Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Lempuyang is a label you will know and respect for its high quality stream of immersive dub techno and now the man behind it, Alastair Kelly, debuts a new label with none other than revered UK techno mainstay Ibrahim Alfa Jnr. He opens up with 'Component A' which is a moody melange of slow, broken dub beats and fizzing synths. There is further experimentation on 'Untitled B2 1' which pairs a churning dub rhythm with naive and innocent melodies and lots of li-fi static. 'Entangled' ups the ante with the suggestion of a fast paced rhythm through a skeletal groove and the flip brings broken beat dub weight, meaning and percussive bass with a 2-step swagger then deep introspection on the closer. A classy EP that suggests this label is one well worth watching.

Review: CRYME launches his new label SEVEN with a head-turning and ear-pleasing debut single 'Hold On', accompanied by four standout remixes. SEVEN is a queer and FLINTA*-leaning imprint dedicated to uplifting, genre-blending house and techno and it kicks off with CRYME's hypnotic original which is driven by pulsing bass and echoing vocals. Berlin house Queen Cinthie brings a soulful house spin with airy strings and bouncy grooves, while Obscure Shape delivers a darker, techno-driven rework. Lydia Eisenblatter adds a rave-tinged breakbeat flair, and VOLPE closes with a dreamy dub-techno version. 'Hold On' perfectly embodies SEVEN's mission to showcase unexpected sounds, fierce energy and dancefloor joy.

Review: Froid Dub return to the dubbing fold full of cold sang-froid with new one 'Tears Maker Chant'. The landmark 50th release for the label and editorial Ransom Note, this new progeny of Paris duo Stephane and Francois, known both for their own distinctive productions and self-released Delodio label curations, offer a stripped-back, slow-smouldering blunderbuss of bass-heavy minimalia with the sliest of sly nods to Italo disco on the B, creating what they call "low-slung mood music. Measured, murky, magnetic. It's a debut outing on Ransom Note for the duo, and a sharp alignment with the label's taste for genre-blurring system oddities.

Review: Peverelist stands as a defining figure in UK electronic music, shaping the intersection of bass-driven sound system culture and forward-thinking techno. Emerging from Bristol's fertile underground scene, his work as a producer, DJ and label head has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of UK dance music. Closing out his long-running series, he distills his signature sound into four meticulously sculpted tracks. 'Pulse XVII' bookends a skeletal, stepping groove with shimmering synth strings and crisp chord stabs, injecting a dose of Motor City euphoria into his typically weighty framework. 'Pulse XVIII' strips things back to bare essentials, constructing a taut, jacking house cut from pulsing low-end and precisely placed percussionia masterclass in restraint and impact. The energy escalates with 'Pulse XIX', where dub techno textures are reworked into something sharper and more urgent, its rolling momentum underpinned by a driving rhythmic core. 'Pulse XX' then flips expectations, shifting into leftfield steppers territory with elastic bass motifs and alien hooks, recalling the producer's earlier experiments while pushing his sound into fresh terrain. It's a fitting conclusion to a project that has consistently balanced dancefloor functionality with a forward-thinking approach.

Review: The Pittsburgh Tracks Authority crew prides itself on serving up fad-free, no-frills, authentic-only house music that will stand up to the tyranny of passing trends. For their next outing, they veer into tech territory with 'Tech 97', a tune that embodies just that, a bit like, a no doubt subtly named in reference to, Micke Huckaby's Bassline 87 tune. It might sound simple, but effective, but that's really not an easy trick to pull off. The manic mix allows the synth more room to roam and rumble with more raw percussion, and the Calm mix is a smooth, dubbed-out but still nice and pacey rework. Very useful tools.

Review: We hear distant soul croons, and lyrical talk of silver linings, on this latest EP from Pornbugs and Frink, as the pair draw another heat on the EPs game after 2023's 'See Through My Eyes'. Striking while the rod is still hot, these two've releases through the likes of Spielgold and Sublease since 2006, which have surely informed on this rippling release, which keeps one foot in the chillout vault and the other in room one. But both moods are held in impossible superposition - we feel relaxed and upbeat at the same time. 'Keep It Down' especially impresses with its distant use of a vocal line that might otherwise be put to more focal use by less patient producers, proving the compatibility of lyricism and soundscape.

Review: Wordlessly issued by the 2022 launched label Different Times, this minimal-trance-breaker from Shjva and Stereometrix (Ukraine) follows after the former duo broke from their shared Plan alias formed in 2021. They now operate separately but on a single record; sometimes collaborative chemistry works best when it goes hand-in-hand with individual creativity. Three A side inductors by Shjva kick the record off through a range of tensile tools, from velocity sensitive e-drum primers to sweeping mini-dub-trance workouts, reducing the listener to a puttylike state. Then comes Stereometrix's sole contribution with 'No Need To Squeeze', which deserves its singular B-side status as the digging inquisitor's choice, with its flexuous melo-arps, distant silences and sample-and-held counterpoints: truly a melodic masterstroke.

Review: Swayzak's role in establishing minimal makes them one of the scene's greats. Their meticulously compiled discography has many treasures, and plenty of them are hard to find and expensive. That has long been the case with this EP, originally from 1998, but now reissued by the back-cat boffins at Rawax. 'Lokal' has it all across 11 immersive minutes, from the deft, loopy drum programming that floats above the floor to the wispy and synthetic melodies and churning synth hooks. 'Yardarm' is another majestic minimal symphony, though this one hits a little harder and might well be the best of the two because of it. It's a perfect mix of dreamy mental escape and irresistible body music for the wee-small hours.

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: Hailing from Tokyo, Satoshi Tomiie emerged in the New York scene after Frankie Knuckles discovered him and his debut record, 'Tears' in 1989, was co-produced with Knuckles and featured Robert Owens. It is a dance music classic and as part of Def Mix Productions with David Morales, Satoshi crafted iconic 1990s remixes for artists like Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Inner City. Here collaborating with Ibiza's Tuccillo, Satoshi created 'Delta Dubs', a live, one-take dub house project recorded on a Soundcraft Delta desk. This tribute to dub's pioneers reimagines the essence of dub with a futuristic twist that lands courtesy of 20/20 Vision.

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: Ukrainian producer Vakula makes a swift return to the always reliable Phonogramme label from Paris with a superb follow-up to his recent Dinsync collaboration. Deep, nocturnally charged and gorgeously atmospheric, the EP opens with the brooding acid of 'Quantum Voyage', where foggy pads drift over bubbling 303 and jagged machine hits. 'Skys Whisper' blends emotive synth waves with growling bass and crisp drums, with its bittersweet topline gliding over sumptuous harmonics, while 'Sunny Konotop' maintains a similar trajectory, with misty-eyed synth work dancing over low-slung bass and swung beats. Magnificent work.

Review: MCMLXV might be on your radar for its quality output in the realms of dub techno. This time out though it veers more towards club tackle and is less heavy on the dub via the work of label head JS Zeiter. 'Outline' stars in a deep, pensive groove with glistening hi-hats cutting up the smooth bass. 'Taken' is another mid-tempo plodder that comes alive with nice heady synth curlicues that add some scale. 'Navigate' keeps these serene vibes flowing with more deft and wispy pads colouring the rooted beats and 'Resistance' shuts down with more swaggering bass.

Review: Per Hammar and Berlin-based label Sushitech are a match made in heaven as both have long since proven their credential in the world of dub techno. As the label turns 20, it kicks off its year with an album that has been two years in the making and features a top-quality array of dub techno sounds. Malin Genie features on two of the more kicking and propulsive cuts, while Jannik Jivung adds an organic touch to two more. In between those sounds are percolating slow-mo jams like 'Representant Dubb' and more kinetic sounds like 'TX Files' with its fresh kicks and rolling bass.

Review: The now 20-year-strong Sushitech have been working on this one for two years and finally it drops - a new album from cultured dub techno don Per Hammar. This is a seriously deep journey into his signature sound that melds the genre's most classic side with a fresh modern twist. Cuts like 'Generation Drive' have a nice crisp sense of motion as well as lovely warped pads, while 'Juvial' brings a sense of curiousness with its undulating drums and bass. 'Defender' leans into sleek techno styles and will have you cruising in no time. An instant classic album, for sure.