Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: Rick 8 is the techno alias of Italy's Riccardo Falsini, and here he revives the pioneering spirit of his iconic Interactive Test label with this early gem, which offers an essential slice of trance, techno and progressive house history. Known for reshaping genre boundaries, the label was a beacon of innovation, as this EP shows. Each track is a potent club tool, designed for transcendental dancefloor moments and sonic ascension from the chunky tribalism of 'Hypernotes Velocity' to the standout remix of 'C'Mon' by Sound Metaphors affiliate Trent, who injects progressive firepower. 'Born To Sinthetize' is a deeper, spiritual sound with flashy synth work married to loose drum loops.

Review: Psychonauts, brace yourselves... A reissue of the classic track by artist Spacetime Continuum and ethnobotanist Terrence McKenna is upon us. The six-track EP 'Alien Dreamtime' was first released on Astralwerks in 1993, and came as the first ever release by Jonah Sharp, who played an instrumental hand in pioneering the sample-use of spiritually-enhancing spoken word segments as preludes to magnanimous, ambient electronica tracks. McKenna himself is credited as a collaborator; this EP documents the moment Sharp teamed up with the entheogenic pundit, alongside fellow didgeridoo player Stephen Kent, for an hour-long spoken word rave live in the psycho-breaks capital, San Francisco. "For your edification", McKenna intones and then continues, "the psilocybin mushroom is the catalyst of human evolution and language..." as the wildest possible atmospheric forms of take shape on the highlight dance-scapes 'Transient Generator' and McKenna's glossolalic 'Speaking In Tongues'.