Review: Fourth part of the compilation celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Milanese record shop. This collection is entirely composed of previously unreleased music, exclusively produced for the occasion by many artists of great relevance in the worldwide music scene, who supported the store over the last ten years.
This EP features Ellen Allien, Kreggo, Timeslip89, Itinerant Dubs and Heith.
Review: 'OHM Series #11' presents a vibrant mix of techno with contributions from four talented producers, adding depth to the ongoing series. On Side-1, Christine Benz's 'Sunset' opens with warm, enveloping chords, creating a serene atmosphere that feels like a sunset on a tropical island. Following that, Brizman's 'As We Should', featuring Linn, shifts the tone with a lighter, dub-infused house sound, perfect for a more relaxed vibe. Side-2 kicks off with Hidden Sequence's 'Dub Cycle', a darker, more ominous track, weaving catchy dub techno rhythms that pull you in. Finally, Martin Jarl's '02_37 AM' brings a smooth, ambient dub feel with a traditional techno edge. This airy composition evokes the timeless sounds and reminds us of Model 500's Starlight. This edition of OHM Series showcases diverse approaches to dub techno, balancing the atmospheric with the rhythmic - and all delivered with precision.
Review: The Stay Up Forever label hits release number 13 but there isn't a bit of bad luck in sight - instead, this is a potent EP of eyes-wide techno from Sam DFL who links up with a quartet of different collaborators and aims, it seems, simply to blow your brains. These jams are laden with hard techno tropes and distorted, fuzzy bass as well as video game signifiers, trance-techno pads and bright, visceral, vibrant melodies. Hammer Mode & Sam DFL's 'Bad Time 4 Acid' is a particular standout here for its high speed and compelling acid grooves.
Anthony Georges Patrice - "Easy To Love" (Tunnel Vision mix) (9:50)
Review: Anthony Georges Patrice's Ausblick label has trod a fine path over the course of its first five releases and the good work continues on its sixth outing which is a new various artists affair. It is Berlin based Ephem who kicks off with 'Dizzy' and all its bumpy beast and raw perc, then Koln's Hidden Sequence follows with 'Optical Drive' that is more stripped back and powered by warming sub bass. Anthony Georges Patrice himself then completes the hat trick with 'Easy To Love' (Tunnel Vision Mix) which over ten sublime minutes brings some more airy, double doit flavoured and has already been getting plays from Mosaic boss Steve O'Sullivan.
Review: Tokyo-based independent label Infodump follows up its inaugural EP with a new release from owner Takuro Hasumi. 'Ticktack' opens his account with lithe, droning synth lines which are layered up next to organic percussion and dark bass energy that keeps you on edge. 'Wilderness' then flips the script with a much more bright and trippy melodic mix over minimal drums and last of all is 'The Fall'. This one is another intriguing mix of silvery synth shimmers and stripped-back drum programming that locks you in the moment. The fresh EP comes with fresh artwork from Japanese outsider artist Pinksk.
Review: It's not a scam... it's Skam! To the Skam sister label Kasm comes Russell Haswell with a mitre-sawing electro release, veering toward brash abstraction. A gobby intonation is wrought from the distortion send here, where drums near-vocally poke through the muck, like rambunctious talking ghosts in machines. Warring allusions to lost humanity take shape on titles like 'Fractured Bones' and 'Tournament Species', where cyborg gladiators rise from their catacomb internments to face off against each other again and again, in haunted perpetuity. 'Different Takes' is the best example of the record's at times tempoless ferocity, scattering what remains as an intuitive pulse across phase-distorted gargles and made-wonky beat hydraulics.
Review: Yay Recordings closes out another solid 12 months with a various artists' EP that showcases right where the label is at. Heavy Mental kicks off with 'Dabro', a colourful and loopy house jaunt for sunny days. Twowi's 'Metaverse' takes off to the cosmos on lithe electro rhythms with ice-cold beats and widescreen pads. Parchi Pubblici & Lucretio's 'Aladdin Sane' brings some wonky deep tech vibes with of-balance drums and muffled spoken words and Rinaldo Makaj closes down with a fresh party sound perfect for cosy floors. There's plenty of variety here, which makes this a great addition to your bag.
Review: Sheffield's Hedge Maze is back with Riding The Wave EP, a great 12" that is drenched in distortion and grime. 'Strukku's Beat' kicks off with thick, slimy textures and vocals fragmented like blunt objects that evoke raw anguish. The title track intensifies with relentless beats, static-dipped drums, and haunting melodies, and as things progress, Hedge Maze refines his sound into a serrated syrup with 'Zown Spirit,' where ruffled rhythms play off with distant echoes and reverb. 'O X O (Zero Times Zero)' maintains the eerie aura with filtered textures, while 'Over and Out' closes the EP with post-punk gloom, featuring raw vocals and trademark distortion.
Review: Luke Hess delivered a stunning, dub techno masterclass with this rather unexpected gem on the FXHE label back in 2017 with fellow Motor City great Omar S on production. The superb title track opens with shimmering dub chords and hypnotic rhythms that evolve slowly but powerfully. 'Renewal' offers a more direct approach by channelling the spirit of Brendon Moeller's Beat Pharmacy. On the flip, 'Sacred' strips things back with a staggered groove, airy pads and a one-note bassline circling deep into the night. Closing track 'Motor Dub' nods to Deepchord with its swirling delays and spacious, bass-heavy mix. For fans of Basic Channel and immersive, textured techno, this is irresistible.
Review: Bristol's Hodge is one of those producers with a signature style no matter the genre he makes. He's an adept studio craftsman who designs sounds in a way few others do and he shows that again here with this fresh 12" on the mighty Timedance. 'Voice Crash' opens up with clanking great hits over minimalist beat frameworks that are always on the move, and you will be too. '151' is a more manic and dense arrangement with malfunctioning loops, knackered synth mutations and whirring effects all making for something fairly mind-blowing. Last of all is 'Fussyhead', a percolating and potent rhythm underpinned with lashings of UK bass.
Review: Vinicius Honorio returns with Ominous Music, his sophomore release on Blueprint Records following the success of Sem Rumo. With roots in Rio de Janeiro's drum & bass scene and a transition to London's techno community, Honorio's production talent shines through in this dark and dubby offering. Across four tracks, he masterfully crafts a sonic journey filled with trippy textures and foreboding atmospheres, showcasing his signature style that blends energy and passion effortlessly. From pounding beats to intricate soundscapes, Ominous Music fits perfectly into the Blueprint discography. True to form, this EP promises to further establish Honorio's reputation as a strong producer in the underground techno scene.
Review: Robert Hood kicks off his M Plant label's 2021 with a big return for the Perpetual Masters series, with his Underestimated EP. The series is designed to serve up classic back catalogue tackle that has all been newly remastered and made available on vinyl, digital download and streaming. This one came out originally in 1998 and is a powerful and futuristic now as it was back then. 'Black Man's Word' is crispy, driving techno, 'Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death' offers scintillating synth work and 'Hard To Kill' traps you in dark loops.
Review: Network continue their 30th Anniversary celebrations with an in demand re-issue of the first record they ever put out. Neal Howard was the man behind it and the Chicago artist hit gold with his soulful machine sounds. 'Indulge' (club House mix) sounds like a house version of the iconic Strings of Life, with the deep mix only slightly dials back the bumping beats and joyous chords. Bad Boy Bill then steps up with a mix of 'To Be Or Not To Be' with gurgling bass and computerised melodies that are bright and brilliant. The aforementioned Derrick May then mixes with his slick sense of hi tech soul present and correct.
Review: A dynamic journey through the roots and evolution of techno, blending nostalgic sounds with fresh energy, this EP begs to be played loudly. Side-1 opens with the title track, 'Love Generator', a powerful, rave-infused anthem that captures the essence of the 1991 vintage techno sound, full of raw energy and passion. 'Flawless Victory' follows with a heavy Belgian techno influence, harking back to rave's origins but with a modern, revitalised beat that feels both classic and innovative. On Side-2, 'Watch The Collapse' begins with a heavy breakbeat and iconic Hoover-type sound, before seamlessly transitioning into acid techno that builds tension and intensity. 'Code Breaker' brings a minimal, bleepy techno vibe with space probe-like sounds, steadily building towards a climactic peak. The EP closes with 'Nocturnal Beings (vs Human Rebellion)', an electro-sci-fi masterpiece that wraps up the journey with otherworldly sounds and a futuristic edge. A forward-thinking, genre-defining release that honours techno's past while pushing its boundaries.
Review: Lars Husimans has made himself a core part of the family at SHDW & Obscure Shape's ever more crucial Mutual Rytm label. His ongoing Sounds From The Past series is back with a third thrilling volume here and opens with the title track, a cantering cut that sweeps you off your feet and heads off to the cosmos. There is more twisted machine funk on 'Fusion' and intense, unrelenting urgency to the shimmering loops of 'Shimmer'. 'Estar Farto' is all about the underlapping bassline that never stops churning and 'Bittersweet' brings some wall-rattling synth action to light up any set.
Review: Four bold sonic statements from Human Safari, debuting for London's EarToGround imprint with a crazed new techno statement, 9:09 In The Morning. Invoking an alternate reality where the UK might actually still be the kind of place that raving till 9AM is possible, this Maltese hardtech falcon commits to four nosedives: '9:09' and 'Galactic Funk' summon uplifting factory percussions and hellish unisons, leaving us to wonder how on earth all these rhythms and impacts were generated. The B-side's 'Intrusive Thoughts' continues this feel, albeit with a more sustained and muted charge, while the closing curveball 'Black Shadow' bemuses by way of an exercise in dryness, thawing-out of the earlier hi-hat-hazes for a discrete discombombulation of wibbly leads and disconcerting syncopations.
Review: Grown-up techno label Kompkat has always served up its most dancefloor ready sounds as part of the Speicher series and it is now up to an impressive 129 installments. This one kicks off with Hunter/Game & U S H N U's collaboration 'Reload' which is an electric cut with bright synth lines shimmering about the mix next to thunderous claps and dark future vocals. On the flip, Bawrut cuts loose with rave stabs over dense percussive grooves with vocal snatches adding to the unsettling and boisterous mood of 'Clapa', which does indeed also have plenty of claps.
Review: Roseen, Dold, Hurdslenk and Slight Function are in full-on battle mode here as they offer up a collection of four high-class techno weapons aimed purely at the dancefloor. Roseen goes first with he pulsating synths and glitchy drums and claps of the mind-melting 'Model 2813' and Dold backs that up with the panel-beaten loops and urgent sense of funk that underlines 'Cave.' Hurdslenk's 'Span' brigs more in your face energy with its pounding claps and Slight Function shuts down with 'Misery' which takes you into the farthest recesses of deep space.
Review: This archival release on Organic Analogue digs back into the prolific '90s period of Swedish techno maverick Jean-Louis Huhta, aka Dungeon Acid. These days he releases on iDEAL, Fit Sound, Borft and Klasse Wrecks, but he cut his techno teeth on labels like Hybrid, Svek and H. Productions. Clad in artwork details by Swedish graffiti legend Nug, Wormhole Of Time comprises unreleased cuts and long out-of-print jams spanning many of Huhta's aliases. The release also comes with a zine featuring photographs and an interview reflecting on Huhta's multifarious life in music.
Review: The creative partnership between Tiga & Hudson Mohawke expresses a mutual love of "hardcore romance," a liminal state where the bounds between euphoria, melancholy and the raw power of friendship disintegrate completely. Recorded in Los Angeles from 2019-2023, these commonalities ebbed and flowed through various recording sessions, culminating in their debut album - L'Ecstacy - the sounds in which "all come from the same place, the same musical universe," in Hudson Mohawke's own words. Referencing the album's locus of bouncy elasticity and cinematic gloss - "we're building a particular kind of zone where it all fits together. A place lost in time." With guest appearances by luminaries like Abra, Channel Tres, and Jesse Boykins III, as well as album artwork by Wolfgang Tillmans, the result is delivered with "no apology, no cynicism, no irony, no winking."
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