Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: FOXBAM INC is back to build on the momentum of their first EP with a second one that packs a mighty punch. This one kicks off with EBY, who this year has been cooking up acid for 40 years and here offers the warped low ends and garage-techno power of 'Goldtooth'. Foxtrot vs Ma Bla then mashes up old school samples with earth-shattering bass on 'Deep Down Inside' and bRz vs Stije is a double-time hard techno stomper with warped synths and twisted bass that is inspired by and named after ISCO, a concept from Einstein's general theory of relativity that makes predictions about the dynamics of black holes.

Review: 'Toro' is a modern classic post-punk track by Spanish band El Columpio Asesino, formed in 1999. Thoroughly difficult to classify or put into any neat box, their sound is characterised by synthesised elements and sinister rhythmic singing, with cryptic lyrics heard throughout. Here techno titan I Hate Models lends 'Toro' a surprise sped-up remix of a remix, remixing the ultra-dry retro-nostalgist version by Andre VII. Whereas Andre's is a drier take on the track - setting its dark-wavey lyrics against serious buzzing saws and scary sixteenth-note stabs in true synthpunk fashion - I Hate Models' version expounds on this further, fleshing out hardcore rollicks and luxury woops for a sublime, floor-frightening ultimatum in sound.

Review: Andreas Gehm of Cologne returns with more lo-fi and nasty acid techno for brilliant Dutch imprint Panzerkreuz and it's everything that you'd expect from this eccentric fellow. They're all sure to please in their rusty and hissing glory but it's probably "Track 3" which is out favourite where Gehm proclaims through a helium induced voice "Im a freak, you're a freak.. we're all freaks!" and if you're still reading this, he's most probably right. Highly recommended!

Review: Big up to the Equalized label for making it to #010 without ever putting a foot wrong. The label's eponymous production outfit takes care of this move into double figures with another direct to dance floor and hand-stamped 12" with two forceful bangers. 'Track 1' brings the heat with cantering drums and lashing percussion all run through with caustic synth textures. 'Track 2' is another high octane and chunky techno rocker with pent up energy and subtle hints of warehouse funk.

Review: As the title suggests, Some Other Place Volume 2 is the second installment of a triptych of releases from The Exaltics for The Clone West Coast series. As with previous music from the Solar One boss, the four tracks here see The Exaltics look to both American and Dutch schools of electro but the results are nonetheless distinguished by his own unique signifiers. The title track sets the tone nicely as waves of sumptuous blurred noise ride a supple skeletal rhythm, whilst "Waves Of Fear" lives up to it's paranoid title with a marauding low end bass line the dominating element on a classic slab of darkside electro. "The Way Out" is perhaps the most conventional track here, with Witschakowski laying down an atmospheric but club ready 808 workout which is still a cut above thanks to the German's arrangement skills. Which leaves room for the slower, weirder and mushy excellence of "Different Ways".

Review: The 110th release from Kompakt Extra comes from Extrawelt, a long-serving electronic band from Hamburg that has previously impressed via albums and singles on Traum Schallplatten, Border Community, Darkroom Dubs and Cocoon Recordings. They naturally hit the ground running with "Pink Panzer", a bustling affair that mixes live drum breakbeats and tough machine percussion with moody, booming bass, creepy strings and evocative, ever-building tech-house electronics. Flipside "Argonaut" is an altogether sleazier and heavier affair full of thrusting, non-stop distorted bass, redlined post-electro drums and all manner of mind-mangling electronic effects. It's effectively the Yang to the A-side's Ying and, like its' predecessor, very good indeed.

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: The Berlin-based 432HERTZ crew kicks on here with a new various artists 12" packed with electro heat. Rinaldo Makaj gets things underway with the serene grooves of 'Computational Universe', which has some of the nicest snares we've heard in some time. Rickie's 'Mesosphere' is a nice off balance sound with thumping kicks and melodic bass, then it's time to get sleazy and more than a little ghetto with the raw Electric City jam 'Escape From Reality.' Pumio Space brings a little colour and playfulness to closer 'Mario's Juice'.

Review: Serious seriality from the OHM Series, an imprint and sole patent owner of the rare, aurally administered chemical known as Omega X. The alphabetic Greek letter ohm determines impedance / resistance in an electrical circuit, and so too do each of the dub techno tracks released on the OHM Series amount to tergiversating transductions, their chillout chord-knocks and hardened beats never quite letting us settle. Though titles like 'Innocence' and 'Downtime' persist here, the tracks perhaps inadvertently prove that flow is impossible without resistance: Separation's track is especially unorthodox in its strange reordering of phaser, pan and saturation effects on the pad-stab, which produces an unusual swirling effect.

Review: Eindhoven underground acidcore distributor and label Flatlife generate yet another mind-melter for the nitty masses, supercolliding tracks by four of the foremost DJs come sound-summoners on the subterranean scene. Flatlife have dispatched rapid-response rave Apaches since 2009, and A-siders 'Septic' and 'Lord Of Darkness' bring a fittingly mid-noughts feel to things, during which time the roughage of hard dance fused with the encroaching gloss and finesse that came with digital sound tech that defined the decade. The mood is horrific, with 'Saure' climaxing to apocalyptic, territorial levels through waspish yamps and kick crushings, while the aggro is not lost on the ensuing 'Out Of Order', somehow the most relaxed of the four.