DANIEL AVERY Schallplatten & CDs

Review: By his own admission, Daniel Avery's previous albums have been inspired by escapism and a desire to avoid focusing on the growing darkness of the world outside his studio. On Ultra Truth, he's flipped the switch, "directly looking into the darkness, not running away". That doesn't mean that he's left the dancefloor; far from it, in fact. While some of the aural textures, chords and melodies tend towards the melancholic, moody and overwhelming, they still feature club-ready rhythms or beats that tend towards the bold. Basically, it's heavy and dense, but sonically attractive enough to work outside of nightclub environments, with the contributions of various friends and contemporaries (HAAi, Kelly Lee Owens and Sherelle included) only enhancing the album. For proof, check out ultra-deep D&B roller 'Higher', the sparse and spooky electro shuffle of 'Chaos Energy', and the intergalactic breakbeat hustle of 'Wall of Energy'.

Review: If his jam-packed release schedule is anything to go by, Daniel Avery has kept himself busy during the pandemic. Soon we'll get to hear his latest album, but first he's offered up a CD reissue of the first full-length he made during lockdown, November 2020's Love & Light. We still firmly believe that it's his most sonically stunning set to date. After opening with the gorgeous ambient opaqueness of 'London Island', Avery eagerly blazes a trail through 1990s style Sabres of Paradise/Sabresonic techno, beatless soundcapes, hazy dub techno and intense drone tones, before switching focus to deliver deep, gentle and melodious mutations of breakbeat, IDM and electronica. A genuinely impressive album that should appeal far beyond his dedicated fanbase.

Review: In recent times Daniel Avery has been busy collaborating with the likes of Alessandro Cortini and Roman Flugel (the latter as Noun), so few expected him to drop a new solo album in 2020. Yet Love & Light, his surprise third full-length, could well be his most sonically stunning set to date. Beginning with the gaseous ambient opaqueness of 'London Island', the set sees him blaze a trail through 1990s style Sabres of Paradise/Sabresonic techno, hazy dub techno, beatless soundscapes and intense drone tones, before switching focus to deep, gentle and melodious mutations of breakbeat, IDM and electronica. The limited-edition CD also comes bundled with a bonus disc containing the music from Falling Light, a sound and vision installation he created for the 2019 Leeds International Festival.

Review: While undoubtedly one of dance music's greatest party-starters, Daniel Avery has never been a dance music purist. Over the years, there have been various quirky, downtempo-minded side projects and DJ mixes that show the impressive breadth of his musical knowledge. It's for this reason we're not that surprised to find that Song For Alpha, his first album since 2013, combines deeper and more trippy takes on his club-ready sound (home listening fodder, despite the drums) with escapist, early morning cuts inspired by ambient greats (Brian Eno, John Hassell etc.) and the after-hours electronica of Warp's pioneering Artificial Intelligence series. By mixing things up in this way, Avery has delivered what could well be his strongest body of work to date.

Review: On New Energy, an impressive cast of artists remix UK producer Daniel Avery's original material. Representing German house music is Roman Fluegel, whose dubby, expansive version of "All I Need" fuses jittery keys with blissed out vocal samples. Surprisingly, Volte Face from the BleeD club delivers a similar deep house take on "Platform Zero", its chiming keys unfolding over sweeping filters. There is also an unexpected remix from Token's O [Phase], whose version of "Naive Response" favours a blissful, percussive workout rather than his usual, abrasive sounds. Silent Servant's take on "Spring 27" is one of the few real techno remixes with an insistent, stabbing chord and a rumbling bass prevailing, while Factory Floor's version of "Drone Logic" is a mutant disco dub, laced with bubbling acid and detached vocals.

Review: Having given keen listeners a healthy preview in his Fabric live mix last year, the artist formerly known as Stopmakingme delivers his full-length album for Erol Alkan's Phantasy Sound. It's a limber brew that channels a strong dose of analogue trickery through smart and snappy beat constructions, all bubbling, aquatic synths and troubled delays propelled by unfussy drum patterns so that the melodies can do the talking. Primarily this is a dancefloor album, moving from peppy breakbeat driven numbers to gently bumping house, but always the playful, ineffably warm synth work sets the tone, from "Naive Response"s robotic charm to "Drone Logic"s soaring grind. It's an album brimming in confidence and nailed with precision, and it's packed full of incredibly usable floor rockers to boot.

Review: Phantasy Sound's main man Daniel Avery has linked up with modular wizard Alessandro Cortini for a debut full length, "Illusion Of Time". It came together over many years, with no real concept or constraints but it has still managed to make a powerful impact despite its spare, lo-fi, ambient vibes. There are heavier, darker tracks like "Inside The Ruins" that are brilliantly bleak, but also thoughtful meditations like the title track, which has some magical piano playing at its core. It's the rays of light amongst the darkness that make this such a beguiling and beautiful listen, and a perfect soundtrack to long lost days at home during lockdown.

Review: As a producer, Daniel Avery has rightfully earned a reputation as someone with a distinct stylistic vision. While he regularly flits between styles and tempos, his music retains a dark, horror-influenced edge that's rarely less than beguiling. During club sets, he rarely strays away from a dense techno template, selecting tracks that fit his distinctively foreboding style. It's this side to his musical personality that shines through on DJ Kicks. It begins and ends with two maudlin chunks of otherworldly ambience; in between, you'll find an array of booming, late night techno jams from the likes of Shlomo, Planetary Assault Systems, Slam and Artefakt. Naturally, it's slickly mixed, resulting in a paranoid journey through 21st century body music.

Review: The rise of London producer Daniel Avery has been little short of staggering. Less than two years ago, he was relatively unknown beyond the confines of blogland. Now, thanks to a string of acclaimed productions and a blossoming DJ career, he's been afforded the opportunity to mix the latest instalment of the FabricLive series. Musically, FabricLive 66 offers a snapshot of where he's at now, delivering a tough but flowing mix of fuzzy electronic rhythms, stripped-back techno, gnarled acid house and tactile, next-level electronica (see Gatto Fritto's superb remix of JR Seaton's "Way Savvy"). There are also occasional forays into electroclash-ish territory (Miss Kittin, Raudive) and a smattering of Avery's own productions, making FabricLive 66 a formidable proposition.