Search dance music

Review: It's hard to refer to Cocoon without calling it 'mighty' because the now 20+ year old label run by Sven Vath is one of European techno's most prominent. It is synonymous with colourful parties all over the world but still does a great job of serving up fresh sounds too. Two mainstays combine for this one with Defekt and Extrawelt cooking up 'Cell Sync' which is dark and menacing, with rigid drum loops and menacing synths. 'In The Space Of' has more molten synth modulations layered up to a ghoulish effect over slamming drums. It's peak time stuff, for sure.

Review: We'd be hard pushed to think of any labels out there right now that are doing a better job of serving up deliciously deep and detailed dub techno than Echo LTD. For this one, the in house crew takes care of a pair of sublime new sounds that take you to the ocean floor and keep you there. 'Echo From The Outer World' opens with gently echoing chords pacing about the mix over a rolling and rubbery low end with shards of light beaming down from above as if the sun has just shone through some clouds. 'Minimalism In Dub' takes things back even further with more liquid rhythms and smooth drum rotations. So good.

Review: Exos' latest EP is a heavy, beat-laden techno record with three distinct tracks. The title track 'Infrared', opens with a crushing beat and fast percussion. It's a dynamic and powerful track with a strong build up and a devastating, menacing sound. The second track, 'Kaldur Klaki,' is a loopy, hard and fast, percussive, tribal track. It's a peak time track with an organic, drummy sound. The third track, 'The Bad', is a 90s German style track with a cool beat and a storming sound. Overall, 'Infrared' is a strong techno EP with three tracks that are sure to get you moving.

Review: Greyscale unveils its latest endeavour, the Spectrum Series, as a way to continue to evolve its offerings and this time it is with something that makes a vibrant departure from its traditional black-and-white aesthetic. The inaugural release features the iconic Lithuanian dub track 'Kasdienybes Sventykla' by grad_u & Eazystyle MC as a way of commemorating its 15th anniversary. It came as a double CD in 2011 but now gets a first vinyl pressing on a nice 10" slab of wax. The track itself taps into the earliest roots of dub in the 70s and traces a line through the 80s with its heavyweight drums and endlessly echoing bass topped by great mic work. A pared-back instrumental features on the flip of this latest crucial drop from the dub dons at Greyscale

Review: The Det 313 label is kicking off the new year with a bang and dropping a pair of brilliant new EPs on the same day in late January. This one is a reissue of the esteemed Gary Martin's 'Pimping People In High Places' on 10". It's the Woodword Ave alternative mix that kicks off and is a rough and ready percussive techno looper with hefty basslines underlapping and propping up the floor. 'The Medusa Touch' is a more wily and synth laced-late night jaunt with mystic energy and acid details that make it a deep and dramatic cut with real dynamism.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


Vade Mecum welcomes Soft Traffic for a debut release here and it is one that suggests the producer has a soft spot for the warm, deep and heady end of the dubbed out techno spectrum. Those are certainly all the words you would use to describe the quiet brilliance of opener 'Find Ya' (feat Prince Morella) which is icy cool and hypnotic. On the flipside, 'Night Drive' is another sublimely soft focus and supple techno roller with infinite horizons and milky pads that dissolve your soul. A superb debut.

Review: Whoever is behind these STEDIT drops is striking upon pure gold, bringing a legitimately underground techno crunch to the pop edit practice. Having previously tackled the likes of Brandy & Monica and Ultra Nate, now two of the biggest pop divas of all time are getting some low down and dirty reworkings which tread the fine balance between earworm familiarity and the heads down moodiness of a locked-in dancefloor. 'Slow' becomes a slippery acid abstraction peppered with all kinds of sonic freakery, while 'Justify My Love' becomes a brooding, steadfast workout tipped towards the minimal crowd.