State Of Consciousness (The Black Chamber remix) (6:02)
Coin Of Heaven (Parand remix) (4:55)
Review: Acida Dominga is a newcomer from Berlin who dropped his very first tunes on his debut EP, and now has them reworked by a selection of contemporary talents. 'Imagination Creates Reality' (Italo Brutalo remix) is indeed a brutal collision of Italo and gritty techno. The Kafkactrl mix is more supple and nimble with acrobatic patterns and a lithe acid line endlessly twisting and turning. The Black Chamber remix of 'State Of Consciousness' then brings straight up slamming acid techno and 'Coin Of Heaven' (Parand remix) closes with some funky synth work that has hints of 80s Depeche Mode but all Eed up.
The Advent - "Passive Aggressive" (Truncate remix) (4:21)
The Advent - "Remote Viewing" (5:01)
G Flame - "Ignacio" (7:09)
Review: Long-time hard techno champion The Advent is back with more of his mind-melting work on Truncate's self-titled label. Title cut 'Passive Aggressive' opens with a loopy mental workout that is underpinned by nice dubby low ends. Truncate remixes and layers in some icy, fizzy pads and pressured drum grooves, then 'Remote Viewing' brings some uneasy peak time anxiousness with its wonky lines and prickly synths. Also included is a bonus by G Flame, which brings a direct and delicious Detroit house vibe that goes deeper.
Review: Now posted up in Berlin, UK producer Anil Chawla bka Amotik returns with a new three-tracker and it's only the 16th in his own now long-running racket, also named Amotik. Keeping rooted in restraint and rhythmic hypnosis, he's built his name on nuanced, endurance DJ sets and steady-state self-released 12"s. 'Tirasi', 'Chaurasi' and 'Pachasi' extend that thread, providing deeply textural, loop-driven pieces with subtly shifting momenta and a sensitive succour, also formally represented in the understated three-track form. Berlin's industrious spirit mixes with the UK's heavy, cloud-covered techno sound, proving Amotik hasn't sacrificed the precise affective brunt of the British Isles despite relocating to Germany in 2014.
Review: Less a genre label than a freeform hub, LA's StrataSonic quiver between house, polyrhythmic perc jams, and beatless ambient music, never forcing cohesion where it's not needed. Exemplifying said one-size-fits-no-one approach is their latest from label mainstay Animl, whose debut EP 'Star Walk' gets a massive triplet of remixes from Seth Troxler, Matthew Jonson and Galcher Lustwerk here: truly a debut artist's dream to be remixed by such sage minimal techno servicemen. We've got to love Lustwerk's version of 'Bruv', as the track builds on the original's titular accost, with shakedown breath samples and an organ press turned heart monitor beep sprinkled into the progressing ambient moves on top.
Review: ATEQ and Samuel Rohrer's latest collaboration delves into avant-garde jazz and ambient music and again shows they have great studio versatility. The EP opens with 'Tune Analysis' where delicate sonic elements come together like falling snowflakes. 'Vuh' transitions into percussive sounds and allows them to take centre stage. On the B-side, the percussion evolve into a more structured rhythm and create a meditative, incantatory atmosphere. The final track elegantly synthesises these exploration and brings the EP to a refined conclusion that both makes you think but also want to move.
Review: Biz is one of a number of Australian artists who are having a big impact on the sound of contemporary techno, and he has been playing a key role in the scene since the late 1980s. His sound mixes deep basslines with uplifting melodies and he has collaborated with a number of legends as well as releasing music on labels like Transmat and COD3QR. Now on Acquit, he explores the outer edges of our galaxy with celestial synth lines, sci-fi melodies and deep, Detroit-inspired techno grooves that are brilliantly cinematic and evocative. 'Soul Within' is our favourite with its widescreen synths and floating pads.
Review: Much of the Black Dog's work of recent years has in some way been inspired by their long-held love of Brutalism, a heavily debated architectural style of the 1950s, 60s and 70s that's much in evidence in their home city of Sheffield. It makes sense, then, that the Steel City trio would record a sequel to 2023's This Brutal Life, a set that ranks amongst their most authentically immersive and sonically detailed of recent times. As sequels go, This Brutal Life 2 is impressive, with the long-serving collective blurring the boundaries between atmospheric IDM, ambient, dub techno and more angular concoctions. Its many highlights include the yearning, beat-free bliss of 'The End of Back To Back', the slow-burn IDM shuffle of 'Motif Lasdun' and their stunning tribute to one of British Brutalism's most famous residential buildings, 'Park Hill Forever'.
Review: Hamburg's Helena Hauff and F#X return resurrect their darkly experimental Black Sites project after an 11 year hiatus. Their first full length LP - for Berlin's techno institution Tresor Records, no less - pulls about as few punches as any of their material, improvised live and recorded straight to tape with minimal editing and post-production buffing up. 'BLOKK' has a touch of the distorted glories of Aphex's early Polygon Window work, 'C4' has a low slung bassline throb and supercharged kick meets radioactive cymbal rhythm track, and elsewhere skeletal electro and Throbbing Gristle-style industrial noise either does battle or teams up. Maximum toxicity!
Review: Netherlands-based Jeroen Bohm looks back to the classic school of Detroit techno in order to head forward on this new EP for Emotions Electric. Things start slow and atmospheric on 'Data Quality', which marries sweeping pads with more detailed synth sequencing in the foreground. 'Daydreaming' then rides on ice-cold broken beats with glistening metal surfaces and Blade Runner futurism and 'Night Falls' tweaks off from that metropolis-like setting and heads for the stars with deep space pulses and a sense of the deep unknown. 'Floating In Space' is a superb mix of shimmering percussion and Millsian futurism with moody pads that has a feeling of inspirational grandeur.
What You Want (feat Byron Stingily - Extanded version) (6:42)
What You Want (feat Byron Stingily - dub) (5:49)
Take You Back (6:13)
Review: New York house stalwarts Victor Calderone and Mykol team up for a heavyweight double-header on Nervous Records, drawing on decades of club heritage with two cuts that balance toughness with soul. On 'What You Want', the unmistakable Byron Stingily delivers a spoken-word vocal full of presence and tension, riding a thick groove of driving drums and brooding synth stabs. The dub strips things back into a leaner, club-focused roller, layering sharp FX over its pulsing low-end. Flip to 'Take You Back' and the tone shifts-gliding synths and sultry female vocals swirl through the mix, giving the track a hazy, after-hours sensuality. It's a slick contrast to the A-side's weight, showcasing the duo's versatility and deep roots in New York's late-night lineage.
Review: Spanish techno powerhouse Andres Campo hits hard with four uncompromising club weapons for DCLTD. 'Conte Bleu' wastes no timeiit's heads-down tunnel techno with acidic flashes, reverb-drenched vocals and glimmering melodies swirling inside the chaos. 'Nuit Blanche' flips the script with a more syncopated, breaksy structure, its flickering metallic textures and jazzy FX giving way to an enormous vocal-led breakdown that manages to be both weird and raucously effective. On the B-side, 'Ligne Jaune' is all pressure and paranoia: distorted spoken samples swim through the mix as punishing percussion surges forward. 'Pois Gris' closes the set in sci-fi mode, splicing synthetic sirens, looping vocal chants and relentless stomping drums into something as dystopian as it is danceable. Designed for big systems and dim lights, this is techno with teeth.
Review: North West-based techno head Tom Carruthers throws it back to the deep and dusty analogue thrills of the late 80s with this retro house pouting for the Netherlands' peerless Clone Jack For Daze. Opener 'Technique' is a steamy and lo-fi jaunt with mysterious lead. 'Beyond Time' has a classic old school bassline beneath curious, drifting melodies and tidy drums. 'Junction 12' has a little more punch and brings to mind the melancholy of Dream 2 Science and '3AM' layers in some hope and optimism in its brighter melodies, though a gurgling baseline still nags away down low.
Review: Four tracks on the debut release from this emerging French label, and four tracks that leave their mark on the electro landscape at the get go. Ciron's 'Villain' is a moody, prowling cut that sounds like a neon-lit detective theme, then Sasha Zlykh's 'Ketamine Chic' follows, psychedelic and a bit cheeky with off kilter melodies and trance-tinged textures injecting fun energy. Flip it over and Local 23's 'Electrofornication' brings a nice sense of space and movement, as if cruising through a digital city at night, before Ciron's 'Data Transparency' ends proceedings with its vintage sounding 80s synths. Helping to take that VHS graphic aesthetic and vapourwave style into the electro genre, Plazeg's debut is impressive enough to make it a label to look out for in the future.
Review: Cosmin TRG is a Romanian producer who crafted some of the underground's most innovative sounds a decade or so ago, before going off to work in other creative worlds. Here, for the first time, he links with countryman DYL for a special EP that is decidedly futuristic. 'Manevre' is Romanian for 'manoeuvres' and comes in three different parts. Each one is fluid minimal sound with deft rhythms, fizzing pads, eerie melodies, sub-aquatic motifs and always absorbing atmospheres. Tammo Hesselink also adds a remix that has more prominent drums, lurching loops and menacing dystopian energy.
Review: Nullpunkt comes through with a couple of brilliant remixes from Berlin drum & bass futurist Felix K, whose Berlin album is out now and is a heady trip into the depths of drum & bass more minimal edges. He brings that same stripped back atmosphere here first to DB1's dubby and delightful 'Vanguard' which is the sort of sound that sinks you way beneath the surface. His remix of Martsman's 'Statics' is more propulsive with half time rhythms and prying bass for truly heard back rooms. Stylish, well executed stuff from a man in top form.
Review: Deadbeat teams with Paul St. Hilaire - better known as Tikiman, the unmistakable voice behind numerous Burial Mix and Main Street classics - for a new, reinterred pair of wire-stripped, dub-influenced dance cuts. Deeper into earthy texture and minimal rhythm, both tracks creolise Berlin's dub-techno heritage and Caribbean vocal traditions, 'Run Things So' especially with its crackling chords and indolent wordplays.
Review: Deenamic steps up on French label Syncrophone with the aptly titled 'Dub Reflections EP'. Having released on high-grade imprints like Neroli, Yellow Jackets, Visions Recordings and Mate since debuting in 2019, David Pradera has been slowly but surely carving out a fine reputation with his profound house sound. His latest effort features four dubbed-out house jams full of atmosphere and texture. Opener '800 Mistakes' sees moody chords drifting over stripped-back drums, staccato noise and understated bass, before 'Hal 2024' maintains the rich atmospherics with simmering swells, driving stabs and propulsive bass notes. The chord progressions on 'Moonbus' echo into the night as a pounding kick maintains the rhythm, while the undulating bass and piercing drums of 'Think It's Not Illegal Yet' combine with a dramatic arrangement for a gorgeously nocturnal finale.
Review: Techno doesn't have to be building-levelling sledgehammers. But it does need a hypnotic groove and the kind of energy that turns the dance floor into a seething mass of writhing bodies. Keeping things at the higher end of the genre's traditional tempo range, End of Dayz present a four track collection that keeps things driving but fun, infectious and inescapable. Opening on Deluka's throbbing and percussive 'Reach', over the course of the collection we're given the thumping, chugging, and largely drum-based 'Killing Joke', 'Mode 1's stripped, eerie futurist workout, 'Zeth' and the bouncing rave chaos of 'Move Yo Big Booty' by Elyas. The result is a pack of club tools that are all equally deserving of attention - which is exactly the kind of statement that should make you buy an EP. Bargain deal for such high quality stuff.
Review: Marcel Dettmann brings three decades of DJing nous to Running Back's Mastermix series, curating a 3xLP compilation of long-time secret weapons and prized edits, many afore unreleased. Not to tune into the legacy of a single club as earlier Mastermix volumes have done, Dettmann turns the focus inward, drawing on his personal archive of tailored tweaks and floor-tested reworks. Raised in the former GDR and immersed in Berlin's post-unification underground, his early grounding in post-punk and industrial music still echoes throughout these selections, ranging from Cristian Vogel's 'Untitled' (1995) to fresh flips of Yello, Nitzer Ebb and K-Alexi Shelby. Also included are edits of Experimental Products, Severed Heads and Ian North, plus a closing pass at Conrad Schnitzler's 'Das Tier' that threads everything back to Berlin's anarchic, bank vault-raiding sensibility.
Review: The popular Kalahari Oyster Cult label excels at delivering decidedly psychedelic and mind-altering EPs informed by trippy sub-genres from dance music's past, most notably mid 1990s progressive house, psy-trance and acid-fired European techno. Those inspirations come to the fore on Frankfurt producer Robert Diertz's first missive for the imprint, which follows recent outings on Nous'klaer Audio and Running Back. For proof, check title track 'Stoffel', where exotic EBM-adjacent melodies and ragged TB-303 acid lines wrap around a non-stop groove, and the throbbing, minor-key madness of mind-altering throb job 'Goblin Bell'. Elsewhere, 'Kesstech' sounds like the kind of twisted and hallucinatory fare that once powered Goa's early 90s psy-trance scene, while 'Throne (Ultimo Mix)' is a more expressive nod to formative German trance circa 1993.
Review: Interspecies rolls out the second volume of its self-titled compilation with another avant-garde selection of electronics. DJ Norizm opens with 'Sauti Ya Maji' which recalls the organic and spiritual jazz on Don Cherry but in a deep electronic framework. Noritaka Itoh's 'Kiwamaru Yoru' is much more empty and deft with wispy synths and dubby rhythms taking you into another world, DJ Ryota then brings some fun with the shimmering synths of 'Rotation Disco' and Shigeo Watanabe's 'Techno Of The Day' is an ambient laced closer for soothing listening amidst balmy pads and gently undulating minimal drums.
Review: Djrum (Felix Manuel) presents his latest full album in six years, in what has been described as a "literal creative rebirth". Beginning in earnest in the 2020 COVID lockdown, this a record whose creation treads a path of almost archetypal infamy: all the best electronica albums, in our view, are born of hard-drive losses. And Djrum's hard-drive meltdown, of course, seemed to correspond to a literal collapse and renewal; such ostensible catastrophes are painful at first, but they tend to breed re-incarnal transformations. Reflecting in the shaking disaster-piece stutters of 'Three Foxes Chasing Each Other' to the ambi-spatially adept 'A Tune For Us', the record spans prodigious instrumentality and electronica abstractions, verging on speedcore, jazz and techno-halftime in places. From vinyl DJ to reckoner of hardcore musicianship.
Review: Rome-based duo Donato Dozzy and Sabla reunite for a second collaborative outing-this time rooted in percussive density and minimalist form. Where 2023's Flusso cycle dealt in flow and abstraction, this follow-up sharpens its focus around rhythm and material presence. On 'Forma I', the pair strip things right back: sub-bass, skeletal drum hits, and little else. It's lean, physical, and cavernous. 'Forma II' expands that palette slightly, weaving splinters of syncopation into a staggered, off-grid structure. 'Forma III' takes a more organic path-metallic textures dissolve through reverb as if in search of their own shape. By the time 'Forma IV' rolls around, there's a sense of emergence-fluttering percussion, precise snares and forward motion suggesting rebirth from the cocoon. As ever, this is club music reimagined as architecture: subtle, studied and deeply physical.
Review: 'Resilience' captures the unmistakable energy of Detroit's streets, signature high-tech soul and underground grit into one essential release on the long-essential Soiree label. Drivetrain's 'Persuasion' kicks off with churning mechanical funk, equal parts seductive and relentless. DJ Cent's 'Send Me' follows with a sub-heavy rhythm barrage built to shake foundations and Distant Lover's 'Green Eyes' injects disco-infused heat aimed squarely at the dancefloor with infectious string loops and a hella funky bassline. Marshall Applewhite closes with 'Front to Back' a fast-paced, no-holds-barred techno assault that pushes BPMs and boundaries, but remains warm and supple. This is Detroit distilled into rough, resilient and futuristic sounds.
Review: London-based Timothy J Fairplay has long dwelled in the murkier corners of dance music, his work shaped by EBM, industrial, electro and the long shadow of post-punk. A sometime collaborator with Andrew Weatherall and a fixture of the darker fringes, he returns here with a new four-tracker that leans into slow-motion propulsion and paranoid atmosphere. 'Home Visitor' opens with a creeping unease, its syncopated kick and glassy pads suggesting something between a horror OST and a strobelit basement. 'Melt The Chains' is denser, grubbier i all scorched textures and pummelling snares i while 'Runs Every 15 Minutes' stalks forward like clockwork, driven by squelching synths and faintly psychedelic drum programming. Belgian producer DC Salas closes the set with a remix that lifts the original out of the gloom and into something more fluid and cosmic, adding a taut groove while preserving its hallucinatory core. As with much of Fairplay's catalogue, this isn't club music in the conventional sense i it's nocturnal, suggestive and oddly transportive, like a lost radio transmission from the underworld.
Review: Lewis Fautzi is well known around these parts and to anyone who likes proper techno. The visionary is now back on his own label to once again deliver work that's both surprising and deeply immersive. Unmistakable pace and emotional depth again define these tunes from expansive beatless pads to thunderous, precision-driven kicks, and each one reflects his top-tier sound design. Take 'Diversity Of Known Substances' with its clipped analogue drum patterns, grainy hi hats and sense of adventure into the unknown, or the intensity and ever more unhinged machine chaos of 'Modified Experiments' - this is techno for the real ones.
Review: If you like your drum & bass to go deep and ride half-time, lock into this one from Berlin's music composer, publisher and researcher, Felix K. Presumably influenced by the subterranean depths of the murkier corners of his hometown, these are menacing cuts that stay low but hit big. The undulating drums have predatory energy as the percussion dances about up top, never staying in once place too long, just like your focus. Some are widescreen and sparse, others more tightly coiled, all of them are brilliantly kinetic and fluid, hypnotising and ultra fluid.
Review: No, silly, not that British-American rock band Foreigner, but rather Aussie electronic producer Willis Anne under his new guise. He channels a live, jam-based energy into his machine-driven sounds so that they are raw and direct, with spontaneous motion ever present. From the sweeping synth drama of 'Last Peoples' to the rhythmic complexity of 'Visible,' Anne lets ideas breathe rather than overworking them. As such, there's a clarity and directness in his sound that sets it apart and aligns it with Livity Sound's brilliantly adventurous, minimal-leaning catalogue. 'Desintegration' is our favourite with its ticking hi-hats and gloopy but dynamic low ends all topped with suspenseful, ever-shifting chords.
Review: Tal Fussman causes another fuss with his new LP for Time Passages. As always, the Tel Aviv producer sublimates genre borders and moves through them as though they were impalpable membranes, slipping easily between peak-time set centrepieces and green room solitudes. 'Rather Be Numb' opens on a rather repressive, positivist synopsis, and it's only by the midpoint, with such tracks as 'Falling Apart, Coming Together' and 'Self Reflection', that we really break into high-octane breaks-progressive feeling.
Future Sound Of London - "Lifeless In Limo" (3:52)
Yage - "Over Zealous" (3:49)
Review: In 2024, the legendary Future Sound of London surprised everyone with Pulse Five, a CD installation continuing their iconic Pulse EP series from more than three decades ago. Now, they've gone back to the vaults to curate The Pulse EP - Volume 5, a six-track extension of the original UK 12? collection. This release features previously unreleased DAT material from the early 90s and B-sides from the era of their acclaimed Accelerator album and sought-after singles. These vintage recordings offer a glimpse into FSOL's creative peak and are packed with the fearless innovation and experimentation that defined their early work. A must-have, whether you are new or old to their work.
Review: GAMADON is head of Warehouse Manifesto and serves up this wonderful a limited run of picture discs featuring his original hybrid broken techno and electro anthem 'Cyborg Samba.' The release includes five powerful remixes from top-tier artists, including Umwelt, SOD 90, Jerome Hill, Kim Cosmik and Serge Geyzel. Ranging from tough electro and industrial breakbeats to old-school rhythms, fast-paced IDM breaks, and robo funk, this is high-grade DJ weaponry and part one of a planned three-part series delivering genre-blending reworks by some of the most respected remixers in the scene. The fact it looks as unique as it sounds makes it a no-brainer.
Review: Dutch-Indonesian producer and Rhiza Semar label founder Hitam offes up another window into his techno visions on this dark new EP. 'Scarlet Cloak' is pared right back to the numbering drums and bass. They're shadowy and menacing and grow ever more prominent next to meticulous percussion. The Nawaz remix turns everything up and becomes a full-body rhythm workout. 'In Your Head' is a high-speed tribal rival complete with odd vocalisations and plenty of indigenous energy and 'Future Kill' brings a slamming, futurist edge to close what is an original EP once more from the superb Semar.
Review: Lee Holman turns out plenty of high-quality tunes on the likes of Ferox, KSR and Demarcation and here lands on Floodplain, a new young label that is already promising. His 'Plasma Wave' is a white knuckle ride over bumping, kinetic drums that bounce you about like bad weather on a ferry crossing. 'Tachyon' is the sound of a nuclear reactor in meltdown, complete with unsettling sirens and the Dave Anderson remix flips it into a more serene and pensive deep house bubbler. 'Equilibrium' shuts down with a nod to early Detroit techno's hi-tek vibes and soulful machine warmth.
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