Back catalogue: All genres

Review: The Sound Migration label takes another trip back in to the CATT articles to explore the proto-trance and early bleep techno sound they were pushing from 1988-1991. Another five essential gems from the modestly sized catalogue get an airing here, kicking off with Confidential's haunting 'Amphibious Carbine' followed by the boxy pressure of Exocet's 'Nitrogen'. This is astounding stuff throughout, not least the freak-zone trip of Holy Ghost's 'Walking On Air', which sounds like the common denominator between Ibiza and Goa in their nascent days as party destinations. Don't sleep on the clattering funk of Exocet's 'Overdose' either, a seriously snappy groover with all kinds of oddball sampling going on.

Review: It's hard to refer to Cocoon without calling it 'mighty' because the now 20+ year old label run by Sven Vath is one of European techno's most prominent. It is synonymous with colourful parties all over the world but still does a great job of serving up fresh sounds too. Two mainstays combine for this one with Defekt and Extrawelt cooking up 'Cell Sync' which is dark and menacing, with rigid drum loops and menacing synths. 'In The Space Of' has more molten synth modulations layered up to a ghoulish effect over slamming drums. It's peak time stuff, for sure.

Review: The Lonewolf label strikes again with another intriguing new 12" that mixes up synth, wave and electro. E Bony is behind it and we know nothing of who they are but they clearly know how to coax some magic out of their machines. 'Hello & Goodbye' opens with rasping electro bass and rugged analogue drums while 'Half Man' takes off on a more arresting and peak time trip to the stars. 'No One Is Here' has silky arps and classic electro bleeps driving it along while the B-side begins with a La Mverte remix that brings plenty of metallic dark disco chug to the floor. The original is another bright, twitchy electro workout.

Review: Eidolon is an alias for Ian Lehman from the US Midwest, who dropped the alias opposite the likes of Agaric around the late 00s. The sound on this release for Ukrainian label Tancido speaks to that era of dark and crafty minimal, but there's an analogue warmth to the synth sounds which suggests this might be newer material made in that vein rather than archival material. The rubbery leads on 'I'll Be A Ghost' are a surefire highlight, and there's plenty of intrigue in the arrangement to add some variation to your marathon DJ set when time starts folding in on itself and the most psychoactive tracks are the fuel to keep the party trucking.

Review: Merman is a brand-new label from Spain bringing some searing techno heat. This debut 12" is a fierce four-track with different arts taking care of each aural assault, starting with Elektrabel. 'Sernafet' is a manic mix of loopy snares and pulsing synths, metallic drum sounds and sweeping filters. SPIDJ brings a little more heavyweight techno funk to 'Fuerza Analogica' and Akenaton then gets raw, dark and dirty with the industrial menace of 'Cambio De Actitud.' The Zenobit3 shuts down with some spritely electro-tinged techno on 'Milikis Suffering'.

Review: For Erika's second album Anevite Void, she explores her live process as it permeates everything she does, including documenting the process of life in the elaborate sci fi mythology she created. Erika began performing live in Ectomorph in 1997 when she was gifted a TR-606 by BMG and asked to join the group. This grew to her building her own studio, performing solo as Erika, collaborating with people like Jay Ahern and Noncompliant, and performing as a member of Circle of Live. Anevite Void finds Erika organically writing songs for her live shows, allowing them to take shape through performance, and later recording them in the studio, making this the first album she has entirely written and produced on her own. Mixed by long time collaborator BMG, she finds this record as the launching point for a new process; conceptually, it was inspired by "the irregular life cycles created by three suns circling over a planetary organism that presents two major biomes: rocky crystalline desert, and deep layered forest, each of which exists above and/or below ground, depending on what phase the suns are in."

Review: Rocket Science is the latest EP by the standout Netherlands techno producer Eversines. It is also the first release by the new label Jamming Is Life. This record is all about the late-night sounds. The techno is richly infused with a bit of Goa and psy-trance that adds to the mythical and tribal sound like in the example, 'Act'. Each track here prides itself on constantly evolving the sounds in motion with an upwards trajectory or energy. These are properly sequenced tracks that go somewhere and not just placed sounds on a computer. Which in turn, makes them great for the dancefloor. Unlike older Psy-trance, these tempos are right in the sweet spot for house and techno lovers alike. 'M' is one of our early favorites on this clutch piece of hedonism while the acid line in 'Jamming Is Life' is pure flashback inducing business. The Jamming is Life label is starting out strong with this one.

Review: Adam Beyer's Drumcode is one of techno's most iconic outlets and it deals only in big room tackle for blowing minds. This sub-series no hits volume seven and welcomes new schoolers Marco Faraone, Eli Brown and Layton Giordani for a pair of punchy new cuts. 'Emergency' is a blast from the off with brain-frying synths and big, boisterous drums. On the flip, 'When I Push' is just as driving and driven, with rising synth tension and rolling snares over the solid kicks. Another winning slab from Drumcode, then.

Review: Amsterdam collective Forsvarlig Arkiv is branching out with a new label that is going to represent what they are all about. This debut EP, 'Arkiv I', comes after many years of expert curating of their podcast series and welcomes four different, equally vital artists to offer up some fresh techno. Forest On Stasys kicks off with 'Sunken', a swamp and gurgling bit of mind-melting sound design, Zemog's 'A'te' then rides on silky, meditative loops with rising synth tension and Eyvind Blix follows a similar path with a more psychedelic edge. Biocym shuts down with 'Sabotage', a more percussive and edgy sound for late-night freaks.

Review: Seven arresting, original new exercises from E-Saggila aka Canadian producer Rita Mikhael. She wears her love of dub on her sleeve - see the slow motion skank of 'Amnesiac' aming others - but not in the usual reassuring, bubbling echoes of dub techno, aiming for something much more angular and alarming. "Breaks remain staccato hammers," says the blurb, with maximum accuracy, "and kicks are cast to negate cardiac systems," while the rhythms veer from off kilter to nailed down and the sonics vary from the lush to the caustic. This territory to the left(field) of electronica is over saturated with identikit productions, but Mikhael does it like you've never quite heard before.