Techno Recommendations July 2010

Review: Martyn and Roman Lindau are first up on this series of EPs to coincide with Ben Klock's impressive Berghain 04 mix, and it's a must have for fans of deep techno steppers. 'Miniluv' sees Martyn delve into the traditional rhythms of 4/4, with an infectious chime groove sounding out over a shuffling etheral techno beat as lasers shoot out from the depths of the prodduction. Roman Lindau gets all moody on us with the industrial 'Keppra' the subtle patter of pads barely audible below the shuddering growl of the bass line. One of the best releases so far this year.

Review: Whilst there are plenty of producers from Detroit who command the 'legendary' prefix, Sherard Ingram is more worthy than most. His work as Urban Tribe - which includes the album The Collapse Of Modern Culture produced in tow with Carl Craig, Anthony Shake Shakir and Moodymann - has marked Ingram out amongst the second wave of Detroit techno acts. Ingram also pioneered the usage of electro tracks at 45rpm whilst playing in clubs as DJ Stingray. The Loyal Oppostion EP sees Urban Tribe resurface on the Planet E imprint (with a spot of help from C2C) and gives you four tracks of abstract mutant techno. On "Micro Manager" lush Detroit soundscapes are given the jackhammer treatment by uptempo kicks, whilst "Sycophant" offers up brooding motor city soul at its best. The punishing jagged industrial funk of "Apathy" and the abundance of lackadaisical synth washes on "Insolitology" round off a return to form for Planet E.

Review: For those of you who may have become enamoured with Jeff Mills' avant garde techno projects with, say, the Montpellier Philharmonic, or his minimal musings on his Something In The Sky imprint, then let's take a quick trip down memory lane. The year is 1992, and a young Detroit producer has moved to Berlin, bringing his own unique brand of stripped back, utterly banging techno with him. Waveform Volume 1 was his first ever EP, released on Tresor's record label in 1992, and it's an uncompromising mix of pounding 909s, relentless BPMs and screeching synths. This was (and still is) truly boundary pushing stuff.