Review: During the late 1990s, Japanese producer Yuji Takanouchi produced a trio of sublime EPs, most of which went largely overlooked at the time. He surprisingly returned to action a few years ago with a handful of similarly dreamy, loved-up productions, prompting R&S offshoot Apollo Records - who famously released his peerless ambient house 12", Southern Paradise, in 1997 - to put together this superb compilation. The genius of his productions, whether dancefloor leaning or more horizontal in ethos, always lay in the hazy colourfulness of his synthesizer melodies and life-affirming chord progressions. It's those traits, coupled with his firm grasp of deep house and intelligent techno aesthetics, which shine through on Brand New Day. "Pacific Jazz", "Nite" and "Ocean In Heaven", in particular, are stunning.
Review: Producer Oscar Mulero returns to Warm Up with a new full-length record, topping up the latest editions of the WUBC specials series. Though an LP, this one assumes a utilitarian form, laying down many functional and floor-ready techno iterations yet finding almost equally as much joy in the sci-fi ideaspace that ensconces techno at large. Case in point is the Blade Runner reference that makes up the title; then there's the establishing pitilessnesses of opener 'Disapear Inside', which sounds like waking up in a deserted Nostromo, alien still stalking the place; then among the techno numbers proper reign 'Take The Pleasures From The Serpent', which basks in a musky low-end cloud, and 'One More Kiss', which dares to move glassier and brittler, incorporating floaty pads and snappy claps.
Review: Techno talents don't come much more proven than Speedy J and Surgeon. Both are veterans of the game but artists who have remained at the sharp end and their Multiples collaborative project is in part responsible for that. Now it births a full-length album of tweaked experiments that take techno into new realms. The whole thing was recorded in just two days at J's STOOR lab in Rotterdam on an array of hardware machines. Each tune is a raw, one-take affair which means they are perfectly imperfect and feel utterly alive. Techno and elector collide with beatless moments, pummelling low ends and plenty of club heft.
Review: Music From Memory's latest must-check reissue is a fresh pressing of an obscure 1985 album by Musica Esporadica, a six-piece collective whose members included regular label contributor Suso Saiz. It's a hugely atmospheric affair from start to finish, with bubbly drum machine grooves and Afro-influenced hand percussion rhythms being overlaid with languid synthesizer melodies, atmospheric chords, distant guitar sounds and aural textures so warming you could probably use them as a duvet. There are naturally nods towards ambient, new age and Steve Reich style minimalism (see "I Forgot The Shirts") as well as the occasional operatic vocals and the most Balearic of sounds: fretless bass.
Review: 2020 marks the 30th birthday of Network Records, a label that did arguably more than any other in the early 90s to champion both US and UK techno. As part of their celebrations they'll be reissuing some key singles and albums from their catalogue, starting with this 1991 compilation of key Derrick May productions. Now stretched across two slabs of wax rather than one to guarantee a louder cut, "Innovator" contains a wealth of vital early Motor City techno classics, from the acid-powered insanity of "Nude Photo" and the rushing, piano-heavy rush of "Strings of Life", to the thrilling sci-fi futurism of "Wiggin" and the deep techno warmth of "Hand Over Hand".
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