Tags: Dub Techno

Review: Radio Slave's Rekids welcomes a Detroit house master in Monty Luke for what is a comprehensive excursion into deep house across nine exquisite new cuts. Dub, techno and more all help colour these soundwaves and first up is the shimmering electro rhythm of '40 Acres & A Terabyte' while 'Nightdubbing' gets more zoned out and smooth as it comes alive with shimmering synths over rolling beats. Elsewhere are more grinding groves like 'Starstorms' which recalls the early work of Carl Craig and 'Avant-Garde Dance Hall' is a deft dub workout.

Review: Cotonete are a genuinely unique proposition: an eight-piece French jazz-funk outfit who performed live for a decade before recording their first single in 2016. They've delivered a couple of great albums since, including this year's brilliant Victoire De La Musique. 'O Ceu E Preto', a Brazilian flavoured number, was one of the highlights of that album and here gets reworked for house dancefloors by French veteran DJ Deep and pals. On side A, he joins forces with fellow local legend Dimitri From Paris to deliver a chunky, bass-heavy vocal version that sits somewhere between Masters At Work's more Afro-house-infuenced efforts and Deep's own late-night dancefloor hypnotism. He explores the latter side of his musical personality further, alongside Romain Parcet, on a flipside dub that exquisitely deep, trippy and delay laden. It's a genuine triumph!

Review: Civilistjavel's most recent album, 2022's Janmatter, was a predictably atmospheric and out-there affair that blended suspenseful ambient moods and melodies with occasional IDM rhythms and plenty of experimental chops. Here two giants of leftfield electronic music and experimental techno give their interpretations of the album, crafting 'remixes' based on stems from a variety of different album tracks. Dave Huismans dons his familiar A MAde Up Sound alias on side A, re-imagining Civilistjavel's work as a hybrid deep techno/dub techno/ambient techno epic - all densely layered ambient textures, deep and distant beats, and waves of effects-laden synth sounds. Ossia takes a different approach on his 'Disconnected Dub', delivering an immersive sound design experience built around creepy, effects-laden ambient chords, unsettling rumbles and echoing bleeps.

Review: Etymology is the study of the history and formation of words in language. Rarely do we find an artist, not least a somatically inclined dance music artist, concerned with such disciplines; usually that strand of things is left to us critics. Yet despite the titular allusion to said verbal science, further references to words on this release by Stekke are scant. In fact, 'Etymology' the track is as wordless as a mute, preferring a pure 120-ish BPM movement of rumbly and understated proportions, emphasising process over object. Flicky hats and unassuming chord hits predominate; we infer that it's the following remixes from Daniel Paul, Gari Romalis, Satoshi Tomiie and Losoul that are the real sonic cognates of interest here, spanning fidgeting minimal trance etymons and derivative dub lexemes. We return to a radical root on 'Downbeat', which features Audio Werner on a muted workout for hand drum and synth swell.

Review: Ilian Tape have tapped up Jichael Mackson here for a double album of expressive and forward thinking electronic sounds. The atmosphere generally futuristic and intriguing, with tracks like 'Shangri La' riding on gentle breakbeats amongst air pads, 'Banana Jazz (Quartett)' is a high speed and live sounding jazz-breakbeat workout, 'A Jichalicious Something' is dubby and IDM inflected lushness and 'Good Morning Sunshine' is an interplanetary trip with distant cosmic pads and organic piano chords soothing mind, body and soul.

Review: This compilation features music from artists who perform regularly at the Diane's Hunting Club annual gatherings. Heavily inspired by and indebted to the influence of the natural world and open spaces, this is music for motivation, movement, and meditation. Conoley Ospovat (Kimochi Sound) begins with a breezy slow-house theme, followed by some similarly slow but a much more tangled webs by sug (Hausu Mountain). Lokua contributes a melodic deep-space techno roller, Area (Kimochi Sound) offers gentle ambient rhythms, Mukqs (Hausu Mountain) produces a shimmering sunshine beat, and K-rAd closes out with an vast dub house journey. Enter the zone.

Review: For a couple of years a decade or so ago Visionquest was a DJ collective and label that ruled the world. In the time since it has sunk back to the shadows, regrouped and come back as another vital force in the underground. This EP brings together a wealth of real talents not least the one and only synth wizard Mathew Jonson who opens up with the artful sounds of 'These Tears.' Cesar Merveille's 'Decennium' then gets wonky with tightly coiled minimal drums overlaid with pensive chords. On the flipside 'Wonder Wheel' gets a little more eerie and trippy with hunting keys leading you down a late-night maze and 'Dirty Pathways' from Vinyl Speed Adjust layering up the deft synths and airy rhythms.

Review: Premade heavyweight Obscure Shape and classically trained musician Conrad team up; Berg Audio proudly welcome them as a new duo addition to their roster, together under the name Urban CC. Throwing back to real-deal minimal-ambient techno of a steezy kind, something between Maurizio, Move D and Ghost, 'Pegasus' and 'Marly' cycle through fluttering dub techno and 1-2-step garage respectively, the latter bringing an eyebrow raising combo of yearnsome garge vocal science and pulsewidth techno shots, post-drop. 'Hadban' sneaks a cheeky drum & bass bullet train onto an otherwise techno-centric platform, marking Sleepnet-style vocal etherics and sold-on-us liquid. 'Shagya' finally restricts the mix, with a dubtech-house full of beeping, filtered vocal shouts; a Strictly Rhythm-meets-Chain Reaction contraction.

Review: French artist and Recit De Voyage label owner Molly makes a move to the Stolar imprint here run by Philipp Priebe. Her On The Road Again EP is as smooth as deep hose gets, certainly on the opening title track. The classic drums are paddy and frayed around the edges, the analogue percussion soft-edged and the chords dreamy and smeared. 'Infinity Love' is no less cuddly, but a little more driven with balmy pads up top smooth the whole groove. A pad laced Lawrence remix reminds us why the Smallville man was so hyped from the off while an ambient mix soundtracks sunrise in a summer forest and a second Lawrence remix is delightfully dubby.

Review: We didn't see this coming but we're very much delighted it has: the peerless dub techno don Steve O'Sullivan with a full length of past triumphs and unreleased gems on Nina Kraviz's always adventurous Trip label is always going to be worth hearing. The Brit stretches his legs and pulls out all the stops here to cover plenty of ground while reaming true to his signature sound design excellence: bouncy, minimal but strobe-lit cuts like 'Kesk', twisted 90s techno sounds like 'Grun', barely-there IDM-adjacent sounds like 'Groente' and ice cold dub cuts like 'Botala'. A real masterclass.

Review: Athens dub techno producer Fluxion debuts their latest LP on Vibrant Music, riffing on his earliest days as a member of the trailblazing Chain Reaction crew whilst also bringing said early pioneering stirrings into the present moment. Recorded between 2023-24, this record plays back like an impression of back-roomed delirium; blackout moments in intra-club corridors, where one's sense of time is lost. Louder music may pump away in the room next door, but that's OK, because nothing comes close to this affective hotbox. Branching out from "dub techno" in its strictest sense, 'Touch' adds superluminal, vacuumed Whammy guitar to a swelling, motionless chord repeated throughout the track, and bluesy dub crackler 'Reflections' indulges mournful piano above a scape-squinting mix; 'Desiderium' is the third highlight of ours, powerfully evoking the sense of something irrevocably lost.

Review: Dana Ruh has been around some time now, and has always been a champion of seriously moody and stripped back house sounds. They are deep but never short on drive and have come on several well regarded labels. Her next outing is on Yecad Music and despite its title is not a best of. It features, across multiple parts, a suite of new and original cuts that show exactly where the artists is at right now. 'Case of the V' kicks off with heady pad work and nice prickly drums, 'Bruv' then gets a little more direct with drums that lean into the groove and 'KMA54' has a fresh broken beat sound with more carefully layered pads full of dust. 'Babel' shuts down with raw percussion to drive you into action.

Review: The second instalment of Clayton's retrospective series, this double vinyl is a remastering of unreleased and hidden gems from the American programmer-cum-producer. Featuring staples in the San Franciscan's discography such as 'Box Selection' and 'W-Shape', which sees an exclusive remix in 'W-Shape revisited'. The result is a futuristic techno-house marvel, with it's minimal (occasionally ambient) tone, the composition is analytical in its construction. Each beat feels perfectly placed as dictated by a formula, a chemical blend of glitch, techno, and ambient house. This record is a must for fans of the 90s techno scene, especially in Detroit where you can hear the influences that those artists had on these tracks.

Review: This new one from El Triangulo Records is the debut single from North Satellite's 2023 album, Past Life Half-Lived. It features several different and equally good versions including the original LP vision by the legendary Metro Area man Darshan Jesrani and alternate versions by Eugene Tambourine and Conrad McDonnell of Idjut Boys fame. The 12" is limited to 300 copies and for our money features some of the best cosmic disco and analogue drum grooves we've heard in a while. Of all the highlights, the opening Cosmic Freestyle is the one we love most.

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: Thomas P. Heckmann is back with a new outing under his Metric System moniker. His return to Kontakt brings fresh house depths with opener 'Velo-City' kicking off in urgent fashion with quickened drums and spoiling synths locking you in. 'Traveller' is a dubbed out cut with a fleshy, liquid low end filled with reverb and echoing hits that disappear off to the horizon. Last of all is 'Soul 440' (Vril remix) which ups the pace and brings sleek dub house energy and majestic cosmic synth details. All three of these are nice and cultured cuts.

Review: Stiroll's Sofia marks the Ukrainian artist's return to Greyscale Records with his first full-length album, painting a sonic portrait of a day in the life of a suburban area. The album invites listeners to experience the subtle intricacies and layered sounds of a community awakening, bustling, and finally resting as night falls. The journey begins with 'Intro - Dusk,' a brisk and atmospheric opener that evokes the early morning stillness before a city stirs to life. The full chord remnants and distant echoes set the stage for the day ahead, capturing the anticipation of the morning. 'Standbye' follows, offering a more airy and purposeful vibe, moving away from minimalism to suggest the first signs of activity, as if the world is slowly beginning to wake. 'Foundamental' continues this progression, riding along with gentle sounds punctuated by flares of static, hinting at the humidity and energy building in the air. The track flows effortlessly, mirroring the natural rhythm of a day gaining momentum. As the day matures, 'Sequence To None' introduces more serious, conflicting chords, perhaps reflecting the push and pull of daily routines and interactions. The crisp production and deep bassline ground the track, offering a sense of structure and direction. Midday arrives with 'Vidlunnia,' a sparse, downtempo piece that feels like basking in the warmth of the sun. The chords wash over the listener like rays, creating a relaxing, chill-out atmosphere with a broken rhythm that invites reflection. The pace slows with 'Interlude - Fall Moon,' where a churning, almost mechanical heartbeat drives the track forward, building tension as the day begins to wane. The ominous mood that emerges in the second half hints at the challenges that often accompany the close of a day. 'Nulle Part' shifts the mood with a more pronounced beat, offering a straightforward yet catchy rhythm that feels both harmonious and conflicted. The hypnotic quality draws you in as it moves toward a positive, yet complex resolution. 'Fall Control' then soothes with heavily processed sounds, offering a brief moment of respite before the album's closing tracks. 'Hope' stands out as the most original dub track on the album, blending strings with a lofty melody that soars before plunging into deeper, more uncertain territory. The track feels otherworldly, capturing the complexities and contradictions of hope itselfia fitting theme as the day begins to wind down. Finally, 'Outro - Dawn' signals the end of the day and the album, with ambient washes that gently alert like a clock, leaving the listener with a sense that it is time to close. Sofia is a meticulously crafted album that encapsulates the ebb and flow of daily life in a suburb, bringing together the sounds of different people and languages into a unified, sonic narrative.

Review: Lithuania's Greyscale is a prolific and high-quality label that draws another fine year to a close with a reflection on their Mood Series which has very much become part of their defining legacy. This success is thanks to "our artists, teams, pressing plants, families, friends, and most importantly, you-the listeners." they say, so well done. And here comes another fine entry to round out the year with Compiled 4 celebrating releases #61-#80 on a double CD. Once again it has been assembled by label founder grad_u, it features a wealth of grainy, dubby, warming atmospheres, rolling rhythms and wispy synths that soothe mind, body and soul.

Review: RDS's latest for Jamming Is Life captures the essence of imperfection with raw, vintage machinery. The EP opens with 'Creek,' a deep acid-driven track that teases and builds, offering a mesmerizing, hypnotic rhythm. It's an immediate dancefloor mover, full of controlled chaos and shifting tension. Next, 'Chronicles' pulls us into darker, more mysterious territory. With tech-heavy beats and a tight, swirling atmosphere, it walks the line between groove and unpredictability. The driving rhythm never quite reveals its destination, keeping things fresh and engaging. On the B-side, 'Slappy Whappy Dub' stands out with its tribal, proggy undertones. The track builds slowly, adding layers of tension with each beat. Finally, 'Synergy-Lo' rounds things off with a subtle, trancy techno cut, bringing a satisfying, smooth close to a release built on unpredictability and rhythmic mastery.

Review: We're told that inspiration for this bumper new double album of super fresh techno from the young New Palm label came in 2023 when the artists met up on the LA River armed with "a couple of generators, a Klipsch system, turntables, and a modular rig, for a day into night of music centred around various forms of dub." The results are superb, with Charles Edward opening up with the sparse, laid-back dub of 'Bogus August', Lena Deen keeping it deft with the ambient soundscapes of 'Either Ore' and Berndt's 'Solstice' exploring widescreen minimalism dub, with plenty more to love in between.

Review: Berlin-based Equilibrisme keeps up the fine early work here with a third vinyl release. It continues its tradition of delivering a masterful fusion of deep minimal techno, lush chords and dubby grooves that slowly but surely bring a dance floor under their control. A collaboration between Berlin-based Uruguayan producer Martin Teysera 'Oniric' opens up with seven sublime minutes of leggy, reverb heavy dub swing, Canadian dub techno legend Altitude, aka Matt Thibideau offers the more bright and textural 'Liquid' and Man-L goes it alone with the delicate melodic delights of 'Animal Crossing.'

Review: Albertan experimenter Dylan Khotin follows up last year's full-length with an equally impressionistic two-tracker and logical successor, 'Alterac Acid/Mornings II'. Both tracks here are curious digi-Balearic offerings, with spacious episcopies of sound cast across meandering landscapes once seemingly trawled by space invaders and/or deep-cosmos probes. A nearly aimless acid line unfurls across the A-side, locking things into a nice stasis, before a more subdued, dare say clipped stab-womp drives the action of the B-track, which hardly so much as teases its drum line, nor avails itself of a need to even use drums at all (at points) to compel the listener into a driven, awestruck state of bliss.

Review: JS Zeiter returns with another masterclass in dub techno, proving why he has remained a staple in the genre for nearly three decades. The first track, Momentum, delivers the atmospheric, deep dub techno that has long defined Zeiter's sound, with swirling textures and a hypnotic groove that pulls you into its immersive world. On the second side, Exodus takes a more melodic turn, layering emotive synths over a deep techno foundation, creating a track that feels both expansive and introspective. Closing the release is Resolve, a more reserved offering, moody and subtle in its approach. While understated, it serves as a subliminal peak, building tension without overt intensity, showcasing Zeiter's ability to create depth with minimalism. This release is yet another testament to Zeiter's skill in crafting refined, atmospheric techno that remains both timeless and forward-thinking.

Review: James Bangura steps into the ring with his new Shadow Boxing EP which is named in honour of his grandfather, Carroll Daniel Smith, who boxed for the US Army in WWII. It's a punchy take on tech house from the off, with 'Hazy Recall (Airdrop mix)''s off-grid beats swinging in from all directions with same the potency as a Mike Tyson uppercut. 'Drown It Out' has a garage swing to it as it slips and sides as fluidly as Mayweather's defence and 'Shadow Boxing' floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Last of all is 'Analyze, Socialize' which will have you on the ropes and sweating in no time.

Review: The Valley and the Mountain aka TVTM aka Josh Dahlberg makes a bold return with 'A Number of Northwests', an EP which tells the tale of an artist in transition. Quite literally, that is, as he moved from Detroit's westside to the very far edges of the Pacific Northwest. Musical this is a stylistically diverse offering with four cuts starting with the mid-tempo smooth grooves of 'Bretton Drive' and glistening synths and pads of the cosmically minded 'Grand River Slide'. The chugging 'Ramps to Nowhere' is a dubbed out afters classic and then the one and only dusty deep house don DJ Aakmael remixes it into another cuddly classic.

Review: The second Soulful Dubs outing is full of a load more of just that. It's a various artists affair with Tm Shuffle, Monoder & Tapani Rinne hooking up for the opener which comes dubbed out by Tm Shuffle. It is gorgeously evocative and subtle with organic, wooden hits and synths floating up top while steamy sax adds the romance. The original is a minimal and slow-motion dub cut that rides a nice broken beat. Aleksi Myllykoski steps up on flip for 'Slowburn' (feat Tapani Rinne) which is more paced but no less deep. Last of all comes the Tm Shuffle Distant dub for more heady and zoned-out vibes.

Review: User.Exp's first release on Greyscale Recordings provides a thoughtful sonic exploration, made up of field recordings, contact and hydrophone mic sessions and shortwave transmissions (either generated from scratch or really recorded). Artist and label are met with serendipity and ease here; though many releases have hit the Greyscale stocks - all working well within their trademark sonic and visual monochrome - User.Exp's latest is an especially congruent record, bringing crackly burrs and earthen movements to an album that feels large in scope and difficult to pigeonhole, yet intuitively felt. As if to describe a set of 12 different microbiomes - all besieged by a black-and-white, ecosystemic blight - the likes of 'Pollution', 'Erosion' and 'Wind' provide indications enough as to the set of ideas going in here. A deeply calming release, full of textural intricacies and yet not without a creeping sense of unbalance too.

Review: Curious, various-artistic lo-fi techno from the OCFD crew, celebrating the label's tenth release in total. Striving to showcase timeless music that they feel to be appreciable as much now as in the future, here they focus on the sweats of producer Nikol, and his new duo collaboration with Vrsion for the alias known as Body Copy. Emergent from the fecund grounds of Leeds and bringing an OG's ear to the mix - both artists have been at it since at least the early 2000s - the likes of 'Pictures', 'Context' and 'The Approach' bring a subtle but motivating force to the dance.

Review: As well as a nice yellow pressing of this new EP from veteran producer Matt Thibideau, Kontakt is serving it up on good old-fashioned black wax. He has over 30 years of experience and his latest dub techno outing, Subduction & Shadows, is up there with the best of them. The first side features 'Subduction,' a vibrant track with uptempo dub techno beats perfect for the dancefloor while 'Glow' on the flip enchants with Detroit-inspired '90s chords and refined production enhanced by epic strings for a hypnotic touch. The EP closes with 'Shadow,' a deep, driving dub techno piece that wraps up with a smooth melody that means this artist continues to impress with his innovative sound.

Review: Shout out to French label Irenic for making it to double figures in fantastic fashion here with a new EP from Moor. His take on tech house and minimal is a dubbed-out one with 'Vago' (Parallel 9 remix) opening on undulating basslines and smooth and supple synths that soon hypnotise. The original version of the same tune is more weighty as the synths get smeared and skewed up above. Last of all is the highlight of the EP - 'Body 2 Body', a lithe and elegant house cut with dubbed-out drums and radiant synths that echo Detroit soul with subtle vocals also bleeding into the mix.

Review: Nae's four tracks don't necessarily conjure the chilly setting of an ice palace. Then again, we're never really been to an ice palace, so can't speak about what one would sound like translated into dance floor electronic music. What we can say, though, is this EP springs into bouncy, futurist-leaning minimal-style tech from the off and doesn't really look back. Some moments - 'Move', for example - are chuggier than others, while 'Seventy Springs' represents the deeper side of the package. Which is saying something, considering the whole thing feels rooted in the undergrowth of house-techno. Polished productions throughout, these are neither fillers nor bangers, and as such represent those difficult-to-locate tracks that keep mixes moving, ears attentive, and feet in motion. Simply put, it's Persona UK with another reason to invest.

Review: Fledgling French label Parodia looks across to Sweden for Malmo-based producer Sacred Grove's Through the Mire EP. The artist's alias is drawn from an important feature of mythical landscapes and the music is just as mystic. 'Dusk' begins with cavernous house depths and smeared cosmic chord work while 'Dawn' picks up the pace to offer some muted piano house euphoria that is cool as a cucumber. 'Neusea' (Delay mix) flips it again with a hyper-speed and ice-cold deep space techno then the final varied offering is 'Loverz', a melton twisting cut of high-speed loops, celestial chords and dreamy atmospheres.

Review: Aad de Mooy is better known as Paradise 3001 and has been releasing his fulsome take on techno since the mid 90s. Blue Highway is an EP from back then, 1994 to be exact, and it has aged faultlessly because these tracks will slot into any modern set without a problem, and likely be some of the best in it, in fact. It kicks off with the warped synth and bass entanglements of 'Mind & Motion' before the more gloopy and cosmic bass of 'Ludomil 75'. It's a masterful bit of future music that's followed by the vibrant Jaydee-like 'Blue Highways' and dreamier scapes of 'The Gates Of Dawn' and progressive cosmic funk of 'Mellow Moebe.'

Review: Swiss label Introspection Audio Limited hist 12" number five with some exceptional techno workouts from producers based in Switzerland, Finland and Japan. Each track delivers a distinct atmosphere and emotion, perfectly crafted for the dance floor. Alessandro Crimi's 'Always' keeps it deep, dubby and minimalist, Needless layers up delightfully smooth drums and dub chords and a Tm Shuffle Myotatuuli dub remix is frosted with icy static and chilly winds. Celestial Sphere Aka Hirotaka shuts down with a more textured and snappy dub tech vibe.

Review: Cabinet is a highly cultured label for those who appreciate classy tech and house. Burden is next up with a special limited edition eco-vinyl pressing. On the A-side is 'Time 2 Play' the nice an airy, smooth and frictionless 'Time 2 Play' which is expertly designed, full of atmosphere and deft melodic hooks. 'Music Makers' brings a different kind of vibe with more wooden percussive details, a sultry spoken word weaving in and out and more minimal tech drums all serving to move mind, body and soul.

Review: Anthony Georges Patrice's Ausblick label has trod a fine path over the course of its first five releases and the good work continues on its sixth outing which is a new various artists affair. It is Berlin based Ephem who kicks off with 'Dizzy' and all its bumpy beast and raw perc, then Koln's Hidden Sequence follows with 'Optical Drive' that is more stripped back and powered by warming sub bass. Anthony Georges Patrice himself then completes the hat trick with 'Easy To Love' (Tunnel Vision Mix) which over ten sublime minutes brings some more airy, double doit flavoured and has already been getting plays from Mosaic boss Steve O'Sullivan.

Review: Deep Site Vinylised's seventh release comes from veteran German duo Tojami Sessions, a collaboration between Michel Niepenberg, Tom Bucher and Jacek Darnowski. 'Falling' is the same kind of proper late night mood music that you've heard the trio put out previously, on respected imprints like Dessous and Plastic City and comes with some equally impressive remixes. Manuel's sensual rework stays true to the original, while Kessidis' moody dub techno influenced perspective makes for something altogether different. Over on the flip, the sexy 'What Is Love' keeps it deep, just as you like it, plus remixes from Deep Spelle and Funtom.