Breakbeat charts

Review: MOY has been whipping a very tasty strain of braindance over the past year across a number of labels such as AC Records, Batrachian and Exalt. These are surely bountiful times for warm, playful acid and tricksy electro, and this latest drop from the London-based artist on new label Emotec surely adds fuel to the fire. MOY's sound is rounded and self-assured, striding forth with the moody, breaks n' bleeps vibe of 'Dreamcoast' and bolstered by the emotional jack of 'Wheel Of Time'. 'Echolab' has a fatter, more polished finish to it, but once again the gnarly 101 and 303 lines are front and centre. 'Cyclotron' offers up something a little deeper to close the EP out, completing a beautifully rendered set of braindance dynamics.

Review: Following on from his remixes of Robert James' LP Battle Of The Planets, Berlin-based Klix goes in for the kill with four examples of club-friendly grooves that are big on dancefloor dynamics but also boast a delicate sensitivity to melody that's often left behind when it comes to the minimal/tech genre. Check, for instance, the distinctly understated acid undertow to 'Just Tell Me', balanced beautifully with lush, New Order-esque pads, or the almost imperceptible trails of flute left across the landscape of 'Satisfaction'. Best of all is probably 'Squanchy Thoughts' featuring Shibafu No Baga, the vocoders and synth lines rendering it like a post-rave Kraftwerk.

Review: The sixth UFOs outing is another intergalactic adventure in sonic form and this time at the buttons it's New Balaance, a Mexican artist at the heart of a new wave. Space Jungle though is an apt title for this EP, which kicks off with some stylish breaks and nimble basslines overlaid with lush cosmic arps. 'Space Jungle' (feat Parallax Modulators brings a more pensive mood thanks to the sustained chords and deeper grooves, but subtle acid and chattery perc bring it to life. 'Grantourismo' is a lively and dynamic cut with more swirling synth work while 'Redemption' closes down this quartet of excellent explorations with a mix of 90s prog, techno and breakbeats all imbued with plenty of colour.

Review: 'Loose Fit' isn't always the first song name that springs to mind when thinking about the Happy Mondays, but the immediately identifiable opiate guitar riff is up there with the band's most memorable and infectious. A highlight of the group's third album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, the track was already dancefloor ready before this pack of re-dos arrived on the scene. We're glad it did, though. Greg Wilson and Che Wilson open the scoring, keeping things thoroughly Manchester and acid-tinged, it's a trip through the blue lights and sweat of a warehouse at 2AM. The Grid's EOE Edit and subsequent Remix take the tempo down and the atmosphere deeper, almost druggier if that could humanly be possible given the wider context here. Topped off with a post-club overture in the form of the epic downbeat Perfecto version, and you might want to stick it in the shopping cart now.

Review: Analogue pressure from Bufobufo, who stops over in Japan for Cabaret Recordings after earlier international stints with Art Of Dark, Partout and Furthur Electronix. His second single for the label, founded by So Inagawa and DJ Masda, proffers a hypnotic blend, binarising the mood with the sliding melodes of 'Watercourse' and 'Armour Plated' with comparatively sparse and gritty perc-slaps of 'Wood Ant' and 'Cinnabar'. That strange but difficult-to-nail split between of hypnotic intrigue and immediacy is well and truly nailed.

Review: Planet Trip returns with its twelfth release which is by Tempo Temple aka label staples Caravan & Lord Safari, with a heavy 12' of elevated machine jams and dancefloor ready heaters. It begins with the celestial acid of 'Spell' followed by the deep and tunnelling chugger 'Enter The Temple' (Outstanding Invoice mix). On the flip, venture deep into the exotic on 'Days Of Chandra', be further entranced on 'Nights Of Chandra' before the break of dawn that sets the stage for some sunrise breaks on the Transit State remix of the A1 track.

Review: Dutchman Tifra is given the reins for the second release on the Dutch label Proxy and does great job of taking inspiration from 90s rave sounds and weaving them carefully into his own futuristic grooves with a tech house and minimal aesthetic. Bold bass and sleek rhythms define these cuts from the slick and spaced out sounds of 'Peninsula' to the warped and pulsing sounds of 'The Algorythm' and broken beat lushness of 'Bio Lab.' Also on the B side, Local Group bring a distinctive mix of UK breaks, d&b and rave into their arresting remix of 'Bio Lab'.

Review: The Red Bul & Gyn label made a good impression with its first release and now the founders Thomas Bulwer and G Glynn step up with a second collaborative EP of fresh tech and minimal. 'Caffeine' is a shot of energy with its rising synth lines and dramatic sense of intergalactic space travel over a busy, acidic bassline. 'Like It Ruff' is an old school throwback with rap vocals and electro beats, then 'Acid Wash Conflict' is a thumping tech house sound with unsettling pads. 'Techno Talk' closes down with a mid-tempo electro sound and retro-future edge.

Review: Daniela La Luz returns with her third album, System Reset, on her own label Dimension Of Being Human. Created after her long illness and her father's death, it parallels the planet's delicate state and the duality of joy and mortality in life. Written in Berlin and Munich, the artist connects past, present, and future as she sings in English, Polish, and Arabic. The AI-generated artwork complements her music's blend of light and darkness in a record that stylishly spans jazz, house, techno, pop, wave, electro, ambient, and dub while offering both dance-friendly tracks and beatless interludes. It's a poignant and personal work.