Juno Recommends Breakbeat Best of 2021

Review: MOY has been whipping a very tasty strain of braindance over the past year across a number of labels such as AC Records, Batrachian and Exalt. These are surely bountiful times for warm, playful acid and tricksy electro, and this latest drop from the London-based artist on new label Emotec surely adds fuel to the fire. MOY's sound is rounded and self-assured, striding forth with the moody, breaks n' bleeps vibe of 'Dreamcoast' and bolstered by the emotional jack of 'Wheel Of Time'. 'Echolab' has a fatter, more polished finish to it, but once again the gnarly 101 and 303 lines are front and centre. 'Cyclotron' offers up something a little deeper to close the EP out, completing a beautifully rendered set of braindance dynamics.

Review: 20/20 Vision's intrepid explorations beyond the ionosphere continue apace with the latest gaseous exchange in their Exit Planet Earth series, once again welcoming a stellar hit list of electro operators onto spacebound wax. First up is label mainstay Carl Finlow, who once again exercises his considerable production prowess with a lithe and limber body popper, while Plant43 takes things stripped and sinister with the deliciously dark 'Forcefield Deactivation'. Mr Ho and Xiaolin team up for the spacious techno thumper 'No Change To How I Feel', and Alfred completes the set with twinkling delights of 'Galaxy Quest'.

Review: Acid Waxa take a break from carrying Roy's mind-warping rave gear to bring you the deep donking, hardstyle hype-up of 'The Kingdom Of Scotland' by Romeo Taylor. You may have already heard the track bouncing around the odd mix or two for those with a penchant for full-fat hard dance with a wry comedic edge. On one hand it's a patriotic pelter, on the other it's a neo-rave laff which will comfortably lodge itself in your brain, more than ably backed up by some more wayward ravey gags and headsy gear (watch out for the simmering, heads-down wave-splashed techno of 'Keep Him On The Line'. Roy Of The Ravers is on hand to deliver a more direct remix of 'The Kingdom Of Scotland' on the B side which blows the original out into a wigged out, spooked up acid gurgler. oot!

Review: Kolter serves up four grooves blending streamlined beats with cheeky funk swagger. Opener 'Do Not Resist' brings us breakbeat mischief and heaps of hip-hop attitude, ;'April Funk' adds a few P Funk touches to a stripped down DJ track that's not exactly frills free but definitely shaped for action in the mix. There's more of an 80's synth flavour to 'Roboflow', although the more robotic tendencies are played off with funky keys, while 'Forest' takes a more chilled route to satisfaction, nodding at Kraftwerk's bittersweet melodies without overtly aping them.

Review: After MOY's 'Orbital Resonance' EP started the label in spectacular fashion, the second release on Damo B's EMOTEC comes from Ritual Poison co-founder BufoBufo. Following a run of releases on Furthur Electronix, Tone Dropout, Partout and Kouncil Cuts, BufoBufo's 'Perceptual Channels' EP merges acid, electro, breakbeats and the emotive melodies that have become a signature of his music. 'In The Reeds' sets burbling 303s and sci-fi synths against shredded drum loops; 'Silver Disk' nods to a love of classic hip-hop and hardcore, with a monstrous electro bassline; 'Scrying Mirror' has lush house chords, addictive bass and dark interludes; and 'Remote Viewing' is a more reflective downtempo piece with a blissed-out top line and influences from ambient and IDM.

Review: With a sleazy electro steez that would make The Egyptian Lover blush, Exzakt and BFX shore up on Monotone with the kind of dark and steamy workout that can't fail to do the damage in the club. 'Nasty Girl' rides a razor sharp 808 beat with some Kraftwerk embellishments, a dirty line in monosynths and some creepy vocoder action. If the vox are too much, there's a stripped back 'Beats' mix too, while on the B side BFX goes it alone on the bleepy 'Jelly', and Exzakt rounds things out with the more atmospheric, sci-fi channeling 'Taking Over The System'.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Carl Finlow is one of the great unsung heroes of British electronic music, with a raft of aliases and projects that burst with inventive production, warmth and a sense of fun that so much slickly produced techno and electro misses. For Those That Knoe are doing the right thing in gathering together some choice cuts from over the years - the Voice Stealer jams in particular stand out with their miscreant tones and overall uneasy atmosphere tapping into the malaise of the darker Drexciya-related output. There are all shades of electro to be enjoyed on here though, and hopefully it'll place Finlow on the radar for a few more heads.

Review: Hold on to your gum boots and pack the squelch-proofs, Roy Of The Ravers is back with more of his peerless machine gurgles from the acid dimension. 'Melchester Acid (Part 3)' picks up midway through what sounds like a particularly gnarly jam where a grotty thump and slow sweeping filter work is finely balanced by a seductively spooky atmosphere. If 'Part 2' that follows is from the same jam it doesn't show, as this beast takes a more malevolent route into the heart of acid darkness. The big news on this release though is a much-needed vinyl pressing of 'Emotinium', the track that broke Roy to the wider populace back in 2015 thanks to its keen, AFX-approved sense of braindance romanticism.

Review: After the slick and tripped-out fare from Seafoam and Future Motion, the next drop on the increasingly promising UFO Series comes from Volen. We don't know anything about the artist at this point in time, but the sounds speak for themselves. Warm, wriggling synth lines with plenty of lysergic liquidity and nimble-footed beats stretching from 909 thrum to rolling breakbeat splendour. Everything's underpinned with an earthy trance vibe which melts into the current zeitgeist beautifully, leaving you with four smart, sophisticated club jams for the dreamiest of dancefloors. Just try dropping 'Tranze Buzz' without the whole room turning into a writhing mass of interpretive dance.

Review: 20/20 Vision are exiting planet Earth once again with the latest in their perfectly formed series of electro explorations, as Extrawelt leads the charge with an illustrious slice of braindance-tinted funk titled 'Hail The Whale (Coexisting Mix)'. Djedjotronic follows that up with a bold blast of mammoth synth work which hits pretty damn hard without being pointlessly brutal. Ste Roberts takes a break from his self-titled label run to offer up a freaky foray into acid-speckled territory, and Ivna Ji gets expressive with a rich palette of synths moving in harmony around a sharp and snappy beat.

Review: Last seen sharing vinyl space with 100Hz and Voightmann on his own E Numbers imprint a couple of years back, Bobby O'Donnell resurfaces via a collaborative outing with Reeshy, a fellow Leeds resident who is seen by many as a rising star of the Yorkshire scene. In keeping with the PILOT label's breakbeat-driven, retro-futurist feel, each of the four cuts on show doff a cap to turn of the '90s rave culture. This is arguably best exemplified by weighty, funky and spacey bleep & breaks jam '2', though the arguably even more sub-heavy, UK garage influenced opener '1' comes a close second. Elsewhere, '3' delivers subtle nods towards Rob Gordon and Richard H Kirk's short-lived XON project (look it up, kids) while '4' is an acid-flecked warehouse shuffler.

Review: Carl Finlow has been a prominent name in UK electro since the mid-90s, releasing music at an astonishing rate under a variety of monikers. Silicon Scally defines his most strictly electro-oriented project, reflective of the Kraftwerk era and the emerging electro-scene, with releases on respected labels such as Cultivated Electronics, CPU and of course 20/20 Vision, with music from a variety of Carl's monikers being amongst the labels earliest releases.

'Crushed' is a sought after album project originally self-released on Finlow's Bandcamp during the 2020 lockdown. We felt the release was to important to be overlooked without a much deserved run of vinyl, so have pressed a limited run of records featuring futuristic electro highlights and the best unreleased cuts.

'Proton Mass' kicks things off with perfectly crafted robotic funk, solid mechanical breaks and mind bending glitches, setting the landscape for a journey into the abyss with Silicon Scally unshakeably at the helm. 'Centronix' follows up with razor-sharp rocking beats, squelchy bass and jarring grooves as if designed for high pace no nonsense club sets from the likes of DJ Stingray or Helena Hauff.

On the flip side 'Axiom' takes us deeper into the void with dark basslines, complex drums and unapologetically disorientating frequencies. A track that makes us question if Finlow has transcend to a future state where he is more machine than man, sending psychoactive messages in the form of killer electro cuts.

'Cascade Lasers' wraps up this epic dose of electro with interstellar energy, driving things home with deep bass wobbles, high octane breaks, wrapped grooves and tormenting yet playful synth licks. Yet another release that has us convinced the late great Andrew Weatherall was indeed correct!

"For quite a number of years now I have been convinced that Mr Finlow is a conduit for musical transmissions beamed from a parallel universe, sometime in the future" - Andrew Weatherall.

Review: Moscow-based producer Marco Lazovic has scored a few significant releases over the past five years, landing on Lobster Theremin and appearing alongside Minimal Violence on a cassette release back in 2016. After Funkyjaws' opening missive, DJ Craft's Craft Music label has invited Lazovic to throw down his bold and brassy take on soundsystem dynamics in a modern context. This is mellow, melodic music with a hefty bottom end touching on red-lining electro and electronica in equal measure, slipping into ambient jungle territory here and there and overall creating a delightful trip for the mind, body and soul.

Review: Captain Mustache is a new energy in the club scene who surfaced with a bang last year and has since notched up releases on Bordello A Parigi, My Favourite Robot, Bedrock and Kompakt no less. Now he's stepping forth with his biggest belters to date on Return To Disorder, kicking off with the massive 'Danger' featuring certifiable legend Paris The Black Fu on vocal duties. 'Floorwax' is also packing some club scene clout into its electro fantasy, with the mighty Foremost Poets sneaking some spooky lyrics into the mix. On the flip, 'Floorwax' gets remixed by Cardopusher and Hrdvision, who respectively jack the track up and freak it right out, widening the scope of the record without leaving the seedy ambience Return To Disorder prefers to lurk in.

Review: North Phase is an emergent collaborative project from James Burnham and Robert James, both already well-established in the minimal tech house scene under their own steam. In joining forces they're turning their focus towards breakbeat, having already appeared on Pilot opposite Kolter. This time around, they're going it alone with three original bombs of rolling breaks honed into a sharp, DJ-friendly unit. 'Look Around' is the big, chunky workout in contrast to the crafty, organ-licked touch of 'Eternals'. 'Sun Raves' meanwhile takes things into deep, evocative territory and comes off as the strongest track on the record in the process. So much so, Maher Daniel stepped up to remix it and turned it into a sparkling electro-breaks turn for sweet and spiritual sesh heads.

Review: 'Interlinked' is the fifth release on Emile Facey's new imprint, however the title track was originally written just after the UK's EU referendum in 2016. Having forged many strong musical ties with other European countries over many years, the UK's vote to leave the EU left him feeling disconnected and saddened. Now that the UK has left the EU and musicians try to navigate the impact on electronic music, a culture that thrives on being completely 'interlinked' he felt it was time to release this track that expresses that sadness but also conveys some hope for a future in which music can connect us all again. The B side starts with the driving urgency of 'Ancient Voice', future electro designed to move dance floors when they return. Closing track 'The Silent Flock' is a slower, more contemplative expression of discovery and hope.

Review: 20/20 Vision has always been a label that sets the bar high when it comes to dancefloor releases - one of Yorkshire's most treasured institutions, to say the least. And while historically the imprint has often been on a tech-y house tip, lest we forget the is the crew that were letting a then-emergent Paul Woolford explore the outer reaches of electro house and breaks way back when, and that attitude hasn't really changed since.

Here the team hand the spotlight to another Leeds name, Alfred, who responds with three original tracks that are punchy, funky, engaging and hugely impactful. Broken beats, subtle rave hoover lines, mind-melting synth arpeggiations and a thoroughly futuristic feeling throughout. Definitely a powerful addition to any DJ's arsenal - the sort of tunes that can marry up well with so many styles and always grab maximum attention.

Review: Arsonist Recorder lands on 20/20 Vision with his debut EP 'Geist'. Following outings on Specimen Records, Diffuse Reality, Bass Agenda and his own imprint ZwaarteKracht. The EP sees Arsonist Recorder continue his exploration into groovy dark-matter electro- beats and abstract, abrasive sound-design. The title track 'Geist' kicks things off with deep Drexciyan bass and disorientating synth, an all out electro assault on the senses that sets the pace for the four track EP. 'YvY' follows this up like a 90% proof chaser, committing you to the land of no return as perfectly crafted drum patterns lay down heavy robotic funk with driving bass lines complimented by a peppering dark synth melodies.

On the flip side 'Rauch' switches things up with rapid fire pad work, serving up fast paced breaks in a dose of hyper speed electro grooves. Wrapping things up E-606 forges an evocative robotic war cry, firing on all cylinders with restlessness club-rocking rhythms.

With previous releases catching the attention of the late Andrew Weatherall as well as Detroit's electro Don, DJ Stingray, Arsonist Recorder is definitely not one to sleep on!

Review: Breakbeat Paradise serves up some big joints for b-boys and b-girls. There is a decidedly old school feel to these tunes that harks back to the glory days of early block parties in the streets of New York and its surrounding boroughs. The vital 45rm opens with 'Put Your Catz Up,' a jumbled of big horns, lively vocal chants and tumbling, wooden drums and hits that is all about getting crowds up on their toes. 'Hot Jumpin'' cuts loose on more leggy drums, with old school whistles and a classic vocal refrain that demand everybody get up and jump, and surely they will.

Review: Alex Jann continues to be a vital force within the contemporary electro scene. Following standout spots on Unknown To The Unknown, DMK and Censor over the past couple of years, he now lands on Burnski's Infiltrate label with some especially taut, heads-down gear for those looking to stretch out the dynamics of their machine funk DJ sets. 'Moderated Lies' is a snappy, eerie workout with a rasping snare and nagging low-end synth hook, while 'The Least Resistance' works deeper dimensions of texture and atmosphere around a snaking beat. 'Propeller' is a more malevolent affair that ups the tempo and fires off a more snarling, acidic sound palette. 'Logicphrenia' revels in the richest sound design of the EP, sounding like an orchestra of malfunctioning machines locked into a serious groove. That's a good thing, obviously.

Review: Since launching in 2018, Constant Sound's electro-fired offshoot Inflitrate has put out some superb music from artists including such admired old hands as Borai, London Modular Alliance and Ste Roberts. On the label's first missive of 2021, it welcomes Relpek AKA Constant Sound regular Kepler (both aliases of Leeds-based Matthew Farrow). What we get is a series of well-made and well thought out electro numbers that combine punchy beats and fuzzy analogue basslines with a variety of spacey and ear-catching musical elements (lead lines, chords, riffs etc). Rumbling and far-sighted A-side cuts 'Nova' and 'Binary' are arguably the toughest and most club-ready, while 'Celestial' and 'Delay' are a little deeper and more melancholic in tone. Impressive stuff all told.

Review: The legendary Plant43 has his much loved and quick to sell out December 2020 EP Storm Control reissued in limited quantities here. The three tracks are electro perfection right from the off. The title cut 'Storm Control' is all glassy lines and slick boom bap, with celestial pads and plenty of spaced out signifiers. 'Hydraulic Machines' gets a little more pensive and roomy, with room to let the lush chord progressions really sink in while a knotted bass and drum combo carries on below. 'Sparks In The Grey Light' then slows things down yet further, with star gazing melodies and pixelated chords bring a future retro feel over a mournful baseline.

Review: France's Gaugain brothers have built up an impressive discography as G-Prod since making their debut in 2013, in the process releasing music on such established imprints as R&S and Brique Rouge. Here they bring their deservedly high reputation to Fourier Transform, a recently launched imprint. Interestingly, the EP launches not with their original mix of warming, melodious electro number 'Boiling Bubble' (you'll find that later in the EP), but rather a sparkling, surging, sun-kissed and breathlessly life-affirming Reedale Rise remix of the same track that's genuinely brilliant (like much of the Liverpool-based producer's work). Elsewhere, 'Disobedience' is an ambient-influenced chunk of ultra-deep house, while 'Biomatic' is an acid-splattered deep electro treat.

Review: Keith Tucker and Gerald Donald of Dopplereffekt did it......They finally got together two of the originators from the monumental Detroit electronic groups Aux88 and Drexciya. The combination of these two musicians has created a retro bombardment of funk as only Keith Tucker and Gerald Donald can bring. That unearthly eerie funk and strings from other worlds. This release gives a sense of a melding of Cybotron and Kraftwerk....That snappy intelligent funk that Detroit so heavily influenced and unleashed to the universe.

Review:  Breakbeat Paradise inaugurated their Toxic Funk series last year and did so with big, hard hitting mash up sand reworks of classics. Now they keep up the fierce and fiery sounds with two new killers from Crash Party. 'Dirty Glass' is all raw drums and raw, high speed funk feels and celebratory trumpet stabs. 'World Gone Def' is a more deep cut, boom-bap track with fat bass and plenty of attitude in the vocals.

Review: It would be too easy to draw parallels between the icy electro of Petrovski's opening tune 'Black Gloves' and the frozen snow caps of the Robotdisco Electronix label's Icelandic homeland, but that doesn't mean we won't do it. 240 Interceptor's 'Corpsepaint' is another cold and frosty joint with pixelated synths and crashing hits over a crawling baseline. Luke Eargoggle & Johan Inkinen channel computer madness and abstract Kraftwerk on their 'I Program' and Encounter closes out with the blistering bass of 'Fischers Home.' It's stark, jacked up and perfect for dark, strobe lit spaces.

Review: Those with a deep knowledge of electro and techno will be salivating at the prospect of More Than A Machine: Part 1, an EP that boasts cuts from such legends of the scene as Sterac Electronics, The Advent and Christian Smith. All deliver the goods, of course, as does rising star Client 03, whose EP-opening 'Regression Container' brilliantly flips between shimmering, deep space ambient and warming, tactile electro dreaminess. Those looking for more rugged and robust club fare should check Sterac Electronics 'Reinstated', with its' out-there lead lines and machine-gun bass, and the sleazy, up-tempo futurism of the Adveny and Zein Ferreira's 'Seven'. Christian Smith's deep, Kraftwerk-influenced 'Pressure Drop' rounds off a predictably strong EP.

Review: Dark Entries is pleased to announce a deluxe reissue of Sexual Harrassment's 1983 opus I Need A Freak. Lynn Tolliver, DJ/Program Director at Cleveland's WZAK, adopted the pseudonym David Payton in order to keep his musical endeavors separate from his public persona. Sexual Harrassment (misspelled deliberately) was formed as a concept band, with members selected based on appearance and choreographic skill rather than musical ability. Tolliver's explicit lyrics focused on the central themes of desire and sexual relations. Working at a studio in Akron, he recorded an album of quirky-yet-lurid electro funk, which was released on Heat Records. Tolliver remarks, "I learned as a youngster, sex sells! The things that are rated the worst - violence, horror and sex - are the things people want to see or hear about." I Need a Freak was a surprise hit, selling over 100,000 copies.

Review: First time distribution for this killer Icelandic electro label Robotdisco Electronix, featring Hissinger, Rondo, Encounter, Petrovski, & Luke Eargoggle.

Review: Arpanet is Gerald Donald, the Detroit techno producer who is most famous for his work as Drexciya alongside the late great James Stinson. Following the reissue of his most essential 2006 album Inertial Frame, it is now Wireless Internet that gets served up afresh by the French label Record Makers. In the 19 years since the album first arrived - his first under the alias - nothing has dimmed its shine. The sound throughout is warm and futuristic, with bleeping melodies and bumping drums, silvery hits and a cyborg funk that defines everything Donald ever does. From the bright lights and optimism of 'Illuminated Displays' to the more down, dirty and rugged bass of 'NTT Docomo,' you do not want to sleep on this one.

Review: Is there any label that has had more say in the direction of contemporary electro than Sheffiled's nearly 10 year old Central Processing Unit? This latest missive comes from the France based UK veteran Carl Finlow under his Silicon Scally alias. It comes three years after his debut on the label and features his usual twisted mix of rugged arps, mangled bass and glistening electro pads. He even remixes one of his own tracks to give it a different spin, while Fleck ESC remixes the other original into a dark and deep classic.

Review: This fantastic CD is a collaborative project between Above Board Projects, Offen Music and Les Disques De La Mort that features music selected and sequenced by Vladimir Ivkovic and Ivan Smagghe. The reference point is a time when the pair were working in record shops years ago, listening to both indie and electronic sounds. It takes in the iciest of electronics such as on IF's 'Kisy Loa', dreamy post rave comedowns like Chapterhouse's 'Alpha Phase' and more cub ready grooves like the speckled melodies and glitchy beats of 'Tech 7.'

Review: Cignol's debut on Nocta Numerica is a super one that explores plenty of interplanetary electro vibes. 'Overview' launches the trip with tight drum programming and astral pads that immediately make a sci-fi mood. 'Set to Sync' pairs a roaming lead synth with crisp arps that cast your mind free before 'Somewhere In Your Mind' brings shimmering chords and popping kick drums and hits to the fore. This is smooth Drexcyian electro remained in the combos rather than the ocean and closer 'Memory Minor' is the most pensive of the lot, but still has a nimble bassline powering it along.

Review: Ilian Tape staple Andrea returns to the imprint, marking a big one for the Munich-based operation with a massive album by Skee Mask also this week. As always, UK and rave influences are abundant throughout the talented producer's work and this one is no exception. This EP is called Sktch and features the cavernous, glacial and downright knackered dub techno of 'Sarec', followed by the sinister subterranean breaks of Auxl and the meditative deep dubstep frequencies of 'Kjones' which sees him delve deeper into off kilter territory.

Review: When it was released a few weeks ago, the first volume of Ivan Smagghe and Vladimir Ivkovic's two-part IDMEMO: A Future of Nostalgia compilation delivered a killer collection of largely forgotten or overlooked gems from the Artificial Intelligence-era of electronica and ambient techno. The second installment is equally as inspired, with highlights including the ever-changing, acid-flecked exoticism of the Black Dog's 'Psyil Cosyin', Autechre's haunting, 12-minute remix of Seefeel's 'Spangle', the Tangerine Dream-does-ambient trip that is Beautyon's 'To Swing Pil', and the stately beauty of Beaumant Hannant's 'Utuba (Reprised Version)'. Look out also for a largely unknown - and pleasingly melodious - remix of Soft Ballet by Richard D James under his infrequently used Polygon Window pseudonym.