Back catalogue: All genres

Review: The second act of Bucharest-based duo Khidja, the deep-groove junkies' debut LP 'Transmissions Part 1 & 2' released earlier this year. Over the 76-minute runtime, the two delve into downtempo industrial, on 'Under Stressure' with its droning horns and spacey synths, to more traditional, analogue-influenced synthwave techno, 'Laid Back' sounding like a crazy circuit bypassing experiment from the bygone age of manual electro. Throughout the transmission, Khidja employs 90s tribal influences just as faithfully as 80s space-age synthpop tropes - like the trilling synth falsettos on epic closing track 'Oil'. Khidja have been proving in, and outside, of the club scene that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Review: There's a not a huge amount we know about Koberman's Probandenausweis, other than the fact it sounds very good and will appeal to fans of shamanic, slo-mo, kosmische, drug chug, ambient and experimental electronica. It's a slow building, gradually evolving and immersive trip into a studio, with arrangements valuing silence and emptiness as much as the notes and beats themselves.
Opening on 'Sonnenschirmbrand', a ritualistic number that seems to have the whisper of forgotten souls in the backdrop of a tribalistic beat, layers of noises and percussion adding to the feeling of it taking root in your body well before the bass kicks in. Meanwhile, low ends rule on '32 Ngoesolo', in contrast to 'UH DT101', which uses a twisting synth line as its focal point, allowing other elements to build around it until we're locked into a head nodding oddity.

Review: Heavyweight heroes Kode9 and Burial are no stranger to working together having done so to great success on FABRICLIVE 100 back in 2018. They don't actually collaborate on this one, though, instead serving up one side each of a new 12" for Fabric. As experimental artists with a penchant for drawn from the UK hardcore continuum you roughly know what to expect - fresh rhythms, emotive sounds designs, compelling rhythms. The 140g 12" comes in both limited edition and standard black vinyl versions, and both have bespoke 3D design with the fabric logo printed on reverse board heavyweight card.

Review: Visions of a haunting, maritime electro are conjured on Franck Kartell's latest for Noise To Meet You - fittingly dubbed Acoustic Warfare. Playing on themes that have gone hand-in-hand with the genre almost since its inception - and with the immense sonic power of certain subaquatic technologies, such as sonar, in mind - this is a minimal meander through endless submergent scapes and lowermost watery wonders. From 'Sonar Pulses' to 'Inside The Shadow Zone', the album plays off as if its beats were the inner workings of the craft we use to navigate them, while its the atmospheres evoke the lagoons, trenches and sea-floors that surround.

Review: Optimo Music continue to dazzle with their increasing experimentation, this time welcoming Finnish producer and K-X-P frontman Kaukolampi to the fore. Exploring the concept of sound as a physical and spatial phenomenon, the LP explores Kaukolampi's idea of "the sphere": his metaphysical and/or musical analogy for being subject to an undetectable outside force, as if being manipulated by an unseen cult. Hypnotic, eerie grooves play out in a muted, time-crystalline fashion, all tracks evoking the feeling of being locked in spherical amber, unwitting.

Review: Audio visual sculptor Kero operates the multidisciplinary arts collective Detroit Underground record label and continues to produce bit crushed experimental electronic music with over two decades under his belt. Demo Vectors showcases Kero's sonic range-bouncing back and forth between IDM fractures, broken electro shapes and an all around low-end forcefield. Splicing machined modular tunes with syncopated rhythms and Detroit-inspired slivers, Kero's fingerprints can be found on imprints like Blueprint, Wild oats, Ghostly International, Shitkatapult, Semantica, Touchin' Bass, BPitch Control, and many others.

Review: Romanian duo Khidja, known for their eclectic and adventurous blend of disco, krautrock, post-punk and psychedelia, lay down a fresh mini-album in the form of Transmissions Part 1. The first part of a series of releases to come via the label Malka Tuti, it's an impressive exercise in ricocheting, futuristic chuggage, recalling the krauty electronic janks of classic experimenters like Cluster, while bringing them to a freshly danceable, EBMmy context.

Review: Fresh off the back of her recent Barbican appearance - in which she donned wearable electronic instruments and invited a guesting drill troupe to perform in front of a tartan blazer clad, wine-sipping audience - Klein is at the top of her game post-release of the album 'Harmattan'. So it comes as no surprise to see that her first ever album 'Frozen' is getting a real vinyl reissue, after an initial cassette and CD-only run. On this clear vinyl version, we're reminded of this one's influences from post-rock, city rivims, glitch, and all in between from the London composer and producer. Choral, mono, subdued and expansive, this one's like a glass-shattered memory, recollected with greater clarity than before.

Review: Kraftwerk's 1975 performance at Fairfield Hall in Croydon is the stuff of legend. Finally it is available as a high quality audio pressing that allows you to relive all its glorious futurism. The show was broadcast on radio as part of a short tour of the UK that came after the release of the German computer music pioneer's hugely popular Autobahn. It features tracks from that album as well as 'Die Sonne, Der Mond, Die Sterne' and 'Showroom Dummies.' A real piece of electronic music history that will spice up any collection.

Review: The Udacha label might have been away for a while but is now back with a vengeance. First up for this return is a new long player by the mighty fine Kurvenschreiber quarter, which is made up of Sergey Komarov, Vlad Dobrovolski, Ilya Sadovski and Alexey Grachev. These sound artists have been excelling in their field for some 10 years now and use synths as well as found sound objects to create their work. Magnetic tape loops, various instruments, pre-recorded loops, shortwave radios, transformers and much more give rise to this unique record which mixes up Boolean jazz, kurventronika and post-rock.

Review: Leipzig has a lot to answer for. The East German city has a very hushed reputation for being the place Berlin once was, albeit on a far smaller scale, but the sprawl is nonetheless changing at a rapid rate. So while you're still likely to find an abundance of squat parties, exceptional but internationally unsung club spaces, and memorable dive bars, some institutions are vanishing. The 'off-space' Kardamom is sadly one of the more recent losses.

Just before the place disappeared, though, Travel By Goods boss Arthur Boto Conley decided to bring together Kassem Mosse and Mix Mup for a live performance that would form this album, circa 2019. Comprised of on-the-fly remixes from the label's back catalogue, it's a grainy, sample-heavy, often off-centre and off-beat deep dive into collages of sounds, drums, loops, hooks and ideas. Basically, you'll wish you were at the show, but that's a feeling you'll have to put up with.

Review: Twinkle3 are a trio made up of accomplished flautist Clive Bell and electronic experimenters David Ross and Richard Scott. Their latest project welcomes the legendary David Sylvian into the mix alongside Kazuko Hohki, who was in 80s synth pop oddity Frank Chickens amongst other projects. Their collective venture for Cortizona treads predictably unpredictable territory, where minimalism, sound design and free improvisation merge into a meditative, distinctive whole. The woodwind and electronics intertwine in sublime fashion, resulting in a compelling trip for anyone who appreciates delicacy and risk in their leftfield electronica.