Back catalogue: All genres

Review: With a hand in several local Bristol labels, it's no surprise Young Echo man Ossia is described by Blackest Ever Black as one of the city's "most vital behind-the-scenes operators". Prior to this Red X 12" there has been very little material from Ossia, but he's clearly a very confident producer on the basis of the three tracks featured. The title track takes inspiration and sonics from the personal recorded diaries of Peter Tosh, filtering out his paranoid words and splicing them with near ten minutes of apocalyptic, dread-filled, slowed down techno. The B side sees Ossia veer off into more abstract and largely beatless terrain that slots in nicely with the more adventurous tape mangling antics of his Young Echo cohorts.

Review: There's not a huge amount we can say with certainty about O$VMV$M. The act is based in Bristol, UK, and certainly reinforce preconceptions of the city as a hotbed for leftfield stuff. Whether that's politics, art, or, in this case, music. Or perhaps all three. Beach Road is as much an exercise in sound-as-art as it is music per se, and as such is a strong statement about the lack of vision and imagination stalking streaming services and record shops alike in 2023.

None of which is to say that O$VMV$M's six-track EP isn't packed with incredible music. 'Diablo', one of the wildest, strangest efforts here, is disjointed mutant pop-electronica that seems like someone is warming up for an MPC showcase, and exemplifies our point. It's pleasurable to hear, but fascinating to take apart. Similar points can be made about the sparse, glitchy percussion of 'Beach Road' and 'Follow', making this one for the deep dive enthusiasts.

Review: Ninja Tune's Odesza return with a brand new album as well as a massive world tour to match. 'The Last Goodbye' is another record to heighten the band's their long-held standing in the progressive and ambient house netscene they occupy. Every end of musical history is traversed in this emotive future downtempo release which sinks you into deep to its mellifluous world of sound. The title track is emblematic of this as it straddles, samples and licenses an incredible old recording of soul vocalist Bettye LaVelle against a funking, flourishing instrumental backdrop. It is one of the many gems that make this so essential.

Review: Ninja Tune's Odesza return with a brand new album (and not to mention world tour), 'The Last Goodbye', owning their long-held standing in the progressive, ambient house netscene they occupy. Every end of musical history is traversed in this emotive future downtempo release; the title track is emblematic of this straddling, sampling and licensing an incredible old recording of soul vocalist Bettye LaVelle against a funking, flourishing instrumental backdrop.

Review: If this is your initial encounter with Omit then buckle up and prepare for some first contact stuff. The South Island New Zealander has been creating otherworldly arrangements since 1990, taking listeners on deep space explorations via sounds that are as inviting and alluring as they are strange and disconcerting. Humans, after all, tend to feel very wary (to put it mildly) about stepping into unknowns. On Insec this is particularly pronounced. The sense of vast is omnipresent throughout the four mammoth tracks, distant tones sound as though they're refracted rays of light bouncing off some satellite or other, or solar sails deployed on a ship exploring a far off cluster of exoplanets. The individual pieces blend perfectly and lead into one another to create a sense of epic odyssey. An adventure through noises that are impactful because of the surrounding silence and their own innate qualities.

Review: Since the release of his last album as Oneohtrix Point Never in 2020, Daniel Lopatin has kept himself busy. Yet for all the high-profile projects - scoring films, producing other artists albums and conjuring up The Weeknd's 2021 half-time show - fans have missed his solo work. Again, his 14th (we think) solo album, is therefore not only big news, but also a pleasingly grandiose conceptual affair - a musical "speculative autobiography" which reportedly imagines "what might have been". Musically, it's typically adventurous, constantly shifting between sounds, styles and instrumental textures; one minute you're hearing star-fall electronics mixed with choirs of children, the next neo-trance style riffs mixed with luscious strings or cinematic style orchestration. Like much of Lopatin's work, it inhibits its' own musical world, and there are very few artists capable of achieving that.

Review: Having firmly established himself as one of the foremost experimental producers of the past decade with albums like Replica, Returnal, and Rifts, Daniel Lopatin here makes the logical move to electronic music bastion Warp Records. On first listen R Plus Seven is quite unlike any of his other records, largely eschewing the arpeggiated drones of his early work and sample-based collages of his last album for something much more vivid. Coming across like a combination of the emotive minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich, and the hyperreality of James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual, R Plus Seven nevertheless stakes its own claim in the world of post-everything electronic music, combining delicate, introspective moods with shocking moments of recognisable sonic signification. Quite possibly Lopatin's best album to date.

Review: Francine Perry and Jens L Thomsen's sixth studio album has arrived. All At Once; a breath-taking collection of sounds and stories that at once hurls you deep into a dance you didn't know existed and the most chilled, calming states of mind you didn't know you could reach. From the moment the opening percussive house odyssey 'Bird' takes flight to the final woozy stumbles and slurs of the closer 'Ser', the pair roll out idea after idea, each one as disarming as the next. Along the way we're treated to faraway contemporary breaks ('N176'), uncompromising techno ('Glory Dust') and a range of ambient treats that break up the intensity such as 'Catford Snow' and 'Millenium Green'. Arranged and articulated with thought and clarity, we guarantee you'll have a whale of time with this.

Review: Hype and awe abound over this Orb side project, with Oss having been resurrected last year several decades on from its initial stint as a hybrid live / DJ project from Alex Paterson and his longtime collaborator Fil Le Gonidec. This new album is a mere 8 track weirdo's favourite, straight from the brains of this techno-toned, post-dub power duo, from the psytech clicks and claps of 'Wow Picasso' to the worse-for-wear machinations of 'No Speed Limit'. Grab this special coloured vinyl edition while you can.

Review: UK label ANA serve up this debut album from a mysterious outfit known as Oyl. The music is just as mysterious and experimental and takes you on an introspective journey. Made on a collection of hardware amongst other bits, the record has oversized 808 bass sounds, dripping water effects, intricate sound designs and bit-crushed pads that make for dynamic tracks always on the move. The mood is often dark and dank, with abstract moments and an overtone of psychedelia that takes you into a whole new world of sound.

Review: Music from Memory have coaxed a special one off long player out of the trio of talents that is Belgian producer soFa, German musician Houschyar and the legendary Turkish drummer and percussionist Okay Temiz. Second Circle is made from studio session that started back in 2018 and makes use of a number of homemade instruments. Plenty of overdubbing techniques have been sued to achieve the richly layered sound and each piece is an intoxicating and meditative study in otherworldly electronics and earthy percussion. A gloriously unique and original listen.