black Fu kick off with a shiny, bright, visceral metallic electro workout then three further cuts take in dark wave drum machine rhythms and acid-laced bangers.

Review: Lloyd Stellar was not really a man gifted an extraordinary name when he was born. Rather, it is the chosen alias for Dutch dude Erik Griffoen, but he's surely made the name his own with a rapid rise in the number of releases of his music so far this year. Now Stellar gets has mitts on 20/20 Vision alongside The Droid, aka Ben Evans. In line with the label's exploration of electro over the past few years, this is hi-tech machine funk through and through, with twitchy synth lines and brittle, crisp drum machine patterns programmed within an inch of their lives. Maintaining a steely, dystopian mood throughout, this is serious electro for the heads, executed with precision and flair.

Review: Luther Vine's Fragments Of Reality and its various artists series have been a real doozy for 20/20 but now the sub-label offers up a first solo EP. It is Snad who gets the gig and he is a house producer from Berlin making big waves right now. This one follows outings on Chicago's Kimochi Records, Chez Damier's Courtesy of Balance and the Dungeon Meat label and is another raw, stripped-back offering of tough house. 'Bootlickerz' is a bristling cut ready for the peak time, 'Goobernatorial Candidacy' has a more stripped-back but just as compelling groove and 'Per Savour' goes deep into late-night goodness before closer 'Butt Heads' picks up the pace once more.