Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: Candido aka. Luis Schiebeler lays down eight darkwave / Italo numbers for Spain's Oraculo Records as part of their extended EPs series - Megabreakz. The seventh addition to the sonic saga is a hearty, circuit-bent dancefloor haunter, marking the 'inaugural chapter of a two-part epic' by Candido, which promises a journey spanning everything from EBM to new beat to rave breaks. Wherever you place 'Mechanical Dances Part 1' on this vast stylistic continuum, the fact remains that Candido's approach to the post-industrial dance form is as psyche-imprinting as it is floor-denting, often nodding to the profound (sometimes dissociative) experiences common to frequenting such a scene. Peppered throughout - if you know where to find them - are repetitive lyrical mantras, alluding to everything from OOB experiences to controversial French psychoanalysts.

Review: Joseph Capriati has very quickly risen from underground techno player to top-tier titan. The Italian hails from Naples, a famous hotbed of minimalism that has spawned stars like Marco Carola. whose footsteps Capriati has followed in by securing his own Ibiza residency for his Metamorfosi party. The sort if sounds you can expect to hear on that label and at the events are well showcased here on his new mix of the legendary Global Underground series. From dark and driving techno to more emotional and melodic house, it's a colourful and widescreen ride that features a couple of his own fresh jams and many more from contemporary artists.

Review: Chlar's sophomore album crafts a bold vision of techno's evolution, blending stripped-back grooves with a sharp focus on rhythm and syncopation. In a departure from the rigidity dominating much of hard techno in recent years, this LP injects fluidity and funk into its clean, minimalist beats. Tracks like 'Fortress of Illusion' exemplify this approach, with deep, grooving basslines and carefully layered rhythms that subtly push and pull the tempo. The result is a style that feels fresh yet grounded in the genre's roots. Chlar's music juxtaposes the forward-driving optimism often associated with funk-inspired beats against darker emotional undercurrents. This tension reflects the record's thematic exploration of societal divisions, echoing the release notes' commentary on political climate. By reimagining the boundaries of techno with rhythmic sophistication and a conceptual edge, Chlar reaffirms the genre's capacity for reinvention. In a landscape of extremes, this LP stands out as a thoughtful and innovative contribution to modern electronic music.

Review: For its 30th release, Persephonic Sirens has this arresting new album from Codex Empire across four sides of vinyl. It explores a brave new techno world where dystopian nightmares collide with club-ready grooves and textural synth work defines each track. 'With Fire I Carve' is a blistering sound with nervy, edgy synth tension, 'Alsatia The Lower' is a hard techno monster with screwy synths and flat-footed drums and 'Transient Phantom' is a tunnelling sound with stark sound designs and an atmosphere that is pregnant with darkness and unease.

Review: In musical terms, Bill Converse is as iconic as the basketball sneaker with which he shares his name. He's a techno favourite and veteran of the Midwest scene who has come up under the likes of Claude Young and Traxx but very much fomented his own sound. Here the American ace returns to Dark Entries with a new seven-track exploration of raw, analogue-driven techno. His sound blends the acid grit of Relief Records, the hypnotic pulses of early IDM and Detroit's energy all with an unpredictability that mirrors that of his live sets. He makes fine use of classic hardware like the Roland TB-303 and modern modular synthesis to cook up off-kilter rhythms and abrupt shifts that keep you on edge. Another vital and visceral offering from this legend.

Review: Courtesy's second studio album is another no-holds-barred deep dive into the heart of a minimal and tech house dance floor. Eschewing the usual ambient intro in favour of getting right down to business, things kick off with the surging comic-tech of 'I'm Happy I Am Not Susan Sontag', then the slamming drums of 'My Dazed Friend (feat Klo)' come with zoned out and alluring vocal musings. 'Let There Be LOVE! (feat Lyanne)' is another fast but smooth tech cruise with emotive vocal textures and 'Does Every Track Have To Be A Journey?' is a punchy tool which suggests not.

Review: Craven Faults' 'Bounds' is the latest EP-length project to be outputted by the otherwise elusive Northern English artist. Once again building on his admirable, psycho-terrestrial approach - in which the artist embarks on long, restless trans-Anglican journeys as creative fuel for the alluvial fire - 'Bounds' hears the otherwise anonymous Faults trace the fault lines of the Black Country's pastoral-industrial contradiction, beginning said journey "less than 20 miles North-West of the city", and with no further elaboration than that. Side A traipses through three heat-hazed, ground-dwelling, humid humuses - the vague scrapes of heavy metallic industry looming over each mix, straddling both back and foreground - and only 'Lampses Mosse' permits much respite from the trek, via a tremblingly, relievingly spread synth bell. 'Waste & Demesne' is the B-side's epitaph for England's feudal legacy, its drawn-out basses and quavering pedal notes congregating to mourn the natural losses resulting from centuries' worth of exploitation.