Review: Milo Raad is back on Rotterdam's finest, Mord Records, with a fine follow-up to his last outing, the 'Blood Pressure' EP. This one opens at pace with 'Bushido' and its rushes of synth and hi hats, which sweep you off your feet in an instant. 'Flash Point' has a more stripped-back sound with a hypnotic meld of drums and kicks that makes for perfect 5am escapism. The deep techno of 'Yawara' is run through with eerie, searching synths that describe a desolate urban scene and 'Detour' is a final assault on both head and heel with its unrelenting drum pressure.
Review: London underground night train riders Deadbeat Records prioritise techno-breaks handmade for late night and early morning dancefloors, times when both the best and worst comes emerges from each of us. Their inaugural Deadbeat Breaks compilation hears six out of ten full digital curations brought to a shadowy, space-invaded black vinyl truncation, with modern talking synth vomits from Olly Rant, booty bass hups from Hunter Starkings, hackney parroting hurtles from Rnbws, and a closing breakstep broil from Hooverian Blur.
Review: Rats On Acid's Triple A debut 'Burn Out' hears the occasional ear-amazer emit an ecstatic edict in acid hardcore, teasing out a sad but true fact of the post-industrial, post-post-modern condition: burnout. Ah, yes burnout. That tired old, laborious effect of overwork and overshot ambition. How do we combat burnout? First of all, redirect our energies to skanking anodes of acid hardcore, not overtime at work. The EP's title track is mad fun, bringing acrimonious acids and aerodrome reverbs, while 'On The Jazz' restricts the mix-space to a narrow shaft, up which a determined, high-impedant melodic current climbs. 'Turn The Page' ends on a strangely excited, cacophonous stasis; we're amazed this one was made recently, as it has a real convincing 90s energy to it.
Review: On the debut release for their newly minted label, Manchester's Response and Buda make a bold statement with this EP. 'Evolutions' opens, delivering an immediate rush that churns up dark rave stabs and pounding percussion, invoking memories of the early 90s Jungle scene. Yet, there's a modern sharpness in the track's evolving structure, making it feel fresh without losing the classic vibe. 'Fintons Dub' adds a layer of atmosphere, with its subdued bass and cinematic samples adding depth. Double 0's remix of 'Fintons Dub' hits like a freight train, its forceful bass and raw breaks cutting through the mix. Rounding out the EP, 'Acid Vein' slows things down with acid house influences, merging acid squelches with a deeper, more contemplative breakbeat rhythm that adds tension to the release.
Review: Rick 8 is the techno alias of Italy's Riccardo Falsini, and here he revives the pioneering spirit of his iconic Interactive Test label with this early gem, which offers an essential slice of trance, techno and progressive house history. Known for reshaping genre boundaries, the label was a beacon of innovation, as this EP shows. Each track is a potent club tool, designed for transcendental dancefloor moments and sonic ascension from the chunky tribalism of 'Hypernotes Velocity' to the standout remix of 'C'Mon' by Sound Metaphors affiliate Trent, who injects progressive firepower. 'Born To Sinthetize' is a deeper, spiritual sound with flashy synth work married to loose drum loops.
Review: Motion Potion Records returns with a second release from the Australian label founded by Jono Xidias, Mehmet Alpdogan, and ritmiq. This collaborative project sees ritmiq teaming up with Lewba and Louis for the 'Signals' EP, a heady exploration of spacey club sounds. Standout track 'Transmitting From Space' (with Lewba) glides through cosmic synths, subtle breaks and hypnotic melodies so is sure to become a certified late-night burner. On the A-side, Louis and ritmiq deliver 'Interplanetary Prisoner' and 'Parallax,' which are both rich in mood and groove. ritmiq's solo cut 'Nebularae' closes the EP with high energy and dancefloor heat. Signals is a stylish, cosmic journey worth taking.
Review: Rivet's newest album for Editions Mego blends optimism and negation, emerging sanguinely from a period of personal tragedy and disillusionment undergone by the artist. Mika Hallback, a key figure in the Swedish underground, first gained attention with industrial techno as Grovskopa before shifting to experimental work, including On Feather and Wire (2020). After the loss of fellow musician Peter Rehberg and his dog Lilo, Hallback created the somber L+P-2 (2023), and now Peck Glamour marks his return, coming reinfused with hope and exploration. Drawing on punk, industrial, techno, and trauma, the album combines synthetic and organic elements, with 'Orbiting Empty Cocoon', with its tugging, metal ballistic sound-rooms sounding like an Au-technic, cybernetic ritual, a dance anthem 'Patitur Butcher' and 'We Left Before We Came' concluding on comparatively layered zoonotic notes; posthuman synthesis backed by birdsong.
Review: With over 25 years in the game and a legacy as one half of the revered German electronic duo Wighnomy Brothers, this veteran artist shows no signs of slowing down. His latest EP delivers a slick blend of minimal and tech house flavors with undeniable character. 'Frandga' kicks off with a sultry vocal performance by Delhia, layered over a groovy, addictive minimal tech foundation i funky, hypnoti, and impossible to resist. 'Wortkabular' follows with a more stripped-back micro-tech approach, sharp and precise yet full of subtle movement. On Side-B, 'Beatkutter' flips the energy into a playful, techy party stormer, driven by a nasty, elastic bassline that's pure dancefloor mischief. 'Kopfnikker' closes things out with a surprising twist i a broken IDM-inspired rhythm paired with unique melodic touches, offering a textured and thoughtful finish. This EP proves why his influence still runs deep, blending masterful technique with a fresh, free-spirited edge.
Review: Berlin's Tobias Rosin aka Roseen makes a strong debut on the a.r.t.less label with four raw, club-focused tracks that channel classic Detroit techno energy. Each one delivers relentless rhythms and deep grooves, but with an all-important stripped-back sci-fi atmosphere that feels at once classic and forward-thinking. 'Re-Calibrated' is one that stands out with its broken kick patterns and shapeshifting synth filters that suspend you above the 'floor. 'Toxic Glitch' is more frenzied and 'Hyperdrive' doesn't let up either. This release also includes an endless loop and a locked groove and the X-side also features a rare 'parallel cut', a technique pioneered by Detroit legend Ron Murphy.
Review: Following 2023's When A Worm Wears A Wig, Robin Stewart returns with Crinkle and delivers a set of warped dub techno tracks that apply advanced dub logic to precise, pointillistic rhythms. Channelling influences like Peder Mannerfelt and Rrose, Stewart revives classic genre tropes with a fresh perspective that dives deeper into the physicality of sound and focuses on bass throbs over aggressive kicks. Standout tracks like 'Stomach' surprise with lolloping off-grid beats soaked in lysergic textures while 'Compact' delivers a more traditional peak-time vibe with innovative processing. The title track brings everything together with mind-bending spectral rhythms.
Burn Down Babylon (feat Jack Russell & Sonuga) (8:34)
Review: Dublin-based artist Rustal is Peter Sweeney and he has a deep sound that he now brings to New York's renowned BlackCat label. Three of these originals are recorded in one-take performances at BlackCat HQ in the summer of 2024 and one is a dub reggae jam made in collaboration with label boss Jack Russell and Sonuga. 'Angel Of Light' is a widescreen dub techno opener with fuzzy, fizzy synths ripping out to infinity over dynamic drums. 'Flower Brick' is more intense with the oversized hi-hat ringlets and 'Ukiyo' is minimal and sparse in its drums and pads but soon locks you in. 'Burn Down Babylon' is a late-night stoner soundtrack for full mental immersion.
Review: Long regarded as one of Italy's most forward-thinking techno producers, Enrico Sangiuliano has spent the past decade carving out a niche between peak-time precision and philosophical intent. From his roots in the country's free party scene to headlining global festivals, he's become known for sculpting tracks that are as emotive as they are explosive. Here, he links up with psytrance icons GMS, whose trailblazing output since the 90s brings a charged, otherworldly energy to the collaboration. 'Transcendence' unfolds like a spacecraft launch, all rising tension and arpeggiated release, with Sangiuliano's signature cinematic monologue anchoring it in the present. 'The Inner World' strips everything back into a meditative synthscape, hinting at future directions while reinforcing his long-standing fascination with the inner journey.
Review: Houston's Seven Davis Jr continues his musical explorations via his Secret Angles imprint, serving three floor-focused cuts on 'Is This The Apocalypse'. The long-serving US producer, vocalist and DJ is unafraid of experimentation, and his latest offering delivers a set of forward-facing house and techno hybrids. Stripped, straight to the point, simultaneously familiar and fresh i the club room is very much the focus here. The energetic opener 'I Should Be In Japan' arrives with semi-sung vocals echoing over sleazy bass and fierce four-four rhythms, before 'PBS (Party & Bullshit)' ups the tempo with jacking drums driving spoken-word sass over a stripped-back topography. Finally, the title track powers over swung house drums, with its magnetic bass hook and looped samples providing the bed for paranoid bleeps and call-to-action vocals.
It's A Flesh Wound (Christopher Ledger remix) (7:35)
Review: Dubliner Noah Skelton brings a deep four-track helter-skelter to Zingiber Audio, topping up a well-travelled catalogue whose earprints are borne in the discographies of Amour, Daydream and Mayak. 'Formentario' and 'Pacer' deepen our hearts with fulsome beats n' bass, carefully constructed to manifest in the listener a looser, undammed destiny. 'It's A Flesh Wound', meanwhile, subtly balances emo-breaks and curious acid jazz, with a popout FM and dancing piano plinks proving particularly pacific, not least when set against *those* chords.
Review: Mitsubasa means "three-wings" in Japanese and those wings stand for the soul, the heart and the mind. All of them are taken care of with this new one from the label as SLV taps into Detroit techno heat on the opener. It's awash with textural synths and speedy drum funk. 'Do High' drops in a pitched-up vocal hook that cannot fail to get that extra bit of real iron in the club, especially as the drums surge with such style and euphoria. 'Far From The Madding' is another one wrapped up in synth overloads that build intensely over minimal drums and 'Overcircle' then strips things back to tight, bouncy loops.
Review: Chicago born, Detroit-raised Delano Smith is one of the foundational artists of the contemporary house scenes. In 2023, he revealed he was suffering with a rare form of cancer but as this new EP title suggests, he is still here and still crafting high-grade sounds. 'When I Was Young' kicks off with his signature smoky drum loops and train travel sense of hypnosis. 'The Rush' is another heads down jam, this time marbled with eerie pads and wet clicks and claps that oil the groove while 'Rewired' shuts down with real late night delicacy and evocative minimalism.
Review: With A Real Piece Of Work, Stillhead helps Brightest Dark Place reach into the "hazy, blurred overlap between techno and ambient", throwing a suspension chord between two bluffs over a vast sonic chasm, and letting terse rhythms monkey-swing across it, letting reverb bellow from below. This is an equally dynamic but intense listening experience, proving that vast, chasmic sound design need not chafe against dynamic buoyancy: the two can coexist. Keeping to about 170BPM, the Edinburgh DJ marks his sixth release here, and it is an impressive logical extension from 2022's comparable mission statement Restraint And Reverb: 'The Red Ball' suspends a sampled 'Funky Drummer' over an atoll of sub compulsions, while 'A Light Thump On The Head' stretches a classic future garage rhythm over a telegraphic void, with dispersive, long-decaying results.
Review: CREDO label head and respected German DJ and producer Alex Bau offers up his first sounds under new alas Stoering here on the Dub Wax label. And the location of the music hints at what he is looking to explore with his new project, namely deep and dubbed-out techno soundscapes. They are steeped in the Basic Channel school with dusty hi-hats and fuzzy pads stretched out over frictionless drums. The pace remains steady and seductive throughout and the EP reaches its pinnacle with 'Taupo' thanks to the pairing of a gently bumping rhythm and scattering of metallic hits that widen the scope of the groove.
Review: Rotterdam-born but Berlin-based producer delivers a killer techno odyssey, crafting a set of deep, cinematic club tracks with an ominous edge. 'Glimmerfall' beings with a subterranean energy, its pounding German beat driving through layers of dystopian synth textures. The raw, mechanical intensity evokes images of vast, industrial landscapes reminding us of classic Tresor-era James Ruskin. 'The Last Glow' follows with a relentless acid assaultiaggressive, hypnotic and unrelenting, its squelching 303s carving out an electrifying, high-pressure groove. Side-B dives into cinematic realms with 'X1 Shift', a track that feels like the soundtrack to a mysterious alien world. Pulsing bass and intricate sound design create a dramatic, tension-filled atmosphere, as if exploring the depths of an uncharted planet. Closing out, 'Synk C' is a stellar production with a killer groove and immersive depth enhanced by meticulous sound processing. It's a track that feels both expansive and tightly controlled, balancing dancefloor power with artistic precision. A dark, gripping record with serious sonic weight, this is techno built for the late hoursimenacing, sophisticated and ultimately unforgettable.
Review: Lisbon's Hubble Recordings present their sixth release so far, keeping firm to their artist-specific EPs approach following brilliant releases from Kaesar, Costin RP, Miroloja, Octave and Alex Pervukhin. The latest is from tech house hurler Sublee aka Stefan Nicu, whose flight-booking impulse is as strong as ever, here having stopped over from far-flung Romania. After a string of both digital and vinyl stopovers, 'Personal Universal' appears as the pendular follow-up to 2024's Rawax debut 'Simple Two', bringing hugely doubled vocal cantata to a fervent acid build on the title track, while ensuers 'Simple One' and 'Laculesdesample' bring fidgety synth double bass and unorthodox percussions. A personal universe we'd never want to leave!
Review: Since at least 2024, by our estimation, shells have been enjoying something of an "it moment" in electronic music. Don't ask us why. Perhaps the icky palps of nautiluses, or the helical segmentation of various fossils, would seem to predict the naturalisation of mechanical reproductions expressed in techno. Birmingham keystone Surgeon (Anthony Child) swoops in on the fervour, repurposing larked sonic opercula into filter-fed 4x4 Borg-anisms. But despite the implied theme, Child uses limited equipment - "For me, it's an interesting experience returning to old techniques again after 30 years" - and refashions a classic live-show-style approach here. All eight tracks were done in a single take, and only 'Dying' upends beats, delivering a moribund, mantric sound piece.
Review: UK-based producer Yuri Suzuki goes hard as nails on his latest effort, landing on Detroit Underground with an unfettered collection of pounding techno cuts. Having previously released on labels including Sketches, Accidental, and Super Rhythm Trax, including notable collaborations with Ed DMX, this long-player is among his most unflinching. From the aptly titled 'Violent Acid Stuff' to the no-less descriptive 'Raver', the tempo maintains a furious pace throughout, with pounding drums, jarring synths, and, of course, searing 303 lines very much the order of the day. Simply put, if you're a fan of acid techno, you'd be strongly advised to buy this one on sight.
Review: Three South American artists - SV3, Trajano, Sebastian - converge alongside French maestro TC-80 on a new, gung-ho vinyl release from Coqueto. Reflecting a para-militant mood, from 'Armament Belico' to 'Hipnosis Global', hi-tech metanoia is balanced with a crude militancy here, reflecting an aggressive permutation of trance. Closer 'Desapariciones' (from Spanish, "disappearances"), we round out on a scathing but ghostly judgment call, with gasping transitions and tanky poundings.
Review: First released in 1999, Swayzak's 'Floyd/Doobie' shook the British duo's catalogue. Though it wasn't 'Bueno' or 'Fukumachi', this deep house cut was the next best choice for followers of the then burgeoning tech house circuit. Swayzak were already favourites on this and the deep house scene, and had clawed in acclaim for their involvement in both as early as 1993. One particularly prolix bio deems them the incipients of "1st wave 2000-era progressive deep minimal", which is too analytic even for us manic categorisers. No, we prefer to take these two big-hitters as they are: brimming with enthusiasm for a gadget-packed future, 'Floyd' fizzes and twitches with the pulsing blurts of a saw synth, as if to suggest constant magnetic stimulation from above. 'Doobie', meanwhile, hears our protagonist disrobe the techno utility belt, returning to a wireless home, so to gaze out over a subtly detuned chord landscape set to munching percs.
Review: Swayzak is a micro house, minimal and techno duo, aka James S Taylor and David Brown from the UK, whose name alone will get many older dancers hot under the collar. Their craft was second to none during their peak and here we get a reminder of that with a new outing on Rawax. 'Floyd' is a jazzy dancer with live claps, spinning hi-hats and louche grooves all topped with synthetic synths that never quit. 'Doobie' is a more deep sound with late-night headsy vibes. The drums are supple, the synths squeal and spoken word mutterings add a human touch. Two well-realised and effective cuts from Swayzak.
Ramon Tapia - "Fear" (Dynamic Forces remix) (5:05)
Review: Netherlands techno titan Planet Rhythm goes full percussive gas giant on their latest V/A, 'Friction', a motorsport motivator full of accelerometric elan - one of several V/As to grace their revving catalogue in recent times. Ramon Tapia leads the motorcade with 'Friction', a stabbing aerator full of overtop claps and rims, while Louis Lp's 'Radioactivity' unsettles with its seething high ringing and affectively isolated chord-stab-melody. Deas' 'Hard Dreams' nods to the real, unshakeably material core of dreams, with its rancorous full-tone acids, while Ramon Topia closes with 'Fear', a restless, chord-throttling, hard trancey, speed demonic rally racer.
Review: Shut Off Notice welcomes Teakup - a local Columbus, Ohio DJ and producer born Lauri Reponen and known for his stylish techno - for a second outing on the label. 'Forest Bed Moss' kicks off with dusty mid-tempo breaks and deep basslines full of soul, while 'Mhm' is a mechanical groove with dubby undertones and nice chopped vocals. 'Rain Groove Revisit' is a deep, percolating and stumbling rhythm with a smattering of percussion and bubbly feel infused with cooing female vocals. Finally, Teakup remixes Rew's 'Fragile Abundance' into a deft and lithe minimal dub for the small hours. Sophisticated stuff once more from Teakup.
Review: Dan Piu and Grant's Theory of Movement project has served up gold for lovers of heady tech and minimal. After something of a hiatus, it is now back on When The Morning Comes with more of the sort of tuneage that is going to quickly sell out and soon become the ID request du jour at your favourite underground parties. These are of course sophisticated sounds from the silky house bumps of 'Now & Then' with its seductive vocal allure to the throwback 90s sounds of 'Over Time' (Acid Mix). 'Basis' (Foundation mix) is another immediately classic house sound with analogue and dusty drums and zippy melodies next to more smooth chords. 'Motion Of Objects' shuts down with a more zoned-out vibe and widescreen melodic architecture for late nights.
Review: Bonafide and veteran Japanese house legend Satoshi Tommie is back with a second taste of his upcoming new album Magic Hour alongside a selection of fine remixes. First is a Freund der Familie Reshape of 'N01' which is deep, atmospheric and mid tempo techno, while the album's title cut then becomes a swamp, deep, menacing rework from Andrey Pushkarev. Freund der Familie Rewire Fix of 'Phase Space' makes it into a deft, loopy, stuttering workout for the mind and the Satoshi Tommie's Alternate Cut of 'Fast Track' is a killer slow track steeped in dub dynamics.
Hazmat Live - "The Marriage Of Korg & Moog" (4:50)
Review: Passing Currents aims to stand out from the predictable by offering a deeply human touch in its music. This five-tracker backs that up by melding academic expertise with dancefloor intuition and the A-side features txted by Phil Moffa remixed by Yamaha DSP coder okpk after they met during doctoral studies, they flip technical mastery into bass-driven energy while Atrevido' fuses California warmth with analogue electro, Josh Dahlberg's rediscovered 2009 electro gem, 'Ass On The Floor', still bangs and Detroit's Kevin Reynolds delivers hypnotic grooves before Hazmat Live pushes boundaries with a sound rooted in soulful, experimental innovation.
Review: Underground Resistance reissue 'The Final Frontier', one of many lesser-spotted records to emerge from the many subterranean bore-holes they'd dug under Detroit, pre-1995. Produced under the UR namesake by the momentarily errant Mad Mike Banks, 'The Final Frontier' opens with a titular acid skipper, not long before a mathematically-minded ascender *avant la lettre*, 'Entering Quadrant Five', hears blooping, arpy, archic counterpoints arise, layer on layer, as if we'd taken flight aboard a starship, and now find ourselves accelerating against the flow of a cosmic cataract. The B offers a vision of meanwhile, beaming us down to 'Base Camp Alpha 808', which hears a comparatively Promethean fusion of hand drum and drum machine.
Review: Belgian-born, Vietnam-based innovator Peter Van Hoesen returns to the fore here with a daring four-track EP that dives deep into experimental techno. Known for his precision and intensity, Van Hoesen lives up to that as he crafts a cerebral yet visceral journey through chaotic structures and abstract rhythm. From the hypnotic disarray of 'Definition by Absence' to the stormy turbulence of 'Variables Edit 1,' each track embraces unpredictability without forgetting the floor. 'Prime Directive' disorients with anti-club energy, while 'Morphology' offers a slightly more grounded groove that gives form to his conceptual explorations. Fearless stuff as ever from big Pete.
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