Review: Re:discovery has got a superbly illusive reissue eon its hands here with 1993's Clouds Over Europe EP from Aquarian Atmosphere, 39626 and Unit 2. It is a cosmic deep tendon voyage that tingles all of your sense as you ride on the gloriously serene synths of opener 'White Clouds'. It is one of the three tunes from Aquarian Atmosphere, the others being 'Floating On Boyne' a dreamy downtempo number that leaves you gazing at the stars and also 'Rhiannon', a thinking melodic masterpiece. 39626' 'Elixir Of Life' is an intense mix of synth modulations and minimal rhythm and Unit 21s' 'Clubtraxx' (Movement 1 - unreleased version) is pure Detroit techno goodness.
Review: Illegal Alien continues its 16th anniversary celebrations here with another volume, the fifth, of its limited edition Illegal Alien XVI series. Across all eight volumes once they are out there will be a total of 44 exclusive tracks and 46 great artists all tracing the evolution of techno over the last decade and a half. This edition is a superb one that fins plenty of innovation in techno, from the paranoid and warped synth energy of DJ Shufflemaster's 'Bizarre' to the tightly woven and intricate synth layers of Urban Groove's 'Aftertouch' via Unkle Fon's dry, stepped back techno funker 'Violet.'
Review: The most sought-after release from the entire Sounds catalogue, Gemini and Unit T's 1995 release, 'Sideburns', finally gets a much-needed reissue. A1 track, 'Trip', is a prime example of deep house if there ever was one. An infectious, encircling melody meets the deep groove of the bassline to create a finished product that is in equal measure sun-soaked and cosmic. 'B Trip', the A2 track, is a gloriously shifted, off-beat reimagining of A1, pummeling percussion reverberates across the track, left alone to enjoy moments where everything is stripped back, before the body of the track returns. On the B-side, 'Mystery Tones' arrives with the kind of groove that instantly makes its way across dancefloors - a unifying track that feels precise in its simplicity, whilst still retaining exactly the right degree of looseness to get a crowd moving. This is a must-have record for any deep house aficionados, and you can now save yourself the hefty Discogs price tag!
Review: This first new instalment of Drawing Tools's self-titled new series comes on hits splattered vinyl with five fresh names all contributing one tune each. Juan Panza's 'Found Quite Place' is first up and a smooth-as-you-like dubbed-out tech roller with smeared chords radiating real heat. Franco Cinelli & Esteban Gutierrez then join up for the brilliantly carnival-esque tech cut 'Piso 11' (feat Lux Z). Nacho Casco's 'Looperboy' gets more twisted, with gritty loops and busted bass amping up the energy levels. U-FO comes down with something more clean and serene on 'Reset'.
Review: Kulture Galerie is back with more wax and the third time proves a charm here with Doc Sleep, Rambal Cochet, The Jaffa Kid, Mesmerist, Jack Bags and Undsidedly all coming correct under the stewardship of label head Filippo MSM of Metropolitan Soul Museum. Cochet kicks off with some trance-infused prog techno, Doc Sleep offers jacked-up and analogue house, there is lithe cosmic tech from The Jaffa Kid and twisted machine sounds from Jack Bags, while Undsidedly's dreamy electro and The Mesmerist's peak time synth techno close down in style.
Review: Adam Beyer's Drumcode remains out in front of the pack when it comes to big room techno. Whether going to new school artists or old school legends the results are always the same - epic and explosive. This time out we get both on one EP with Teenage Mutants going first with 'Dark Clouds (feat Heerhorst & Peter Pahn). It has synths fired from a hadron collider as they shoot over the face of the acid and bass-laced drums. On the flip side is the mighty Slovakian Umek with 'Footmachine,' a dark and heavy banger with flat-footed drums and all sorts of cosmic synth turbulence. Potent stuff for sure.
Review: Pipa Records returns with a big one here in the form of a highly anticipated release of Viktor Udvari's iconic track 'Tatar Jaras'. This one has long been a rather cherished fave among DJs and dancers who appreciate the finer side of house, techno and minimal. It is a track that has been creating magical moments on dancefloors worldwide for nearly a decade and after a long journey, it finally finds a home here alongside a special remix by label owner B-Squit. The original is silky and free-flowing with zoned-out pads and wavy beats and the remix is darker and heavier.
Review: Ulysses is the founder of Scatalogics Records and he first dropped this EP there back in 2003. More than two decades on it stands up to modern floors so gets a reissue courtesy of DAMN. 'Stripped Down' combines percussive house drums with free-roaming synth sequences and cosmic radiance into something bright and breezy. 'Immaterial' is a darker sound with gritty electronics and vocoder vocals for a retro-future feel. Both of these are the sort of characterful cuts to switch up the mood and groove in any set.
Review: Beyond the visible spectrum, there lies infrared and UV, after which... well, we're not quite sure, because we're not photonics engineers! But it sure sounds as though French producer Umwelt (real name Frederic Poncet) has lifted the optic veil, and can only begin to relay it to us not by using his words, but in a next-best kind of speechless semiosis: hard trance. What sounds like an entire gamut and more is spanned on this relentless tunnel-borer of an EP, whose light-trailed front cover easily matches the record's breakneck trance mobility. 'Bodyhost' is like a future motorist-rhapsodist's madness, redlining the limiter with no relent. 'Holographic Existence', meanwhile, is an incredible, drumless monsoon, and an impending modern classic for trance DJs, going heavy on the G-force SFX and tactile synthesis to produce a terrific transcendence of the speed limit, even without the kick of the drum.
Ancient Methods - "The Clock Hands' Endless Mantra" (5:14)
Phase Fatale - "Corporate Graft" (4:49)
Review: This compilation marks a decade of relentless techno energy, celebrating the underground legacy of Lanna Club with four powerhouse producers. This isn't just a compilationiit's a snapshot to a decade of raw, uncompromising sound. Umwelt kicks things off with 'Alchemy', an intense, hard-hitting track where pounding beats merge with traces of trance, electroclash and EBM. It's a high-energy, mind-bending opener that sets the tone for the record's deep journey ahead. Silex92's 'Blades & Pillows' follows with a slower, yet equally heavy approachiits trudging rhythm and sci-fi-infused melodies create an ominous and hypnotic atmosphere. On Side-2, Ancient Methods delivers 'The Clock Hands' Endless Mantra', a percussive, looping techno storm laced with tribal and alien textures. It's the kind of track that transforms a dancefloor into a ritualistic experience. Phase Fatale closes things out with 'Corporate Graft', a showcase of strong production and dystopian energy, where industrial undertones meet body-shaking rhythms. What you get is, four powerful examples of current style in techno.
Review: Berlin's Keinemusik bring fresh amapiano flavours to the heretofore mostly minimal house label, courtesy of a fresh collab between label honcho Rampa in collaboration with newly welcomed wunderkind Swazi producer, Uncle Waffles. Named after the national genesis of singeli, among other recognisable dance styles - Tanzania - this is a still-steaming ambient amapiano number, one that will not, by our estimation, go unnoticed as a bridger of two sounds. The fast riser Uncle Waffles, a 24-year-old from Eswatini, has already graced Billboard as a progenitor of the next-gen amapiano sound, and 'Tanzania' here sees an official release remix-release, not long after the debut version of her single here has already climbed the charts.
Review: Under Black Helmet is a Lithuanian artist with an intense take on techno that has helped him to establish a respected position in the modern electronic landscape. His latest outing on Tempio Omega kicks off with 'Breakage' which is built on solid, linear drums and tripped out with some rising synth scales that bring extra movement. 'Naughty Control' fizzes with static and flashes of acid then 'Grit' pairs things back to a more deep and dubby soundworld. 'Chatterbox' shuts down with more dystopian vibes and deep, supple techno rhythms.
Review: Undercurrent is an artist based in LA and a New Palm resident who shows his studio skills across a trio of new cuts here. 'Beliefs' is a loopy breakbeat roller with jittery rhythms that lock you into their loops and keep you there. 'No Data' is similar but more punchy, with real edge and drive in the breaks while fat bass stabs power things along from below. The same track then gets a remix from Charlie Edward that is more spaced out with searching synths and a more rubbery bassline. Last of all is a floating ambient cut that eventually has a jungle breakbeat rise up through the mix to take you into the next dimension.
Review: Cough & Laugh is a rather unusual name for a label and it deals in rather unusual minimal sounds. Following a couple of head-turning first EPs it now offers up this fine various artists release with a trip of tunes from a trip of new talents. Uniix's 'Mindegy' opens up with a glitchy mix of dry hits and sinewy sine waves all peppered with a freaky mix of vocal fragments. Shato's 'Nephilim' then takes a darker turn with ghoulish sounds and synth mutations over an icy beat. Dubfound takes over the flip side with 'Sonya Baskerville', a supple minimal rhythm with well-worked samples smeared into the kinetic mix.
Review: Only Music Matters keep it real once more with another superb EP from an unknown artist featuring loads of untitled tracks. And those tracks all operate in the world of minimal and tech house with fresh ideas and forward-thinking sound designs. 'AAA001A' is a dark one with paranoid vocals looped over churning beats and steely metallic hits. 'BBB001B' is more smooth and free-flowing with a dubby undercurrent and bumpy pads over a deft rhythm. 'BBB002B' adds a third and final different look - a more warped and elastic rhythm with some brighter melodic touches that will help shift the floor up a gear.
Review: This is a cheeky single-sided affair that contains a gently tooled-up, rolling and rearranged version of a Marlena Shaw-sampling jazz-house classic that is rightly considered something of a dancefloor classic. The edit itself is undoubtedly rather good, subtly adding a little more bottom-end grunt whilst making a little more of the original's snaking sax parts, much-loved vocal sample and groovy jazz percussion. You can decide or not whether the re-edit was needed; certainly, the mystery re-editor has done a rather tidy job on the rework.
Review: It has been three full years since we last heard from Unknown Assailant. Their debut EP came in September 2020 and offered four different techno cuts aimed at the club. The mysterious producer is now back on their own outlet with another four stylish offerings. 'Ancient Beauty' is all jacked up drums and mysterious chords. 'Isolated Mechanics' then keeps up the pressure with more raw percussive patterns and analogue drum sounds and 'Rude Awakening' layers in vast icy hi hats to dramatic and hypnotic effect. Last of all is 'How Has It Come To This', a dark and dubby, moody and minimal techno piece for 5am.
Review: The Unknown-Untitled gang is back with an eighth mysterious outing from the self-titled production outfit behind the label, whoever that may be. Again this is a limited edition 12" and again it is pure fire. 'rack 1' sounds like techno from a distinctly UK perspective, if you ask us - the bass drills deep, the synths fizz like static and chopped up vocal fragments bring the hype. The rest of the EP is a varied one that takes in clanging loop pieces, industrial tinged workouts like 'Track 3' and futuristic rhythmic explorations such as the tense, textured sounds of 'Track 5'.
Django (Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi remix) (6:06)
Japanese Funk Machine (1984 version) (5:10)
Japanese Funk Machine (Delphi remix) (4:11)
Review: Unknownmix were Swiss-based singer Magda Vogel, electronic talent Ernst Thomas, Krautrock drummer Mani Neumeier and Hans-Rudolf Lutz and we have just unearthed some of their early classic in our warehouse. This time the outfit gets remixed on Mondo Groove by some venerated talents. 'Django' (1984 version) opens up with freaky and experimental vocal loops over percussive beats and then the Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi remix has a more club-ready groove with loose percussive jumble and acid-infused synth bass lines. 'Japanese Funk Machine' is included in its original form and as a Delphi remix that flips it into a proto-house jam.
As It May Seem (feat Paul Brenning - Beat version) (6:26)
As It May Seem (feat Paul Brenning) (3:11)
Cult (6:07)
Blau Cel (8:11)
Review: microCastle's second release of 2024 sees Upercent return to the label with another great new EP. Since his debut in 2011, the Valencia-based artist has developed a unique style of electronic futurism with an experimental approach and often fresh creative vision. As such he has become one of the standout artists of the past decade and his first microCastle release, 2018's Vuit, marked the label's second vinyl project and featured contemporary club tracks and innovative sound explorations. Persevere continues with his signature aesthetic with tracks like 'Oracle', 'As It May See', 'Cult', and 'Blau Cel' offering immersive grooves and imaginative soundscapes.
Review: First released back in 2007, UR's 'Hi Tech Dreams' is widely regarded as one of 'Mad' Mike Banks' most perfectly formed EPs - in part because its blend of optimistic techno futurism with dancefloor darkness offers a neat summary of the 'dreaming of utopia, living in a dystopia' message at the heart of Underground Resistance's militant ethos. But analysis aside, it's simply a terrific record - as this timely reissue proves. A-side 'Hi Tech Dreams' lives up to its promise, with far-sighted melodies, tactile riffs and soulful vocal samples rising above a loose-limbed Motor City techno beat. In contrast, 'Lo Tech Reality' is a moodier and more melancholic chunk of breakbeat-driven techno, while 'Hold My Own' is a murky, hip-hop influenced downtempo head-nodder.
Review: Premade heavyweight Obscure Shape and classically trained musician Conrad team up; Berg Audio proudly welcome them as a new duo addition to their roster, together under the name Urban CC. Throwing back to real-deal minimal-ambient techno of a steezy kind, something between Maurizio, Move D and Ghost, 'Pegasus' and 'Marly' cycle through fluttering dub techno and 1-2-step garage respectively, the latter bringing an eyebrow raising combo of yearnsome garge vocal science and pulsewidth techno shots, post-drop. 'Hadban' sneaks a cheeky drum & bass bullet train onto an otherwise techno-centric platform, marking Sleepnet-style vocal etherics and sold-on-us liquid. 'Shagya' finally restricts the mix, with a dubtech-house full of beeping, filtered vocal shouts; a Strictly Rhythm-meets-Chain Reaction contraction.
Felicie - "Shadow Works" (Cleric 3/10 Years remix) (5:56)
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: MELMAK's new 12" is entitled All Stars: The Rave Years which gives you an idea of what to expect. These are high-tempo, dense and rave ready sounds from the drum & bass vanguard. There is plenty of space out cosmic energy to the exploratory leads of X Termal's 'Tragnal Kozze' then 'What If' (The Doulo Klan edit) is a tightly coiled stepper. Bugger lays down a hyper speed rhythm with drilling bass and slapping hits on 'No Silence Now' and Umbra's 'The Big Dumb' is a real slow-motion churner with textural synths and alien sound designs. All four are ready to get the party going in different ways.
Review: User.Exp's first release on Greyscale Recordings provides a thoughtful sonic exploration, made up of field recordings, contact and hydrophone mic sessions and shortwave transmissions (either generated from scratch or really recorded). Artist and label are met with serendipity and ease here; though many releases have hit the Greyscale stocks - all working well within their trademark sonic and visual monochrome - User.Exp's latest is an especially congruent record, bringing crackly burrs and earthen movements to an album that feels large in scope and difficult to pigeonhole, yet intuitively felt. As if to describe a set of 12 different microbiomes - all besieged by a black-and-white, ecosystemic blight - the likes of 'Pollution', 'Erosion' and 'Wind' provide indications enough as to the set of ideas going in here. A deeply calming release, full of textural intricacies and yet not without a creeping sense of unbalance too.
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