KW Schallplatten & CDs

Review: KW has long been a talented producer who has operated in the shadows. He emerges from them now with another EP on Ilian Tape only six or so months after his last standout effort. Altgr is another fine one that opens with 'Midnight Run', a skittish flurry of breakbeats and snares, grumbling bass and kinetic energy that never lets up. 'Paste' is just as rhythmically inventive, this time lurching backwards and forwards but with more pensive pads and 'Copy' keeps up the leftfield inventions that make this return so welcome. 'Lastmin_Res' closes out in head-spinning fashion.

Review: Fifteen years after first starting out, Munich's masterful Ilian Tape is still finding plenty of fresh new ground to explore in its niche world of scuffed-up and broken-beat techno. The latest to do so is KW, who nails the vibe perfectly here with futurist loops 'Source Mag', hefty minimalism on 'Rats Mixing', deeper linear techno on 'ZFGT0505' and a rhythmically playful thinker in the form of 'One Day.' A superbly stylish and perfectly functional EP, as ever, from this crew.