Back catalogue: Experimental/Electronic

Review: The second act of Bucharest-based duo Khidja, the deep-groove junkies' debut LP 'Transmissions Part 1 & 2' released earlier this year. Over the 76-minute runtime, the two delve into downtempo industrial, on 'Under Stressure' with its droning horns and spacey synths, to more traditional, analogue-influenced synthwave techno, 'Laid Back' sounding like a crazy circuit bypassing experiment from the bygone age of manual electro. Throughout the transmission, Khidja employs 90s tribal influences just as faithfully as 80s space-age synthpop tropes - like the trilling synth falsettos on epic closing track 'Oil'. Khidja have been proving in, and outside, of the club scene that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Review: A collaborative new single by sampletronic master Kieran Hebden (aka. Four Tet) and guitarist and composer William Tyler, two acclaimed musicians and both longstanding friends. Part of a recent spewing-forth of Hebden-adjacent material to hit the shelves after the artist's oft-reported-upon "agent of chaos" phase, these two tracks, pressed to a furtive 12", provide a neat counterpoint to that assessment. Rather than a pair of riddim bangers, the record flaunts Hebden's signature electronic textures and Tyler's guitar into a hypnotic, nominally dark soundwhirl, reminiscent of the earliest days of Text, but with a unique edge - a sonic corner never quite scoured before by either artist.

Review: Uganda keeps on giving, with the country currently at the forefront of sub-Saharan Africa's electronic underground: a fertile corner of the world in terms of emerging and established talent. Enter Hibotep, a Kampala-based rising star who was born and raised in Ethiopia but grew up in Somalia. Joining her on this EP, another one to know from the Ugandan capital, Hibo Elmi, a DJ, filmmaker, fashion designer, installation artist, rapper and studio head considered to be one of the most important female dance music makers on the continent right now. Running the gamut from 'Amber''s dark, hypnotising dub-hop moves, through 'Ebwino's sparse, weightless tones, which eventually give way to playful stepping rhythm beneath the relentless microphone skills of MC Will'stone, and 'Saffron' with its slow mo, exotic shuffle, if those responsible for this EP themselves reflect the incredible diversity of the city's scene, the sounds do the same.

Review: There's a not a huge amount we know about Koberman's Probandenausweis, other than the fact it sounds very good and will appeal to fans of shamanic, slo-mo, kosmische, drug chug, ambient and experimental electronica. It's a slow building, gradually evolving and immersive trip into a studio, with arrangements valuing silence and emptiness as much as the notes and beats themselves.
Opening on 'Sonnenschirmbrand', a ritualistic number that seems to have the whisper of forgotten souls in the backdrop of a tribalistic beat, layers of noises and percussion adding to the feeling of it taking root in your body well before the bass kicks in. Meanwhile, low ends rule on '32 Ngoesolo', in contrast to 'UH DT101', which uses a twisting synth line as its focal point, allowing other elements to build around it until we're locked into a head nodding oddity.

Review: Heavyweight heroes Kode9 and Burial are no stranger to working together having done so to great success on FABRICLIVE 100 back in 2018. They don't actually collaborate on this one, though, instead serving up one side each of a new 12" for Fabric. As experimental artists with a penchant for drawn from the UK hardcore continuum you roughly know what to expect - fresh rhythms, emotive sounds designs, compelling rhythms. The 140g 12" comes in both limited edition and standard black vinyl versions, and both have bespoke 3D design with the fabric logo printed on reverse board heavyweight card.

Review: It almost seems redundant, writing something about the latest fabric Originals release. If you could think of a more enticing double-header for fans of bass, Leftfield techno, and UK-hued alternative electronic music then we want to hear it, with both producers here moving well beyond cult status and into the world of households names in homes well beyond their original audiences. And yet, remarkably, neither have strayed too far from where they initially set stalls. Hyperdub boss Kode 9 proves this first, with the sightly dizzying 'Infirmary'. Born from a combination of loose, open, galloping UKF and organic techno, with its foundations rooted in footwork, it's a bounding high-energy body mover that refuses to quit. Flip it and find Burial edging closer to 'dance music' than many might be used to, although it's a deep, moody interpretation packed with the spellbinding vocal flourishes of a mutant garage and suppressed, fidgety drums so subtle they're close to background noise.

Review: Outlier experimental label Eating Music brings back more for us to chew on here in the form of a varied four tracker from various artists. It is Mindexxx that opens with 'Track 1' which layers up snaking synths and deeply buried dark bass that grows in intensity and washes over you like a Tsunami. Laughing Ears then cuts back to a tender mood with soft piano chords and slowly unfolding rhythms that are warm and lithe. Gooooose's 'The Dusk Of Digital Age' is a churchy affair with textured drones shot through with beams of synth light and Knopha's 'Off-Peak Season Tourists' layers up choral vocals and jumbled drum sounds into something hypnotic and escapist.