Tags: Experimental Techno

Review: Hot on the heels of his inaugural release in January, Braiden introduces Slewis, a new producer on his emerging Off Out label. After years of honing his craft in the studio and playing in experimental bands, London born Slewis makes his mark on his debut with two equally bold dancefloor cuts. Group V opens with an extended twisting cacophony of synthesizers before breaking down into metallic driving machine funk. On the flip, Despot delves deeper down the rabbit hole as EBM influenced sounds and syncopated claps dance around a bed of paranoia, leading to a tense breakdown populated by a flurry of spasmodic drums.

Review: Malin Genie welcomes an extensive EP treat from Lava Lap, an emergent producer with an affinity for the kind of braindance that will have fans of Jodey Kendrick beating their drum machines with approval. The acid is slippery, the structures ever-shifting and a wealth of expression spills out of every bar. There are faster drum & bass paced bits, melancholy detuned electro and much more besides. Far from just being clever music though, it's also amazingly emotional and so impeccably produced. Any electronica head should be all over this.

Review: Berlin's Cocktail d'Amore and Tokyo's Ene Records have come together once again to present the music of Solidair. The duo of Cocktail alumni Luigi Di Venere and Jules Etienne present three tracks aimed to induce a dance floor hypnosis. Orgonite (Riding the Waves) does just that, a slow build awash in the ebb and flow of acid tinges, just enough to wet your whistle on a Saturday night. The original mix keeps the skeletal support but throws in a life preserver of 8 bit gaming synthesis. Frisky arps call and respond to each other before making way for sinewy pads to lift off. Tiger's Eye sets itself onto cruising speed incorporating elements of late 90's acid techno with the sleek and smooth clubbing aesthetics of modern day Berlin.

Review: Weirdo minimal tech soul, anyone? Any takers should be directed towards this oddball release from Melchior Productions and Paul Walter. Two tracks of serious strangeness: timestretched vocals and repetitious yeahs blossom between the beat-thickets of Melchior's 'Yeah X 3', while many more percussive hits and cuts and clicks and pops and booms come courtesy of Walter's B-side, 'Xvive'. It's an impressive first foray for Maria Newyen's new imprint Scious; let's hope future 12"s stay just as weird.

Review: With such a collaboration heavy project in the "Yet Another Kito Jempere Album" announced it is no surprise that this following remixes pack comes laden with familiar friends'n'family, plus additional support.

Taking the ambient meets acappella paene Your Ghost In Me and creating one of his on-point dance floor dramas, Lipelis (Animals Dancing / LIES), utilising Hard Ton's classic 'US House' vocal delivery to create a perfect "big room" anthem.

Next up Born Free boss, Samo DJ (Public Possession / Trilogy Tapes) pumps A King Of Comets with Mood II Swing punch meets Ballistic Brothers riddim'n'culture for some hip-breaks-dancehall swing.

Cable Toy (Low Budget Family) presents the label favourite with his bouncing, yearning remix of album stand out, Time Traveller. Countered with a perfect touch of summer vibrations and melancholia this up and coming St Petersburg resident has to be watched.

Finally, Linja (Avidiya / Malka Tuti) offers a deep, shuffling version of Untitled Ritual. Arpeggios throb, percussion snaps, tempos shift, planets realign, vocals by Noteless call...wait believing, just we have seen it, God is waiting, nothing can bleeding.

Only friends. Only family. This is Kito's emotional response.

Review: You'd be hard-pushed to think of a band as synonymous with the evolution of electronic music over the last 30+ yeas as Orbital. The famous Hartnoll brothers are as iconic for their famous head torches, stage designs and live shows as they are their timeless music. Their new studio album Optical Delusion arrives in early 2023 and of course, comes with an extensive UK tour to back it up. This is the pair's 10th studio album overall and has already been teased by some useful singles. Rave, techno, trance and breaks all colour the grooves of this new long player.

Review: After a break of two long years, tech-house scene stalwart Sascha Funke has finally delivered a new EP of typically atmospheric, on-point music. It's his first outing for Running Back after years spent flitting between BPitch Control, Multi-Culti and Endless Flight. Interestingly, what's on offer is more retro-futurist in tone than much of his work, with audible nods to vintage electronic disco, early 2000s nu-disco (think Morgan Geist) and tactile '90s deep house. Our picks of a very strong bunch are rubbery, morse code-sporting nu-disco-goes-bleep house number 'QAM', moody analogue deep house treat 'SEZ', whose creepy chords and spacey sonics are undeniably alluring, and ultra-melodious, Italo-disco-influenced opener 'FEZ'.

Review: Following up releases by the likes of Mark Seven, Florist and Cygnus, Ari Goldman's Washington D.C-based World Building returns with this awesome varioust artist compilation. Neighborhood Watch Volume One features a wide selection of moods and grooves: NativeSun vs JamesBangura get stuck into some dark dubstep on 'Demon Mode' much like The Khan does later on the deeply meditative 'Part Of Me (Ode To DC), while Sami gets their swing on with the classic house of 'Marty & Jack', Juana's tunneling 'It's Low' gives you a dose of heroin house and over on the flip Max D gets deep down and dirty on 'No Snare'.

Review: Isaac Prieto is Mexico-born but Detroit based and that is presumably where he hooked up with the Motor City's assured house auteur Javonntte. The pair take a trip through scuffed-up deep house brilliance here with the chattery claps and blurting bass of spaced-out opener 'One Take' before 'Brothers In Rhythm' is a more dance-y cut with pinging kicks and detuned synths stumbling about the mix to make for a brilliant sense of mechanical funk. 'High Energy' brings edgy chord stabs over busted beats and bass and 'Lost & Found' is more kinetic analogue madness with hurried techno hi-hats, spangled pads and punchy kicks all bringing an utterly fresh type of sound.

Review: We hope you're hungry for some wiggy proto trance magic, because here comes a bang tidy remix package of Sam Goku's East Dimensional Riddims album, which landed on Dutch label Atomnation last year. The A side finds Lauer taking on 'Far Far Fantastic' and making it into a swirling, acid-speckled epic for full tilt, hands aloft, spiritually charged dancefloor awakenings. Breakthrough Chilean talent Paula Tape is busy on the B side with a glorious, melodious version of 'Earlier Forms' which pushes a tough, early 90s vibe that will get you jacking. Then Ineffekt Azalea's version of 'Fisher's Theme' takes things in a more trippy, mellow breakbeat direction without losing that necessary punch for the party people.