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Review: Greyscale unveils its latest endeavour, the Spectrum Series, as a way to continue to evolve its offerings and this time it is with something that makes a vibrant departure from its traditional black-and-white aesthetic. The inaugural release features the iconic Lithuanian dub track 'Kasdienybes Sventykla' by grad_u & Eazystyle MC as a way of commemorating its 15th anniversary. It came as a double CD in 2011 but now gets a first vinyl pressing on a nice 10" slab of wax. The track itself taps into the earliest roots of dub in the 70s and traces a line through the 80s with its heavyweight drums and endlessly echoing bass topped by great mic work. A pared-back instrumental features on the flip of this latest crucial drop from the dub dons at Greyscale

Review: The Det 313 label is kicking off the new year with a bang and dropping a pair of brilliant new EPs on the same day in late January. This one is a reissue of the esteemed Gary Martin's 'Pimping People In High Places' on 10". It's the Woodword Ave alternative mix that kicks off and is a rough and ready percussive techno looper with hefty basslines underlapping and propping up the floor. 'The Medusa Touch' is a more wily and synth laced-late night jaunt with mystic energy and acid details that make it a deep and dramatic cut with real dynamism.

Review: Back in 2016, legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen approached techno pioneer Jeff Mills with the idea of working together. A series of live gigs and off-the-radar studio sessions followed, with the first fruits of their joint efforts finally appearing on this must-have 10". As you'd expect, the duo's collaborative work combines Allen's traditional Nigerian polyrhythms, traditional Afrobeat instrumentation, and the far-sighted, sci-fi inspired electronic futurism that has always marked out Mills' work. The result is a quartet of cuts that could arguably be described as retro-futurist Afro-tech - all delay-laden beats, basslines and organs subtly sparring with gentle acid lines, Motor City electronics, beguiling deep space textures and shimmering, 31st century motifs. It's arguably Allen's stylistic contributions that dominate, but that's no bad thing.

Review: After many years turning out 12"s, Klasse Wrecks has decided to serve up a first-ever 10" and they give the honour to Mr. Ho. His '000 Baby' is a delightfully widescreen sound - a post-rave mix of comedown electronics, dusty breakbeats and soothing ambient pads with some smart vocal samples drifting like wispy clouds. On the flipside, we're treated to and OM Unit remix that beefs things up and speeds up the drums. The percussion too is more defined and the energy levels ramped up with deft 808 bass and searching acidic leads. A nice yin to the A-side's yang.

Review: There are no specific credits behind this drop on Dutch label Planet Rhythm, but someone has decided to take one of Nina Simone's most powerful musical moments, 'Sinnerman', and create a great big peak time techno monster out of it. The original version bristles with tension, not least thanks to Simone's dexterous piano work, and the looping quality of those keys certainly foreshadowed the cyclical nature of club music. It's not hard to see why the song inspires energy in a club setting, and on this one-track single-sided 12" you can hear Simone's creation chopped up, sampled and strapped to a thunderous kick.

Review:  There is a reason Mark Broom is still so revered in techno circles after all these years. He has a knack for sound design and crafting such powerful kicks that his tunes are always irresistible to both DJs and dancers. He offers up two more high grade weapons here for the second release on Beard Man. First is the maximal minimalism of the bendy 'Loop 132' with its glitchy hits and undulating synths, then comes the more driving and uplifting dub techno banger 'Loop 131.' The titles of these tunes make you wonder just how many of these this man has sitting on his computer ready to go.

Review: Depending on your cultural references you will know that Things Fall Apart is either the title of an album by hip-hop greats The Roots, the debut 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe or Jon Ronson's latest Radio 4 series on the culture wars. Here it is a deeply mystic techno 10" by Deadbeat. Back in July, he worked with Sa Pa on their first collaborative album on the anniversary of BLKRTZ's 50th release and what a stunner it was. Here he casts free and deep into an oceanic abyss with drum-less floating currents and drifting melodies on 'Things Fall Apart' then a more hunched and dynamic dub groove on 'Adieu Chez Cherie.'

Review: Daniel Avery's heartfelt tribute to the late, great Andrew Weatherall, the melancholic masterpiece that is 'Lone Swordsmen', was one of the standout tracks on his most recent album, the critically acclaimed Ultra Truth. Here the track returns in remixed form, with Throbbing Gristle's Chris Carter putting his spin on Avery's bittersweet, late-90s style IDM gem. Carter's version is a touch warmer and more percussively up-beat, with Avery's lilting lead lines, poignant melodies and glistening electronic motifs rising above a slipped breakbeat and moody bass. It's an excellent remix all told, and a fine example of how to rework on already excellent track to enhance its key features.

Review: Berlin-based maverick Stefan Goldmann returns after the exquisite and sonically spatial delights of his Vector Rituals album with two more upbeat tracks that nod to techno but nevertheless steadfastly refuse to follow its stricter rules. 'In Aggregate' and flip track 'Carob' both throb and surge their way to the run out groove, eschewing the usual array of drum sounds to leave the rhythmic urgency down to other elements and turning the genre's on its head. Which is, let's face it, what he does best.

Review: Element is a Kyoto-based producer who explores the experimental side of dub music. On his latest release, 'Particular Angle', he delivers two tracks that showcase his diverse influences and skills. On the title track, he blends new roots, grime and dub techno into a mesmerising soundscape that is both heavy and hypnotic. On the B-side cut 'Blurring Off Into Its Opposite' he creates an atmospheric ambient journey that draws inspiration from Gil Melle's soundtrack for The Andromeda Strain. All-in-all it is a stunning example of his original and captivating style.

Review: Jurgen Paape has a brilliantly characterful sound and wrote one of our favourite silly records in 'Ofterschwang' some 13 years ago (go check it out, it's brilliant.) We're glad to hear some new music from the long time Kompakt legend and co-founder and once again it's not what you would expect. 'Allein' is a downbeat piece with oriental melodies and gently plucked strings over warm bass. It's not for the club, that is for sure, but the flip side version 'Allein In Italien' sure is. This one is a chugging and brit Italo disco number with retro 80s synth sounds and plenty of joyous grooves.

Review: Italojohnson has clearly decided that less is more, having limited their output to one self-released 12" a year since 2013. Volume 10 in the mysterious threesome's self-titled series predictably contains more twisted, tried-and-tested material. The untitled A-side sounds like a modern update of a breakbeat-boasting Frankie Bones classic, with hectic bursts of percussion, surging sub and a classic riff taking it in turns to impress. There's more of an acid house feel to the similarly untitled flipside workout, with booming, mangled vocal snippets and sharp electronic stabs riding a thunderous groove, '80s electro hits and a classic Chicago bassline. There's little subtle about either track, but they sound like guaranteed floorfillers.

Review: The mysterious True label is up to an eighth release now and still, we know nothing about the who, why, where, and when. This one opens up with a nice playful disco-house bouncer. 'CRUE08A' is a real crowd pleaser with bendy bass and lively drums as well as plenty of characterful synths. On the flip, things get more house-y, with a grainy, dubbed out and low slung sleaze that has cute stabs, hip-swinging claps and a diva vocal sample that is a throwback to the deep house revival of a decade ago. It's the sort of tune that will always do good work in the club, though.

Review: Manuel Darquart is actually a couple of Kiwis named Louis Anderson-Rich (aka Louie From The Club) and Sean Whitaker, who nowadays live in London. They are back on local imprint Wolf Music after their debut for the label last year with this 10' featuring a couple of nice reworks of the track 'Keep It Dxy'. On the A side, we have got Italian Don Carlos' remix which takes the track into sunny balearic territory, while over on the flip you can enjoy the low-slung broken beat swing of Manny D's Sleazy Sunday mix.

Review: The Crue label comes through with two huge remixers on this lovely marled 10". On the A-side is none other than Wild Oats label boss and Detroit innovator Kyle Hall. He kicks off with a frazzled analogue synth and crisp, raw drum grooves before layering in more dreamy and warm hearted pads. Distant vocals add the detail which allow this one to roll and roll and keep you locked. Running Back boss Gerd Janson then steps up with another punchy deep house cut, this time driven by a bulbous bassline and huge, oversized claps. It's an immediately classic cut.

Review: Austrian label forTunea hits its quarter century with a tasteful 10" that comes hand numbered and is limited to just 300 copies, which are sure to fly as the grooves here are super sweet. Peletronic serves them up, starting with the busy and direct 'Sanguine' which is as bold optimistic as the title suggests. It has warm and rushing chords overlaid with vocal whoops to bring the emotion. 'Reflections' then has a more inward vibe with melancholic minor chords over a more loopy and less direct beat. It's still a house cut to make the floor take flight.

Review: We'd be hard pushed to think of any labels out there right now that are doing a better job of serving up deliciously deep and detailed dub techno than Echo LTD. For this one, the in house crew takes care of a pair of sublime new sounds that take you to the ocean floor and keep you there. 'Echo From The Outer World' opens with gently echoing chords pacing about the mix over a rolling and rubbery low end with shards of light beaming down from above as if the sun has just shone through some clouds. 'Minimalism In Dub' takes things back even further with more liquid rhythms and smooth drum rotations. So good.

Review: Global Essence Sampler is a new series from Deep Inspiration Show Records that calls upon a fine roster of international producer talent to serve up one track each and reflect on what deep house is today. For Allstarr Motomusic the answer is smooth and cruising house grooves with elastic basslines and distant vocal wails. Barce explores classic Larry Heard-style cosmic melodic territory with plenty of star-gazing potential, and Zarenzeit's 'Zahara' is another one that floats amongst the stars with lush ambient pads. Jank offers a more dusty, rhythmic house sound for cosy backroom parties, and then come the jazzy melodies and soulful bass noodling of Jan Kincl's '3300 Gratiot Ave.' Magic stuff.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


Vade Mecum welcomes Soft Traffic for a debut release here and it is one that suggests the producer has a soft spot for the warm, deep and heady end of the dubbed out techno spectrum. Those are certainly all the words you would use to describe the quiet brilliance of opener 'Find Ya' (feat Prince Morella) which is icy cool and hypnotic. On the flipside, 'Night Drive' is another sublimely soft focus and supple techno roller with infinite horizons and milky pads that dissolve your soul. A superb debut.