Review: LILA mainstay Ayaavaaki and ambient veteran Purl speak different languages but used a translator to convey ideas to one another as they made this record. And they very much foment their own unique musical language on Ancient Skies, an album that blends ambient, drone and space music into richly layered soundscapes that are constantly on the move. Each piece is meticulously crafted and suspense you up amongst the clouds, hazing on at the smeared pads and swirling solar winds that prop you up. It's a record that would work as well in the depths of winter as a bright spring day such is the cathartic effect of the sounds. Beautiful, thought-provoking and innovative, this is as good an ambient record as we have heard all year.
Arrival/Will We Stay The Same? (feat Marco Zenker) (2:16)
Review: Those renegades at Ilian Tape are back once again with another forward-thinking album of fresh and potent techno, this time from Packed Rich. His long player "depicts the journey of an individual traveling through a field of energy that connects different locations in space," we're told, and along the way, it warps space and time to leave you spellbound. Punchy broken beat drum programming, hyper-real synth lines and cosmic colours all bring this record to life. It's a psychedelic mix that sometimes sounds like an MPC jam amongst the stars, at others like you're in freefall through the cosmos and sometimes laid back, stoned as can be gazing off into the heavens. Lush.
Review: In the past 20 years Pan-Pot have ridden many a wave of techno's evolution, moving from their roots in the mid-00s minimal boom through to the fierce, kinetic techno they're putting out now. Having recently dropped the PROTO single on their Second State label, the Berlin duo present their third studio album. As that upfront single confirms, Pan-Pot are here to have fun with assistance from the likes of Hugh Betcha laying down a pitched-down spoken word turn that feels like big room Berlin techno in a nutshell. Across this ten-deep album, there are a lot of avenues explored as Pan-Pot demonstrate the depth and breadth of their vocabulary within the modern techno lexicon.
Review: Pancratio's A Run of Streams delves into the "state of flux"-those moments when everything flows effortlessly. Blending downtempo, deep house and acid house elements, it's a raw, unfiltered expression of the artist's journey that encourages you to connect with your own moments of spontaneity. Each track is crafted in real time using Pancratio's signature hands-on, organic production style and this method fosters natural emotion and spontaneity so gives the album a distinctive warmth and authenticity. A Run of Streams is a deeply physical and immersive listen that shows off Pancratio's unique sound.
Review: Despite their name, we find that the music of retro technicians Paranoid London offers us a rest from the paranoid mental state that the Great Wen often instils. Now out on a tenth anniversary edition, the duo's raw acid techno debut, released in 2015, heard two Londoners take temporary flight to Chicago, re-imbuing urban smoky techno with a long-lost sense of looseness and grit. Working in relative anonymity, the duo drew praise for their sparse use of original Bernard Sumner vocal lines, affording the record an esteem-by-proxy as well as a sense of turning full circle, as PL's Quinn Whalley actually spent many a pre-teen afternoon in Factory production wizard MArtin Hannet' studio. But it's the record's own minimalism that keeps it satisfyingly repetitive yet never complaisant. PL go their own way, swirling the old school round a ringer road of outer-city grit.
Touch The State Of That (with Jennifer Touch) (7:15)
The Motion (with Mutado Pintado) (6:16)
Review: When it comes to wresting maximum emotion and energy from analogue electronic instruments, few artists can match acid revivalists Paranoid London. They've certainly made their machines sing on Arseholes, Liars & Electronic Pioneers, their third full length excursion. Kicking off with the EBM-meets-acid growl of Joe Lewis hook-up 'Love One Self', the set includes such gems as 'People (Ah Yeah)' (an ambient acid number featuring Bobby Gillespie on vocals), the hard-wired acid trippiness of 'Up Is Down' (with DJ Genesis), the squelchy and spacey excellence of 'Start To Fade' (with Josh Caffe), the acid-electro brilliance of 'GRINDR' and a genuine future anthem in Mutado Pintado collab 'The Motion'.
Review: Lustrations finds Mike Parker releasing a long overdue debut album filled with his distinctive whirring insectoid synths and overpowering basslines and represents a welcome return to Prologue for the first time since 2011. Undoubtedly one of the more interesting producers in contemporary techno, Parker's quiet obsession with analogue experimentation, fascination with ring modulators and love for the atonal and dissonant works equally well in the album format as it does on those distinctive looking Geophone 12"s he has put out over the past few years. A theme of clarity and hypnotism is apparent when listening through all twelve variations of "Lustration" and together they combine for another superb LP release from Prologue.
Review: We really can't find out much info about pdqb but the producer behind the name is said to have gone mad after being possessed by an alien parasite, and his whereabouts are unknown. Synaptic Cliffs however has a bunch of music to release from him starting with this. The tracks "were created with the NCO6.27 for test subjects with brain implants" and the music combines dark, playful techno, electro, industrial, chiptunes, IDM and electronica into moody cuts with a unique energy and clout for the club.
Review: After debuting on Hospital Productions in 2017, Scanning Backwards was the sophomore album from Phase Fatale back in 2020 on Ostgut. To mark its fifth birthday it gets reissued here and still sounds as good as new. Payne blends post-punk, noise and shoegaze influences into broken rhythms and slow-burning, textured soundscapes that merge sonic warfare with functional dance music. This album drew from historical and fictional narratives to explore sound as a form of power and Each track reflects Berghain's influence as both a space and instrument. It's powerful stuff in more ways than one.
Review: Photek's masterpiece for the new millennium Solaris catches a repress on Proper recordings. From propulsive, metro-setting opener 'Terminus' to the elegiac, trouble-in-paradise closing synth meditation 'Under The Palms ', Rupert Parkes casually shakes off all expectation with a flurry of infectious head boppers channeling everything from the fragmentary half-step of the nascent broken beat stylie- read: 'Juno' (sic), to the snarling Valve-era techstep of Dillinja and Lemon D on 'Infinity' via Larry Heard's late 90s deep lounge leanings on the peerless 'Mine To Give' (note the similarity in artwork with Heard's Genesis). Solaris is very much a product of its time, the highest praise possible given the early 00s was one of the most amoebic and fluid periods in UK dance music history. It speaks to the undying british dancefloor tendency to allide tempo and atmosphere, casually felling boundaries in genre to create something as reverential as it is innovative. Classiq.
Review: Back in 2021 Adam Pits heralded the start of the On Rotation label with his own debut album, A Recurring Nature. Now he's back with a follow-up which finds him stretching out as an artist ever more - a fact which is absolutely evident from the gorgeous ambient swathes of opening track 'Lost In The Ether'. Even when the drums kick in on 'Sleepless', they're more tilted towards fragmented patterns and organic tones rather than rote drum machine sounds. There's space for peppier electronica and steppy heads-down gear, but throughout Pits imbues his sound with the richest synthesis imaginable. In that sense, you can track the path of development from his earlier work while enjoying the adventurous new terrain he's exploring as an artist.
Review: Pixel82 hails from Portugal and has been making music for the last 20 years. Early on they made punk/industrial and were then in a metal band but now they deal in powerful techno. Infinity is a concept album about "the continuum of life, of a constant loop that evolves over time. It is a discovery of myself musically, a rediscovery of the past to find the future." It is also full of club cuts designed to drive a crowd into overdrive. These are emotive tunes laden with synths that bring rushes of euphoria and plenty of psychedelic colours. It's a widescreen and rewarding listen.
Engage Now To Surface (Luke Slater Reassembly) (6:56)
Desert Races (Luke Slater Reassembly 2025) (6:24)
Rip The Keys (Luke Slater Reassembly) (6:13)
Review: With Planetary Assault Systems, one imagines weaponry of celestial scale, designed to zap spatial anomalies, planet-eating worms and other eldritch horrors into oblivion. 'Reassembled' hears Mote Evolver boss Luke Slater follow up last year's fifth volume on the 'Deep Heat' series, and does well to mastermind the evocation of such numb horror, such gargantuan warfare. Made up of a throng of "reassemblies" by Oscar Mulero and Len Faki, as well as Slater himself, this one makes up part of a series also involving Chlar and Rene Wise. The alien sound design here is highly believable, with the new versions of 'Engage Now To Surface' and 'Surface Noise' bringing mucusy blends and membraneous bells.
Review: Plant43 is the alias of Emile Facey, one of electro's most tireless innovators. He has a vast discography that never fails to prove he can speak through his machines more ably than just about anyone in the game, and certainly within the genre. Luminous Machines comes on his own label and is an album, his eighth in all, of cinematic and futuristic jams written before a gig at Tresor in April this year. 'Haunting The Depths' has an icy minimalism to it, with crisp drums and snappy hits all underpinned by textured bass. The title cut is a restless affair that pings about the stereo field with squiggling lines and loopy breaks and 'Fixed Point Rotation' has a more dark and menacing feel. These are just some of the highlights of another standout collection.
Review: A truly landmark album in the history of techno, Richie Hawtin set the bar very high for himself and his Plastikman alias with this record. Sheet One is fabled in many ways, from the notorious blotter-sheet sleeve to the inscription about drug consumption on the run-out groove, but its the music itself which has stood the test of time. Wringing layers of emotion from a 303 beyond what most thought was possible, Hawtin created an exciting new extrapolation of the Detroit techno he took his lead from, foreshadowing the increased minimalism which was yet to come. Some 30 years old and still a dazzling masterpiece of modern electronic music, it's sounding better than ever on this special edition reissue via Novamute.
Review: To celebrate its 30th anniversary, techno titan Richie Hawtin aka minimal pioneer Plastikman has remastered his influential second album Musik from the original tapes and pressed it up to limited edition bio-vinyl. It was first released in November 1994 via NovaMute and his own Plus 8 and was soon hailed as a masterclass in minimal techno, catapulting Hawtin toward the heights he still enjoys today. Prior to the full album release, the track 'Plastique' hinted at a more dancefloor-oriented sound while maintaining an unsettling edge that characterises much of the ensuing album's abstract and alien allure.
Review: When it first hit stores in 2007, Kushbush - the fourth album by industrial noiseniks turned psychedelic techno twosome Plateau (AKA Skinny Puppy's Kevin Compton and studio buddy Phil Western) - was only released on CD. This, then, marks the set's first appearance on vinyl. In keeping with the duo's chosen themes of "altered states and introspection" (the project was initially inspired by their love of cannabis and desire to see it legalised in their native Canada), the album sees the pair blend the growling intensity of Nine Inch Nails (and Compton's other industrial punk band, Download) and the full-throttle dancefloor assault of acid-fired techno with snapshots of picturesque melancholia, the far-sighted futurism of 1990s IDM, and the wide-eyed, tripped-out electronic psychedelia of ambient techno.
Review: Ploy aka UK artist Sam Smith lands on tastemaking Dutch label Dekmantel with Unlit Signals, a double 12" of raw dancefloor power that reconnects him with his house roots. Known for his twisted and percussive techno on Hessle Audio and Timedance, this time he looks back over a ten-year career of crafting club-rocking sounds that mix solid house grooves with his signature percussive flair. Across eight tracks there are plenty of well-honed DJ tools with a mischievous edge that comes from his knack for off-kilter synths, weird samples and razor-sharp rhythms. It's a versatile, high-impact tackle that works for the peak of the night but also the headier times.
Review: Ernestas Sadau, Rapha and PRZ are the Pluto Junkies and they are now back on Pinkmanwith a new seven-track mini album that follows their 2021 debut on Minder. It's an electro excursion to the farthest reaches of our universe with swirling synths and cosmic melodies all underpinned by hefty, thumping rhythms from analogue drum machines. Some are twitchy and paranoid cuts like the unsettling 'Space Ghost', others like 'Black Eye' are full body workouts and 'Astronaut Dolphin Detective' is a deep jacker for 5 am wig outs. A muscular and robust album for serious shape shifting, then. .
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Environment Control (3:17)
Smothering Dreams (11:09)
Dark Territory (8:03)
Breaking Waves (7:27)
Deflection V (8:13)
Modeless Singularity (7:37)
Arctic Horizon (10:26)
Interlude (Sound Stroke) (3:51)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The highly anticipated secnd full length album from Polar Inertia is here. It makes absolute sense that 'Environment Control' makes its way to the Swedish label Northern Electronics. For those that know the label and this artist, it seems like the perfect pairing. Formed in 2010, Polar Inertia has been one of the leading new producers of darker techno. The title track is opener and a sign of things to come. Futuristic techno of the upmost. These tracks engulf you with their power and depth. Some tracks are sinister and foreboding while others are atmospheric and cavernous. 'Artic Horizon' shows the deft touch of his producing ability. Sinister techno beats shrouded in a deep haze of ambience give off the impression that you are almost outside a club listening to the techno inside. For fans of techno and ambient, you are hard pressed to find a producer who does it better. These copies are sure to go fast so pick one up as quick as you can.
Review: The enigmatic Pom Pom appears for the first time outside of their eponymous imprint to deliver this ever curious collection of tracks for A-Ton: the offshoot of Berlin's Ostgut Ton for archive, ambient and art-related releases. There have been many rumours as to who may be behind the music, but they've done a pretty good job of keeping under wraps all this time - we must say. Much like moments in their extensive back catalogue, it's a fairly diverse affair covering everything from ambient ("Untitled 6 & 13"), bass music reductions ("Untitled 7"), early '80s style synth-punk ("Untitled 10") and even a bit of classic bleep techno as heard on "Untitled 12".
Review: Posthuman, the duo of Richard Bevan and Joshu Doherty present the latest full length release on their Balkan Vinyl imprint titled Requiem For a Rave, where they get nostalgic about their teenage years growing up in Scotland and the north east of England. The album conjures up memories of raves in the fields, cassette recordings of pirate radio stations, mixtapes, strange warehouses, strobelights and dancefloors. Indeed you can pick up on these sentiments throughout the album, from the ruffneck ting of opener 'RMX', to the cavernous tunnel vision of 'Fontalic', the acid trance euphoria of 'Proof & Fade' and the early '90s rave throwback of 'Rushing High'. Prepare to go all the way back.
Review: Techno veteran Rico Puestel is back with a new album that tries to answer the question 'If Techno has left the building, what is actually left of it?' The original sessions for this music also gave rise to the first album in this series but now get offered up as 'The Aftermath.' They find Rico tapping into pure body music, 90s techno and hefty club sounds that unfold on chunky, physical rhythms with all manner of tripped-out, industrial, dark and deft sound designs and rusty synths up top. Proper techno for proper clubs.
Review: Melbourne's Pugilist, known for the compelling 'Negative Space' EP, teams up with fellow Australian artist Pod for Iridescent, their debut collaboration on Of Paradise. Across nine meticulously crafted tracks, the duo embarks on an exploration of contemporary dance music. This isn't just a collection of tunes; it's a shifting soundscape, rich with textures and unpredictable in form. From cavernous dub basslines to ethereal atmospheres, Pugilist and Pod deliver a dynamic, genre-blurring journey. 'Haus' and 'Myriapoda' stand out, blending deep rhythms with intricate melodic detail, while moments of ambient serenity wash over, creating a truly immersive, genre-transcendent listening experience.
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