Juno Recommends Electro May 2018

Review: Chris Romans has been rolling out crucial electro jams for a number of highly regarded labels since the early 00s. Amongst them are Touchin' Bass, Shipwrec, Frustrated Funk and Central Processing Unit, so that tells you everything you need to know about the level he's operating at as 214. Now he comes to 20/20 Vision with some body-poppin' jams of the highest order, broadening the tech house label's remit to embrace the thriving electro scene with one of its most vital practitioners. "Potential Events" is a brooding, atmospheric affair while "Windeye" draws on a more playful, Detroit indebted palette of sounds. Radioactive Man remixes "Windeye" with a steady, finely detailed approach, and then "Back To Sine" finishes the record off with another snappy salvo of funky drums and bubbling synths.

Review: There's no denying that Jensen Interceptor is one of electro's most "on-form" artists right now. This five-track salvo on Luke Eargoggle's Stilleben label comes hot on the heels of fine outings for Central Processing Unit and Boyznoize Records. It's naturally every bit as impressive as its' predecessors, delivering a range of bold and bombastic electro workouts aimed firmly at peak-time dancefloors. We're particularly enjoying both the heavyweight drums, end-of-days riffs and computer beeps of "Nocturnal Fabric" and the mutant, deep space electrofunk of "YSL Funk", though there's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere on the EP, too. Even the record's trippy, downtempo moment - Assembler Code collaboration "Viral Scan" - hits the spot.

Review: For the second volume in the When Cities Collide series, RotterHague has served up tracks from Dutch stalwart DJ Overdose and lesser-known Detroit bad boy DJ Maaco. The latter handles side A, diving headfirst into alien electro pastures via the woozy, low register chords, starburst electronics and robotic vocoder vocals of "Activate Your Feet", before serving up the squeezable electrofunk business of "I'm In My Lane". Over on the flip, DJ Overdose envelopes a ghetto-tech tempo electro beats with hugely attractive electronic motifs on the terrific "Racing All The Time", before throwing a skip-full of broken computers at a deliciously distorted electro beat on frazzled EP closer "Talking Science 2".

Review: When it comes to weighty, forthright ghetto-tech business, Toni Moralez has previous form. Admittedly, this might be the producer's first release in nearly three years, but it certainly explores similar sonic territory to his previous outings. Check, for example, the full-throttle, distorted kick-drum driven strut of title track "Ghetto Techno", where short vocal snippets and mind-altering electronic noises bounce above a nails-hard groove. Those who prefer a more straightforward ghetto-tech/Miami Bass vibe should check the alternative "313tro Mix" of the same track. Elsewhere, "I'm From Detroit" wraps deep riffs around a fizzing "booty bounce" beat pattern, "313 (NRG Mix)" sounds like DJ Godfather turning his hand to British bleep and "Pony (313 Mix)" is a tongue-in-cheek, peak-time delight.

Review: Shahara-Ja's 1989 killer "I'm An Arabian Knight" was lost in the depths of time before its much needed reissuing back in 2017, and it is still on repeat here at HQ. The news of a series of remixes coming from the legendary Egyptian Lover seems like the most natural thing in the world, but also a sign of a label getting things absolutely right, so hats off to Australia's Left Ear! There's a dub, a vocal, and an instrumental, so all boxes are ticked off by the 808 wizard, and he comes through with his inimitable flair and mystical charm that we all love some much. What a legend. What a remix EP. Recommended!

Review: An ode to their fair city in the state of Hesse here by homeboys Die Orakel and their local hero Orson Wells. Referencing the classic Motor City sounds of electro and ghetto-tech on this fine EP. "Park Jit" and its sleazy electro-funk takes it cues from the early Databass sound, while the breakneck dystopianism of "The Message" goes for more of a Dopplereffekt vibe. Bringing the funk and emotive feel on the B side we have "Frankfurt Tek" a saturated lo-fi memory recording (direct to VHS) that would make even local legend Anthony Rother proud. But hey wait, he's from Offenbach anyway! This is Lennard Poschmann's second recording for the Frankfurt based imprint which has had previous releases by Christopher Rau, Pablo Mateo and Koehler.

Review: John Selway and Jason Szostek, who have respectively achieved a world-wide status over the last 10 years, started producing dance beats under the Synapse moniker, back in the midst of an electro wave that swept over NYC in the mid 90s. The project is now more relevant than ever, what with the re-rise of electro, so they've gone back in the studio to show everyone how it's done. "Cosmic Connection", as the title implies, is a deep and wondrous electro jam for the late-night hours, while "The Freak" turns to the more industrial end of the scale. Over on the B-side, "Gas" is all about the electrifying bass that circles the airwaves, and "Bubble" stretches out some fine dub-echo bass that lands on the same tonalities as labels like Echoplex.

Review: Tim Checkley and Clint Watkins first joined forces in 2016, unleashing the original version of "Techno World" on Bass Agenda Recordings. Here, the track finally gets a vinyl release, with the duo's extended mix of their original version - a bass-heavy, funk-fuelled electro workout that sounds like an unlikely collaboration between Kraftwerk, Soulsonic Force, Newcleus and Cybotron - being joined by a trio of alternative versions. There's a "Beatapella" (sparse beats and vocoder vocals), a rock solid instrumental (a chance to revel in their liquid synth bass, delay-laden TR-808 hits and throbbing sub-bass) and a headline remix from Detroit's Filthiest. This is arguably the EP's standout moment and sounds like Aux88 covering Kraftwerk's "It's More Fun To Compute".

Review: Kenneth Scott has been a frequent guest DJ at Vakant parties over the years, so it's hardly a surprise to find him finally releasing a record on the storied German label. It's also not a surprise that the title track, "Let's Go Program Thomas", is something of a throbbing electro floor-filler. With its ragged analogue bass, punchy rhythm track and intergalactic electronics, it not only ticks all the boxes but signs and sends back the form. The Exaltics brilliantly flip the script on their remix, which re-casts the track as a surging but spacey, Rotterdam style modern Italo-disco throb-job. Turn to the flipside for the fizzing, broken beat influenced futurism of "Pranic Lift 777", not to mention a blissfully intergalactic revision of the same cut from Evigt Morker.

Review: Binarysystem01 is a new collaborative project from electro veterans Edo 8 and Wavemechanic, two producers who were most active in the early 2000s before almost dropping off the radar completely. This return to action is a pleasingly varied affair, with the duo embracing both darkness and light over the EP's four tracks. So, while distorted and crunchy electro jam "Dark Matter" and throbbing, ultra-moody closer "Nuclear Interaction", sit on the moodier end of the sonic spectrum, fizzing opener "Distance Scale" is a melodious, funk-fuelled, party-hearty delight. The EP's other cut, "Space Probes", is a fuzzy and saturated chunk of bubbly electro goodness.

Review: Miami bass and electro mainstay Kyper is a contemporary of Egyptian Lover. Like the legendary lothario, he's been churning out the hits on-and-off since the mid 1980s. "Let The Bass Come Out Clear" seems to be a fresh cut and, more excitingly, his first single for almost 12 years. The A-side features vocal and instrumental variations of the Quad mix from Heliobranco and Tom Oliver, both of which pepper a hard, spacey early electro rhythm track (think "Planet Rock" or "Clear") with dynamic scratches, throbbing electronic bass and intergalactic melodies. Miami bass original J Debonaire handles remix duties on the flipside, delivering more musically expansive versions rich in fizzing synth lines, classic old school samples, occasional blasts of vintage breakbeats and his own fine scratching.

Review: Fresh from a fine outing on Bahnsteig23 under the alternative Cassiard DJ alias, Thomas Cassiard dons the C.R.K alias for an expansive outing on Comic Sans. There's a surprisingly symphonic feel to opener "Sad React Only Plz", which flits from a deep space ambient number to a shuffling IDM wriggler midway through, but there's more forthright fare to be found elsewhere across the EP. Check, for example, the off-kilter drums and sparkling melodies of "100g De Balls" and the intergalactic jungle-techno revivalism of "Plus Loin Que La Police". Arguably the EP's greatest moment, though, is closer "Les Etoiles Sont Plus Hautes Que La Ciel", where elongated chords, bubbly beats and tumbling melodies combine to create a poignant and melancholic mood.

Review: Somewhat confusingly, Dabobert and Masterarp are both alternative aliases of long-serving German producer Dagobert Howe, whose discography stretches right back to the late 1990s. Startopology was first released two years ago, and here gets a fresh pressing on blue marbled vinyl. Across 13 deliciously spacey tracks, Howe does a fine job in combining punchy electro rhythms, mind-bending synthesizer melodies and robotic vocals with elements of synth-wave, intergalactic ambient, warped electrofunk and, on the ear-catching "Kosmic Transmission", vintage hip-hop. It's a hugely listenable set, all told, with enough tried-and-tested dancefloor workouts to suggest that it will work both at home and in the clubs.