ROI Vinilo y CD

Review: Spanish label Fanzine keeps its quality output coming with this 19th EP, and it takes the form of a various artists' EP and the fourth instalment of the Xuntanza series. The Exaltics open up with some moody and stripped-back downtempo electro on 'The End' and Robot City then picks up the energy with the snappy rhythms of 'TerrorVision.' Elektrotechnik's 'Autopilot' is a nice bumping, tightly programmed drum workout with sci-fi effects and rising arps, then Acidulant brings some manic 303 action and Roi shuts down with more industrial electro tension.

Review: If the Spanish know how to keep one thing alive, it's community; in the spirit of this truth, Xuntaza, the name of Fanzine's latest EP series, is a Galician word that means 'the action of gathering of a group of people to discuss an issue or have fun'. Not overthought beyond the simple xuntanzing of its brightest artists, Vol. 1 in the series functions as a fantastic meeting point between dub techno, tech house, and experimental electro.

Review: Gigerian horror is evoked on Roi's new EP 'Six Nine' for Nachstrom Schallplatten. The German label specialises in producing these kinds of dark, otherworldly wax flying saucers, and new resident artist Roi, hailing from Spain, knows just how to replicate the mood sonically. This is techno extrapolated to its hardest, most humanity-jettisoning proportions. It also adds a neat idiomatic side-order to an otherwise sprawling discographic *table d'hote*, with Roi temporarily adapting his sound to suit the topic of cosmic horror. Never letting up, the record reaches its peak on the gnarly title track, the lead synth line on which snaffles up the surrounding texture like a mass-consuming beast.

Review: Roi has released almost exclusively on the Fanzine Records label over the last four years and each time he drills down further into a celestial world of cinematic and atmospheric ambient music. The opener here, 'Cancer,' is one of his best - melancholic synths convey real loss as the drums ping about all over. 'Pena' has more resolve, a straighter back and tougher snares unsparing away beat the lullaby-like chords. There is plenty of drama in the more unsettled arrangement and course hits of 'Gracias' while 'Tigre' is a potent peak time workout with bleeping tones and a distorted lead line taking centre stage.