Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Acido Records is rightfully gaining something of a cult following akin to the Sex Tags crew it is vaguely affiliated with, though the Berlin based label has its own defined aesthetic approach thanks to the stewardship of founder Dynamo Dreesen. In a week where the label serves up some excellent new produce from the Dresvn pairing of Dynamo Dreesen and SVN, Acido also slip out a second round of their Soundtracks For No Film series. Heavily conceptual in tone and execution, 291out largely contributes this time with a hefty six productions of outer spatial electronics which at times sound befitting of a contemporary Kafka screen adaptation and other times eminently suitable for the dancefloor ("Automobil Club Lugano" in particular) Do check the flip which has Sequencias contributor Healing Force Project excelling with the suitably named "Opium".

Review: BOOM! Our favourites, Cititrax, roll the third editions of Tracks out onto our shelves, and the results are unsurprisingly strong on this excellent various artists comp. It's a mixed bag of skills, as per usual, and the sounds are those of a new NYC, fuelled by a new sort of post-industrial sensibility. Amato Y Mariana open with the tight beats and groove of "Queires Bailar", followed closely by the ominous compositions of the EBM-flavoured "Montgat" from The Sixteen Steps. On the flip, His Dirty Secrets bleeps out some morphed acid on "Structures", and "Another Stranger" from Further Reductions churns out a slow, mild-mannered house experiment with its roots clearly planted in the coldest of waves. Sick.

Review: Admired by many since its release, Arovane & Hior Chronik's ethereal ambient album In-between, received wide applause from many and has been held-up as one of the best of 2015. 2016 sees a dream lineup of remixers turn in a spectrum of deeper takes on the original shimmering ambient sound, ranging from immersive drones, to dubtechno and electronica.
Arovane opens up the 12" with a return to his early City Centre Offices sound. After Tomorrow is reworked into a melodic and warm synth-heavy track, that finds an even more ethereal touch than the original.
bvdub's relentless album output has seen him become one of the most respected artists of the genre, yet his remixes are still few and far between. Here, Brock steps up to the plate with a confident, big sound that takes the core of Past Creates The Future, into a completely new yet familiar bvdub territory. Expanding layers embellish on the raw rumbles and strings of the original, with new chords, beats and vocals progressing into an epic nine minutes. It would've been longer if Brock had his way...
The man behind the mixing desk for ASIP, Rafael Anton Irisarri, provides two remixes for the EP. His first, under Herr Irisarri with an unexpected, decaying, granular dub-take on Wunderland. Rafael's dedication to analog production heard throughout, as tiny details and organic changes manipulate and drive the dub-heavy sound.
Arovane and Iran's, Porya Hatami collaborated on Resonance in 2015, so it's of no surprise to see Porya take on Arovane's sound here. Porya provides additional field recordings to lift the already immersive Past Creates The Future, landing on the beautiful cello piece by Aaron Martin to create a final twist in the tale, elaborating on the beautiful instrument found in the original.
Following Markus Guentner's successful ASIP release, the Pop Ambient pioneer dives into his unique, looping ambient sound in style on Scale, embracing more menace and mystery than the original. Markus' new album Theia, has undoubtedly won the hearts of many new ambient fans, who won't be disappointed with this, the latest addition to his expanding contributions to ASIP. The murdered-out all-black artwork represents the juxtaposition between the glistening sounds of the original, and the alternative takes found on the remix EP, featuring heavyweight vinyl and a spot-gloss sleeve, designed by ASIP regular Nick Brzostowski. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri @ Black Knoll Studio.

Review: A record entitled 'Insane 80s Tracks From The Insane Label' was never going to be boring. Talk about living up to the name, Insane Music means an experimental cassette label from Belgium, managed by Alain Neffe and founded in 1981. He makes music as I Scream, and to put that into wider context his two tracks on this vinyl excursion are harsh distortions with distant bumbling rhythms, and relentless rolls of acid warble and snares the likes of which techno would kill for. That's far from that, though. Pseudo Code present the most accessible stuff here, and that comes in the form of a twisted child of post punk and garage synth pop, veering from the wonderfully bouncy and danceable 'Waiting For Zorro', to the runaway anxiety of 'Jesus!'. Bene Gesserit goes for what David Lynch might do with disco and garage rock, while Human Flesh present a staggeringly effective cacophony of brass refrains.

Review: Cong Burn made a mighty splash with its first release, clearly flaunting the kind of wares you'd expect to hear from Livity Sound alumni or other such esteemed techno renegades. The second installment is no slouch either, featuring a new cast of crooked creators offering up their wares for the modern mutant dancefloor. BFTT has a weighty low end thrum powering "Public/Private", while Lack takes things in a scuffed and nimble direction. Chekov pushes out into more experimental pastures with the broken beats and displaced sound design of "Celeste" and Howes creates a wonderful strain of mystical deep house for darkened souls. Each one of these tracks is loaded with flair and personality, yards ahead of your average generic knock offs and presenting something with real merit to the convoluted world of dance music.

Review: 10 Germany seem to get it bang-on each and every time! For a label who has released the likes of Ancient Methods, Perc and Matthew Herbert, among other legends, we'd expect nothing less than the spectacular and this is exactly what we got with this latest collaborative effort by Italy's Daniele Brusachetto, Jansky Noise, Human Larvae and Damaskin. Brusachetto's "Grigi Ma" is weird and wonderful pop tune set against a backdrop of cavernous percussion rattles, while Janksy Noise's "Black Night" is a full-on drone monster. Over on the flip, "Ruined" by Human Larvae is a fuzzy, noise-fuelled scorcher, and "Apocalypse" sees Damaskin produce the EP's only shred of rigidity thanks to its consistent 4/4 kick...accompanied by some rather gnarly power electronics, of course.

Review: For the latest release on his quietly impressive Foom label, Ben Freeney has secured the rights to release two killer cuts, both of which are significant in their own way. On the A you'll find a previously unreleased Tobias Freund remix of "You Laugh at My Face", an obscure late '70s proto-new wave collaboration between legendary disco producer Patrick Cowley and art-punk vocalist Jorge Socarras (best known for being part of San Fran band Indoor Life). Freund's version is undulating and evocative, with spacey analogue synth motifs and drowsy vocals rising above a pitched-down breakbeat groove. On the flip, German duo Half Hawaii return to action after a six-year break, offering up a slow-burn delight rich in drowsy, melancholic motifs, shuffling drums and dewy-eyed vocals.

Review: Honest Jons are our undisputed favourites as far as bringing forth new and unexpected projects goes. One such project is their glorious string of releases which saw several contemporary electronic producers re-interpret the South African electro deluge of Shangaan Electro, a near 10 piece band consisting of wild dancers, freaky masks and ludicrously memorable anthems. This release features the experimental duo of Demdike Stare and the mysterious but wonderful pair that is Hype Williams. Demdike's remix is a sparse and sub-aqueous drone filtered through irregular bongos and melting swirls of voices, whilst the "version" pretty much reduces those already scarce drums to mere memories. Over on the flip, Hype Williams create a sublimely majestic rhythm, those vocals swaying so darn effortlessly over the rugged drum kit pouncing lazily beneath it. Their version injects a severely chopped slice of bass and concentrates primarily on the percussion - mounds of delays and reverbs present in true HW fashion.

Review: EXPERIMENTAL/ELECTRONIC Dscrd and Hogo team up for this limited 7" release on Parisian imprint Silicate. Based on a novel by science fiction writer Edmond de Bombackir which was in turn inspired by the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Operator#17 opens with a track of dreamy, ambient soundscape. The sound design here really is stunning, with little nuances and motifs that only truly reveal themselves after repeat listens. The flip side explores even more esoteric pastures, with nods to glitch and musique concrete. This record comes wrapped in a fascinating "listing paper" sleeve too. Recommended.

Review: Jason B.Bernard's Peripheral Minimal is one of those labels which rarely disappoints, especially when the release concerns a collaborative effort from some of the most sought-after names in the electronic sphere. Beta Evers, a legendary coldwave Goddess from the 70s and 80s, rolls through with two magnetic slices of electro-infused gnarliness that take the genre back to its core roots, and she's backed by Drexciya's legendary Heinrich Muller on "Innerhalb Der Zeit". On the flip, Spatial Relation is armed with three further shots of cold-blooded drum machine funk with that inimitable warehouse feel... sounding a bit like Berlin back in the mid 80s. Heavy and tipped!

Review: Last copies of Four Tet & Hella's split. Number one in the 'Divorce' series of split 7"s on Ache.

Review: Ever a label to confound expectations, DC's Future Times return with their first transmission of 2015 and lay down some truly mind bending material from Japa Habilidoso. Part of the 40% Foda/Maneirissimo crew out of Rio De Janeiro, Japa Habilidoso's music thus far has been restricted to some low key digital and CDr releases and it's clear from these two cuts his imagination is equalled only by his intensity. Future Times proudly claim this 12" to be the "most punk shit" they've put out and it is hard to disagree. In full flight, "Funk Do Sindicalismo" is a relentless monster, a free jazz take on techno, a collage of percussive rhythms that needs to be deployed when a dancefloor is ready to lose its mind. "Agronomia Setorial" is no less special, with a wonderful piano loop cascading in and out of focus over some drunken drums and marauding stabs. More please Japa.

Review: French electro label Sekhem notches up its fourth release with this split disc from some heavyweight operators. First up is The Hacker, who throws down a perfectly pitched slice of death disco in his unmistakable style on 'It's In Space' before Stigma takes on a remix which adds a gnarly layer of distortion to proceedings. Stigma then takes up the mantle on the B-side with 'Arsenic On The Rocks', an industrial-tinged workout for those who like a rockist snarl to their stomping club workouts. The Hacker then returns to remix the track and give it a suitably seedy makeover before the final '80s mix' completes the package with an even more faithful exploration of the influences hinted at in the original version.

Review: Eclectic Belgian label Meakusma serve up more strange delights that they're fast becoming known for. Georgia are Brian Close and Justin Tripp who work out of their studio in Chinatown, NYC. They released the album Like Comments earlier this year and Like Comment Comments, naturally, is the remix-driven accompaniment. There are some truly inventive takes featured here by a stellar cast. DFA's Bryce Hackford serves up a nice deep house revision of "Nu Way Heat", NYC's RVNG INT'L deliver a harsh and hard hitting digi dub chugger on the remix of "Abstrackt High" plus two new tracks by Georgia themselves. "Bridge 1" and "Bridge 2" continue on with their oddball cinematic vibes as heard on the album and perfect for those chill out moments.

Review: Haex Hrll is a new project from long-serving Dutch techno and electro producer Jeroen Warmenhoven, a man best known as DJ Overdose. In some ways the new pseudonym was needed, because North of Warren is musically rather different from much of his club-centric material. The A-side contains a trio of tracks dripping in the kind of vintage synthesizer sounds and cinematic melodies found on John Carpenter's best work, with only the producer's penchant for dusty drum machine hits breaking the spell. Over on the B-side, label co-founder Anton Maovvi pays tribite to Vangelis's Blade Runner soundtrack on a superb remix of forthcoming album track "Test Tube Babies", before fellow Giallo Disco boss Vercetti Technicolour turns "North of Warren" into a mid'-90s trance throbber.

Review: There is little known about Haf Haf, the latest operator to sidle up to Danse Noire following turns from IVVVO and label boss Aisha Devi. The shadowy concern was last seen rocking up on Gang Of Ducks in 2014 with the eight-track Notch tape, and this time around there is a more concise three track offering to delve into backed up with a remix from Gatekeeper. Compared to the lo-fi rumblings of so many contemporaries, Haf Haf keeps a high level of digital processing at the heart of the music, even if the end result is still grubby and unsettling. "Blue Dragon" in particular does a fine job of marrying glossy melodic flurries with arrhythmic interference that would send the wrong kind of person crazy. For those who like the disorientation of bizarre sound design with a musical twist, this release comes highly recommended.

Review: In the latest instalment of avant-garde studies for Black Truffle, Oren Ambarchi brings together his regular cohorts for some collaborative pieces that span a staggering range of styles without ever letting up on the uncompromising leftfield remit of the label. The first tracks deal in fragile, tense situations that work drone into an organic context through the haunting use of vocal, flute and found sound, before swerving into the calamity of noise rock squall at its finest. Coming on like a NY hardcore contingent, it's hard to believe it sits on the same release as the opening tracks, and makes the record as a whole all the more enjoyable to process.

Review: Rabit's Halcyon Veil welcome an all-star international troupe from the very fringes of electronica, bass, beats and techno. Nigga Fox, Hvad, Bekele Berhanu, Zutzut and Draveng all plough deep into their blends to paint pictures we've never heard before, from the stuttering jazz drums of Draveng's "Internal" to Hvad's rampant slimy steppy techno "Bleeding Grey Wall". They're also joined by a mysterious unknown artist for the final warped trip; the untitled "Track 6". Who knows where the Rabit hole will take us this time?

Review: Representing what could more accurately be called to the alternative choice for electronic music in the Motor City, Detroit Underground come up with the goods once again in this gutsy EP of glitchy sonics from Annie Hall. After previous appearances on Semantica and D1, Hall is utterly devastating here in her low slung hip constructions that fizz and crackle with hyper-attentive production details and smoked out moods. As well as the seductive original tracks the likes of Richard Devine are on hand with some serious digital dismantling, while ERP serves up a remix of wonderfully fractured electro.

Review: 'Red Angel' is a repetitive chordish sound loop with a hypnotic effect which may cause addiction. With their second appearance Hallucinator are able to induce high expectations about their future work. The B-side feature some spherical, ambientish and subtle percussive sound textures.

Review: On the third release by Hallucinator for Chain Reaction, the project refines their approach to repetitive music. Subtle rhythm and sound textures dominating this EP. Every single element gets explored to the edge of possibilities, but the closer you move the more fuzzy are the results you get. In sonic terms this means a rather rough, lo-fi alike sound aesthetic. Yet another interesting Chain Reaction release.

Review: Anyone slightly confused by the appearance of Laurel Halo on Hyperdub with last year's album Quarantine will find that Behind The Green Door makes her case for inclusion on the label much clearer. Rather than a continuation of the vocal-led, enveloping soundscapes of that album, this four track EP is futuristic club music from start to end; "Throw" sends jagged percussion and splashes of piano across fiercely competing basslines, while "Uhffo" contrasts its inky black low end with more reflective synth moments. "Noyfb" combines a UK funky style rhythm with tunnelling bass pulses and dubbed out chimes, and "Sex Mission" ends with a 4/4 techno track that loses none of the producer's unique palette. Fans of the recent manoeuvres on PAN will be all over this EP, which comes highly recommended.

Review: Gravitational 003 features two spaced out ambient cuts from Tbilisi based sound artist Hanker. The highly advanced and introspective A side jams "Sail Over The Eastern Horizon" and "Waxing Gibbous" are a must for all sci-fi soundtrack enthusiasts out there. Awash in trippy modular synth textures and emotive analogue strings and altogether creating a soulful, retro-futurist bliss to travel without moving. Comes with a stellar Blind Observatory treatment on the flip side, which will take you deep into the stratosphere on his finely tuned hypnotic techno epic. Comes with a printed 21x21cm artwork.

Review: INDEX:Records founder and self-styled 'DJ and sound engineer' Conna Haraway finally makes his vinyl bow following a couple of low-key cassette and digital download releases. According to the Sydney-based imprint handling the release, Theory Therapy, the wonderfully titled Spatial Fix was partially inspired by the Glasgow-based artist's 2024 tour of Japan and South Korea. You can hear that in the subtly far eastern melodies and ambient techno style textures of ten-minute opener 'Freon', whose grooves would undoubtedly have impressed the late Andrew Weatherall, and the hushed, semi-abstract, deeply layered wonder of 'Switchback'. Elsewhere, the stretched-out, immersive and meditative '1702' joins the dots between low-tempo ambient techno and dub techno, while 'Patent' is deep, otherworldly and suitably sub-heavy mutant dancehall.

Review: A record that explores deep, hypnotic rhythms with a strong tribal and mystical undercurrent, the latest Siamese Twins records pushes the boundaries of what is possibly in eastern influences underground techno. Side-1 opens with 'The Golden Triangle', an atmospheric introduction that feels cinematic, setting the stage with ambient textures before giving way to movement. 'Lens of Time' follows, locking into a deep, primal groove where rolling percussion and rich low-end create an entrancing effect. On Side-2 'Mekong' leans into tribal mysticism, blending ancient rhythmic patterns with a modern pulse. The production is detailed yet raw, drawing from rich percussive layers. 'Ruak' closes the EP with pulsating bass and deep, rolling rhythms, channeling Eastern influences into a hypnotic techno flow. A powerful release from Siamese Twins Records, driven by Sunju Hargun's distinct vision.

Review: Giegling affiliate Edward and Oliver Hafenbauer's Die Orakel reacquaint themselves after last year's fine Feuerhand 12", with the label's sixth release offering something of a conceptual left turn. Here Edward reinterprets tracks from the Harmonia canon, a group integral to the rise of Krautrock in the 1970s. If you are a fan of Edward's 2014 LP Into A Better Future, you'll know the German has pedigree for seeking inspiration from the forefathers of the motorik groove and is well placed to toy with Harmonia's music. Up top Harmonia and Brian Eno collaboration "Atmosphere" is spread out into a ghostly yet luxuriant ten minute production rich in detail, whilst "Sehr Kosmisch" is given a more swirling, percussive tease by Edward on his self-styled Close to Pompeii version. Both are quite exquisite.

Review: Warp presents 'EP 1' from Mark Pritchard's latest incarnation - a funky beat driven, Detroit sound. Limited to 2000 copies worldwide.
Mark Pritchard (Harmonic 313) is the man behind Global Communications, Jedi Knights and Harmonic 33. He's also co-creator of one
of the most acclaimed ambient records of the 90s, '76:14'. This EP is the opening statement in a campaign ending with a full album in
late Spring. It showcases a crisp, fresh, beat-driven Detroit sound.

Review: Japanese Wunderkind Hakushi Hasegawa made their Brainfeeder debut back in 2023, dropping the incredible Somoku Hudo after a slating of similarly super jazzbreaks released independently until that magical moment. Having not yet made their mark with a wider international audience, it was up to impresario FlyLo and co. to 'break' Hasegawa, resulting first in an infamous Fuji Rock festival appearance and now a resultant repress of the initially digital mini-album. Somoku Hudo is a surreally intense jubilant jaunt through hallmarks of J-pop, neo-jungle and cutecore, ever veering on the chromatic and rhythmically errant. A crude comparison would be if Mario Kart met Tennyson met Sunik Kim, though even this is just a first-listen comparison; an auditory encounter with the Real, if you will, it's difficult to capture Hasegawa's music totally in words except for its seeming invitation to make references to other sources - which, huzzah, indicates new experimental electronic ground has been trodden!

Review: After a brief spell moonlighting on the Argot label, the producer known simply as Gunnar Haslam returns to the LIES label where he made his debut last year with what is presumably the first in another deluge of releases from Ron Morelli's label. If you were one of the many caught up in the charms of Mimesiak, Gunnar Haslam's LP for LIES, you will find yourself immediately swept up by the productions on Porte Maillot which could feasibly have come from the same recording sessions. Lead track "Feuve" wastes little time in swooping through a heavily atmospheric widescreen soundscape with low rumbling percussion propelling the production forth. Meanwhile, "Laghi Sotterranei" and "Archive" both sound like Haslam has been inspired by that excellent KWC 92 LP to dabble in music for an imaginary soundtrack.

Review: New York's Mister Saturday Night is one of a handful of labels that are genuinely capable of surprising us with each successive release (as their thrillingly eclectic forthcoming Brothers & Sisters compilation brilliantly proved). For example, who would have predicted that this first MSN 10" single (the first from sometime L.I.E.S man Gunnar Haslam) would open with two and a half minutes of dark, intense ambience and distant Middle Eastern singing? Elsewhere, Haslam inches further towards the dancefloor, retaining the dark and exotic feel on "Discouraged", before pummeLling us with discordant, delay-laden DJ tool "Denomiazione Version". Brilliantly left-of-centre stuff all round.

Review: We're not gonna lie when we say that we absolutely love Russell Haswell. The UK industrial misfit is among the few who can truly bring the heat in pretty much any situation he's in, or on any record he's unleashing his deathly twists of distortion on. Over recent years, he's struck up a winning partnership with Diagonal boss Powell, and together they've now racked up plenty of releases and DJ sets, both bashing out the hard gear on a constant basis. Haswell is back on Diagonal here, coming through with five harsh, penetrative tracks under the umbrella of Respondent. While none of these tunes could be classified as traditional techno, or even 'dance' music, they do contain enough movement to appeal to a very specific sort of DJ - the ones with the most cojones! This is classic Haswell material at its most cavernous. Recommended.

Review: After he dropped his 17-strong opus to Diagonal back in September, maverick noise botherer Russell Haswell gets bothered himself by a strong cast of other ne'erdowells from the outer reaches. The stars of the show are Autechre, who turn in something quite unusual for the occasion with a brutally reduced, interference reveling "Conformity Version" of "Heavy Handed Sunset". Label boss Powell brings some of his future-EBM stylings to his "Cov Megamix" of "Hardwax Flashback", while DJ Stingray does a fine and confrontational job in reworking "Gas Attack". It's a powerful collection of fringe sonic studies that manage to make experimentation lots of fun.

Review: It's not a scam... it's Skam! To the Skam sister label Kasm comes Russell Haswell with a mitre-sawing electro release, veering toward brash abstraction. A gobby intonation is wrought from the distortion send here, where drums near-vocally poke through the muck, like rambunctious talking ghosts in machines. Warring allusions to lost humanity take shape on titles like 'Fractured Bones' and 'Tournament Species', where cyborg gladiators rise from their catacomb internments to face off against each other again and again, in haunted perpetuity. 'Different Takes' is the best example of the record's at times tempoless ferocity, scattering what remains as an intuitive pulse across phase-distorted gargles and made-wonky beat hydraulics.

Review: As 2014 has rolled on, Powell's Diagonal label has really gathered a sense of momentum and direction with its succession of releases. With the Juno office stereo still in recovery from the most excellent Shit & Shine LP Powder Horn, this new double pronged noise sermon from the masterful Russell Haswell only adds to their impressive year. Comprised of two 10-minute tracks, Double A is at times as bracing as anything else from the Haswell canon, with the scratched, spasmodic improvised sonics of lead track "Foxy" potentially capable of scaring Richard D James back into hiding. "One Take Dub No Edit" is described by Diagonal as a "flashback to a vital time when futurist Latin freestyle and industrial funk were the dancer's choice" and is perhaps the closest concession to the dancefloor from Haswell in some time. Killer artwork too!

Review: Edo no Kaze was a historical drama series that aired in the 1970s. At the time, Katsuhisa Hattori was a revered composer and musician who worked on various TV series and film scores and this show was one of them. The hard to find record has become a grail amongst diggers for its storytelling jazz sounds and reminiscence of Blaxploitation era soundtracks. This is the first ever reissue from Tokyo Condition. It was supervised by DJ Notoya, and all of the short but sweet jazz-funk fusion tracks have been remastered by 8ronix for extra freshness.

Review: 'The Horizon Of Happiness' first made its way to vinyl in Japan in 1980 after being created by master musician Katsuhisa Hattori. 'Only Two People In The Sea' is super slow and seductive, steamy and sexual funk with a brilliantly lazy groove. Long held synth strings, melodic curlicues and rising chords all add layer upon layer of lushness that lives mind, body and spirit to the heavens. Flip it over for the fantastic 'Love Steppin' which is a more driven tune but one still packed with love and romance. The bass is to die for, the lead acoustic guitar really sings and the hints of retro 80s nostalgia really swells the heart.

Review: Cinematic soundscapes, Middle Eastern funk, jazz and breaks make up some of the flavours of the new Havana Syndrome 7", which comes freshly to the repertoire of We Stray True, based in London. On this four-tracker, we hear pristine, front-and-centre library funk delivered straight to the dome; the lead track 'Pink Mist' is indeed a sticky noir-thriller slinker, heavy on the bass and complementary on the Rhodeses and triangles. The ensuing tracks are no less slinky either, with 'Minute Of Angle' as sleuthing and stealthy as a black cat up to no good; then comes 'Cairo Connect' and 'Pea Soup', the first of which brings jazz to the bazaar, while the second mixes back-alleyed night-movements with a flautist's flight of fancy.

Review: German nights series Have A Nice Day have put out over 10 stellar unknown artist records, and are renowned for their exclusivity and vinyl purism. It's for that reason that we're utterly stoked to be in the presence of one of their few promo records - assumign that's what the title of this one means - packed with cold disco crudeness and masterful editry.

Review: In a move many might have believed not possible, Bobby Krlic makes a welcome return as The Haxan Cloak with this monumental single. It's no less than ten years since we last heard from the industrial-tinged electronica maverick on his Excavation album, but now he's back with a bruising new piece called 'N/Y' which pops up on both sides of this clear 12" platter. It's a high pressure release full of jackhammer percussion and noise blasts, plus some sirens thrown in for good measure. Holding true to the industrial tradition, it's entirely engineered as a blast of intensity, and Krlic has considerable talent to render such an approach in a powerful, provocative way.

Review: As Bobby Krlic's project The Haxan Cloak makes a return after some ten years of silence with the 'N/Y' single, it's a fine time to track back and catch up on some of his small but perfectly formed catalogue. Observatory originally came out in limited quantities in 2010, and now it sees a repress to stave off the sharks and allow more people to experience this engrossing short form release. The title track is a strong melodic mantra riding a densely packed organ-like figure into oblivion, allowing the resonant frequencies and harmonics to become the dynamic movement in the track with an expert patience. 'Honfour (Temple)' is a subtler, more shapeshifting piece with gorgeous blooms of ambience and submerged pulses that lead you deeper into Krlic's evocative sound world.

Review: Sometime Going Good and Jin Records producer Yoshinori Hayashi re-surfaces on Disco Halal, a label befitting his maverick, impossible-to-pigeonhole talents. Uncountable Set is predictably eccentric, with Hayashi laying down a quartet of muddy, otherworldly cuts that gleefully stick two fingers up at neat categorization. Check, for example, the rhythmic sample soup this is "Palanquin Bearing Monkey" - think spacey, jazz-funk synth doodles, handclap-based rhythms and all manner of woozy, cut and paste samples - the out-there afro-jazz of "Stepping on Dewdrops" and the frankly nightmarish closer "Chember", a fiendishly freaky weird-out that peppers a slipped jazz rhythm with cut-up choral samples and cement mixer percussion hits.

Review: This time last year, Japanese producer Yoshinori Hayashi made his debut on Going Good, delivering an entertaining selection of hard-to-define cuts, experiments and abstract compositions. Here he resurfaces, marking the debut of new label Jinn with more impossible-to-pigeonhole antics in the shape of a trio of tracks that are meant to be consumed in one continuous listening session. Jinn describe them as a "visually evocative journey through ambiguous collages of distorted broken-beat tropes and far-east soundscapes". On the flip, DJ Sotofett has delivered an epic, 12-minute rework featuring additional violin, and the Norwegian eccentric's usual analogue textures and dub basslines. Excellent.

Review: The Gravity Graffiti label is fast establishing itself as an outpost for uncompromisingly strange records, and that's just fine with us. After the wonderful slouching boogie of the Soichi Terada / Whodamanny split 12", this time they've called upon none-stranger Japanese maverick Yoshinori Hayashi to turn out an A side that veers from free jazz esoterics to the best kind of mutant rave throwback imaginable. On the flip side DB.Source gets into a delightful tropical melee on "Anapo" before "Ciane (GG Records Trance Mix)" sends the release off into an exotic wilderness. This is the kind of record you wouldn't be able to imagine before you heard it, making it a perfect addition to the Gravity Graffiti canon.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Gravity Graffiti has been doing great things with its series of split 12"s already, but now the Italian label goes one better for its tenth release with this mighty double pack of heavy hitters. First up is the ever-untouchable Yoshinori Hayashi, who gets as straight up as he possibly could with the freaky house burner "Dissociative." Telephones is feeling particularly dubbed out and groovy on "Kalimbalimbo", while DB.Source and Riccardo Schiro take things strung out and textural on "Montevago". Dynamo Dreesen is in rave mode for the pepped up and delightfully weird "Reactivate", leaving the final side to Oyvind Morken & Kaman Leung's chugging "Tunnel Visjon" and the rubbery side swipes of Acidboychair's "The End (At Any Speed)".

Review: Contort Yourself continues to explore the crossover between decrepit 80s industrial and the modern artists drawing inspiration from those heady, experimental times, and the results are as thrilling as ever. Haydee's "No Gouvernance" is a brutal charge of drums and distorted yelps, while 1983 jam "De Omnibus Dubitandum" by Hunting Lodge fuses layers of distortion and proto acid with live bass and brittle drums. Catriel lays out a sinister but seductive message on "Nbdymksmefeellowlikeudo", Giant Swan bring their raucous avant-techno styles to "Dare" and then Gotshell remix Hunting Lodge into a thunderous industrial techno charge.

Review: Savage Garden's Darren Hayes returned from the wilderness in 2022 after a hiatus of almost ten years. During that time, he tried his hand at stand up comedy, kept a social media presence in the form of shared videos featuring him bursting into song, and evidently spent a fair amount of time recharging. After all, you don't make albums with the energy of Homosexual, the comeback piece, if you're running on empty.
Let's Try Being In Love was the first single taken from that, and in many ways the whole package is more about message than music - a guy publicly celebrating his sexuality and marriage after spending a very long time not feeling ready to do so, during a period in which he was a bonafide global pop star. Here said track appears in both 12" extended form and a Louis La Roche mix, both of which are made for chugging dancefloors, filtered tracking synths firing on all cylinders and an overall sense of self.

Review: In what feels like a perfect turn of events, Analogue Attic have snapped up Melbourne's Matthew Hayes for a wondrous, utterly free-minded ambient showdown. Tunes like "Penny Royal" and "Smiths" have clearly been created by someone who understands the art of subtlety and restraint, a beautiful myriad of sounds that flutter with absolute balance and precision before being placed in a state of continuous metamorphosis. This is real ambient music; not that cheap, two-key drone that's punted hither and thither.

Review: Having launched in impressive fashion with a reissue of some Greek fire walking music that was complemented well by remixes from Pete Swanson and Vatican Shadow, a second release on the archival minded KEMAL arrives and it's just as good! The focus here is Skew-Whiff, the album inspired by the works of Mark Rothko that celebrated English drummer and experimental musician Charles Hayward released on the Belgian label Sub Rosa in 1990. Taking the title of Smell Of Metal, this second KEMAL release lifts two of the five compositions from Hayward's album and they come accompanied by remixes from Optimo's JD Twitch and Future Times captain Maxmillion Dunbar, with the latter a particularly inspired choice.

Review: It's surprising to think that it was back in 2011 that Massimiliano Vianello first emerged on Delsin with his debut EP Too Many Ghosts, but now the Italian producer is finally following up on the promise of that first EP with another selection of psychedelically-tinged house and techno for Meda Fury. It's pleasing to note that his sound hasn't been tempered in the passing of time, with a rich tapestry of sounds feeding into his starry-eyed productions from exotic samples to distant synths, loping drum machines to mangled instruments. "Get Mezcla" represents the more direct offering with its sumptuous flute lines and rolling groove but even there you can find your mind wandering into a haze of swirling noise and cooing voices.

Review: Welcome to System Revival Recordings, a new label which inaugurates itself with an EP from Headless Horseman. He is someone who has a sophisticated sound and experimental approach to sound design that always brings his techno to life. 'Minor Setbacks' is a new series of releases on this label and its cut here is a fierce one indeed that was originally made as support for a Various Artists compilation for charity for Beirut in 2020. It has lashing of acid flash about the mix over tight, textural drums. Berlin's boundary breaking Monolake and Detroit's influential Erika add their own remix.