Electro Recommendations October 2011

Review: Stingray 313 returns with his second 12" in a month, following his recent release on Micron Audio, with this EP for Austrian label Trust. In true Stingray style these tracks are all fast to say the least. Opener "Herd Instinct" uses a surprisingly melodic bassline alongside a brittle arpeggio with a futuristic neon sheen, sounding somewhere between Model 500 and Oni Ayhun. "Street Theatre" combines cavernous space with electrified bass hum, but combined with a surprisingly delicate arpeggio ripple which pulls against the relatively manic rhythms, whilst "Who & Watching The Watch" utilises a number of spoken word vocal samples which tie into a fear of surveillance culture, which combined with its booming low end and menacing acid squiggles create a nightmare of dystopian techno. Finally, "Defect" takes things a little deeper, with a relatively straight rhythm and some searching Detroit pads in conjunction with a typically thick bass pulse which injects extra urgency into the already speedy proceedings.

Review: Swiftly following the release of Impakt's second album on Solar One, the Dutch label send out this six track EP from the (supposedly) Norwegian producer that lifts two squelchers from Resonant Escape and surrounds them with four new arrangements. Expect the finest in jerky, multi-tempo brain dance here, commencing with the crunchy 8 bit analogue scratchathon of "Computer Boogie" and slipping through awesome electro acid soundscapes that ripple with bicep flexing arpeggios on the "Dance The Pain Away". Experimental noodlings akin to AFX, breakneck 303 modulations all follow on this mad limited and rather fine journey into the sonically garbled world that Impakt occupies!

Review: Limited edition dinked 45 from the Fresh Up imprint, with DMX Krew dropping a slab of killer vocoder electro funk with the immortal opening line "All funky dancers prepare to shake your body down!" We can only suggest you take this instruction literally. On the flip you'll find a low slung sleazy electronic affair with handclaps galore.

Review: For those with an interest in the development of electronic music in the late '70s and early '80s, the sporadic synth-wave collections from New York-based Minimal Wave Records have always been essential listening. This latest missive, originally released on a limited vinyl pressing earlier this year, offers another treasure trove of little known and unreleased material from the period. Most pleasingly, it offers a truly global outlook, showcasing music from Japan, the US, UK and the former Yugoslavia. Predictably, there's much to enjoy, from the skewiff vocoder electro of Polaroid and low-end madness of Robert Lawrence to the synth-phonic doodlings of Reserve and new wave strut of Danton's Voice.