Kepler

Review: You would expect an EP titled "Retro-Future" to do a good job in uniting sounds from dance music's past and present. Naturally, Kepler's does just that on his first Sukhumvit release, opening with a hot-to-trot workout that adds warehouse-ready, turn-of-the-90s acid bass and glassy-eyed electronic riffs to smooth and shuffling tech-house drums ("Pickled"). He continues the glassy-eyed fun on the more squelchy, vintage MK-influenced bustle of "Out of Time" and "Groove Breakfast", which sounds like it could have been recorded at any time since 1990 (for the record, it also boasts some lovely piano stabs). Arguably best of all, though, is closing cut "In The Loft", which sits somewhere between '90s Italian house and organ-rich New Jersey garage.

Review: Kepler has already been on a barnstorming run over the past 12 months with key drops on Pleasure Zone, Hoarder and Discotech amongst many others, not to mention his killer garage excursions as 0113. Now he shores up on Constant Sound with some fizzing, energetically charged techno that packs a punch and dazzles on top thanks to an acute sense of melody. DX7 organ basslines collide with cosmic arps and a thumping rhythm section on "Contact", while "Afterglow" takes things a little deeper without dropping the tempo. "Movement" revels in a cascade of interwoven synth lines, while "Pulse" takes a leaner, clubbier route without losing that up-for-it rush around the upper 120 BPM range.

Review: Matthew Farrow brings his Kepler project back to Aesthetic following sterling turns on Silencio, Pathway Traxx and Pleasure Zone. The vibe is infectiously bouncy on opening track "Us01", while "Heads Down" stays true to its title as it favours a subtle approach for meditative immersion in the tech house tradition. "Dream State" finds Farrow exploring his jazzy tendencies once more with some ace, ear-catching chords that skip around a shuffling beat. "Locker" rounds the EP out with a mellow, dubby groover shaped out by gaseous pads and underpinned by a subtle, wriggling synth line.

Review: The fourth release on LONEWOLF comes from a cast of underground talents. Four phenomenal slices of retro-futuristic techno by EYA Records aficionados Manuk,Otis and new affiliates Kepler and AC130.