TODD SINES Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Todd Sines has been on an incredibly productive roll of late, and now he's been invited to lay down some of his incendiary machine jams for Nail's 89:Ghost label. The Internal Dialogue EP kicks off with the creepy, metallic tones of "Pacifist", matching Sines' trademark jerking grooves with almost industrial textures. "Throat" takes things in an equally curious direction, pinging deep house dynamics into a weird zone where discord and sound processing subtly infect the blueprint with stunning results. "Plink" is remarkably upfront in comparison, not least thanks to the huge monosynth lead blurting out at the front of the mix. "Settle" finishes the record off with a brilliantly crooked deconstruction built around off-kilter drum hits and wonky key stabs that could only come from Sines' distinctive sound palette.

Review: The first release from Todd Sines in four years! Featuring vocalist Natacha Labelle, it's a collision of house, techno, funk and more. Todd Sines comments: "Painstakingly crafted over the course of four years, these tracks were individually recorded in four different studios in Toronto and New York, with a variety of obstacles to overcome. The transition from Mac OS9 to OSX, Logic to Live, Mac to PC, PC to Mac, Live to Logic, 48.1 to 320 kps MP3 to 44.1khz, analogue to digital, digital to analogue; not to mention four major relationships, a few flings, a few intercontinental flights and 6 different apartments." This EP is a testament to the hardships Mr. Sines and his loyal cats have endured over the last four years.

Review: Andy Vaz's Background Records is one of the hallmarks of creativity and inspiration that came out of the peak clicks n cuts era of minimal techno around the mid 00s. As such, it's great to see him revisit some of the most timeless material from the label via this carefully curated series of classics. His own "Still On Time" is actually a previously unreleased affair that bubbles with warmth and clarity, while Kit Clayton's "Buffalo" plies a unique line in off-centre, uptempo techno. Rhythm Maker (better known these days as Harmonious Thelonious) plumbs the depths of dubbed out minimalism on "Alles Mainstream", and the ever-swinging machine master Todd Sines brings the tightly clipped funk on "Trap".

Review: Here is an irrepressibly funky set of old-school techno tracks from Todd Sines (under the Xtrak guise). The "Back Up EP" presents four slamming samplings of techno-funk. Acidy synths burble and ricochet over sexily slithering basslines, backbeat hi-hats, stomping kick drums and snares.