Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: Kevin de Vries collaborates with rising stars Y do I on his latest EP and it is a three-track journey showcasing the signature Afterlife sound. Merging emotionally charged moments with driving basslines and electrifying energy, the duo strikes a balance between light and dark while cooking up grooves that resonate deeply. Each track embodies the label's ethos of fostering close dancefloor connections through rhythm, emotion and vibration. This is evocative, painstakingly designed melodic techno with pristine synth work and sleek drums that carry you into all new worlds.

Review: The debut album from Ukrainian collective Noneside unites musicians and visual artists under the inspiring words of poet Taras Shevchenko, who said 'Make love, o dark-browed ones.' Framed by a painting from contemporary artist Iryna Maksymova, the music explores the trance and tech house that is destined to bring souls together on the dancefloor this summer and beyond. Shjva opens with fresh and mashed bass and sleek trance pads that are subtle but effective. Lostlojic layer sup deep, bubbly techno drums and bass with an angelic vocal tone and Saturated Color's 'Trancia' is a speedy, scuffed-up tech groove for late-night cruising. Peshka and Yevhenii Loi offer two more future-facing trance-techno fusions packed with feels.

Review: Six dance tracks skillfully blending old-school vibes with contemporary sounds, spanning acid, breakbeat, electro and house, inviting listeners to dream of underground raves and enigmatic gatherings where ethereal battles against soulless algorithms unfold amid nocturnal dance. Highlights include Trabuco's 'Happy Spliff, a vibrant mix of New York house and early 90s-inspired techno, setting a nostalgic yet fresh tone. Trabuco's 'Signals' follows, delivering a spacey techno experience that feels both futuristic and retro. Yepecc's 'UFO Camp' seamlessly combines electro and acid for a sci-fi romp that transports listeners to otherworldly dimensions. Kevin Kendall's 'Volca Three' stands out with its rich analogue bass, adding depth and warmth to the compilation. The album closes with Victor Reyes' 'Inspired By Nature,' which offers a cool, bouncy finale that leaves a lasting impression. Overall, The Sciences of the Artificial is a refreshing take on retro styled techno and it is perfect for those seeking a blend of nostalgic and fun.

Review: Under The Radar present 'Coconut Rice', emanating forth from the old demo music vaults of Yagya, dating back 15 years to the summer of 2008. Having solicited the tracks straight from the horse's mouth, the label are more than proud to repackage the track alongside its two original remixes by the artist, the Q and Z variations, while also bunging in a special ambient Derridean dub Deconstruction by none other than Octo Industrie. Expect heavy immersings in texture, rainfall, chord stab and subnautical bass, but with Yagya's signature twist of extra fullness.

Review: Impressively inventive techno from Amsterdam's Yanamaste, who insists on us dancing while working in juddering vocal samples and rumbly low-end movements. Erring on the no-fluff - while still indulging some of the more experimental and lesser-heard production techniques of techno, such as rapidfire glitchings - opener 'Dance' makes a surreal dreamwork out of its shifty upfront lead vox, against which techy tics and kicks skitter across in a style reminiscent of precursors like Barnt or DJ Koze. 'All Night' shifts the vibe slightly, more into reverberative warehouse rave territory, whilst '8 Tone' fleshes out the long-decayed hi-hat, and 'Trojan gets increasingly broken and syncopated with things.

Review: youANDme has always been an important cog in the wheel of underground house and techno and his recent PPPPP was another fine project that has also spawned plenty of equally brilliant remixes. This is a second collection of them and it kicks off with the Polish master of perfect loop techno, Head High aka Shed. His bulky, barreling drums and big percussive loops come with plenty of bounce and raved up vocals. After that come Ian Pooley's dub, and Johannes Albert's deep house trip. Sasha, Roger Sanchez and Laurent Garnier have already been banging these so now it's your turn.

Review: One Eye Witness rounds up another four acts for their periodic V/A series, spewing forth four breaks-driven whooshers crossing into progressive techno territory. The Hague duo Young Adults nod to a 1997 Loveparade anthem with 'It's Only Temporary', while breaks and kick implants converge on Christopher Ledger's 'Change That', a track which sounds like the starting firings of an interplanetary expedition pod after years of disuse. Joely brings cosmic chug on the cocooning B1 'Transitional', while the Samesame closer 'Novel End' is just that, traversing a noxious atmosphere with a flexoskeletal electro beat.

Review: Since 2016, Italian producer Younger Than Me has been a rising force with an ever-growing fan base after releasing on top labels like Bordello a Parigi, Tusk Wax and Dischi Autunno. He is someone who blends trance, breakbeat, techno, and progressive house in his own unique way and that has earned him widespread recognition alongside sets at venues like Berghain and Hor Berlin. His latest EP comes on Skylax and features six tracks including collaborations with Kiara Scuro on 'Ghost in the Rave' and remixes by Mahkina and G?eg. This is another great window into his genre-defying sounds.

Review: Lo Fidelity Music is back with more high-quality tuneage. This time it is the Rave Invaders series helmed by Lennard Ypma that gets us dancing with a bonkers mix of brilliance including a remix from the unique mind of Legowelt. His take on 'Wolf Men' is spaced-out house music with a midpoint morph that brings on utter carnage. It's a heavy weapon to keep up your sleeve, for sure. Elsewhere there is serrated acid madness on '818313', caustic cosmic stompers like 'Matig Modern' and electro acid vibes on 'Wolf Men.' A fierce collection of fresh electro, for sure.

Review: It is five up for the Cimedirapax label who turn to great Italian artist Yu. These cuts are the result of experimentation and research designed to maximise the impact of his kick drums and basslines and they come accompanied by hypnotic and captivating sound designs. 'Alpha Isolary Song' opens up with a nimble rhythm and nice squelchy synth bass next to hooky melodies. After the raw energy of 'Tempestivity' comes the dark adn acid-tinged bass menace of 'Forever Young' while closer 'Sun Remix Track' is another nice analogue workout with inventive melodies origin the character over the driving rhythms.

Review: Fantastically uplifting trance fusions from Pescara's Yu, and up-and-comer with an evidently keen ear for the sublimer conclusions inferable from the dancefloor. Debuting for Discarded Gems, a Berlin-based label whose name takes after the common musical vernacular term that refers to lost tracks as 'gems', you can be sure that this riveting new release is at once subtly but drastically boundary-pushing, seeing value not only in the pearls, tanzanites and garnets of the world, but also the unpolished quartzes and agates. Working backwards (why not?), 'Tropical LED' brings electrance and Italo flavours to a techno form, as speak n' spell samples scuttle across the toppers; then there's the raunchier, industrial rock-intoned 'Robotik Hunter' and the unabashedly trancey breaks cut 'Another Destination', which comes second only to the cascading acid trance roller that is 'Beautiful Moment'. They all are, really.