DJS: MOST CHARTED - TECHNO - MOST CHARTED IN APRIL 2015

Review: Deep house veteran Ramon Lisandro Quezada AKA DJ QU makes his debut for Giles Smith and James Priestley's Secretsundaze imprint with a fine EP of woozy, off-kilter house. "SS1" is rolling, hypnotic and trance-like in its' dedication to groove, with darting electronics and looped riffs riding a wonky, late night rhythm. "Fearless", on the other hand, is loose and trippy, all curious vocal samples and swirling strings. Finally, "Loveboxx" offers a dose of saucer-eyed late night fun via a pulsating bassline, cascading chords, delay-laden percussion and dusty, sun-baked melodies.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Ghosts of the Sky is a new project from Taelue and Chicagodeep, the producers behind the occasional Perpetual Rhythms label. They begin in a murky mood with "Asylum", a low-slung, dub-influenced late night techno shuffler that makes great use of foreboding, horror-inspired chords, ghoulish electronics and delay-laden vocal yelps. It sounds like a contemporary take on the kind of gothic moodiness once offered up by Bauhaus. There's more of an unflustered aesthetic about "Squash", a throbbing deep techno jam that makes great use of undulating acid lines and picturesque chords. Flipside "Cycle Turning" closes proceedings by joining the dots between the yearning beauty of classic deep house, the far-sighted electronics of futurist techno and clattering intensity of analogue drum machine rhythms.

Review: WOW! Upon The Gates Of The Great Depth is the latest DJ Spider long player and it's been keeping the Juno office stereo busy all week. The New Yorker has kept himself busy throughout the last few years, releasing on everything from Will Bankhead's TTT together with Marshallito to Nord Records and Killekill. As we expected, this LP is a perfect representation of what Spider does best in the studio, making chunky analogue techno with a house appeal. Put simply, this isn't the sort of techno that's become associated with Berlin's dancefloors, for example, but it's something a lot darker, a lot more complex and filled to the brim with the Big Apple's grit and urban paranoia. Recommended

Review: On an unstoppable march into the deepest reaches of forward thinking electronic music, Aybee delivers once again with another slab of stunning vision on his own Deepblak. "Metamorphosis" starts the EP off in illustrious fashion with graceful sweeps of pads that flirt with a subtle kinked beat, and little else. "The Sky Is Ours" meanwhile revolves around a more stout 4/4 beat than we're used to from the Oakland producer, but still the extra percussive decoration pushes and pulls in alien formations that create a truly unique groove. "Centrifical Seduction" gets a touch more playful, as a nippy bassline darts around sombre synth notes and a stout handclap guides you through. Beats wise it may be more grounded than many Aybee records, but the feeling is still truly out of this world.

Review: A.1 "Rampage" is an explosive toolish techno tune, that submerges in a dark but atmosferic radiance with heavy pulsating drums and bass lines that engulfes into total deepness. A track frull of atitude. B.1 "Chase" on the flippside is another straight forward thinking production, that overcomes with overdimensional chords and with an intelligent funky sequence that wraps you in again and again.

Review: Contest for Supremacy is DJ Spider and Marshallito's second release for Will Bankhead's label and features three quite mind boggling productions. If you lock into Rinse on the regular you should be familiar with lead cut "Nuclear Winter" which features their trademark sticky programming and bizarre vocal incantations before a midpoint deviation into the most delightful jazz piano breakdown and sampled African chants. The grubby beatdown of "Geiger Count" bristles with kinetic energy and sci fi overtones, just wait for the track to unravel as a voice utters "hello, I am from the planet Mars and I need help". B side hogger "Zero Point" is the nearest thing to a banger here and is rife with more unsettling, post-apocalyptic vocal samples.

Review: While establishing the Fit Sound imprint affiliated with the Detroit distro outlet of the same name , Aaron 'Fit' Siegel has been careful not to load the imprint with too many of his own productions, choosing instead to deliver material from Marcellus Pittman, Anthony 'Shake' Shakir, MGUN and Dungeon Acid. Here he makes a welcome return with two tracks of melodious, atmospheric, Motor City deepness. "Carmine" is particularly alluring, with twinkling melodies winding their way around yearning pads, bittersweet chords and shuffling, cymbal-heavy percussion. "First Found" is a little more forthright, with off-key pianos and scattergun electronics riding a tougher, locked-in groove.

Review: It's surprising that Stenny have been kept strictly within the bounds of Ilian Tape thus far, given the distinctive nature of their output, but that's all the better for the label. The quality remains pleasingly high on this latest single, while at five tracks they're no slouches on quantity either. "Caveberg" makes a strong opening statement with its fractious groove and dreamy swathes of grainy chords, while "Hagale" represents a more propulsive if no less swinging techno romp. "Sublimation" meanwhile fuses both concerns to make for a thoroughly cosmic approach to tough, jagged techno, and "Ruins" layers its percussion in a thrilling, tribally-influenced formation before "Three Mile Island" cools the record down with a straining, distorted slice of ambience.

Review: Stefan Ringer is usually associated to funky, swinging soulful kinda house with a rough edge but his new Black Suede moniker has replaced that for a darker, more ethereal sound texture. Debuting for CGI Records, the servings begin with "Connect Like 2 Ways", a granular techno driller-thriller with subtle nuances of soul; "Stimulus (Dead)" is an utterly stripped drum machine jam with a nervous percussion and otherworldly atmospherics. On the flip, "7713GH" is rough and ready, swinging and aimed at the floor, while "Purgatory" is deeper, more swollen and rather hypnotic on the ol' cortex. Four stunning and diverse techno excursions.

Review: Lobster Theremin has been rather canny with the way it uses its white label series, often to deliver debuts from previously unheard talent. Hedge Maze certainly fits the bill, with Dysania marking the Leeds-based youngster's first release of note. Undeniably fuzzy, otherworldly, intoxicating and drenched in tape hiss, the EP's three tracks sound like the work of an experienced head rather than a relative newcomer. There's happily much to admire, from the sci-fi textures, lolloping beats and intergalactic chords of the opening untitled track, to the sludgy, dreamy, pitched-down Detroit chords, metallic sweeps and head-nodding pulse of "(Slow)". If this is anything to go by, Hedge Maze could be a name to watch in future.

Review: Given their previously proclaimed love of ghetto house and its' various similarly minded offshoots, its little surprise to find Glasgow's Numbers crew putting out a "greatest hits" EP from long-serving Chicago producer (and former Dance Mania regular) DJ Deeon. The four cuts that make up Deeon Doez Deeon are not necessarily meant to be his finest moments - though they are all killer - but instead represent the Numbers' crew's favourites. There's plenty to get excited about, from the organ craziness, bumpin' beats and classic disco vocals of "2 Be Free" and blistering "House-O-Matic", to the classic, cut-up vocals and stuttering, ghetto rhythms of "Freak Like Me" (first released way back in 1996).

Review: Having previously starred on an unfeasibly large number of labels (including Rush Hour, Ovum, Liebe Detail and Burek), Kink adds another to the growing list. Cloud Generator marks his first appearance on Running Back, and contains, in the words of label boss Gerd Janson: "music for big rooms, wide eyes and small brains". In some ways, it's an apt description. Undeniably old skool in outlook, the EP's four main tracks variously doff a cap to vintage European techno (the blistering title track, which comes complete with many early '90s Belgian trademarks), hands-in-the-air, hardcore influenced techno (the saucer-eyed riffs and booming low end of "Diversion") and twinkling Balearic house ("Pocket Piano", which also gets a rave-era breakbeat re-touch).

Review: Having made his name during the late '90s and early 2000s as a maker of particularly forthright techno, Oliver Ho has broadened his horizons in recent years. Nowhere is that more obvious on his Broken English Club project, which debuted last year with a pair of industrial and EBM minded releases for Jealous God and Minimal Wave offshoot Cititrax. Here he returns to the latter, laying down more fuzzy, straight-to-tape journeys into analogue, mid '80s dancefloor experimentalism. There's naturally much to enjoy, from the peak Cabaret Voltaire grittiness of "Drycutting", and the bleak EBM throb of "Ritual Killing", to the ghostly synthesizers, Jaydee bass and droning textures of "Channel 83".

Review: Some new Planetary Assault Systems material from Mr Luke Slater is always a welcome sight and The Eyes Themselves finds the techno pioneer on suitably mind bending form. Issued naturally by his own Mote Evolver, this three track 12" bristles with the sort of intense, physical energy that makes the music feel alive and somewhat alien with the title track a perfect embodiment. Across the six minutes, "The Eyes Themselves" develops from a dark throb into full blown techno psychedelia that possesses the ability to draw the more open minds into another dimension. Similar things could be said about "Strange Attractor" so we will draw your attention to the B side cut "Arc" where intensity is the predominant characteristic across the eight thrilling minutes.

Review: British techno veterans Jonas Stone and Oliver Way have pulled off something of a coup here, not only by persuading Robert Hood to appear on their EPM Music imprint, but also by including a track from the Detroit legend's Floorplan alias (amazingly, Hood has previously kept the two projects entirely separate). Naturally, both tracks hit home hard. "Shaker" is prime Hood - an intoxicating, no-holds-barred techno looper built around a killer groove, foreboding chords and occasional vocal samples. On the Floorplan side, Hood reaches for the gospel organs, filtering and looping them up over a thunderous kick drum and typically relentless ride cymbals. As usual with Hood Floorplan material, there's enough soul in the machines to impress even the pickiest techno buyer.

Review: Here's something to get the juices flowing: an "ultra-limited", white label 12" featuring reworks of material by Detroit veteran Delano Smith, by two powerhouses of Berlin techno: Efdemin and Tobias. The former handles side A, laying down a thrillingly cyclical, hypnotic concoction built around crackly textures, floaty, dubbed-out synthesizer motifs and Efdemin's usual driving, rolling percussion. Tobias opts for a bolder approach on the flip, filling out the sound-space with spacey pads, fizzing beats, a typically tactile Motor City bassline, delay-laden woodblock hits and effortless melodies.

Review: Noise Manifesto is a new creative endeavour from techno producer Paula Temple, less a label and more a "platform for electronic music artists that do not follow the distorted norms". The first release brings together the collective talents of rRoxymore, The Knife's Oni Ayhun, Planningtorock (as Aquarian Jugs) and Paula Temple as Jaguar Woman for Decon Recon #1, a four track 12" that smudges away traditional notions of artistic authorship. Instead of explicitly stating who did what on Decon Recon, the music is presented as a collective with no signifier, leaving you to enjoy the sounds unencumbered by prejudice or expectation. There's a wonderfully off kilter feeling running through all four tracks, as the traditional tropes of techno rub up against odd textural tones and weirded out strings. A fine start to the Noise Manifesto.

Review: It's Various Artists time for Mistress Recordings, continuing the hair colour theme that has been running with The Brunette and The Redhead. DVS1's sublabel is known for opening up to more diverse sounds and it shows here, as you get treated to bouncy deep abstractions from Jonas Friedlich, dirty analogue immersion from ASOK, dreamy house music from Nicson and An Gelo, and crisp mournful techno from Kirill Mamin. What binds all these tracks together is the melancholic atmospheres and the tough line in rhythm that goes hand in hand with DVS1's artistic temperament. Both playable and intriguing, there's nothing not to love about this EP.

Review: Luke Standing's latest release features more of the same 90s-themed techno, but with a twist. Introspective sounds like he has refined and streamlined his influences. This is evident from the outset; "Introspective 1" is a stab-heavy affair, led by a rolling, high-tempo rhythm and nagging hats. It sounds like a cleaner, more functional take on vintage Dave Angel and Darren Price. The big changes happen on "2" and "3"; on both tracks, the grooves are more pulsing and linear, but the glacial chords and sensuous, soaring strings show that Blue Hour is set to keep an eye on the past as well as the present.

Review: Tunnel Vision sees one of the Token label's main artists in O [Phase] return with some welcome new material, Ashley Burchett's first full release in almost a year. At two tracks deep, this 12" is geared purely for the deepest recesses of time in your club of choice as O [Phase] carves out some extended dark productions. There's an unstoppable forward momentum to "Tunnel Vision" as the thick low end and jagged percussion surge ever onwards, whilst "Internal Conflict (Acts 1-3)" might well be Burchett's craftiest production yet as Burchett draws out an increasingly torturous acid riff over ten minutes.

Review: Between 1994 and the end 1995, Todd 'XTrak' Sines could do no wrong, releasing a trio of formidable EPs for Peacefrog and 7th City that delivered some seriously good, stripped-back techno-funk. Two decades on, Sines has revisited his tape archives from that period, and put together an excellent collection of previously unreleased jams for Rawax. There's naturally plenty to enjoy, from the throbbing, bass-heavy hustle of "This Time", and the bubbling, undulating funk of "Restart (Original)", the Hardfloor-ish darkroom pump of "Tar06", and early Swag style clanking tech-house of "Bell". Robust, analogue heavy and full of funk, Tape Archives is an essential selection of previously unheard '90s techno gems.

Review: After a strong first release, Berlin-based minimal wave and general leftfield electronics label In The Dark Again delivers a very sizable salvo for a second release, not least down to the power of the two In Aeternam Vale tracks contained within. "Valium Water" finds the resurgent '80s outfit in a most captivating techno mode, keeping the fuzzy sonic qualities and ranging harmonious tones intact while maintaining a propulsive energy that would slot right in to a contemporary dancefloor setting. "I Can't Stand It Anymore" meanwhile harks back to a more song-writing mentality, complete with icy vocals and wondrously distorted guitar-esque synth. As if that wasn't enough, Ekoplekz also delivers another example of his more refined musicianship on "Jazz The 403", working his rough n' ready set up to a skipping and shuffling arrangement populated by expressive doodles of synth.

Review: For their first missive of 2015, legendary German techno label Tresor has turned to two French producers; veteran DJ Deep and fast-rising youngster Roman Poncet. It's the duo's first collaboration, and Hydraulic Pressure shows real potential. They begin by unveiling "Hydraulic Jack", an undulating chunk of hustling loop techno built around fluid synthesizer riffs, starry electronics and thumping bottom end. "Hydraulic Pump" offers an alternative take on the same track, with bumpier percussion and relentless handclaps offering the perfect accompaniment to the headline synth refrain. Finally, "Artesian Well" eschews the fearless pump of techno altogether, instead delivering a yearning, eyes-closed slice of shimmering ambience built around trippy vocal samples and that now familiar synthesizer sequence.

Review: Lobster Theremin's Mork sublabel hits its second release following the first offering from Nthng, and it finds the equally fresh Raw MT on hand to follow up on their own debut EP on Wicked Bass. It's a thoroughly enjoyable ride through deep house with character, not least on "La Duna" with its gorgeous swirls of melody unfurling around a snappy, dynamic beat. "Track 2" meanwhile ups the freakiness with a tribal lilt to the drums and some sumptuous bass to sink your teeth into. "Strike" flips the script completely with a chunky techno workout that sits in stark contrast to the other three tracks, and sounds damn fine with it.

Review: Berlin's Dystopian has introduced the European techno world to some of its current maestros - Rodhad and Recondite to name a few - so it's always interesting to hear what the grey-scaled German label is up to. Daribow, a name we know little to nothing about, comes through with four shimmering floor tracks in the label's familiarly cold and bleepy style. Although there are certainly hard beats in tracks like "Eclipse" or "The Darker Stage Of Twilight", the majority of the tracks are made up of complex swarms of modular melodica. "Apostles Of Flame" is a little more minimalistic and stripped, while "Immortal Soul" contains what is probably the most hummable string of sequences in the whole EP. A certified slice of Dystopian goodness.