Tags: Experimental Techno

Review: Having devoted volumes three and four of the ongoing 'Heavenly Remixes' series to reworks by the late, great Andrew Weatherall, this double-disc follow-up offers a more eclectic selection of reworks drawn four almost four decades of Heavenly Recordings releases. As with its predecessors, it's a fantastic collection packed to the rafters with highlights, from the shuffling synth pop-goes-dubby nu-disco flex of Ewan Pearson's dub of Out Cold's 'All I Want' and the squelchy, acid-fired indie-dance excitement of Confidence Man's rework of The Parrots' 'Let's Go To Bed', to the psychedelic big beat brilliance of the Chemical Brothers 1996 take on St Etienne's 'Like a Motorway', the 80s new wave-goes-industrial funk excellence of Trevor Jackson remixing Raf Rundell, and the creepy late night techno hypnotism of Daniel Avery's inspired revision of David Holmes.

Review: The rather legendary Heavenly label is always hard to pin down. It has put out a dizzying array of music that pretty much redefines what the word eclectic can mean. Right now they are in the midst of releasing a series of collections of remixes. Once again this one is an eye-opening and ear-popping journey through sound as a well-curated mix of artists bring their own perspectives and reframe the original tunes. They take them into new worlds and in between genres that are all best heard at night, in some well-loved space with the lights down low.

Review: Heavenly Recordings has always been a place where anything goes. From genuinely brave folk to dazzling disco, lush broken beat and jazz to alternative indie, the label has done it all. This fifth collection of remixes of label material focuses more on club sounds. It features a clued-up list of producers from the veterans like Ewan Pearson who adds his own unique spin to Out Cold's 'All I Want' via new school techno and noise specialist Daniel Avery and his take on David Holmes's 'Hope Is The Last Thing To Die.' Thrilling stuff, for sure.

Review: Hilarity ensues with Miles J Paralysis and his new 'Folktronic' EP. Brought to the Leeds-based label Crying Outcast, this is an authentic crock of real dancefloor experimentations by the debuting artist, furthering our sense that this West Yorkshire city's contribution to dance music history an indelible one. Here, one can really hear the admixture of humour and attention to detail gone in, with dark-comedic label name matching tongue-in-cheek-microgenre-used-in-title, which mocks the Four Tet populariser style. We were surprised to hear, then, a relative lack of dulcet arp twinkles set to tricky fidget-tech house here, as is the "folktronic" sensibility. Instead, 'Still Waiting' and its corresponding Brian Not Brian and Piers Harrison dub bring a much headsier, erudite, lettered sound, with trippy didgeridoo design marking the opener and wonkier speed-plods following on the remix. 'Eavesdropper' plays on the Leodian favourite that is chug music, with reverso-yearny pads alternating away in the back, while 'Always Liked Scarecrows' makes titular use of the kind of offhand, fieldside observation many daydreamers like us often use: uncanny mock 303s, dubbing martial arts.