Polegroup Vinilo y CD

Review: As part of Oscar Mulero's Unknown Landscapes mix CD his label Pole Group has done the right thing and released the first of several various artist samplers. This first body of music is opened by the rusty pings of DVS1's "Strobe", while up and coming Spanish techno producer, Kwartz, earns his Pole Group stripes with a deep and blipping "Hate". Long-time label cohort Reeko provides the elongated mind trip that is "Enlightenment Process", and the last spot is of course reserved for industrial demigod Adam X who doesn't falter with the voltage charged "Meridien Arc".

Review: Portuguese power wafts our way from PoleGroup's very own Norbak, a pre-eminent producer from the label's neighbouring country. Across his relatively short career Norbak has developed a distinct personal style, ever-evolving and changing. On this latest EP, we first hear 'Regra' and 'Ferramenta', both of which aggressively ferment a series of metrically unsound stares-into-the-abyss, combining knocky, low-reg fidgets with toppier emergencies and washouts. B-siders 'Amarante 9am' and 'Nota' techno prisoners either, opting for a more classically industrial sound vis-a-vis alarming stabs and crackly lower mantles.