Search dance music

Review: Voices From The Lake is the pairing of Italian techno craftsmen and sound sculptors Donato Dozzy and Neel. They came together to do a live show at the famed Labyrinth festival in Japan and that's what gave rise to this new now seminal album. It's a deeply meditative and dubbed-out world of delicate synths and rolling drums that change only slightly and slowly but manage to keep you utterly locked in for the duration. It's pure techno that has been remastered for this new edition across eight sides of wax. An absolute modern classic for sure.

Review: Ray Colino's steady hand on the tiller at Kalahari Oyster Cult has led to it becoming one of the finest, most distinctive labels operating in the wider techno-sphere. Notching up its 40th release in only five years, the collective energy of the cult doubles down on its spiritually-charged trance leanings with this righteous 18 track sermon featuring an impressive cast from close family members to headline acts. Whether it's the acid bubblebath of Volodymyr Gnatenko or Maara & Priori throwing down some deadly hand drum tech for the peak time, your sets are about to get a serious re-up of wiggy wonders. At a time when the early techno-trance sound has become so en vogue, Kalahari's clarity of vision and commitment to the vibe marks it out as a true scene leader.

Review: Marc Leclair may have become best known for his Akufen work in the 00s, but his Horror Inc work is surely some of his finest. Taking the slinky micro house he pioneered and turning it to more cinematic purposes, his last album under the name was 2013's incredible Briefly Eternal on Perlon. Now he revives the project with this expansive suite for Ohm Hourani's Anoma label, which is appropriately tipped towards jazzy subtleties within machine music. With each release, Horror Inc becomes a deeper, subtler concern, and so it goes on this record where the springy, swung patterns are offset by half-hidden melodic murmurs and a generous dose of mystery as Leclair takes his conceptual project further into the realms of playfully spooky micro jazz.

Review: Talk about an opening statement of intent - Habitat Recordings are making the fiercest of first moves into the techno world by presenting this triple-vinyl compilation with some serious talent on board. Just check the opening round of tense, emotionally charged tech from Mind Against & Sideral, 'Criseide' and you'll get a feel for the vibe of the whole release. While there's a big-room appeal to these tracks, the emphasis is on melancholic, introspective moods such as the heartfelt piano sneaking into Dyzen's 'Talk To Me' or the intriguing re-framing of the house diva vocal in sad-eyed chords on Ivory's 'There Would Come A Day'. Sensitive souls take heed, this is the techno compilation for you.

Review: Juan Mendez took his Silent Servant project to another level when he released Negative Fascination on Hospital Productions in 2012. His EBM-informed, brooding slant on techno had already made its mark on Sandwell District and other such influential labels, but his debut album afforded the space to really shape out his seductive sonic dystopia. More than ten years on, it stands tall as a masterpiece in the space it occupies, seething with hard-boiled urban malaise but equally adept at using subtlety alongside intensity. This expanded edition incorporates the Extended Mixes 12" as well as additional demo versions for those who like the tracks a little rawer.

Review: Frost and Einzelkind's Pressure Traxx captures the evolution of minimal tech house over the past ten years, as the rigour of functional 4/4 gave way to different rhythms and motifs from the wider dance music lexicon. It was a smart move which helped reinvigorate the scene, and while they didn't do it on their own they absolutely fuelled the fire. Ten years in, their label is certainly due a retrospective which stretches out over eight sides of next-level workouts for long blends and marathon sets. The cast of characters hardly needs explaining - from Tobias and Villalobos to Edward and John Dimas, the quality never lets up and in one smartly arranged box set you're going to be gifted with the finest minimal in recent circulation.

Review: Alex Font is charged with serving up the MINIMALER Factory label's first release and an ambitious one it is too - Cross The Limits: Chapter 1 (we wonder how many chapters there might be?) is a minimal and tech house triple pack that offers a wealth of club-ready sounds. They are embellished with all manner of abstract details and creeping sound designs, from trippy pads to whispered vocals. Each one is intricately designed and carefully arranged to be in a constant state of flux that very much keeps you locked from start to finish. A trio of fine remixes from Dubtil, Franco Cinelli and Alexis Cabrera add further gravitas to this strong album.

Review: Desire once again demonstrate their prowess in the field of coldwave synth escapism with this new long player for Italians Do It Better. As soon as 'Black Latex' kicks into gear you know you're in for a red-lit thrill ride that captures all the seduction and mystery of nocturnal body music played the old-skool way. The kit list features such staples as the Jupiter 8, D-50 and Mellotron, while a revolving cast of ghostly vocals impart their message in English, French and Korean. This multi-lingual vibe only serves to take us further away from familiar territory into the displaced surrealism of the sound world Desire like to call home.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Box damaged, product in perfect working order***


You can always rely on the Cocoon compilations to bring you a high level of quality control and an authoritative overview of the state of techno around the time of release. This mammoth six-LP set will give you a lot of music to work with, and it's featuring a dizzying cast of high-end operators starting with the mighty Stephen Brown. Each track gets a side of vinyl to itself, serving as a kind of statement for how much faith the label put in each of these 12 tracks. Amongst the best on this top-drawer comp are Daniel Avery's metallic, spellbinding 'Your Future Looks Different In The Light' and Carl Finlow's lithe electro workout 'Surface Control', but as you might well expect each track is one you'll turn to again and again to give your mix some spice.