Back catalogue: All genres

Review: There's lots to get your teeth stuck into on this new and blistering collection of electro from Adepta Editions. And don't let the title fool you - it's not all accessible summer festival fare, in fact none of it is. It is all head down and serious tackle. 7053M4R14's '4 N3W HUM4N' is a driving, dark, visceral sound with raw breakbeats powering through the cosmos. Rec_Overflow offers a moment to catch your breath with some slower, dubby rhythms on 'Pocket Dial' and Pauk explores twitchy future synths capes and post-human transmissions on 'Shiawasena Fukushu'. Promising/Youngster shuts down with a sense of optimism and hope with the airy melodies and slithering electro drum patterns of 'Arbey.'

Review: We shall never apologise for our love for the work of Steve O'Sullivan. His contributions to the world of dub techno are second to none. They are also mad consistent both in style and quality which means they never age. Here he steps up to Lempuyang with his Blue Channel alias alongside Jonas Schachner aka Another Channel for more silky smooth fusions of authentic dub culture and Maurizo-style techno deepness. Watery synths, hissing hi-hats with long trails and dub musings all colour these dynamic grooves. They're cavernous and immersive and frankly irresistible and the sort of tracks that need to be played loud in a dark space. In that context, you'll never want them to end.

Review: EC Underground is back with more inquisitors of low-end heavy sounds on Bass Scene Investigation vol 1 and again digs deep into the worlds of electro, techno, breakbeat and IDM. The compilation kicks off with the skittish percussive patterns of Illektrolab's 'Making Heads Dip', then heads into moody ground with ADJ, Pablo Funk brings some menacing synth work and Errorbeauty gets all weird and trippy with some mad electronics. Francois Dillinger offers a dystopian electro sound full of irresistibly jacked-up drums. A fine investigation indeed.

Review: Serious seriality from the OHM Series, an imprint and sole patent owner of the rare, aurally administered chemical known as Omega X. The alphabetic Greek letter ohm determines impedance / resistance in an electrical circuit, and so too do each of the dub techno tracks released on the OHM Series amount to tergiversating transductions, their chillout chord-knocks and hardened beats never quite letting us settle. Though titles like 'Innocence' and 'Downtime' persist here, the tracks perhaps inadvertently prove that flow is impossible without resistance: Separation's track is especially unorthodox in its strange reordering of phaser, pan and saturation effects on the pad-stab, which produces an unusual swirling effect.

Review: The third in Exitus Records' lightyear spanning V/A series, we again hear six new, boundary-pushing new ones from six satellite artists of the present day Berlin techno scene. Opening chord cascade 'Figure Eight' by Pink Concrete contrasts sharply to tunnelling techno-body suite 'The Dream Of Motion' by Krow, signalling several more tuff propulsions to come: most notably Sayid K's 'No Lights', a balmy nightscape from the newcomer, where digital zaps initially double up as hi-hats.

Review: The note with this new collection from Fur:ther Sessions is a quote by the Latin thinker Cicero. "We must live to enjoy the freedom that can benefit our friends and harm no one." It is certainly something to ponder while you get lost in the deeply immersive techno that comes with it. Psyk'scaptly titled 'Static Drift' does fizz with a microscopic sense of electrical activity while Shoal's deep, speedy, meditative 'Backflash' swirls with cosmic waves. Blazej Malinowski's 'Beyond The Veil Of Sleep' has a darker core thanks to the twisted synth phrases that worm their way all through the middle and Save Your Atoll then allows a little melodic light to shine into his hallucinogenic roller 'Psyop.' Smart stuff for both head and heel.

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.

Review: Two years ago, Italy's Balearic Gabba Soundsystem switched from remixing and re-editing their favourite cuts to curating compilation style EPs of similarly minded fare. They're in that mode again here, presenting a trio of cuts that combine the saucer-eyed warmth and loved-up musicality of Balearic music culture with grooves and rhythms firmly focused on the dancefloor. They begin by showcasing Wallace's sublime remix of Sewell & The Gong's 'Better Worlds', a locked-in, hypnotising fusion of semi-organic deep house grooves, new age melodic motifs and the dreamiest of ambient chords. Over on the flip they dip into slo-mo Italo-disco/acid house fusion via SIRS fine revision of My Friend Dario's 'Tell Aro', before treating us to a Pedro Bertho remix of Verdo's 'Belvourdier' in which sparkling Balearic house piano riffs, undulating acid lines and mid-80s "chorus" synth sounds rise above a fluctuating synthesiser bassline and hustling beats.

Review: The debut album from Ukrainian collective Noneside unites musicians and visual artists under the inspiring words of poet Taras Shevchenko, who said 'Make love, o dark-browed ones.' Framed by a painting from contemporary artist Iryna Maksymova, the music explores the trance and tech house that is destined to bring souls together on the dancefloor this summer and beyond. Shjva opens with fresh and mashed bass and sleek trance pads that are subtle but effective. Lostlojic layer sup deep, bubbly techno drums and bass with an angelic vocal tone and Saturated Color's 'Trancia' is a speedy, scuffed-up tech groove for late-night cruising. Peshka and Yevhenii Loi offer two more future-facing trance-techno fusions packed with feels.

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: Storm on Earth steps out with a new self-titled label that lays its cards on the label with this first four-track missive. It's techno with character to kick off with as 'Signal' has dusty drum funk topped with trippy vocals that are well treated and pan and phase around the mix. 'Storm' has a dark and driving undertone with distant synth paranoia keeping you on your toes. 'Earth' dazzles with bright synth lines that are pixel-thin and packed with emotion over the cantering drums. Last of all is 'Radar,' the darkest of the lot and one with gritty synth waves, more loopy vocals and a devastating bassline.

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: 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: The Clergy label celebrates ten years in the game by serving up another of its vital techno sermons. This one comes with the sub-head 'Charlie' and sure is a charged-up various artists affair that kicks off with the anxious synth designs and nimble drum funk of USAW's 'Kokedama'. Red Rooms coats his beats in dusty and scruffy hi-hats on 'Imaginary Pleasures' while Bidoben gets more deep and eerie with the melodic howls of 'Mimic.' SLV's 'Ohne Sonne' keeps the tension levels high with paranoid synths peeling off an unrelenting groove and two further offerings explore more paired back sounds that tunnel deep into the future.

Review: One Eye Witness rounds up another four acts for their periodic V/A series, spewing forth four breaks-driven whooshers crossing into progressive techno territory. The Hague duo Young Adults nod to a 1997 Loveparade anthem with 'It's Only Temporary', while breaks and kick implants converge on Christopher Ledger's 'Change That', a track which sounds like the starting firings of an interplanetary expedition pod after years of disuse. Joely brings cosmic chug on the cocooning B1 'Transitional', while the Samesame closer 'Novel End' is just that, traversing a noxious atmosphere with a flexoskeletal electro beat.

Review: Now resident artists on Point Of Departure, the techno collective Sandwell District present their latest blooping contradiction in transparent blue vinyl form. Drawing on the well-defined Birmingham techno idiom that made them, the elusive revolving-door trio also here welcome temporary stopovers from fellow floor functionaries Function, Regis, Monic and Rivet on each track, treading roads 'Less Travelled' with a 'Restless' intent. From the synaptic promo forerunner 'Hidden' to the tartly corrosive 'Citrinitas Acid', an unsurprising variety of new techno hurlers follows 2023's Feed Forward reissue, augmenting the free-partisan's immune system by hooking it up to a kind of patchwork electric lattice. Controlled chaos ensues.

Review: Aftere their unexpected reformation - apparently after key member Karl O'Connor was persuaded by none other than grunge king Mark Lanegan to end their decade-long hiartus - comes an even less expected new album from the cult Birmingham (or Black Country, to be more precise) techno gods. The album is a tribute to the late Juan Mendez, a key member of Sandwell District who passed away in early 2024. Mendez's unfinished artwork, originally intended for the album cover, serves as a poignant memorial to his contribution to their legacy. It's anything but functional techno, thouhg, with plenty of skittering, sidewinding beats and pared back rather than utterly banging rhythms. See the cinematic techno and dancefloor energy that blends Drexciya's innovative approach for reference, but also Autechre and more esoteric electro across the eight cuts. Plenty of sonic rebellion and meticulously crafted rhythm with a dark energy, not to mention edgy atmopsheres that will leave a lasting mark.

Review: A poignant and triumphant new chapter for the legendary Brum techno icons, hot on the heels of the reissue of their seminal 2010 album Feed Forward and a year of live shows and archival releases. Its creation is rooted in the tragic passing of Juan Mendez, aka Silent Servant, in early 2024. A founding member and visual artist for the group, Mendez's influence resonates throughout the record, with the title End Beginnings serving as a tribute to his enduring legacy. The eight-track album, crafted by Regis and Function alongside collaborators like Rrose, Rivet, Simon Shreeve and Sarah Wreath, embodies a balance of cinematic depth and dancefloor impact. Tracks like 'Dreaming' weave layered rhythms with atmospheric melodies and elastic vocals, while organic elements peek through Sandwell's signature grit. Rrose's contribution to 'Self-Initiate' amplifies this intensity, with low sirens and urgent percussion creating a bubbling, hypnotic effect. 'Hidden,' is a warehouse anthem, drenched in acid-drenched lines and crisp, menacing percussion. Its dark energy and meticulously fine-tuned production signal the collective's evolved direction while honoring the spirit of innovation and rebellion central to their ethos. End Beginnings is more than an album; it's a moving tribute to Mendez and a new start to Sandwell District's enduring commitment to techno as both an art form and a source of joy.

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.