Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: There's lots to get your teeth stuck into on this new and blistering collection of electro from Adepta Editions. And don't let the title fool you - it's not all accessible summer festival fare, in fact none of it is. It is all head down and serious tackle. 7053M4R14's '4 N3W HUM4N' is a driving, dark, visceral sound with raw breakbeats powering through the cosmos. Rec_Overflow offers a moment to catch your breath with some slower, dubby rhythms on 'Pocket Dial' and Pauk explores twitchy future synths capes and post-human transmissions on 'Shiawasena Fukushu'. Promising/Youngster shuts down with a sense of optimism and hope with the airy melodies and slithering electro drum patterns of 'Arbey.'

Review: EC Underground is back with more inquisitors of low-end heavy sounds on Bass Scene Investigation vol 1 and again digs deep into the worlds of electro, techno, breakbeat and IDM. The compilation kicks off with the skittish percussive patterns of Illektrolab's 'Making Heads Dip', then heads into moody ground with ADJ, Pablo Funk brings some menacing synth work and Errorbeauty gets all weird and trippy with some mad electronics. Francois Dillinger offers a dystopian electro sound full of irresistibly jacked-up drums. A fine investigation indeed.

Review: Prince De Takicardie delivers a new four-track set of tachycardial heart-racers as reinforcements to his own Prince's Castle, which is both a label and a proverbial princely citadel. This is also the Barceloni producer's second edition to the powered 'Force Bleu' EP series, matched colourfully by the equally propulsive 'Force Rouge' counterpart, for which there have also been two records so far. Increasing in both pace and intensity, this raw and jammy follow-up reaches its crescendo at the rough 15-minute mark with the hypnotic 'EX-ecute (Execution Mix)', which conclusively yields to mesmeric acid and mystical three-tone entrainments, contrasting the first three track's relative utilitarian sense.

Review: Despite their name, we find that the music of retro technicians Paranoid London offers us a rest from the paranoid mental state that the Great Wen often instils. Now out on a tenth anniversary edition, the duo's raw acid techno debut, released in 2015, heard two Londoners take temporary flight to Chicago, re-imbuing urban smoky techno with a long-lost sense of looseness and grit. Working in relative anonymity, the duo drew praise for their sparse use of original Bernard Sumner vocal lines, affording the record an esteem-by-proxy as well as a sense of turning full circle, as PL's Quinn Whalley actually spent many a pre-teen afternoon in Factory production wizard MArtin Hannet' studio. But it's the record's own minimalism that keeps it satisfyingly repetitive yet never complaisant. PL go their own way, swirling the old school round a ringer road of outer-city grit.

Review: We really can't find out much info about pdqb but the producer behind the name is said to have gone mad after being possessed by an alien parasite, and his whereabouts are unknown. Synaptic Cliffs however has a bunch of music to release from him starting with this. The tracks "were created with the NCO6.27 for test subjects with brain implants" and the music combines dark, playful techno, electro, industrial, chiptunes, IDM and electronica into moody cuts with a unique energy and clout for the club.

Review: With Planetary Assault Systems, one imagines weaponry of celestial scale, designed to zap spatial anomalies, planet-eating worms and other eldritch horrors into oblivion. 'Reassembled' hears Mote Evolver boss Luke Slater follow up last year's fifth volume on the 'Deep Heat' series, and does well to mastermind the evocation of such numb horror, such gargantuan warfare. Made up of a throng of "reassemblies" by Oscar Mulero and Len Faki, as well as Slater himself, this one makes up part of a series also involving Chlar and Rene Wise. The alien sound design here is highly believable, with the new versions of 'Engage Now To Surface' and 'Surface Noise' bringing mucusy blends and membraneous bells.

Review: Ploy aka UK artist Sam Smith lands on tastemaking Dutch label Dekmantel with Unlit Signals, a double 12" of raw dancefloor power that reconnects him with his house roots. Known for his twisted and percussive techno on Hessle Audio and Timedance, this time he looks back over a ten-year career of crafting club-rocking sounds that mix solid house grooves with his signature percussive flair. Across eight tracks there are plenty of well-honed DJ tools with a mischievous edge that comes from his knack for off-kilter synths, weird samples and razor-sharp rhythms. It's a versatile, high-impact tackle that works for the peak of the night but also the headier times.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


The highly anticipated secnd full length album from Polar Inertia is here. It makes absolute sense that 'Environment Control' makes its way to the Swedish label Northern Electronics. For those that know the label and this artist, it seems like the perfect pairing. Formed in 2010, Polar Inertia has been one of the leading new producers of darker techno. The title track is opener and a sign of things to come. Futuristic techno of the upmost. These tracks engulf you with their power and depth. Some tracks are sinister and foreboding while others are atmospheric and cavernous. 'Artic Horizon' shows the deft touch of his producing ability. Sinister techno beats shrouded in a deep haze of ambience give off the impression that you are almost outside a club listening to the techno inside. For fans of techno and ambient, you are hard pressed to find a producer who does it better. These copies are sure to go fast so pick one up as quick as you can.