Electro

Review: Undersound Recordings hit release number 15 with a various artist EP that packs four vital techno punches. Audio Quest's "The Mental Screen" kicks off with some old school techno that recalls the sound of legendary Dutch label Djax-Up. It's filled with metallic snare sounds and deep space bleeps. Jared Wilson of course brings the acid that has defined his output for years, and Sohrab get busy with a kicking number and some busy melody patterns. KCLF closes out with twisted bass and shiny chords that look back to go forwards with "Reloaded 9615".

Review: Since parting company with DFA a decade ago, Gavin Russom's releases as Black Meteoric Star have become increasingly few and far between. "Disco", his third and arguably most expansive album to date under the alias, is therefore a more than welcome arrival. It's an impressive set, too, with Russom offering up a deliciously distorted, fuzzy and forthright mix of hazy, sound collage style interludes, throbbing new wave, tactile deep electro, razor sharp analogue jack-tracks, decidedly alien-sounding instrumentals, redlined EBM throb-jobs and clanking, lo-fi electro. It all sounds like it was recorded in a cement mixer using a particularly dusty collection of old synthesizers and drum machines, but that's no bad thing; in fact, it plays a big part in the album's undoubted lo-fi charm.

Review: In keeping with both her recent output and the releases of Australia's LKR Records, the latest EP from Sophie Sweetland AKA D. Tiffany is drowsy, dreamy, hallucinatory and shot through with references to both vintage ambient techno and the more psychedelic end of the '90s IDM spectrum. There's much to admire across the four tracks, from the spaced-out, mind-altering haziness of melodious, off-kilter opener "Low" - all twisted, acid-inspired synth sounds, LSD-trip electronics and skewed electro rhythms - to the chunky ambient breaks business of "Cruel Trance" and the feverish, strangely-swung quirkiness of gently pulsing IDM number "4leaf".

Review: Under the Dardust alias, composer/pianist/producer Dario Faini has spent the last few years offering up albums and singles that combine his Nils Frahm-esque minimalist piano pieces with the kind of electronic sounds and beats more usually found in both experimental electronica and dance music. He's at it again on new album "S.A.D Storm + Drugs", an undeniably grand and ambitious affair with genuine crossover potential. This time round, Faini has added neo-classical orchestration to his impactful piano motifs, while a number of the tracks move further away from ambient and IDM towards big, bold, festival-friends dance beats, riffs and melodies. It's a formula that undoubtedly works and provides enjoyable listening, though it's often the breath-taking brilliance of the more ambient-leaning, piano-heavy pieces that hits home hardest.

Review: DJ K-1's (Keith Tucker - AUX88) re-release for modern electro heads on the Direct Beat Classics label (including unreleased track from 95).

Review: **REPRESS** Another album from the amazing mind of Heinrich Mueller (aka Gerald Donald). Originally released on DJ Hell's Gigolo label and apparently only licensed after Gerald crashed Hell's BMW and had to come up with a means of paying him back. All the tracks first appeared on the very obscure Dataphysix imprint from Detroit, with some releases only reaching the 500 copy mark. Now brought back to life for 2007, "Gesamtkunstwerk" could be one of the best electro albums ever made. Yes that's right, I said it...the best ever! This is almost as important for the techno generation as Kraftwerk's "Computerworld" and "Autobahn" were for many in the 80s. The tracks are all pretty simple, made up of only two or three analogue instruments each, but they seem to hold these timeless melodies that you can never tire of. Other moments are eerie, menacing and downright strange, but still pure genius. You know how a lot of the time when you buy a new record it becomes your favourite for a while, and then it starts to lose a little life? (Of course it's still good, but just not as fresh as the first couple of weeks when you listened to it on repeat). Well guess what? That doesn't happen with this record. I must have listened to some of the tracks on here over a 1000 times and they still send shivers down my spine. It's one of those special albums that just don't seem to age.

Review: After spending much of the last few years exploring forthright, mind-altering techno sounds under his given name, Thomas P Heckmann has recently started offering up new material from his Electro Nation project - an exploration of the potential of the electro form that was most active in the 1990s. He begins his second new EP of the year (there have also been some reissues) with the sharp, squelch-along club electro buzz of "Dope Head", before beefing up the beats and reaching for minor key melodies on the intergalactic pop of "Sucker Beat". Elsewhere, Heckmann successfully wraps warehouse-ready house stabs around bustling acid bass and snappy electro drums on "Virus", while closing cut "Juicy Beast" is a Fairlight stab-sporting sprint through NYC freestyle/early '80s electro fusion.

Review: Second time around for the third and final part of electro hero Gerard 'ERP' Hanson's "Evoked Potentials" series, which first hit stores way back in 2011. A-side "Repose" is (quite literally) classic ERP, with Hanson peppering Egyptian Lover style drums and funky synth-bass with chiming lead lines, starburst chords and deep space chords. It's tuneful and picturesque, but will also have you on your feet and throwing shapes in no time at all. Over on the flip, Plant43 (London electro veteran Emile Facey) turns in a very Drexciyan take on "Sensory Process", in the process wrapping Hanson's bittersweet strings and 33rd century electronic motifs around a suitably deep sea electro rhythm.

Review: Solar One Music's cofounder Robert Witschakowski and Dopplereffek's Gerald Donald return with another sauced out electro offering that takes you to another dimension. Their trademark sounds jump out of the speakers across four glorious sides of vinyl. The slipper baselines, the sci-fi motifs, the feeling of high speed space travel all define these cuts as you guide n bumpy beats or get lost in glistening synths. The duo first worked together a number of year ago but are still finding fresh new forms that make them as essential as ever.

Review: Nite Fleit has had a barnstorming couple of years with drops on Planet Euphorique and Unknown To The Unknown, a team-up with Mall Grab on Looking For Trouble and now this rabid electro stormer on Helena Hauff's Return To Disorder label. Compared to some of the grungier, punk-inflected electro you'd expect to find on the label, this is bright, bold, big-room stuff with plenty of ravey motifs to move large masses of bodies. "Empty Nest Syndrome" is hyped up to 11 while "Naive" pivots around a hard as nails electro beat. Watch out for the mad arps on "Can't You See" and "Rebel Faction" too - they're gunning for your cerebellum and you should take heed.

Review: 2020 marks the tenth of collaboration for Red Axes, the Tel Aviv-based duo of Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi. Informed by post-punk, new wave, and a plethora of club sounds old and new, they have cleaved a singular path with their hefty discography. To celebrate their anniversary, they reunite with Dark Entries for an eponymous 11 track LP brimming with jagged guitars, spacy arpeggios, and hypnotic vocals. Although Sadovnik and Arzi have previously released LPs on I'm A Cliche and Garzen Records, Red Axes is their first effort written and conceived of as an album-length listening experience. This work flows effortlessly through a variety of stylistic detours, highlighting their ears as both keen listeners and skilled DJs. Opener 'They Game' is a grooving number that unifies the psychedelia of cosmic disco with the early 90s 'baggy' sound. The energy mounts further with "Shelera", a guitar-driven acidic banger, and "Sticks and Stones", a certifiable club hit fueled by sassy vocals courtesy of Adi Bronicki. Launching Side B is "Break the Limit", an EBM-laced number that wouldn't sound out of place on a Razormaid compilation. The following tracks wax moodier, with "Brotherhood (Of the Misunderstanding)" touching on darkwave territory. "Udibaby" and "Arpman" close out the album with their respectively dense and sparse takes on kosmische lysergia. Red Axes was mixed by Steve Dub and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The album's artwork starkly depicts the project's name in blood-red smear. Also included is a postcard with full credits and album art. It's rare one finds an album that so casually challenges classification while still being firmly rooted on the dancefloor.

Review: Over the last couple of years, Aussie Katie Campbell has delivered a string of well-regarded EPs and 12" singles steeped in retro-futurist flavours. Here she delivers here most expansive release to date, a double-pack that officially counts as the Roza Terenzi debut album. Her usual aural trademarks are all present - think deep bass, dreamy synths, fluttering electronic melodies, euphoric melodic motifs, breakbeats and bustling beats that are anything but conformist - alongside nods towards turn-of-the-90s techno, weighty electro rhythms and snappy, ghetto-house inspired workouts. It's undeniably a Roza Terenzi release, and there's enough variety - coupled with smart sequencing - to make it hang together as an album. Oh, and bass-heavy, Bleep-inspired closer "My Reality Cheque Bounced" is one of the best things Campbell has released to date.

Review: The first missive on Dublin's freshly minted, vinyl-only Space Shepherd label comes courtesy of Maltese producer Sound Synthesis, an experienced but still little-known artist within the global electro community. As you'd expect, the quality threshold remains high from start to finish. Opener "Arpeggiate" cloaks a squelching bassline and crunchy electro beats in sumptuous chords and sci-fi melodies, while "Diving In" adds sharp and mind-altering acid lines to the same far-sighted electro template. Sound Synthesis explores darker, horror soundtrack-influenced acid-electro pastures on B-side opener "Arp Reaktor", before rounding off a fine EP via the poignant chords, widescreen strings and bustling beats of "Love Drones"

Review: The Ourtime Music crew have been quietly setting out their stall as purveyors of hi-tech funk since 2002. The releases may be sporadic, but each one carries a level of quality that makes it feel like an occasion. This is the second outing for Stark on the label, and they lead in with the bubbling synth flourishes of "Balance" which channels the funkiest, sweetest tropes of true Detroit techno. "Spatial Density Waves" has a more dystopian finish, but there's still funk rubbed into the gums of this creeping electro cut. "Internal Voyage" is a blissful beatless bleep-out, and "Salfrod Skyline" completes the set with some decidedly funky electro techno.

Review: Analogical Force mark their 30th release with a bumper collection of electro remixes from some heavyweight names and like-minded friends. Across all 12 tracks, and six sides of vinyl., the label broadens its remit with various new electro perspectives making this their most vital offering to date. There is restless brilliance from Samuel Kerridge, brutal sound waves from Humanoid and superbly slick, funk and deep tackle from the one and only Radioactive Man. The ever excellent Plaid also serve up a raw highlight with their broken beat workout.

Review: Two Detroit labels meet for a special compilation: Explorations in electro, 80's wave and sounds pressed on clear vinyl.