Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Menacing EBM and dark synth billows from a Netherlands hinterland; our heralds speak of an esoteric encampment by the name of Espectro Oculto, said to be the remote incantators of an unstoppable curse in sound. Six shadowy emissaries have been sent to spread the pestilence; Trenton Chase, Martial Canterel, DJ Nephil, Exhausted Modern, Fragedis and Happy707. Clearly, the faction have recruited only the best, trusted and yet most nefarious of spies from as far-flung regions as Czechia and Argentina in the administering of such a sordid sonic plague. We're left most quivery at the centrifugal doom drones of Exhausted Modern's 'Fear Of Focus', across whose breakdown banshees are heard wailing and snarling, and Fragedis' 'Landing In Reality', a lo-fi techno freakout and sonochemical anomaly, channeling militant two-way radio samples and hellish FM synthesis.

Review: Corsican label Isula Science drop a fresh brooder of previously unknown electro knowns, this time from label founder Flash FM alongside HDV, Sweely and Man/ipulate. Spanning vertiginous dark acid, then moving on through to dreamatic neon breakbeat and expedient Italo - 'Vol de nuit' especially makes signature use of a classic slap bass synth - they've got us entirely covered here. Enticing bumps in the night from the exquisitors.

Review: Casper Hastings is neither a ghost nor from Hastings. He is an electronic innovator from Ireland who has built up a fine catalogue on the likes of TXTRL and Sticky Ground. He is back on the Yin Yang label here with another high class assault that draws on electro, jungle and techno. Opener 'Tangerine Meme' sets the scene with crisp drum programming and snappy drum breaks underpinned by warped acid. 'Reaper' is as menacing as the title suggests with more direct, punchy electro and Peder Mannerfelt flips it into a surging wall of techno. 'Ruthless Romance's a devastating edge of breaks-driven jungle and 'Good Medicine' has bleeping synths over wobbly low ends and caustic drum funk.

Review: It's not a scam... it's Skam! To the Skam sister label Kasm comes Russell Haswell with a mitre-sawing electro release, veering toward brash abstraction. A gobby intonation is wrought from the distortion send here, where drums near-vocally poke through the muck, like rambunctious talking ghosts in machines. Warring allusions to lost humanity take shape on titles like 'Fractured Bones' and 'Tournament Species', where cyborg gladiators rise from their catacomb internments to face off against each other again and again, in haunted perpetuity. 'Different Takes' is the best example of the record's at times tempoless ferocity, scattering what remains as an intuitive pulse across phase-distorted gargles and made-wonky beat hydraulics.

Review: By now, at least one dimension of the electro genre has turned out so misanthropic that one of its keystone artists has called itself Human Rebellion - as if to suggest humanity is the exception, not the rule. With the artist now debuting on Hilltown Disco after a wonderful eight EPs so far, this one hears the so far faceless bot push themselves to 'Outer Limits' by way of a waspish bluebottle buzz line, then break through the proverbial 'Magnetic Field' to revelatory effect: deep pulse leads and firm kicks, awash in a sense of broken-free elation. 'Endless Day' and 'Exploration' harken the B-side, dystopi-fying the proceedings through a relative industrial feel, implying a robot crackdown on human insurgency. The former has a brilliant breakdown, with a short cyborg monologue opining, railing against guinea pig-style entrapment: "I want to get out if this experiment. Aren't there enough testable subjects...?"

Review: London underground night train riders Deadbeat Records prioritise techno-breaks handmade for late night and early morning dancefloors, times when both the best and worst comes emerges from each of us. Their inaugural Deadbeat Breaks compilation hears six out of ten full digital curations brought to a shadowy, space-invaded black vinyl truncation, with modern talking synth vomits from Olly Rant, booty bass hups from Hunter Starkings, hackney parroting hurtles from Rnbws, and a closing breakstep broil from Hooverian Blur.

Review: Passing Currents aims to stand out from the predictable by offering a deeply human touch in its music. This five-tracker backs that up by melding academic expertise with dancefloor intuition and the A-side features txted by Phil Moffa remixed by Yamaha DSP coder okpk after they met during doctoral studies, they flip technical mastery into bass-driven energy while Atrevido' fuses California warmth with analogue electro, Josh Dahlberg's rediscovered 2009 electro gem, 'Ass On The Floor', still bangs and Detroit's Kevin Reynolds delivers hypnotic grooves before Hazmat Live pushes boundaries with a sound rooted in soulful, experimental innovation.

Review: Paul Hardcastle's self-titled 1985 debut receives a special reissue for Record Store Day 2025 in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Remastered at AIR Mastering for the occasion, this synth-pop milestone showcases Hardcastle's innovative fusion of electro, jazz-funk and socially conscious themes. It is of course anchored by the chart-topping anti-war anthem '19' but also features standout tracks like 'Just For Money,' 'Rainforest' and 'Don't Waste My Time' featuring Carol Kenyon. The album comes from a key moment in '80s electronic music this reissue reaffirms Hardcastle's enduring influence on it.

Review: Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being is one of the most fearless experimentalists in house and techno. He confronts dancefloor disillusionment head-on with Dance Music 4 Bad People, his raw, uncompromising debut for Smalltown Supersound. A veteran of Chicago's club scene, Moss channels four decades of history, highs, lows and trauma into an album that defies escapism. These are not crowd-pleasers but cathartic confrontations dense with abrasive synths, molten drum loops and uneasy textures which all crash together in chaotic, transcendent layers. There's no clean resolution anywhere, instead just tension, dissonance and moments of stark beauty. Far from a nostalgic Windy City love-in, Moss' music reflects a dance culture in crisis and provides a place to rage against it.