Review: Back in 2008, noted experimentalist Alva Noto began a sporadic series of albums that were far more focused on dancefloor-inspired rhythms than his usual eccentric and inspiring fare. Unieqav is the third and, we're told, final part of the series. The album is apparently meant to be a sonic representation of an underwater dive, a conceptual theme which manifests itself through the storied producer's use of deep and atmospheric chords, fluid and occasionally glistening electronics, and rhythms that evoke images of ever-deeper dives into the dark, cold depths. Rhytmically, there are nods to electro, IDM, dub techno and Autechre, though the mood remains laidback and intoxicated throughout.
Review: Michel Amato aka Amato is a French producer more widely known as The Hacker. Alongside Miss Kittin, Amato has been a cornerstone of the European house, techno, and electro scene, dropping singles and album like bombs. Having contributed to a previous split 12" on Cititrax, Amato returns to Minimal Wave's sister label with a wondrous homage to industrial, EBM and electro in Le Desordre De La Nuit. The difference between The Hacker and Amato? The sounds of The Hacker are more constrained than this particular whirlpool of pseudo electro and gargling quasi techno. Whatever you want to call it, these four slammers are all made for the dark room dance, each one nastier than the other and all of them audibly produced by an artist with plenty of experience and effectiveness know-how.
Review: Black Truffle is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Oren Ambarchi's Quixotism with a special reissue, originally released on Editions Mego in 2014. This remastered edition, with enhancements by Joe Talia, brings back Ambarchi's ambitious workia summation of his past explorations and a precursor to future innovations. Quixotism presents a single, LP-length composition divided into five parts, anchored by Thomas Brinkmann's pulsating electronic rhythms. The album starts with delicate orchestral and piano textures, gradually evolving into a vibrant polyrhythmic shuffle featuring tabla player U-zhaan. Ambarchi's guitar traverses a wide array of acoustic spaces, from crisp, clipped tones to deep, reverberant expanses. The piece's slow, dream-like transitions and the intricate interplay of its elements reflect both a culmination of Ambarchi's previous work and a hint of his future directions. A fresh opportunity to rediscover the charm of Quixotism.
Review: Black Truffle's tenth-anniversary reissue of Oren Ambarchi's Quixotism brings renewed attention to this monumental 2014 release. Originally recorded with collaborators across Europe, Japan, Australia, and the U.S., Quixotism unfolds as a single, long-form piece split into five sections. Anchored by Thomas Brinkmann's steady, double-time electronic percussion, the piece gradually evolves from orchestral depth and subtle piano motifs (courtesy of John Tilbury) to a striking polyrhythmic shuffle, culminating in the final passages with U-zhaan's masterful tabla. Throughout its journey, Ambarchi weaves guitar textures that shift from clipped, sparse tones to lush, reverberated layers, creating an expansive yet cohesive sonic landscape. The interplay of acoustic and electronic elementsiranging from the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra's grandeur to Crys Cole's intimate contact-mic texturesiguides the listener through an otherworldly audio experience. Influenced by Cologne techno, Eliane Radigue's long-form compositions, and the fluidity of improvisation, Quixotism shifts in subtle, dreamlike transitions. Remastered by Joe Talia, this edition offers a clearer perspective on the album's intricate sound design, reaffirming its relevance while pointing forward to Ambarchi's future works like Hubris and Hence.
Review: Repeat continue their exploration of Mark Ambrose's imperious tech house legacy with another double pack that will delight diggers and dismay sharks in equal measure. 'Harmony (Sun Mix)' is a truly dreamy cut that will go down a treat as we head towards sunnier dancefloor moments across the Northern Hemisphere. 'My Soul Your Soul' has a deadly broken beat edge to the drum programming, while 'Destiny Angel' creates a starry-eyed disco-house fusion that has to be heard to be believed. The quality and ingenuity spilling out of every one of these tracks is a marvel, and as a collection this release helps cement Ambrose's position as one of the finest artists to emerge from the mid 90s UK scene.
Review: This superb new record from AnD embarks on a conceptual journey inspired by the fusion of granular synthesis, innovative sound design, and rhythmic explorationd within polyphony. It delves into the cosmic phenomenon of star collisions as the artists leverage their background in engineering and explore mathematical intricacies surrounding the timing and impact of stellar collisions. Through a sonic landscape echoing the vastness of space, this record incorporates elements of white noise, fragmented breaks and minimalist synth arrangements that are said to mirror the mental experiences of the listener.
ODESZA - "This Version Of You" (feat Julianna Barwick - Joseph Ray extended remix) (6:31)
Parra For Cuva - "Mimose" (3:47)
Agents Of Time - "Zodiac" (7:10)
Gorgin - "Heartbeater" (4:58)
Tao Andra - "Dream On" (6:42)
ANNA & Rebuke - "Ignite" (5:42)
Binaryh - "Daemon" (6:17)
Paul Roux - "Baby Baby" (3:45)
Review: Global Underground present the next release from the nextmost DJ to grace their City Series. ANNA's dynamic sound encompasses multiple styles and genres, from ambient through house to techno, and encapsulates the effortless chic and vibrant nightlife of one of the coolest cities in Europe - Lisbon. This modish Portuguese metropolis has always enjoyed a certain notoriety, but this has perhaps not been felt so intently more than in the last five years or so. ANNA now fleshes out Lisbon's essence, capturing its descending narrow streets, castellated jetties and glorious sunsets with a progressive house, trance and techno mix that satisfies all possible ends of a newfangled tourist's dream.
Review: Howard Dodd (Tongue, Anoesis, Oxidation, Doc Bozique) takes control on the third Anoesis release on Cosmic Soup. Supercade is one that's been long anticipated by fans of their well designed breakbeat sounds and their first since 1995's Blood & Sweat on D*Fusion. As such there is a hint of 90s post rave magic to the 11 cuts here, all with cosmic intent and deep grooves - tunes that have you lost in a reverie on the heart of the dance floor but with your gaze turned skyward. Essential stuff.
Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.
Review: Some 25 years after delivering his debut 12", Richard D James hasn't lost the ability to thrill or inspire. By his obtuse standards, the material that makes up the surprise Cheetah EP is actually rather laidback and melodious. "Cheetah2 (LD Spectrum)", for example, sounds like a slow house jam written by robots, while the even deeper "Cheetah7B" shuffles along in a metronomic fashion, seemingly oblivious to the increasingly aggressive World at large. Of course, those trademark skittish IDM rhythms are present and the Cornishman has thrown in a couple of hazy ambient cuts for good measure.
Review: Faithfully jammy acid techno from the idiomatic Acid Cuts, a new Grecian outing helmed up by an as yet unnamed head honcho. 'Der Compositeur Classique' is the first LP on the label and comes by way of producer Apoll, real name Andre Pollmann, a longtime fixture of the German industrial landscape come soundscape (he grew up in the Ruhr area), whose movements through the 80s industrial and EBM circuits through to minimal techno has made for a well-seasoned though not unbalanced purveyor of sound. An eight-tracker of knockingly brutal acid pingers, this is a motherboard's worth of complication and fidget here, best among them being the deep house-techno trembler 'Top Of The Block' and the utilitarian, preferential hip house verger 'Coffee, But No Cookies'.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Signals
Shadowspace
No Closer Than The Moon
Landfall
Zonal Prospect
Air Foundry
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The Frequency Domain label has been quietly issuing some of the most compelling electronica of recent times, with a staggering cast of characters including Anthony Child, Bass Clef, Luke Sanger and more delivering more introspective, experimental material over the past couple of years. Now it's the turn of Apologist, a lesser-known project from Brendan Nelson which manifested in one 7" back in 2006. If you appreciate dreamy, slightly dubby electronics which move through different moods and scenes without getting you up off the sofa, this is the perfect trip. Many layered, richly rendered and full of grit and personality, it's the kind of record you'll discover new secrets in every time you visit.
3500 Miles Away From Detroit (The Beginning) (7:36)
Dark Moonlight (6:29)
In A Circle (6:30)
Brighter Swallow (Westgate mix) (6:41)
That Bond (You Are Not Alone) (7:01)
D Mecca (6:03)
Unborn Life (7:43)
The End (3:59)
Review: Acquit Records are setting out on an ambitious one, presenting their latest foray into vinyl releasing with this incredible new LP from Arbilla. Both label and artist move incredibly low-key, but unearthing the info was worth it. Arbilla aka. Phil Robertson and his own adjacent imprint, Xistence Records, follows up prior greats such as the 'Movement' EP with this full-length, which takes after Detroit techno and catapults it to ever further cosmic reaches. Zooming out to the macro-point of galaxy filaments and Bootes Voids, we begin with the brukky opus '3500 Miles Away From Detroit' before seguing into the percussive workouts of 'Brighter Swallow' and 'Mecca'. A real sense of expanse is given off from the otherwise raw and up-close analogue sound; the cosmos is, of course, airtight.
Review: Multi Culti presents a captivating full-length release from Peruvian artist Aristidez, cofounder of Lima's Casa Locasa and the nonprofit label Behua Icara, which supports indigenous culture. Now based in Berlin, Aristidez has been steadily building his reputation with releases on labels like Calypso, Disque-Discos, and Kebrada, as well as notable remixes for Amplio Espectro and Playground Records. His music, praised by Matias Aguayo and the late Andrew Weatherall, stands out for its deep rhythmic sensibility and subtle nods to indigenous influences, all while avoiding cliches. This album showcases Aristidez's ability to blend a wide array of electronic influences into a cohesive, hypnotic experience. Across its seven tracks, listeners are treated to a sonic journey that spans breakbeat-driven 90s rave, 80s proto-trance, cult dub, and downtempo grooves. Tracks like 'Gastonia Dub' and 'Make Flutes With My Bones' reveal a mastery of rhythm and atmosphere, creating an immersive, kaleidoscopic soundscape that is both danceable and introspective. This collection is a testament to Aristidez's skill in crafting timeless electronic music that resonates with both the dancefloor and the discerning listener.
Review: Tristan Arp's second album on Facta and K-Lone's Wisdom Teeth is a multidimensional exploration of sound blending pin-drop rhythms, ethereal vocals and swirling ambience. The writing started in Mexico City and was completed in New York and through the tracks, Arp fuses modular synths, cello, found sounds and spoken word to craft a rich world where nature and technology converge. Inspired by the idea of machines collaborating with nature, the album's hopeful tone envisions a future of rewilding and new possibilities across tracks that were performed live and improvised throughout. Many standout moments include the 10-minute 'Life After Humans' which ogres a beautiful escape.
Review: Tristan Arp returns to Wisdom Teeth with his second album, 'a pool, a portal', blending modular synths, cello, found sounds, and spoken word. The LP, crafted between Mexico City and New York, continues where his debut 'Sculpturegardening' left off, creating an ambient soundscape where nature and machines co-exist. Featuring a collaboration with Guatemalan cellist Mabe Fratti, this record is a journey into a future where humanity and technology evolve together. The artwork, like the music, blurs the line between the natural and the digital.
Review: Arutani's third album Who We Used To Be is a meditation on times passed and alternate lives lost, filtered through the decorative lenses of deep, minimal, tech and dub. As if to paint a character portrait of the artist himself, this is a measured, calm, light, mindful and modest album, replete with bulging concave chord undulations and synaptic percussive snaps for balance. Everything from electro's usual dotted rhythmic pattern to progressive house's woodblocky felicities are checked off here, plus the glissando'ing lead on 'In Case You Wondered What I've Been Doing' is a special highlight.
Review: De:tuned house As One on their latest album-length demonstration in melodic house and techno. With over 30 years of studio experience under his belt, the pivotal British producer also known as Kirk Degiorgio once again lands on De:tuned with the mesmerising eight-track album, Requiem. Now joined by Catherine Siofra Prendergast, this progressive melodic release spans every wondrous end from elegiac acid to fractal bleep techno, keeping every waking or sleep-dancing moment harmonic and blissful over its course. Only the cavernous 'Message Received' marks any comparatively sinister moment, its textural harmonics offering little respite for the purely diatonic ear.
Review: In a Catholic or other ecclesiastical context, a requiem is a song written and recited as an intended repose for the dead; a lyrical aid for mourning. And with over 30 years of studio experience under his belt, British techno producer Kirk Degiorgio lands on De:tuned with his very own 'Requiem', an eight-track excursion through ambi-mesmeric audio in the vein of digital, calculative ambient techno and other adjacent dance styles; though we are indeed left to wonder whether we're mourning anything here, because by the sounds of it, nothing at all has died. A longtime alias of Degiorgio, As One is nonetheless joined by fellow songwriter and producer Catherine Siofra Prendergast for this particular trip through the cyberspace sublime; best among these acid ambient apotheoses have to be 'Message Received', which slings low compared to the gaseous highs that precede it, and the closing 'Requiem', a masterclass in nimbus-floating techno.
Review: Space jungle master ASC returns with 'Hiding In Plain Sight', except this one is certainly not part of his usual repertoire. Rather than being drum n' bass, the producer focuses entirely on atmosphere and unusual rhythmic ambientscapes, leaning into electro when beats do pick up. Largely, though, this is a project that encourages sublime awe at the cosmos through huge synthwork, rather than drawing attention to its beats - a common trope for ASC. Favourites of ours include 'Orbiting Neptune' and 'Galaxies', both of which prove ASC has much more up his sleeve than most of his EP bits might reveal.
Review: Italian-born/Berlin-based DJ & Producer Pasquale Ascion delivers his second LP since 2016, comprised of largely 303 centered sounds. Acidtraum is a journey into the dark side of the genre, with a dozen tracks that combine lysergic synths, heavy drums and haunting ambience. Further showcasing the Neapolitan producer's wide sonic repertoire, there are moments of bass-heavy electro as heard on 'It Began With That Sound', throwbacks to early hardcore rave sounds explored on 'Needless' (Troller Coaster Kaos mix) and wild Italo reinterpretations ('Tribute To Bad Passion') in addition to many straight ahead techno bangers.
Review: DDS has tapped up the mysterious and enigmatic Japanese dub techno stylist Shinichi Atobe for another album. Discipline is his seventh for the label and each of those has been as faultless as the next - happily, this keeps up that impeccable run which started with a debut on the Chain Reaction label in 2001. The eight cuts on the record offer up delay-laden steppers, swaggering 909 rhythms, plenty of evocative pads and subtle backlit synths that bring a future feel to the soulful, authentic grooves.
Tales Of The Unknown (unreleased Chill mix) (10:04)
Review: In the mid-90s, Audio Science released two CD-only albums, Aural X-Perience and Hypnotic, both of which gained critical acclaim and have since achieved cult status. This new double album on the Rezpektiva label brings together standout tracks from those revered recordings. It begins with the slow motion and psyched-out prog of 'Tales Of The Unknown' and takes in highlights like the slick house punch of 'Strings In The Night' as well as an unreleased Chill mix of 'Tales Of The Unknown' which brings new cosmic energy to the lush original. A great reminder of one of the 90s' finest innovators.
Jeremy Kyle's Righteous Indignation Silences Us All
A Public Service Announcement
I Seen You Through A Crowd (She's So Cool)
Evening Coming Down, On A Hill Above The Town
Cheers Curtis! (Thx mix)
Talking At Right Angles
Jolly Dillon (Happy Autumn Drinking With Friends)
Review: Ireland's Automatic Tasty (AKA Wicklow-based producer Jonny Dillon) seems to be getting better with age. Having skirted round the edges of analogue techno, deep house and electro since 2008, he really came of age with a pair of inspired singles on Lunar Disko back in 2012. Here, he delivers his fifth full-length, a delightfully fuzzy saunter through good old-fashioned electronica, 8-bit electro, melody-driven analogue iciness and low-key alien funk. There's naturally much to admire, from the Mr Fingers-goes-acid deepness of "Cheers Curtis! (Thx Mix)" and vibrant ZX Spectrum-house feel of "Talking At Right Angles", to the rush-inducing bliss and delightful vintage synthesizers of "I Seen You Through a Crowd (She's So Cool)".
Big Bag Of Imaginary Cans With The Imaginary Lads (4:21)
Starry Night (4:40)
Ringfort (4:24)
Raymond Tuesday's Big Day Out (5:15)
Walking Down Your Street (5:15)
Love's The Only Thing Gonna Make It Out Of This World Alive (5:00)
Review: Jonny Dillon is Automatic Tasty and One Foot in the Rave is his debut album on Winthorpe Records. An influential name in acid-driven electronic music, Jonny has spent over 15 years with labels like Acid Waxa, Further Electronix and CPU and knocks it out of the park once more with this new eight-track LP. It's immediately recognisable as his work thanks to its sonic blueprints, melodic acid grooves, bleepy funk and warm analogue textures. Tracks like 'The Apocalypse is Now' and 'Raymond Tuesday's Big Day Out' bring upfront energy, while 'Starry Night' and 'Ringfort' infuse subtle psychedelia to make this a captivating braindance workout.
Review: Back in 2002, the Detroit Electronic Musical Festival concluded with something rather special: a rare live performance from the Aux Men - an expanded and upgraded version of legendary Motor City electro outfit Aux88. This must-have CD presents that performance, complete with the original introduction from Eddie Fowlkes and DJ Bone, from start to finish. Full of spacey synth sounds, heavy beats, weighty bass, it's effectively a whirlwind trip through the history of both electro and Detroit's contribution to electronic music history. Thus, we get killer versions of 'Planet Rock', 'Shari-Vari', YMO's 'Computer Games', tons of Kraftwerk classics, a breathtaking interpretation of Art of Noise's 'Moments in Love' and rip-roaring takes on foundational tunes by Cybotron and Funkadelic..
Review: While Daniel Avery's earlier LPs were deemed by the artist to be dissociative exercises - either working in dance or ambient escapism - his new album 'Ultra Truth' faces up fearlessly to life. Through mega washed out and blurred breaks and, it's the sonic expression of Avery "staring into the fire" of life, however dreamy and indistinct the experience of it may be, and living mindfully, completely in the body he finds himself housed in and controlling. Of course, dance music is embodied music, so we're more than blown away by this representation; Avery pulls it off by going in a direction we've not heard him move in before.
Review: Floppy haired indie techno wizard Daniel Avery has become one of the genre's most notable craftsmen. He has done fine projects with Nine Inch Nails's synth player Alessandro Cortini already recently but now is back with a superb new solo album for his home label Phantasy Sound. The 11-track work is composed entirely of piece he made for his London show Together in Static. It The socially distanced show took place at the recently restored Hackney Church which no doubt influenced the gothic sounds and shadowy drones that define the album.
Review: In recent times Daniel Avery has been busy collaborating with the likes of Alessandro Cortini and Roman Flugel (the latter as Noun), so few expected him to drop a new solo album in 2020. Yet Love & Light, his surprise third full-length, could well be his most sonically stunning set to date. Beginning with the gaseous ambient opaqueness of 'London Island', the set sees him blaze a trail through 1990s style Sabres of Paradise/Sabresonic techno, hazy dub techno, beatless soundscapes and intense drone tones, before switching focus to deep, gentle and melodious mutations of breakbeat, IDM and electronica.
Review: Phantasy Sound's main man Daniel Avery has linked up with modular wizard Alessandro Cortini for a debut full length, "Illusion Of Time". It came together over many years, with no real concept or constraints but it has still managed to make a powerful impact despite its spare, lo-fi, ambient vibes. There are heavier, darker tracks like "Inside The Ruins" that are brilliantly bleak, but also thoughtful meditations like the title track, which has some magical piano playing at its core. It's the rays of light amongst the darkness that make this such a beguiling and beautiful listen, and a perfect soundtrack to long lost days at home during lockdown.
Review: LILA mainstay Ayaavaaki and ambient veteran Purl speak different languages but used a translator to convey ideas to one another as they made this record. And they very much foment their own unique musical language on Ancient Skies, an album that blends ambient, drone and space music into richly layered soundscapes that are constantly on the move. Each piece is meticulously crafted and suspense you up amongst the clouds, hazing on at the smeared pads and swirling solar winds that prop you up. It's a record that would work as well in the depths of winter as a bright spring day such is the cathartic effect of the sounds. Beautiful, thought-provoking and innovative, this is as good an ambient record as we have heard all year.
Mike Parker - "Shakuhachi Two" (Hardspace mix) (4:50)
Review: Released on lovely transparent blue vinyl, the fourth volume of Figure's Hardspace series offers six fresh reinterpretations of Len Faki's favourite tracks under his staunchly underground Hardspace alias. Josh Wink's 'Sixth Sense' gets a powerful low-end rework while Aoki Takamasa's minimalist dub transforms into a high-energy and peak-time slammer. DJ Yoav B's iconic 'Energize' reaches new rave heights with its relentless groove and Huxley's dark take on 'Weapon 3' comes on with explosive force. Tuttle's 'Function' ups the intensity with Faki's signature claps and sirens while Mike Parker's '90s classic 'Shakuhachi Two' gains extra drive with Hardspace's propulsive percussion for a dynamic techno workout.
Friday Afternoons, Op. 7: A New Year Carol (part 2) (3:00)
Challengers: Match Point (3:21)
Compress/Repress (2:25)
Review: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, known for their remarkable work with Nine Inch Nails and film scores like The Social Network, deliver a techno-charged soundtrack for Luca Guadagnino's tennis-themed love triangle drama Challengers. The score is a pulsating mix of electroclash, synth-pop, and driving techno, expertly weaving traditional instruments with electronic beats. Reznor and Ross take Guadagnino's vision to heart, crafting a soundtrack that not only drives the narrative but also challenges expectations with its bold, rhythmic energy. Tracks like 'Compress/Repress', co-written with Guadagnino and featuring Reznor's vocals, showcase their ability to blend artistic expression with the film's themes of control and power. Overall, this is a excellent soundtrack that works well to support the visual or just listening to it without having seen the movie.
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