DJS: MOST CHARTED - TECHNO - MOST CHARTED IN JULY 2014

Review: Right on cue, Rene Pawlowitz drops another set of Head High bangers just in time for summer. While previous releases from his much-loved Power House imprint have been short but sweet affairs, the brilliantly named Megatrap offers a full nine tracks of what Hard Wax have referred to quite concisely as "uplifting Breakbeat Techno in golden 1990s leaning style". Those who have heard the previous Head High material will know exactly what to expect, but there's still much excitement to be had in getting stuck into such a sizeable portion of throwback techno, the likes of which are likely to liven up any party. There was never any doubt, but Pawlowitz has done it again.

Review: Ben Klock's own Klockworks is back with another surprise after last year's Anthony Parasole bombs. Sterac, otherwise known as Steve Rachmad, has been making pulverising techno heart-stoppers for the best part of two decades now, and it only makes sense that his latest concoctions should end up on one of the most iconic Berlin labels of this generation. Like all of the label's output, these are tracks which you can just imagine Klock playing in one of his legendary extended sets at Berghain or throughout the rest of the world. The grooves are tense, the beats stripped to their bare bones, and the melodies minimal and unobtrusive. Functional machine music from the heart of the scene. Don't miss it.

Review: The latest transmission of M Plant's 20th Anniversary celebrations sees label boss Robert Hood come through with some self styled 'replants' of recent Floorplan material. "Never Grow Old" of course originates from Hood's triumphant 2013 Floorplan LP Paradise, arriving midway through and impressive enough to feature in Ben Klock's Fabric mix. Here the gospel vibes remain but they are complemented by a searing Motor City key line that is really quite hypnotic over it's seven minute duration. Complementing this is a replant of "Phobia", one of Hood's last releases of 2013 which evens out the hoover rave overtones of the original in favour of some trippy synth loops that prove just as effective.

Review: Melbourne party enthusiasts Animals Dancing launch their self titled label with the sophomore release from Krautback duo Coober Pedy University Band (Tornado Wallace & William Paxton AKA Tom Moore of Otologic). Kookaburra, once described as "a bit too mental for me", continues in the vein of their Moon Plain release, but this time takes it a step further. Perhaps too far.

Review: With their combined output and that of the artists they put out on Ilian Tape, Dario and Marco Zenker are certainly a formidable force in the German techno scene and here they're back on their own turf with four imaginative cuts that keep dancefloor focus in mind without giving way to tracky functionality. "Heeman" punches with the most forthright thrust of all the jams, riding some skippy hats over a rumbling tom-like bassline and tense synths, while "Mount Eleven" swerves out into broken beat territory with whirling wraiths of melody sealing the deal on a psychedelic and engrossing atmosphere. "Kentay" too comes packaged in a fragmented framework although the bottom end hits with a greater heft than its predecessor, and then "Watz" finishes proceedings off with a short sojourn into heavy-laden ambient material.

Review: The Floorplan project show-cased Robert Hood's love of gospel-tinged house, but as this, his latest release demonstrates, he remains a techno artist through and through. The Protein Valve record originally appeared on M Plant 20 years ago and like Hood's Internal Empire and Minimal Nation releases, became a blueprint for minimal techno. On the "Re-Plant" and "Edit 1" versions, nagging, insistent percussion and an eerie organ sound create a sense of drama. However, the old approach proves to be the most effective and the second edit remains closer to the original sound, with jittery hats, unsettling organ riffs and the wind whooshing past in the background.

Review: Last seen entering the Mystic Jungle, rugged Italian label Early Sounds returns with more mysterious fare in the shape of Dorko's Antruum from The Normalmen. With no real clue as to the identity of The Normalmen or indeed the origin of the rather oblique title, it's best to focus on the music at hand and fans of the Early Sounds label will be pleased to hear the five tracks here fall snugly within the defined aesthetic that Rio Padice, Leskin and Massimo De Lena have swiftly established. There's something about lead track "Empty Silence" that reminds us of Parris Mithchell's Dancemania classic "All Night Long" though it does have the added bonus of a wickedly fuzzy acid line, whilst "Mazine Order" and "No Limits" demonstrate The Normalmen are equally adept at running a deeper groove. Another big drop from the Early Sounds crew!

Review: Kosta "XDB" Athanassiadis is a productive chap. Since making his debut on his own Metrolux Music imprint in 2006, he's gone on to release music on Wave Music, Dolly and Echochord. Here he returns to the latter label, offering up a quartet of woozy, locked-in tracks seemingly influenced by dub techo, Germanic deepness and Detroit rhythms. Opener "Burgund" sets the tone, infusing a sturdy rhythm with undulating waves of melody and attractive synthesizer motifs. There's a little more roughness to the acid-flecked "Indywa", while "Afrikk" offers a floor-friendly fusion of humid, low-key chords and dub-infused late night rhythms. Best of all, though, is the closing Philogresz remix of the same track, which delivers a sparser, more melodic interpretation blessed with starburst electronics.

Review: Launched last year as an extension of the successful Montreal radio show and loft party of the same name, Jurg Haller's Forbidden Planet has eased itself into the affections of record buyers everywhere. Inaugurated by D'Marc Cantu's Some Fantasies Are Good, Forbidden Planet has since introduced unheralded names like Breaker 1 2 and Boreal & Lnrdcroy, artists you can spend hours wandering down blind alleys on the internet trying to identify. The label's fourth release sees Forbidden Planet call on a more established name again in the shape of Mono Junk, aka Finnish producer Kimmo Rapatti. Much like the Finn's recent turn out for Skudge White, this untitled four track 12" really slams home how criminally underrated Rapatti is as a producer. There's hints of Psyche era Carl Craig to opening track "Shotokai" and from here Mono Junk showcases his production versatility taking in woozy mind benders ("Bleep Number 9"), nimble melodic electro ("With You") and subaqueous techno filled with deft rhythmic touches ("Kime").

Review: Making a welcome return to the fray with another rare outing for Uzuri, Jitterbug is in top-drawer house mode across the board on this six track groove fest. "Sweet Tooth" works a funky bass lick and little touches of guitar around a rough beat to devastating effect, while "Jus Drums" offers up a rasping rhythm set for all creatively minded spinners to get in a lather about. "Surge" has a more urgent funky techno spirit about it, tapping into the swung style of Stephen Brown with ample interwoven melodic threads. "Ache 4U" takes a slower, smoother approach with a beautiful reflective house excursion, before "Koko" ramps up the energy with a lively disco infusion, leaving it to "Trak 6" to level proceedings with a nasty drum heavy bumper.

Review: Having struggled to find his niche during the early part of his career, things started looking up for Randomer when he popped up on Numbers back in 2011 with the bombastic blends of acid house and techno that made up his impressive Real Talk EP. Since then, he's impressively flitted between techno and bass music, and here delivers an all-out techno assault for Clone's occasional Basement Series. There's a real no-nonsese feel to the relentless kick-drums and cut-up vocal samples of "Stupid Things I Do", which comes in "New School" and "Old School" mix formats (the latter including some looser techno breakbeats, and thus being our pick). The 12" also includes two formidable percussion workouts, which deliver driving drums and booming basslines.

Review: Chaotic Nation is arguably one of Chicago legend Steve Poindexter's most sought-after EPs. Originally released in 1991 on the short-lived Chicago Underground label, original copies fetch upwards of L35 online. This reissue, then, is long overdue. It's notable how well the material has aged. Tracks such as "Mental Problems (Bonustrack)" and "Destiny" neatly combine Poindexter's usual jacking, robotic machine drums with bustling basslines and jaunty melodies, whilst retaining the space and dancefloor hustle that always marked out the Chicagoan's productions. For anyone interested in original Chicago house, Chaotic Nation should be an essential purchase.

Review: Following DJ Spider's debut on Nord, the Danish label gives the Brooklyn-based artist the full treatment with a four-track remix 12". The label has employed a varied cast to re-smudge or clean up Spider's sounds, starting with Token artist Ctrls who delivers, as always, a gruelling industrial take on an already very grubby "Absolute Zero". Steven Tang provides some effervescent respite to the original EP's title-track, "Northern Abyss", while UK producer Charlton under his Taprius alias delivers a remake of "Acid Rain" which sounds like something that might come from the Head Front Panel label. Anton Zap, like he does best, then drops in with some slower BPMs and trippy sounds with his unique take on "Deep Freeze".

Review: Freerotation festival director Steevio debuts on UntilMyHeartStops with Cynfnos, which translates from Welsh to English as Twilight and that's a great time of night to spin the music held within. Run by Leif and Joe Ellis, UntilMyHeartStops has swiftly built up a reputation for releasing deep and slightly leftfield house music from the likes of Joey Anderson, Area, Arnaldo and October. Given how embedded into the Freero community Leif and Ellis are, it makes for little surprise to see Steevio lining their latest release with the hypnotic modular house that is the title cut and a more introspective, ambient partner in "Taro". Added intrigue is provided on the B Side where Freero regulars DJ Spider and Joey Anderson both remix the title track in their distinct styles.

Review: Fresh from welcoming Swedish pair Genius of Time into the Running Back fold, Gerd Janson's next order of business is to coax Todd Osborn into contributing his first material for the label in some seven years. Depending on your musical tastes, you might know the Detroit-based musician for his ragga-influenced junglist excursions as Soundmurderer (sometimes alongside SK-1 aka Tadd Mullinix), the cassette-only ragged hardware acid of his Superstructure project, or the more house-orientated output released as Osborne and his given name. It was under the latter that he debuted on Running Back with Giganta back in 2007, so the sight of this T-rhythm Trax Vol 1 is most welcome. As the title suggests, the five tracks here are neck snapping techno tools of the highest order.

Review: It would be fair to say that this latest EP from Minneapolis-raised Zak Khutoretsky features a trio of "tried and tested" cuts. Label boss Ben Klock has taken to closing his sets with lead track "Black Russian", a surprisingly light and airy chunk of loop-techno blessed with deliciously warm and evocative pianos. The other two tracks aren't quite as anthemic, but they're certainly floor-friendly; you'll struggle to find a more brutal and intense chunk of claustrophobic late night techno than "Spying" - all minor keys, restless shakers and booming sub - while "Creeping" is similarly dark and jackin', with distinct hints of early Belgian techno.

Review: This fourth album from British techno veteran Inigo Kennedy - his first since 2010's decidedly ambient September Pieces - has something of a "catch-all" feel. You see, Vaudeville refuses to stick to one sound, style or groove, instead referencing the many styles of techno and experimental electronic music that have inspired the popular producer over the course of his 18-year career. So, there are murky, IDM-inspired techno floor fillers (the melodious but faintly foreboding "Requiem"), early British psychedelic techno ("Plaintive"), dense, darkroom grooves ("Vallecula"), classic Yorkshire bleep and bass ("Petrichor"), Kompakt-ish organic techno ("Winter"), and spooky, droning ambience ("Narrative").

Review: By no means a production slouch, Mike Kivits tempers the raft of albums he's produced as Aardvarck by restricting his 12" output, with those singles he does release invariably treated as a event and perhaps more importantly, filled with some searing club music. This latest 12" for the Skudge Presents label is a case in point; it's the first since last year's superb No Label drop 1990 and comes brandishing four tracks that will be explosive in most dancefloor situations. Chief amongst them is the aptly titled "K.O." which is fairly dominated by the shrieking banshee rave stabs that filter through the track at a rate that will knock you sideways. The title track offers some semblance of jacking house convention for some contrast, whilst the two other cuts are Kivits fully engaged in weird and wonderful mode

Review: Whilst the most recent Modeselektion compilation saw Berlin pair Modeselektor pick from a largely established (if very varied) pool of artists, the latest release on their 50 Weapons labels shows Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary have not lost any of their canny A&R skills for uncovering new talent. The uniquely named Fjaak are a Berlin trio with "futuristic minds but already nostalgic feelings" and as far as we can tell this two track 12" is their debut release. Familiarise yourself with both cuts and you'll understand why Bronsert and Szary scooped Fjaak up, with a their rave ready productions executed on a mixture of hardware and software the sort of club focused music 50 Weapons has made it's name on. As immediate as the title track is, our pick is the tougher techno fix of B Side "Plan A".

Review: Never a label to countenance doing the expected, the 50th release on LIES sees them turn to a British artist for the first time in Randomer. With past form on Numbers, Hessle Audio and Hemlock, Rohan Walder's raucous output as Randomer has been most associated with the UK-centric crossover between bass music and techno, but the Residents 12? sees him embrace techno more outrightly. This is most evident on the opening title track (which contains some of Walder's crispest drum sounds to date) and the deranged fury that is "Jakobs Dream". Don't sleep on B Side track "Huh" however as it sees the Random one adopt a more electro focused flex with superb results - this one is for blasting in the club hard!

Review: Take the releases on Anunnaki Cartel into consideration as a whole and its clear label founders Amir Alexander and Chris Mitchell are looking and generally succeeding at ways to advance the ideas of US house music into compelling new forms. It makes sense then that this latest release on the label sees Alexander face off with Nation boss Traxx, a man who has been steadfast in his own efforts to promote and pioneer the Jakbeat ethos and approach. The Howard/Loyola Acid Frenzy EP finds the pair indulging in some truly wild acid explorations that will delight the proper house selectors out there. Traxx is on devilish form with his two contributions with the moment on "BaseAcid2" where the intensity levels unexpectedly ramp skywards is a particular highlight.

Review: Previously responsible for some of the best work (and track titles) on the Dixon Avenue Basement Jams label, mystery man VernoN brings his distinct styles and capital N to the excellent Apartment label and delivers their first long player in the process. Allegedly based in Marseille and with a background in Belgium, there's a degree of opacity to VernoN's story that suggests it's wiser to focus your attentions on his music, not his story. If he did spend time in Belgium, he clearly used it researching the country's rich New Beat heritage, as it's on display across Watched By The Experts. Six tracks deep, this new beat influences is mixed up with dabs of house, electro and techno with the results an album (of sorts) that will remain in the record box of many a DJ.