Juno Recommends Electro July 2019

Review: In the face of all those Clone reissue compilations, Tresor are doing the right thing and digging into their own archive of seminal aquatic machine funk from Detroit electro legends Drexciya, and stepping up with the Hydro Doorways EP is the kind of power move that most labels can only dream of being able to make. From the cinematic drama of "Quantum Hydrodynamics" to the textbook boogie down synth abandon of "Polymono Plexusgel", not forgetting the heavy-on-the-one throwdown of "Lost Vessel" or the alien gurgles and peppy pace of "Species On The Pod", or the... oh you know the drill. This is timeless, essential business for anyone that takes electronic music seriously.

Review: With a true curation of artists, this double LP marks the eclectic and passionate works from Public System. The latest in the synth-heavy sludgedown from the ever impressive imprint, invites a new cast of characters into the dungeon dance. The common theme throughout this collection, seems to be wide, slowed down melancholy. Some tracks take a floor-focused jump, while others demand the attentive consumption of a more serene setting. These two discs are packed with dynamic, chugging, and forward thinking jams that make you mesh all things the imprint is clearly passionate for.

Review: LFT has already made a sizable impact on his gnarly, muscular brand of weathered electro and techno, and now he's been snapped up by Zement to deliver another four rowdy roundhousers. "Nucleon" channels the best of minimal wave and gives it a deadly dose of modern acid revelry that will incite fevered responses on the floor, while "Wounds" takes things in a spookier B-movie direction without shaking off those powerful 303 demons. "The Cure For My Kind" manifests as a kind of nightmarish electro, and "Hypno Haniwa" takes another route into machine funk for malevolent souls, with stunning results.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Larry McCormick's Monotone label is one of the finest outposts for darkside electro operating in these bountiful times for the genre, and following on from the first volume of vinyl-only compilation MonoTrax, brace yourselves for round two. The Hacker is at his stalking, sinister best on "Rhythmus Machine," while McCormick himself brings a tough, street-level grittiness to "Root Code." Cosmic Force is on a dystopian sci fi tip with the nagging synth patterns of "Maximilian Of Roma", and DeFeKT completes the package with the audacious synth acrobatics and jackhammer beats of "I Am Here." What more do you need to know? This is high-end electro business for down and dirty, sweat-box dancefloors.

Review: Analogue hardware enthusiasts London Modular Alliance return to Kirk Degiorgio's storied Applied Rhythmic Technology label following a string of fine outings on Private Persons and Dimensions Recordings. Interesting, LMA believe that the EP boasts their strongest collection of cuts to date and we tend to agree. Opener "Peach Heat" sets the tone via rubbery but rock solid electro beats, wild electronics and echoing deep space sounds, before they pitch down the tempo on the sparse, spaced-out heaviness of "Harnessed Black Holes". Further body-rocking dancefloor explorations are provided on the flip, first by the Dexter style heavy electro throb of "Lavendah" and then via the booming bass, foreboding tribal drums and razor-sharp TB-303 pulses of "Precious Materials".

Review: This tidy EP gathers together some of The Hacker's most sought-after early tracks, all of which have been re-mastered to leave them sounding weightier than ever. First up is the pulsating brilliance of electro-techno fusion workout "At Night", which - like two other cuts on the EP - first appeared on legendary 1998 12" "A Strange Day". This prime chunk of mind-altering body music is swiftly followed by the sparkling, saucer-eyed alien electro-funk of "Leather Dreams" and the hard-wired Kraftwerk style electro heaviness of "Body Electric" (a fuzz-soaked slammer based around the Robots' "Numbers" that initially came out in 1998). "The Night Flight", a bubbly Drexciya style number from 1999, completes a fantastic package.

Review: UK techno producer Sigha returns to his experimental project Faugust for the first time since the Devotions (1984 - 2006) EP on the short lived Avian sub label Mira five years ago. Unlike its predecessor, "Parallel Rave Fantasies" resurrects his long-dormant Our Circula Sound imprint and dives into new sonic territory, incorporating more IDM and generative music. Check the mind-mangling and glitchy "Cold Harbour", the demented digitized soundscape of "Process Aesthetics" and the brutalist, body bashing industrial of closer "Definition".

Review: Amsterdam-based lo-fi expert Swiere Westveen aka Betonkunst takes time out from working with good buddy Palmbomen II and flies solo here for French imprint Nocta Numerica. The Sent Items EP features four edgy and gritty cuts that are well fit for retroverts: from the unholy mixture of coldwave, EBM and acid on "Fentanyl", to the neon-lit dystopia of electro bass thumper "Because I Want To Fit In" and the dreamy B side cut that is the title track going for a slo-mo almost pop feel. We're pretty sure you'll be all over this grainy/all analogue affair from this rising Dutch artist. Comes as a limited edition of 300 copies.