PORTER RICKS Vinilo y CD

Review: The Porter Ricks pair has specialised in subaquatic dub techno since the mid-90s. They have put out a wealth of seminal EPs and eps in that time but Same was one that never quite got the attentions of some of the others. Now it gets re-floated having been fully remastered for the occasion. It is packed with rolling dub techno and deft synth craft as you might expect. Some are our mind music, deep rollers to lock you into a trance and see you there, and others like 'Scuba Lounge' are empty ambient pieces that suspend you in space, while the rathe outlying 'Spoil' is a random filter house tune that sounds good but is a weird fit.

Review: Techno scholars have long believed that the release of Porter Ricks' 1996 album Biokinetics was something of a watershed moment. Not quite deep techno, dub techno, ambient techno or abstract experimentalism, but something in between, the album set new standards for sound design, minimalistic percussion programming (Ricardo Villaobos being one who learned much from its use of off-kilter approach) and dancefloor experimentalism. As this remastered 25th anniversary edition proves, Biokentics still sounds fresh, inspired and wonderfully unusual. If anything, it sounds more current now than it did way back in the late 1990s - a sure sign of its timeless, ground-breaking nature.

Review: Koner and Mellwig's indelible stamp on techno is galavanised once more after almost 18 years. As pre-cursed by their "Shadow Works" EP last year, the nautical duo returns to submerse us to unfathomable depths with their first album since Symbiotics in 1999. Once again we're posed with unique scenarios and experiences that once question and entertain; the toxic bassline flotsam of the opener "Anguilla Electrica" sets the tone with high board dive into the physical dancefloor waves before we're hurled from atoll to island by highlights such as the dizzying dubsapce of "Prismatic Error" and the clipped warm kicks and hallucinatory textures of "Port Of Tangency". Singular sonics - we've been waiting for this for a very long time.

Review: When they first made their mark in the late 1990s, Berlin duo Porter Ricks was renowned for making Basic Channel style dub techno. Following their reunification and return to action last year, the veteran production duo has largely delivered material that's more forthright, creepy and dystopian in tone, if still accompanied by the kind of mind-altering sound design that's long marked out dub techno productions. Anguilla Electrica, their first album since 1999, continues this trend, ambling between glitch-laden, industrial-themed dub techno workouts, apocalyptic club techno, hypnotic, drone-influenced dancefloor positivity, and more experimental moments that defy neat categorization. The results are wholeheartedly impressive, making Anguilla Electrica one of the best comeback albums of recent times.

Review: Tresor really are a special label. Almost thirty years in the business, and still dominating like no other imprint on the techno scene. This is because they have the power to bring in the very best of artists, with this latest re-appearance from Porter Ricks being one of the many examples of their timeless qualities. The Berlin duo made their name thanks to a succession of incredible releases for Chain Reaction, a Basic Channel sub-label that brought the experimental dub frame to the techno sphere; the project has always been a favourite of ours, and it's so pleasing to hear them doing what they do best. "Shadow Boat" is classic Porter Ricks, a glitchy, intricate dub-techno monster whose 4/4 beat is hidden among the myriad of sonics and harmonics bundled into a tight roll, and the same goes for "Bay Rouge" and its slower, more placid cascade of heartical melodies. "Harbour Chart" is the final call, a downtempo beauty that makes all other ambient seem sterile and lifeless. This is so highly recommended...

Review: It's amazing how the passage of time clouds memories and judgment. Biokinetics was originally released on Basic Channel sub-label Chain Reaction back in 1996 and was the first long player on that imprint. Chain Reaction, like its mother label, is viewed as the originator for dub techno, yet as Thomas Koner and Andy Mellwig's debut as Porter Ricks long-player reminds us, its expression and impact were much wider than that. It explains why the decision by ambient / experimental label Type to reissue this album is an unsurprising one and its reappearance serves as a reminder why sixteen years later, Biokinetics still resonates. Simply stunning.