Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Aaron J's Sure Thing kicks on towards its tenth release with a superb new 12" packed with fresh techno jams. Myriad different mods, grooves and tempos are on offer here starting with the puling rhythmic depths of Vardae's 'Pahlevan' then moving on to Kick21's 'Bright Interface', a dark and haunting low-end wobbler. Atavic's 'Subconscious' is a heady one with ambient cosmic pads over deeply hurried, supple rhythms then while Tammo Hesselink & DYL combine to mesmeric effect on the carefully curated broken beat brilliance of 'Accent Award.' A forward-thinking EP for sure.

Review: Recorded in Essaouira, Morocco, Pedro Vian and Maalem Nabob Soudani present an exercise in melding the traditional and unorthodox, the old and new, the abstract and the direct, the exotic and, well, something even more exotic. Rooted in the Gnawa sound, but leaning heavily into deep electronic worlds, EMS AKS Synthi and buchla meet the qrebeb and guimbiri, everything contrasting yet complementing. The result is this intoxicating brew that transports you to the North African coastline on which this collection was conceived and captured, and then onto somewhere that's almost beyond the terrestrial. Close your eyes, allow the hypnotic looped musical phrases and organic aesthetic of the recording itself to wash over you, through, and around your body. Something to truly get lost in and a fantastic example of cross-pollination done properly.

Review: Detlef Weinreich's latest release as Tolouse Low Trax is something of a curio, albeit one that's predictably impressive and off-kilter. It's a compilation that boasts some of his own cuts, alongside edits and reworks by friends of tracks described by Bueau B as "hits that never took the charts by storm". Check first 'Subghosts (Tolouse Low Trax Rework)', a bizarre but brilliant fusion of modular electronics and head-nodding organic instrumentation, before admiring the sparse, hard-to-pigeonhole electronic experimentation of Simo Cell's edit of 'A Song and a Photo Novella', the Autechre-esque beats of 'Down Is Temporal (Beat Detectives Dawn Rerub)', and Joakim's club-ready revision of 'Rushing Into Water'. Further inspired excursions are provided by Ido Plumes (the throbbing techno psychedelia of 'Tristoeros Empire') and Froid (the trippy IDM digi-dub of 'Make Friends').

Review: Albert Van Abbe impresses with his new full-length Olodumare Who Is which is an exploration of deep, hypnotic techno with profound spiritual undertones. Drawing inspiration from his diverse cultural background and the Yoruba religion, the album blends dark, atmospheric soundscapes with intricate rhythms and deep basslines while Van Abbe's meticulous approach to production makes for a mysterious journey where each track weaves together minimalist percussion, tribal influences and eerie melodies. The result is an immersive sonic experience that evokes a sense of both tension and release while fusing ancient traditions with modern techno.

Review: Originally released in 2013 on Periferin, former Mayhem man Varg's debut album, Skaeliptom is a ride and a half. A ride to where is the question. It's dark and mechanical, but at the same time freed of Earthly constraints - the ambient techno equivalent of becoming uncoupled from the mothership during a space walk and calmly residing yourself to enjoying floating away into the eternal darkness. Even if there's a sense nobody comes back. It's not that there's a sinister vibe here, more of an unknown quantity. It's sparse and strangely quiet, patient yet edgy and always moving us onto new, previously unexplored soundscapes. Vast and somehow also very personal, Skaeliptom is a curious experiment in electronics that gives us perspective on just how much there might be out there waiting for us to find.

Review: There are basically two types of anniversary compilations: the humble retrospective, packed with classics and significant musical moments from the past, and collections of all-new music that showcase where an imprint is at right now. Predictably, Planet My founder Mike Paradinas AKA U-Ziq has chosen the latter option to mark the occasion of his legendary experimental label's 30th birthday. There's naturally plenty to get the blood pumping and the synapses snapping across the 25 tracks on show, from the skittish IDM of Jlin ('B12'), mutant future-boogie of Venetian Snares ('Drums') and hard-to-pigeonhole excellence of Falty DL ('Usually I'm Cautious'), to the chopped-and-screwed r&b of Bae Bae ('Living In The Memory'), Nik Colk Void's industrial gunk ('A Tough Design (demo)'), the glassy-eyed D&B/ambient techno of Xylitol ('Nevada') and the sample-rich instrumental hip-hop hedonism of Luke Vibert ('Bullet Drop').

Review: Emotional Response returns with a second volume of its All Trades compilation which is named after its own NTS show. It is just as vast both in terms of style but also the eras it spans with a mix of dub, new wave, slow motion electronics and plenty in between. Tolouse Low Trax kicks off with the filthy dirty and seriously heavy dub glitch of 'Ossia' to provide an early highlight before the likes of Al Wootton get percussive and tribal with 'Altai' and HLM38 channels some African Head Charge on another devastating dub cut. Later on, London's Good Block brings a little more light and sunshine with their lovely 'Strong Relax.'

Review: You can never really pin down what the excellent Emotional Repose label does and that is exactly the sinking behind the title of its superb All Trades show on NTS. The sheer eclecticism of that show is now reflected in this new two-part compilation, also called All Trades, which offers up little morsels of what they do, something like a sonic tasting menu at a fancy restaurant. There is chugging electronic dub from Apiento & Tepper, industrial clatter from Black Bones, cosmic ambient breakbeat from Paperclip Minimiser and blissed out dub from Yamila & SoFa Elsewhere amongst many more highlights.

Review: This LP uncovers the hidden diversity of Spanish music from the 50s and 60s, all composed under Franco's regime. Curated by musicologist Miguel Alvarez-Fernandez, it represents a significant advancement in understanding this music which struggled to exist until Franco's death in 1975. Released as part of the label's Early Electronic series, it features five pioneering Spanish composers who worked against the odds including Jose Val del Omar, a filmmaker and dreamlike artist linked to Lorca and BuNuel. Eduardo Polonio, known for over a hundred works from the Institute of Psychoacoustics in Ghent, Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny who was founder of the Phonos Electroacoustic Music Laboratory and collaborator with Miro and Tapies, Juan Hidalgo, a Fluxus member who engaged with Cage and Tudor, and Cristobal Halffter, a prominent figure working with Boulez, Stockhausen, and Berio.

Review: The good folks at Discreet Music celebrate its five-year anniversary with a special compilation featuring new and unreleased tracks from an eclectic lineup of artists. As highlighted in the extensive liner notes, this release covers plenty of ground, all of it part of the essence of Discreet Music but with an eye on evolution into new territories. It's a carefully curated collection with endless highlights - Eftergift's 'Demotiv' captures the sombreness of a dark winter night, Shadow Pattern's 'One Of These' is flickering, candle-lit space with distant synth tension and Livskraft's 'Lat Mig Tro' is a new age ceremonial ritual

Review: Lio Press has put together the sort of lovely ambient album you might find yourself reaching for at Christmas time when you need to take some time to yourself and escape from the 'fun' and rest of your family. It's a deep sonic exploration into atmospheric soundscapes from a collection of artists who weave immersive textures, rich with subtle layers and hypnotic rhythms. There is a whole range of moods to get lost in from the serene, meditative tones of Tassilo Vanhofen' 'Ephemeris' to the abstract charms of Eoobe' 'The Heretic'. Listening to this will soon get you into a tranquil state and happy to be lost in a world of introspection and calm.

Review: The brilliantly cultured 29 Speedway is a Brooklyn-based record label and performance series founded in 2020 by Ben Shirken that features cutting-edge improvisational music and multimedia performances. It has hosted shows at venues like Pioneer Works and Public Records and worked with artists like James Hoff, J. Albert, Flora Yin-Wong, and Kamran Sadeghi. This new compilation UltraBody showcases artists exploring the intersection of self, technology, and spirituality and that results in a 13-track collection of out-of-this-world ambient, dub and techno fusions with an avant-garde edge.

Review: "Decay and loneliness can serve a purpose. Depression can teach you things. To feel deep sadness also means the ability to feel profound emotions," says Stefan Vincent. The Dutch artist has a point, and based on the appropriately titled Post Melancholy, certainly knows how to make it with strange, beguiling, slightly manic but overwhelmingly captivating music. Drawing on some of the cornerstones of rave culture - breaks, electro, IDM - the record is a true journey through an emotional spectrum, often conjuring the reflective 6AM moods that we can't quite put our finger on, but associate with those warehouse moments, but then filtering this out into something more joyful, or at least lighter. Overall, it plays out like the very reason you fell in love with electronic music in the first place.

Review: For their new album Lust 1, Voice Actor's Noa Kurzweil joins Welsh producer Squu for a woozy, intimate exploration of ambient sensuality. Following the sprawling Sent From My Telephone, this 45-minute work feels more focused but just as dreamlike with Kurzweil's hushed, often unintelligible vocals hovering over Squu's glowing pads and dubby pulses. With additional glitchy textures, soft hits and melancholic drones, the work forms a world that teeters between erotic hypnosis and emotional exhaustion. Highlights like 'You' and 'Nekk' blend vague ambience with jolting detail while pushing the sung-spoke-whispered words to the brink of abstraction. This is an album rich in fleeting emotions, tactile textures and forgotten memories.

Review: 'Speaking with machines' is not only what all electronic artists try to do, but it is also the translated title of this album from the pioneering Wolfgang Voigt. It features 33 abstract sounds all rafted using electronic arpeggiators way back in 1995. This is the first time they have ever been pressed up to vinyl and, we're told, it will also be the last. They are mind-bending sketches that shapeshifter before your very ears from supple rhythms to twisted acid cuts. Some are busy and trippy some are more serene and subtly impactful, and all of them are way ahead of their time.