Steel City Dance Discs Vinilo y CD

Review: Mall Grab's Steel City Dance Discs has always taken inspiration from the industrial area of the port in Australia after which the label is named. Never is that more clear that with this caustic offering from CRTB, who kicks off with tense, rusted metal techno loops and uncompromising drum lines. 'Nature Boy' (feat Kettama) is another brutalist wall of techno sound with 'layer upon layer of fizzing synth intensity. 'Nothing Moves You' would in fact move a house, such is the force of its kick drums, and 'Temper' then gets the fast twitch muscles firing across your body with its amped up and banging take on techno.

Review: Mall Grab's Steel City Dance Discs bangs out a 29th volume of its self-titled series here and DJ Boneyard is the one who has been digging in his vaults to serve up six deathly techno slammers. 'Bonestyle' is all about the distorted low ends and sleazy broken beast which power it along under edgy synths. 'Flutter' is a crispy electro scuzz-fest with more ear-ticking low end fizz and brighter trance chords up top. 'Slap Slap Slap' is a percussive flurry, a tumble of drums and gritty warehouse noise while three more brilliantly tough and fucked up takes on techno feature on the flip side.

Review: After first surfacing digitally late last year, Matisa's Steel City Dance Discs label debut finally makes it onto vinyl - and not a moment too soon. Hard to pigeonhole but fiendishly heavy and floor-friendly, the four cuts on offer are rave-igniting workouts that somehow manage to sound both nostalgic and genuinely fresh. For proof, check opener 'Brillatine', where a warped, all-action bassline, fizzing electronics, Orbital-style female vocal snippets, jumpy stabs and pots-and-pans percussion hits cluster around a skittish, warehouse-ready breakbeat. 'Eyeliner' is a slightly more rave-centric chunk of heady breakbeat hardcore revivalism with added M1 organ motifs (and a rap-less accompanying hip-house style tweak from label boss Mall Grab), while 'Lip Plumper' is a muscular, hands-aloft house workout with layered percussion aplenty.