OCTAL INDUSTRIES Vinilo y CD

Review: The latest release on AE Recordings showcases a whole host of excellent producers versed in the language of icy Scandinavian techno. Anton Kubikov is up first with the forlorn leads and dubby ripples of "When Is Deep", which is followed up by a wonderfully dusty deep house locomotive from Ohm & Octal Industries. Thor gets into a strident micro house groove on "Who Stole My Yacht", peppering the swung drums with plenty of immersion chamber echoes and pings. SCSI9 makes a welcome return to close the record out with "Aetherius", a classic minimal tech house bouncer with plenty of spooky atmospherics on top of the mid-00s flavoured synth hooks.

Review: Back in December 2019, Jonas Thor Gudmundsson released his first album as Octal Industries in almost six years, a perfectly pitched set of hypnotic dub techno/deep techno fusions entitled Our Seasons. Here he offers up a double pack featuring a swathe of new interpretations of some of the album's most inspired moments. Perhaps the most instantly arresting remix comes from ASC, who brilliantly re-imagines 'Roblegt' as an immersive, 13-minute journey that's equal parts club-ready breakbeat electronica and sofa-bound ambient haziness. Former long-term studio partner Mike Schommer's gentle and warming, beat-down style version of 'Borg Telkin' is equally brilliant, while the contrasting GRIT and Ohm interpretations of 'Another Day' both hit the mark and then some.

Review: Although he's kept up a steady stream of seductively dubbed-out techno EPs over the last few years, it's been a while since Jonas Thor Gudmundsson released an album under the Octal Industries alias. "Our Seasons" is in fact the first OI album for six years. It's a hazy, warm and atmospheric affair, with Gudmundsson layering lilting melodies and drowsy chords atop hypnotic rhythms that variously draw influence from deep techno, tech-house and his beloved dub techno. It's arguably far more club ready than some dub techno albums, primarily because Gudmundsson never gets too lost in head-warming sound design, preferring instead to prioritize the heaviness and headiness of the grooves underpinning his immersive soundscapes.

Review: The much celebrated return of Thule continues to yield high grade delights from the frosty plains of Icelandic dub techno, this time heralding the return of the mighty Octal Industries who pair up with Ohm for a masterclass in immersive, expressive trips to the outer reaches. The particular twist on classic dub techno to be found on this record feels both familiar and utterly original at the same time, rich with subtle detail and yet still cavernous in its execution. There's a housey lurch beating away in "Utkall", while "Sedna" creeps along in a predatory fashion, but all four tracks are bound together by a fine selection of misty atmospherics.

Review: Ohm and Octal Industries debuted on this label to great acclaim back in 2022 and now they're back on Lempuyang with Northwest Passage, a first album-length collaboration. This double 12" continues with their themes of failed arctic explorations and mythological creatures and, after 12 previous outings together, might be their best work yet: the sounds are mature and powerful, bleak yet deep. Dubbed-out chords roll to infinite horizons, frozen tundras are detailed with wispy melodies and pulsing, supple techno both soothes the soul and gets the head nodding. This is more stylish, subversive and superbly executed electronic music.

Review: Iceland's top export and collaborators Ohm & Octal Industries come together for another fine release once more here on the Lempuyang label. This time they turn up the heat just in time for summer with a trio of fresh, super-deep yet driving cuts. Each one brings its own sense of dance floor magic with 'Venezuela' layering up the dub chords, 'Mexico Tripping' having a more shimmering house vibe and 'Argentina' getting more raw and heavy in its onward march. Anton Kubikov provides a remix then smooths out the edges and sinks you into a zoned out deep and dubby roller.

Review: Astonishingly, "Chaos Game" is the eighth collaborative EP from Ohm (Bjarnar Jonsson) and Octal Industries (Jonas Thor Gudmundsson) since 2016. Like its predecessors, it offers a tough, club ready take on dub techno that peppers a variety of chunky, peak-time grooves with undeniably spacey elements. The best of the bunch - in our opinion at least - is opener "Breather", where dubbed-out synthesizer riffs and echoing chords bubble along over sparse beats before the Scandinavian pair bring in a heavy beat midway through. Elsewhere, "Strange Attractors" is hypnotic, odd and otherworldly, while closing cut "Creation" is the most dub-fired of the lot, largely because its hazy vocal samples and riffs pay tribute to soundsystem culture in the best possible way.

Review: Riding high on the renewed energy within the Icelandic techno scene, Ohm and Octal Industries make their first appearance on Solid Groove with some truly spellbinding exercises in patience, restraint and soul-stirring composition. "Bardo" is a truly haunting piece with the most delicately balanced rhythms and stunning deployment of piano and what sounds like clarinet. "Under Influence" is a more snarling affair, but the same sense of control grips the track as it ploughs its furrow. "Rider" is a looser affair that piles a lot more detail into the frequency range, with some particularly delightful lead warbles and other high frequency matter to delight the mind. "Flow Machine" strikes a note somewhere in the middle, keeping things moody but open compared to the foggy A side.

Review: Over the past couple of years the Ohm Series of 12"s has quietly become one of the best in the field of dub techno, always carrying a respectable range of artists pushing the sound forwards, and now carrying the kind of weight which tells you you're getting the best these artists have to offer. On the seventh entry we can hear Ohm himself, aka Bjarnar Jonsson and Octal Industries teaming up for the deeply submerged creeper 'System (vs Federson)', while Lee Holman brings something brighter, more Motor City-inspired to the table on 'Absorbed By The Elements'. Andrea Cichecki slinks into a mellow, swung house mood on 'Universe Blue' and El Choop leans in on the sound design around his chord sounds to create the rhythmic heat in his outstanding 'FORPOD'. As ever, the bar remains high with the Ohm Series offerings.