Review: Call Super delivers a superb telecommunication in the form of 'Swallow Me'. We're not sure why Call Super wants us to ingest him, but we're not going to question it too much. The new track samples Kamala Sankaram's performance at the final Resonant Bodies festival in New York in 2019. "In Ancient Greek, ololyga is the ritual shriek of women, a sound so alarming to men that it could not be uttered within their earshot" - goes the liner text. Sonically, Mr. Super blends the ololyga with Hebden-esque shuffles and glossy dance schlop, building a deeply resonant tune sure to kill egos the world over.
Review: Derek Carr has been doing his thing for a long time, but it's definitely the last five years or so that have seen him gain wider recognition for his dedication to a vintage sort of deep techno. Making no bones about his influences from Detroit and the Artificial Intelligence era, he's cultivated a swooning strain of machine soul which is now regularly appearing on his own Trident label. This second part of Elektro Static features another four lush excursions through luscious pads, bubbling arpeggios and crisp drum machine beats. Across the whole record, it's a well-established sound executed to perfection by a true lifer.
Review: Derek Carr's brand of Detroit-influenced electronic futurism has always oozed class, with the Irish producer prioritising mood, melody and ear-pleasing synth sounds above all else. It's this blend - both club-ready and perfect for home listening - that makes his releases worth checking. We'd highly recommend Electro Statik Part One, the first in a series of vinyl excursions that as usual blur the boundaries between styles. He begins with the immersive chords, jumpy lead lines and smooth house beats of 'In Transit', before diving headlong into deep electro-meets-IDM waters on the impeccable 'Mimas'. Turn to side B for the skittish, far-sighted and picturesque electro-not-electro number 'A Star Dies', as well as the warming, pitched-down electronic melancholia of 'Dione'.
Review: Armed with analogue and modular synthesisers, Southern Italian producers Marco Cassanelli and Deckard take you on an emotive journey inspired by geometry and symmetry for T.A. Rock Records - a small indie label out of sunny Trani, Puglia established 2010. The Splitted EP starts out with the desolate dub techno textures of 'Abandoned Town' while the spaced-out cut 'Triangle' and the hypnotising 'Rectangle' (part 1) make for more experimentally minded tracks.
Review: Topping up the Rotterdam techno label TH Tar Hallow comes Casual Treatment (Melvyn Ortega), a newcomer to the imprint based in Berlin. Essentially a mini-album, this 27th addition to TH Tar's Hallowed annals makes clever use of sentimental track titling with ultra-mechanical, nigh unfeeling sequencing and sound design, to rather ironic effect. For example, 'It Warms My Heart' opens with a totally frozen-over aortic groove, while the closer 'Remember Me' transmits equally cold sounds to distant polar receiver-markers. In all seriousness, though, this is a great release, one which opens up properly in the latter half.
Review: Needs' commendable charity drive continues to bring forth the goods, both in terms of good causes and world class club music. Rallying round in support of World Mental Health Day 2020, Shanti Celeste kicks the record off in style with the rapid fire, deep-diving workout 'Fantasma'. OCB keeps the pressure up with the psychotropic techno of 'RS3', while Michelle works up some delightfully freaky synths on playful jacker 'Aesthetic'. Bobby's 'Free Your Mind' is a 90s-tinged, full fat techno production indebted to Detroit, Peder Mannerfelt keeps things stripped and raw on 'Our Levels' and Yu Su weaves a beautiful tapestry of interweaving rhythms on 'Brittney'. Adam Pits' trippy techno sounds resplendent on 'Wind Tunnel' and DJ Sports completes the set with the inventive, dembow slanted funk of 'Needs Dub'.
Review: Three distinctly outer space-themed cuts from Greece's Alex Celler, each with a linear minimal/tech skeleton that has other, interloping musical influences draped elegantly and classily across it. 'Ancient Astronuats' has the weird, wired mystical stirrings of early Black Dog about it, complete with melting, bendy electro notations that coax it along and add a psychedelic dimension. 'Stargate To Cosmos' has a playful, Drexciyan feel to it, with crunchy, organic drum beats flirting alongside the more rigid electrics. 'Object In The Sky' is the most minimal of the pack, sleek and stalker-like, but still contains enough action - mainly floating around up there in the ether - to hold and build attention.
Review: Statica's debut release, 'M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly', showcases the label's dedication to serving up diverse techno sounds. This split EP, STATICA001, opens with two intense and dancefloor-ready bangers by the prolific Central Intelligence on the A-side, and both are packed with visceral drum energy and synth unpredictability. The B0side features Madrid-based Victor Reyes, who delivers two reflective but also emotionally charged 4/4 workouts that create a compelling contrast that embodies Statica's "Forces in Equilibrium" ethos. Inspired by the unique butterfly-shaped nebula Minkowski 2-9, this release is a fresh and impactful fusion of power and sensitivity.
Review: Charles Accarisi, also known as Chlar, is a multi-talented techno artist and a promising name on the scene. On the 17th release of Self Reflektion, 'Not Here For The Fame', he showcases his technical abilities as a producer and DJ with a diverse selection of four tracks made for the dancefloor. The title track is characterised by steely mechanisms while 'Unknown Velocity', also on the A-side, has a direct impact influenced by Robert Hood. On the flip, 'Are You Happy?' takes on a loopier late 90s techno feel, followed by the austere peak-time offering aptly titled 'Powergroove.'
Review: Swiss artist Chlar's last EP Optimized Grooves was a standout success across the techno world and it marked a significant step for the fast-rising producer after fine outings on labels like Iceland's NIX and Stranger's Self Reflektion imprint. His full-throttle style is continually evolving as his latest offering, the Intrinsic Drive EP shows. 'Dopamine Rush' kicks off with fast techno beats and hypnotic synths, 'Intrinsic Drive' weaves tightly packed drums, bass, and alien sound designs, 'For Marco' intensifies with darker kicks and eerie synths, while 'Steady Pace' adds swing with crisp hits and vocal fragments. 'Greedy Man' offers industrial undertones with skewed synths to end on yet another stylish banger.
Review: Chontane is the alias for Ukranian producer and DJ David Natochen, who operates these days from Berlin and has steadily built up a formidable presence releasing on labels like THEM, REKIDS and Arts. Now he's arrived on Mutual Rytm with some slamming peak time gear loaded with his distinctive sound design instinct. 'Graze' is a raucous, swinging slice of industrial intensity, while 'Cumaru' brings the loopy techno fireworks to the buoyant uptempo scene. 'Schima' and 'Lauan' are just as explosive, piling on slabs of percussive noise and toying with atmospherics in between the unrelenting beats.
Review: Bristol's cultured Innate label is back with a first outing of the year and it returns to their various artists format with a mix of talents all making their mark. UK veteran Tom Churchill opens up with 'Unknown Unknowns (Edit)', which brings plenty of fuzzy and lo-fi aesthetic to jacked up drums and spaced-out pads. Rai Scott then shows her class with 'Suasion' that sinks down deep into immersive drums and is subtly lit up with simmering strings. Innate co-founders Owain K and Gilbert then hook-up under their brand new alias Curved Space and showcase their love of electro with 'Reverie,' a dreamy cut that glows with nice celestial melodies and will have dance floors in a zoned-out state. Last of all it's Lisbon mainstay Jorge Caiado who debuts with the chord-laced 'Floating Without Lifting,' a sophisticated and serene jazz-techno cut that takes you to the stars.
Review: When Eric Prydz fancies offering up some forthright, warehouse-ready techno, he fires up the Mouseville label and dons the Cirez D alias. Clearly, he's in a rave-igniting mood right now, because this two-tracker is the first Cirez D outing - and Mouseville release - for almost two years. There's a definite "massive room" vibe emerging from A-side "Valborg", where decidedly foreboding lead lines and ghostly chords ride a chunky, Drumcode-friendly techno beat. The saucer-eyed, hands-aloft "festival techno" feel continues on flipside "The Raid", which cleverly peppers a house-tempo rhythm track with the sort of raw, razor-sharp riffs more often found in neo-trance productions.
Review: Civilistjavel's most recent album, 2022's Janmatter, was a predictably atmospheric and out-there affair that blended suspenseful ambient moods and melodies with occasional IDM rhythms and plenty of experimental chops. Here two giants of leftfield electronic music and experimental techno give their interpretations of the album, crafting 'remixes' based on stems from a variety of different album tracks. Dave Huismans dons his familiar A MAde Up Sound alias on side A, re-imagining Civilistjavel's work as a hybrid deep techno/dub techno/ambient techno epic - all densely layered ambient textures, deep and distant beats, and waves of effects-laden synth sounds. Ossia takes a different approach on his 'Disconnected Dub', delivering an immersive sound design experience built around creepy, effects-laden ambient chords, unsettling rumbles and echoing bleeps.
Review: A crisp, dynamic production that shows Cloutier's progress in perfecting his repetitious techno edge . On Side-1, 'PBG001' unfolds with a loopy, deep groove, driven by a wicked bassline and complemented by unique melodic elements that slowly reveal themselves over the track. This inventive production mixes wicked beats with alien-like sounds, creating an engaging and fresh atmosphere. 'PBG002' follows with a perfect fusion of techno and dub techno, maintaining a balance between the two styles that feels both seamless and energising. On Side 2, 'PBG003' brings a jackin' techno sound, again built around a wicked chord progression and an addictive loop that hooks the listener in. Cloutier's ability to craft tracks that are both hypnotic and inventive shines through in this strong release.
Review: Mahk Rumbae, the Vienna-based mastermind behind Codex Empire and half of Konstruktivists, drops his Rotten Fodder EP on Trauma Collectiveiand it's a proper dark, twisted ride. Kicking off with 'Oracular Soul,' you get a relentless techno thumper, setting a no-nonsense tone right from the jump. 'Commissioner of Grief' switches gears, dragging you through a dystopian soundscape full of heavy beats and eerie "arabesque" vibes. Flip over, and 'Force the Tools Available' pulls you into razor-sharp industrial breaks. Finally, 'Maelstrom of Shit' lives up to its name, unleashing syncopated chaos for a brutal, unforgettable finish.
Review: Cold's 'Strobelingt Network' feels like a deliberate exercise in creating a mood that shifts imperceptibly, track by track. 'Strobe Light Network' leads with a hypnotic, pulsating bassline that anchors the track while the layers of synths flicker above it, creating a sense of steady forward motion. It's a track that seems to take its time, building an atmosphere that's both immersive and intense. 'Hyper Experience' builds on this, with its murkier, more intricate textures, and the 2024 edit adds a deeper, almost industrial undercurrent. The track's groove doesn't change much, but the added layers make it feel more expansive. It's a masterclass in subtlety: Cold's production keeps things moving while maintaining an air of suspense, suggesting that the next step could take the music somewhere completely new. The EP ultimately offers a refreshing depth, pushing techno further while remaining firmly in its roots.
Review: Sure Thing presents Well of Sand, its second compilation. Six tracks from the label's friends and favourites, each new to the roster, offer bold, untempered explorations of tempo and weight, a concise yet expansive collection recalling the deliberate cadence of rippling sand and the sheen of shimmering oases. From Command D's subtly groundswelling, but snappy 'Half Blue (Violet Mix)', to Foreign Material's alarmingly alien 'The Living Planet' and Third Space's supremely stereoized, lowercase opus 'Push (Part 2)', this is a release for that large intersection of audiophiles and techno-philes.
Review: Concept Werkstatt is an experimental project, not defined by identity but by pure sound and vision. It offers a space, say the eponymous producer behind the beats, where music exists for its own sake, free from ego and expectation. The first transmission is a useful one that taps into tool-like techno. The opener is in a hurry to get you under its spell with dusty drums and fluttering percussion. 'Stahlwerk 102' is more raw with unsettling vocals beaming in as if down a badly tuned radio and two flip-side cuts keep things wonderfully weird.
Review: Bristol label-turned-blog Innate launches a new sub-label, Innate Editions, which it says is dedicated to timeless UK techno, IDM, electro and ambient music, and it'll all come on heavyweight vinyl to boot. The first release revives Connective Zone's Palm Palm, a millennium-era cult classic and Ben UFO favourite that first came out on Mark Broom and Dave Hill's Unexplored Beats in 2001. Now, this long-out-of-print, expensive and hard to find gem has been remastered by Jamie Anderson and so sounds superb with many lavish electronic layers, richly emotive melodies and dynamic drums that lean on UK techno, IDM, and deep electro. Sounds as good now as it ever did.
Review: Patrick Conway is back on ESP Institute for a third time and the returns are as brilliant as the first two outings with plenty of emotional depth on display. Opener 'Loss' sets a melancholic tone with a repeating high piano note guiding a poignant chord progression, angelic voices and a modulating synth all sinking you in. That contrasts with a gritty rhythm section made from corroded dancehall elements all bathed in saturation for added authenticity. On the B-side, 'Silencio' explores negative space and rhythmic dialogue using anthemic synth stabs to unify the more meandering melodies. When chaos and order synchronise with force like this, there is fun to be had.
Review: Netherlands outfit Planet Rhythm continues to fulfil their stated mission to explore the boundaries of dance music, and to 'design the future', with releases from talents whose music testifies the idea that techno is too big of a concept to be limited to a single idea. Yan Cook is one such talent in their eyes; his latest for PR's limited black labels series hears four laconic, calculative and dark techno numbers play back in cold step, like a one-track space probe feeling its way through a planetary ring of ice. Cook's sci-fi theme is inhospitable, with his take on the presence of 'Antimatter' in the universe amounting to a kind of fearful metallic object grating away in an echoic chamber; and 'Exomoon', which conjures the image of said celestial anomaly via frigidly bleak pads and starkly reverberative yawps and drum machines. A chilling vision of an exodic space-faring future, perhaps once in which we've been stripped of our humanities entirely.
Review: Techno troubadour Yan Cook has a fine discography on some of the most respected labels out there. Now he heads to Ukraine's Cooked, a young but perfectly formed imprint, and kicks off his EP with 'Blades,' which is all melon twisted synths and driving techno kicks. 'Whistleblower' then slips into a deeply atmospheric groove with gurgling bass and watery effects and 'Grom' is all about the swing in the drums. Gritty textures and insistent claps add to the thrill of it all and 'Skyhigh' is a more frosty dub techno cut that leaves out breathless.
Review: Yan Cook's 1310 EP takes listeners on an adventure through four intense and atmospheric techno tracks that delve into the depths of the genre. On Side-1, 'Rose' sets the tone with its deep techno vibes infused with a sci-fi mood, delivering a powerful and riveting experience. 'Freak Show' follows suit with its heavy, subterranean groove, immersing listeners in a cavernous sonic landscape that's both ominous and enthralling. Flipping over to Side-2, 'Quatro' introduces an alien tribal groove accompanied by eerie bells and accents, creating a beat with relentless energy. Closing out the EP is 'Loophole,' which delivers hard-hitting grooves that demand attention and leave a lasting impact. Each track on 1310 showcases Yan Cook's ability to craft serious techno that not only moves the body but also engages the mind.
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