DJs: Most Charted - Techno - Most Charted In March 2012

Review: ** Repress for the Tang fans ** Obsolete Music Technology aka Steven Tang has had another great year, nurturing his personal take on Chicago-filtered house music. "Mmmmmusic" is just sublime, taking us on a journey through rugged, drum machine terrains, swaying pads and crafty vocals; whilst the reprise version unearths those synths to create a majestic soundscape which develops into a semi-groove thanks to its smart melodies. Over to the B-side, "Distance" is as deep as one can go, aligning sharp slabs of percussion to more tranquil pads and woozy synth chimes. We even get a boisterous Chicago Skyway refix of the title track, rendering almost unrecognisable thanks to a truly mesmerising bundle of hi-hats and toms. Beautiful.

Review: Having become something of a regular fixture in the Mote Evolver camp, Shifted is back once again to head up Side A of the second Parallel Series 12". As you might expect, the techno comes bleak and throbbing from the Shifty one, although avoiding excessive heaviness over immersive progression and dubby FX. On the flip Samuli Kemppi plies his quirkier trade, using offbeat synth mess to counteract the steady rhythm of the bottom end on "Trans Neptunian". "Detached Object" meanwhile fires off streams of interlocking sounds which spiral around the relentless kick for a classy exercise in techno restraint. Highly recommended.

Review: Boddika and Cosmin TRG join the ranks of Appleblim & October, Aardvarck, Fengler, Rolando and 2562 in reworking the wall shuddering sounds of Skudge on the fifth - and perhaps most incendiary to date - Skudge Remixes 12". Al Boddika Bleeky is at the top of his game right now, thanks in no small part to a cluster of Joy O collaborations and his A Side revision of "Below" continues the producer's lineage of deadly acid re-rubs, twisting the diva vocal led original down an altogether darker path. Cosmin TRG is nominally charged with a harder task in reworking "Ursa Major" the beatless opening excursion from Skudge's debut LP Phantom, but does an equally accomplished job in stamping his own sonic agenda on proceedings, firming up the track with some granular handclaps and white-hot chords. What's Swedish for 'must have'?

Review: Previously given away as a free digital release, Legowelt's The TEAC Life gets a richly deserved vinyl pressing, comprised of four twelve inches. On his website, he describes the 14-track opus as "deep, tape saturated forest-techno", as adroit a summation of his sound as any scribe has ever managed. The title is an obvious nod to the equipment made to construct the album, an admission which, rather than spoiling the mystique, only adds to it. The 14 tracks paint incredibly vivid images, from the audible tape hiss and raw drums on opener "The Night Wind", which leads to the windswept landscape of "Half Moon 106? and the slightly more polished Chicagoan jack of "The Soul of a City". The Virgo-esque string led romanticism of "Metro Airport" is one of many high points on what was one of 2011's best albums.

Review: Taking influence from the mutant Berlin techno scene of today, Mr. Dettmann eschews his typical monstrous 4/4 thump for a positively swung and submerged jaunt in the shape of "Landscape". The groove is 100 per cent garage, although the sounds themselves hiss and echo like the finest Basic Channel audio debris. It's a pleasing reminder of the Berghain resident's diversity when he's not behind the decks maintaining marathon levels of techno endurance. Answer Code Request step up for a remix that sounds markedly tougher, although still withholding that relentless kick drum that once typified this corner of electronic music, rounding off a thoroughly satisfying package of floor ready brutes.

Review: Rivet is yet another masked techno producer, but on record he has far more to say than his anonymous peers. Roar, his first release on Ulf Eriksson's excellent Kontra label, sees him flirting with classic techno influences but also and more crucially, mapping out some new ideas. A dark, resonating bass that recalls Kevin Saunderson's Resse project is the central element on "Metrist". The key difference though is whereas the Saunderson project was oppressive and ominous, the bass on "Metrist" is jaunty, merging with insistent stabs and rasping percussion to create a lithe, DJ-friendly track. Anyway, it sounds like Kontra left the responsibility for techno clout to Marcel Fengler. The underlying rhythm on the Berghain resident's remix of "Metrist" is pumping and dense, in places almost claustrophobic. Coupled with a wall of building synths that have the same gothic grandeur as the architecture in the Berlin club's grandiose main room, it casts irresistibly menacing peak-time shadows. But the track of greatest interest is "Sleepwalker". There, Rivet forgoes the merciless 4/4 kick and instead crafts oaken off-beats as dense as a cathedral wall. To this solid base Rivet weaves in swirling synths and ghostly textures that loom in the background before disappearing as quickly as they emerged. It's subtle, quirky and shows that there's real substance and thought being put into this project. Long may he/she continue to nail it.

Review: "Mada Theory" is a deep and dubby workout, as shattered pads hang above a solid kick drum that slowly begins to run away with itself. This track constructs the atmosphere beautifully, your body locked, frozen in time within a cave of sparkling glass. "Mada Theory" is a solid dub-techno track that follows the blueprint laid down by the likes of Maurizio and Basic Channel. "East Box" however, takes on a darker feel, making use of a lot of more sounds to build a picture of deep-cave exploration. Gentle drips of water echo off stone as some unknown reptile hisses in the darkened cavern that lies ahead. Far from a basic dub-techno track, "East Box" cleverly builds a horrifying soundscape based around dark, cold underground caves and an unknown beast that lurks ever closer as you explore the centre of the earth.

Review: The opening track on Taken is a piece of hypnotic, deep techno from one of the genre's pioneers, showing that Jeff Mills can still knock out some fantastic music. An all-encompassing rhythm structure drives the track along as subtle pads gently trample over a rock solid beat. We hit more traditional techno territory with the second track, a relentless attack on the senses with an almost inescapable sense of dread pervading throughout. The third cut takes us on a deep space exploration into sound, with robotic bleeps dancing through an unnerving series of textures and pads. The percussion and kick-drum take a back seat as Mills allows his depiction of the future to make the rhythm move. The intensity grows with each passing second making this another track that simply won't let go. The EP closes out with "Track Four" and another piece of Videodrome, nightmare techno. You'll be falling through a black hole as clocks whir backwards all around, and visions of your past wrongdoings flash in front of your eyes. This final cut keeps you spiralling down into the deepest pits of human despair until there is nothing left but your mind and a guilty conscious. Highly recommended.

Review: Brace yourselves for another mean slice of unforgiving techno at the hands of Regis and Ancient Methods in their Ugandan Methods guise. Things start off coolly with the title track, as the menacing stomp gets offset by a plethora of delayed and decayed metallic hits darting around in the foreground. "Between A Sleep & A Sleep" actually lets a little light in, as a gentle melodic hum tempers the usual raging techno tropes, but really it's a cheeky foil to the all-out devastation of "She Belongs To Eternity"; an exercise in brutality dressed up as distorted noise and passionless rhythm.

Review: The latest release on Field pulls together four wildly diverse tracks and in the process proves that fresh thinking in techno need not revolve around Berghain-style repetition. Dutch producer Delta Funktionen though does demonstrate on "Work" that there is still some life left in the dub techno sound, presenting a tougher, jacking track with a visceral filter that tears its way through the arrangement. Rod's contribution is also an unusual proposition, rougher than his dense, loopy releases on Klockworks, as doubled up rhythms and metal-plated, gained drums vie for the listener's attention. Counteracting these intense peaks is Mark Du Mosch's "L'Argeant"; the groove is stripped back and bassy, but suddenly Du Mosch lets loose with a flamboyant Italo melody line, breathing colour into the greyscale surroundings. Roberto Auser throws one final curveball on "Fatal Attraction" - a beatless affair, its epic synths loom as ominously as a Resse bassline and will tingle as many spines as Derrick May's strings.

Review: The steadily-rising Modularz imprint strikes back once more with some killer, no-nonsense techno wares from Developer and Eduardo De La Calle. Developer's tracks plumb bleak depths, where the only tones allowed into the mix clang in atonal disharmony. De La Calle's "The Solution" has a little more warmth in its pulsing dub chords, but still maintaining that linear function for elongated mixes and hypnotic sets. The real jam is Developer's funky-assed "Under" which gets its jack off the nagging hi-hat, while the cavernous hits punch out off beat for a devastating rhythmic slayer which should get techno heads body popping like there's no tomorrow morning.

Review: Relatively fresh and acid leaning label Sequencias follows up a healthy first release with this debut release from Juno favourite Orpheus (possibly better known as Perseus Traxx). For a glowing rendition of just how deep and enveloping acid techno can be, get stuck into "Sunlight Conspiracy" and let the tendrils of 303 lines and complementing sci-fi chirrups draw you into an evocative world of heady jacking. "How Can I Tell You?" comes in from a less immediate angle, shrouded in mysterious harmonies and a jerky groove. Fans of the Hieroglyphic Being school of box jams will love this EP! Recommended.

Review: The consistently excellent Dekmantel imprint ushers in a new year with the release of two superlative productions from the mysterious Vedomir. Sounding very much like a character from a Tolkien novel, this Untitled EP presents two sides to Vedomir's obvious yet previously unheralded talent for production. The untitled A Side unfurls constantly fluctuating analogue rhythms arranged in a manner that positively encourages wilful hypnosis - deft percussive touches abound throughout as the track descends into the thick analogue ether with delicious results. Complementing this is the stunningly delicate strains of "Orthodox Ambient" which maintains a heavenly fashion throughout as fluttering female harmonies dance flirtatiously with a warm arpeggio atop a subtle backdrop of pads. Worthy of your full attention!

Review: Marking his first outright appearance on his own Balans imprint, Dutch techno fiend Darko Esser steps right up to the "pure and honest...old school flavour" remit the label has set out. "Slightly Disturbed" thrums away on a heavyweight undercarriage of booming kicks and bass, while a manic tapestry of tonal and atonal bleeps and arpeggios interweave over the top. On remix duties, Peter Van Hoesen cools the tempestuous elements into a dubby mist, while Sandwell District make matters no brighter with their locomotions. Whether you want spangly head-rush techno or primal body-moving techno, this EP has plenty to get stuck into. Highly recommended.

Review: Given the broad spectrum of Hotflush's output, it's easy to forget Sigha's place on the label's roster, given that his concise sound has always been far more aligned with the concrete Berghain sound than the colourful palette of his labelmates. However, there's a warmth in his sound that makes his place on the label appropriate, especially on this superb EP. "Something In Between Us" opens with an ambient flourish of warm chords - it's a stark contrast to "Where I Come To Forget" with its solid kick drum and dry percussion, but there's something about Sigha's production that coats everything in a subtle warmth, free of the mechanical feel of some of his German peers. "How To Disappear" provides further warmth - rather than cold, hard edges, its hypnotic arpeggio ripples invite you in like a warm spring. Even though "Drown" which follows is a fairly bleak finish with only subtle clicks to carry it forward, it envelops you in a blanket of crackly sonics. Highly recommended.

Review: Now regarded as something of a doyen for the UK techno community, Karl O'Connor aka Regis is revered with something approaching religious fervor in some circles. And it's little wonder; his brutal yet inherently funky and artful strand of techno brought together the worlds on industrial and DIY punk with pummeling 4x4 machine music long before any one else. Between1994 and 2000, he delivered a string of uncompromising techno records comparable to the early output of Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills, and here the Downwards imprint looks back on those halcyon days with the first volume of a Complete Recordings reissue. Certified fans won't bother reading this review - it's buy on sight material - but lovers of contemporary techno looking to trace the genre's diverse origins should look, listen and learn from one of the undisputed greats.

Review: Having been crazily prolific throughout 2011 with a double LP and countless 12"s and remixes to their name, Swedish duo Skudge seem to have elected to take a curatorial role of late with their Skudge Presents offshoot. The series began in excellent fashion late last year with Mini Mood from the Edinburgh based producer Stephen Brown, and it's clear the label is going to maintain those standards with their forthcoming releases. Skudge's compatriot MRSK is first up opening with the ruggedly excellent "Twirl" which wraps burrowing metallic textures of sound around granite heavy rhythms that jostle uncomfortably in the steppish space between outright techno and more broken patterns. The inherent nightmarish scenario posed on the A Side is complemented by the liquefied slickness of "Pinkman" which sees a ghost deep in the machine attempt to have its voice heard amidst the pressure of a constantly upwardly shifting rhythmic flex and some wonderfully Utopian arpeggios. With forthcoming releases due from October and Aardvarck, Skudge Presents promises to be a considered highlight of 2012.