Juno Recommends Electro February 2019

Review: More high grade material from Brother Nebula, a mysterious artist whose previous releases on Legwork brilliantly joined the dots between spacey electro and raw, rave-fired material. This EP feels a little more thoughtful and considered, with glassy-eyed ambient opener "Double Helix" being followed by a deliciously warm and melodious chunk of soundscape electro bliss. This evocative, melody-driven feel extends into B-side opener "Sky Walking", where bubbly acid lines, punchy vocoder vocals and cascading synthesizer melodies cluster around a bustling, breakbeat-driven electro groove. As if to prove he still likes it rough and raw, closing cut "Going Clear" is a bustling, sub-heavy workout that recalls the bleep-era electro tracks of overlooked British producers Ubik and Sinewave.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Larry McCormick's Monotone label is one of the finest outposts for darkside electro operating in these bountiful times for the genre, and following on from the first volume of vinyl-only compilation MonoTrax, brace yourselves for round two. The Hacker is at his stalking, sinister best on "Rhythmus Machine," while McCormick himself brings a tough, street-level grittiness to "Root Code." Cosmic Force is on a dystopian sci fi tip with the nagging synth patterns of "Maximilian Of Roma", and DeFeKT completes the package with the audacious synth acrobatics and jackhammer beats of "I Am Here." What more do you need to know? This is high-end electro business for down and dirty, sweat-box dancefloors.

Review: Andrew James Gustav's Marginal Returns label debuts with something rather special: the first every vinyl outing from Two Phase U aka Hernan Gonzalez, an obscure Uruguayan artist who previously produced one CD-only album "Techknowledge" way back in 1998. As you'd perhaps expect, there's a delightfully retro-futurist feel to the four tracks on show, which riff on various aspects of '90s electronic music and were apparently all made with period equipment. Our pick of the bunch is probably "Elevator", which sees the South American wrap emotive chords and cheery melodies around a snappy electro/braindance backing track, though the breakbeat-driven, R&S-goes-to-Detroit-via-Sheffield flex of "Fill U" is also impressive. You, though, may have other favorites; it's one of those EPs that includes four formidable tracks.

Review: This tasty 12" marks a welcome return to action for "metalurgic funk" maestro E-GZR, a shadowy, publicity shy producer whose occasional outings on Sex Tags offshoot Wania are rarely less than essential. The headline attraction here is the saucer-eyed geezer's collaboration with Vancouver's Laura Sparrow AKA LNS. Entitled "Crypto Stock", the track offers a deliciously spacey, funk-fuelled trip into deep electro territory that offers a near perfect balance between weighty dancefloor chops and ear-catching home listening fare. On the flip, E-GZR goes solo, wrapping more deep space chords, jammed-out synth lines and bustling bass around a suitably fuzzy bassline and redlined TR-808 drums.

Review: Traffic wardens Bodin & Jacob are back, bringing the retroverted sound of Frankfurt to their brand new imprint Not On Earth. They have stated that they heard countless good tracks in the past and wanted to create a new platform to release them. This inaugural release is everything you'd expect from the much loved duo, from the bleepy/boompty minimal funk jam "Shervin", warm and emotive second wave influences (think early Planet E/Peacefrog) on "Waffles", to the classic B-boy electro jam "Leonardo". Wicked artwork on the sleeves by Martin Pierre Taylor too.

Review: More two-for-the-price-of-one brilliance from the 777 label, which in recent times has served up a number of EPs showcasing cuts from two or more artists. This time round, Texan booty-shaker Textasy handles side A, first serving up the clanging, distorted and skip-heavy electro-acid madness of "Highland Park Acid" before once again showing his love of Miami Bass via the fizzing, floor-friendly thrust of "Hold Up Wait A Minute". Sometime Serious Trouble contributor Nasty King Kurl comes to the fore on the flip. "No Thanks" is a wonderfully wild, twisted, bouncy and weighty chunk of acid-fired techno insanity, while Kiki collaboration "Sucka DJs" offers a twisted, 21st century take on the classic "booty bass" sound.

Review: A new project based out of Copenhagen - Aether's Spring comes shrouded in mystery but makes a bold statement with this first transmission. WATER: Dancing Moon 12" leads in with "House In Blue Rain," a downcast track bathed in melancholic pads and blown out percussion around a steady 4/4 tick. "Dancing Moon" is a more kinetic affair that works with all kinds of synth shapes alongside some primal drum machine percussion that lends the track a new wave quality that suits it just fine. Closer "Throne Of Clay" spreads across the B side in a brooding, journeying epic fit for the likes of classic James Holden or a more wave-minded Jon Hopkins.

Review: Following up a terrific 2018 that closed out with a killer output by Robert Dietz, Jensen Interceptor and Hugo Massien, U.K. label E-Beamz are back with more throwback sounds, this time courtesy of the enigmatic Vort who makes an impressive debut on the label here. From the brooding underwater electro-funk of killer opener "50 Yen", the rolling junglist stepper "Rainfall" to the depth charged yet emotive soul of "Tulip", Vort is keeping a low profile at present but we are pretty sure you'll be hearing more from this promising producer in this year.

Review: Australian-in-London Nite Fleit is a producer we'll undoubtedly be hearing more of this year. Here she delivers her second solo salvo (her debut appeared on Steel City Dance Discs last year), serving up club-ready workouts rich in psychedelic electronics, ragged acid lines, industrial-strength basslines and crunchy analogue drums. Rhythmically, most of the tracks stick close to the electro template, but it's the wild, angular and mind-altering nature of the riffs and melodies she places atop that set the pulse racing. Yet while there's plenty of excitement amongst the club-rockers on show - "Borderline" and "Thar Bye Bye" in particular - it's the deep and melancholic flex of the more introspective "Reply All" that most impresses.

Review: Detroit based artist Jeremiah Shaw, known as J Shaw Electro or SpaceDrifter3000 is an up and coming artist influenced by early Detroit Electro. Since 2008 he is a part of the international band collective AnTiZeRo and has released on Militant Science Records.

In this harsh world, J Shaw looked to alter the reality we live in with ways of escapism. Using sound as a positive influence and escape, J Shaw decided to alter the sound around us in order to drift to other worlds. Finding peace and tranquility; the first Destination: Space.

Review: There's much to admire about this debut EP from freshly minted Spanish label Ovnie. Imprints Records co-founder Domenico Rosa kicks things off via the rather delicious "Motion23", an atmospheric, rolling and spacey affair in which clunking lead lines and jammed out synth lines cluster around a funky bassline and swinging electro drums. Himalaya Juice Culture offers up the Artificial Arm style 21st century electro-funk of "Dr Q-Tip", before Pohl brilliantly joins the dots between acid, ghostly electro, rave and UKG on standout track "Virtual". To round things off, Chris Geschwindner weighs in with the alien UKG/electro fusion of "Binarize".

Review: It's been two years since Asking For Trouble founder Keith "Radioactive Man" Tenniswood inaugurated the "L-R" project alongside London Modular Alliance member Simon Lynch and Monoak man Johnny Oakley. This sophomore EP is every bit as essential as their 2017 debut on null+void Recordings. Check first the bubbling acid lines, rolling electro beats, 8-bit melodies and rumbling bass of "Rings", before immersing yourself in the deep space electro weird-out that is the weighty EP highlight "Doctor Dark". Over on side B you'll find two more throbbing workouts: the high-tempo acid-electro insanity of "Where Them Lights Are" and the Drexciya-meets-Cybotron brilliance of "Dinky's Tone".