Juno Recommends Electro: May 2022

Review: As the rather matter-or-fact title makes clear, this double-vinyl collection from Cultivated Electronics draws together eight tracks from what they call 'emerging artists' - basically talented but largely previously unheard producers who are just starting out on their careers. Yet had it not been for the title, you wouldn't assume these are tracks by newcomers, such is the quality of the punchy, often intergalactic-sounding electro on show. Our picks of a very fine bunch include the dystopian, Drexciya-inspired 'Anatta' by Imogen, the surging, body-popping brilliance of Sergey Timoshov's 'Electro Beats 1', the wayward electronics, blissful melodies, darting synth-bass and bustling beats of Cyphon's 'Nightmare', and the deep, atmospheric brilliance of 'Weightless' by Fazak.

Review: Originally released in 2012, DJ Stingray 313's first and only album gets a complete and utter do-over, with a new album cover and label to boot. For an album released nearly 10 years ago, this bit is remarkably ahead of its time, and arguably better than what most heads agree electro should sound like in 2022. Soft, sinister and scratchy, 'F.T.N.W.O.' emerges and slowly outwards from conspiratorial talk of a "new world order" on the first track. All this comes before 'Dark Arts', 'Denial Of Service' and 'Image Search' prove to be the best examples Stingray's watery, smoked-out approach, working in electro's faster trajectories. One of the best dance albums of the 2010s, this is electro as malleable, with Stingray hinting at dark futures, vast conspiracies, and lost minds throughout.

Review: Electro Records offer up this new Sci Fi Electro series on nice coloured vinyl. It saw the label ask each artist to craft a 15 minute track for each side of the record, so the results are as broad as they are brilliant. There are club ready electro tracks with robust drum programming, experimental compositions, sounds and atmospheres and plenty in between. Each side is split into movements but with no gaps between tracks.This editor, inspired by the legendary Trop, follows other sin the series which have taken their cues from 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Thing, Akira and Terminator.

Review: Just who is this Disk / Diskop character behind the Whiteloops series? In the past six years this Dutch label has become a reliable source for wet n' wild rave gear where the boxy punch of electro meets with gnarly acid and 'ardcore stylings. On this latest jam, 'Hold Your Wig' comes in on a slow and funky tempo, but it's no slouch when it comes to wigged out and wobbly party vibes. 'Partway' ups the energy a touch, and threads in plenty of edgy riffs and hooks in a manner which tips somewhere between US big beat a la The Crystal Method and a snappier electro sound palette.

Review: When cult Norfolk gathering Houghton Festival was cancelled in 2019 because of high winds, ARA-U* & Radioactive Man had just bought their booze and were already on their way. After a moment's sadness, they decided to turn bad news into good and head to the studio to work on some tracks. For the next two days, they stayed high on music as their Prophet, 101, 808, 303, and the Juno synths whirred and flashed. Turning a bad situation into a great collection of tracks with their latest collaborative release 'The Houghton Blues EP across two sides of vinyl, serving up pure analogue vibes and raw machine electro funk. The opener ''Sounds Like Prince' is electrifying from the off with its neck-snapping drums and perc and squelchy synth lines. 'Machines Chit Chat' is a deeper cut with cosmic synths, 'What Happened To The Stash' is as dark and urgent as the title suggests. then closer 'The Houghton Blues' brings a sense of machine soul that will melt your heart.

Review: Precision is fittingly the name of veteran producer Exzakt's game, as he wrist-flicks a knife edge new selection of hurtful and piercing electro tunes our way, 'Essential Cuts'. The whole thing's got a measured sharpness of of about HRC-100. Of course, this LP is a masterclass of fighting with both old and new blades, as classic tracks are stylistically woven in with new productions to a degree that we can't tell the difference between old and new. There's merit to laconically staying rooted in your production ways; Jensen Interceptor adds a blade of hay to the needlestack on the old-skool axe bit 'Me My 808', which snaps away into oblivion.

Review: Zobol is a reliably prolific entity within the current electro scene, and he's at it once again with this fresh EP for Analog Concept. The record opens up with the positively lush sound of 'No Disguise', which lands somewhere between the dreamiest delights of Detroit and sunkissed Florida machine funk. It's a record to blow the Winter blues away, that's for sure. 'Clarity' meanwhile has a noirish braindance quality to it, and the title track nudges up into acidic, borderline ravey territory with a sweet accent in the synth department. CPU-signed artist Nullptr steps up for a remix of 'Mirage', softening its edges and getting expressive with the synth work.

Review: Under the alias 4E, producer Can Oral created his own unique sound of raw, futuristic acid-electro. The A-Side tracks "Ask Isadora" and "Conga Banana" first appeared on the album, Blue Note, released on Home Entertainment in 1996. On the flip are two unreleased tracks picked from his extensive archive and edited by FIT Siegel. These were also recorded during this era, which Can describes below:

"In the 90s I moved to NYC to start a band with Jimi Tenor. I had a small flat in the East Village with the apartment number 4E and that became my artist name for the downtempo and electro material I was working on. The style I called Futuristic Electro because I didn't want to relate to the old school with this. I had my studio on the kitchen floor and pretty much only used EMU SP-1200, TB-303, TR-808 and SH-101 by good ol' Roland. In a way NYC was still developing because it was all about house music. In 1995, I opened Temple Records in Manhattan with Dr Walker from Air Liquide and DJ DB from Smile Communications. The record shop was inside the Liquid Sky clothing store. After a fire in the shop, along with a falling out with the owner I decided to talk to a fortune teller to find out what the future held. Her name was Isadora, and she had a TV show called "Ask Isadora." She told me on live television to move out, have my own shop and be independent, so I did. Thanks Isadora!"

Review: Binary Operator on unknown to the Unknown is always going to get people excited. His debut for the label does not disappoint either: it opens with the lush synth smears and rugged bass of 'System Booting' before cutting a little morellos on 'Bits & Bytes' which is all bleeps and squeals. ON the flipside is maybe the best track of the whole EP for us - 'Colliding Network' is a spacious and roomy electro track that is deeply atmospheric and just as cinematic. The synths are eerie and the bass characterful. Last of all is 'Data Crash' which is a squelchy and sleazy bit of sludgy electro.

Review: Soma sub-label Avoidant Records recently put out a fantastic collection fo electro cuts but it was a digital only release. Now some of the standouts from it get pulled together on this fresh new 12"that joins the dots between Europe and Detroit. DJ Godfather kicks off with some rapid fire 313 electro, squirrelling bass and slick claps then 'One Direct Line' from The Exaltics is more cosmic and blissed out with lush ambient synths. On the flip, Flug goes hard with mad digital patterns and Blaktony layers up jacking drums, corrugated bass and dark hits. Great stuff.

Review: NOUN Records is a brand new sub-label of the much love Undersound Recordings, and it is all about serving up electronic music exclusively on 10" format. Caramel Chameleon opens up with a couple of tunes that he says are inspired by memories he has of childhood when he would walk on green hills. 'Sugary 2096 (Acid mix)' sure has a nostalgic feel, with its conversational synth leads and subtle acid lines washing over a crisp, punchy electro beat. O the flip is the more downbeat 'Apulian Feelings' with its rasping bassline and gentle, smeared chords bring a cosmic feel. A fine first EP.

Review: Veteran Irish producer Lerosa is back with a new one this week on local imprint Lunar Disko. The Trust EP features six terrific tracks all delivered in his singular style. On the A side, it opens up with the experimental synth intro 'Who Can You Trust', followed by the moody, almost John Carpenter-ish soundtrack vibe of "Revelations' and 'Reborn'. On the flip over, he heads to Detroit on the sci-fi electro of "Condition 1" and the acidified computer funk of 'Slow Bear'.

Review: Although he rarely speaks about the project in public, His Master's Voice is the itechno alias of underground deep house producer (and sometime Raw Soul label contributor) Jaines Bomt. Carry On In My name sees the shadowy German producer return to Delsin for the first time in nearly three years. There's plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the breathlessly up-tempo, broken techno rhythms and filthy analogue bass of 'Lotek' and the '90s ambient techno-influenced deep space wooziness of 'Lion', to the Motor City electro-futurism of 'Bassline' and the Autechre-at-their-most-melodic flex of 'Carry On In My Name'.

Review: Electro without borders: Pareidolia Recordings is glad to present its seventh release in the form of this the 2xLP titled Electro Became Electro, featuring seven artists and their unique interpretations of classic sounds. British veteran Dawl gets his bleep 'n' bass on in typical fashion with the strobing 'Machines In Effect', RXmode & Francois Dillinger darkly scan the dystopic lowlands on "Liquid Chamber" before DJ Home ushers you aboard the acid express on "Muffin The Cat". Finally Wachita China serves up some future booty bass on "Under The Influence".

Review: Roberto Auser has the accolade of serving up a first ever full length for Leipzigs Lunatic Records here. All eight of the tunes that make it up are brand new propositions and they slowly but surely burrow their way deep into your brain. The sound is alien and future, with crunchy walls of percussion and lurching drums making for a doom-and-gloom vibe on the opener while 'Open Sky' kicks off a little more in its own cyber world of sonic warfare. The heaviness never leaves tracks like 'Touch Your Fear' and 'Insecticide' is a real thinker. This record is limited to just 200 copies so do not sleep.

Review: After a bit of a quiet recent period, Pinkman is back with a bang here. It comes at the hands-off the venerated Pablo Bozzi who debuts on the label with a mini LP that is well-crafted across all six tunes. He has a real love of 80s Italo sounds which make plenty of appearances here, alongside further influences drawn from things like early 90s Goa as well as hefty bass music. As he flits between all this he never loses sight of the dancefloor and layers in plenty of shimmering melodies and euphoric moments to make each track truly potent.

Review: Next up on Belgium's WeMe Records is Photodementia, a project started in 1997 by Bernard 'Monolith' Davies, Newcastle native Ellen O'Malley and Frenchman Victor Beaudet. They released two EPs on their eponymous label between 2012 - 2013 which was a sub label of Rephlex. IMG000 features new or unreleased material which will be familiar to fans of their sound: from the locomotive, hypnotic chug of opener 'PD Stomp', the sombre dystopian atmosphere of 'Arrange 7', the upbeat 4/4 computer funk of 'Dwel' to the contemplative and understated late night groove of 'Watch Your Mids' - the influence of Detroit electro is a constant throughout albeit their interesting twist on it. Highly recommended.