Juno Recommends Techno Best of 2021

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: EYA Records has a big one on its hands here as two big names in Innershades and Do or Die join forces for four searing cuts that draw on multiple genres. 'Digital Modulation' is a jacking cut with high speed synth lasers shooting over mechanical beats. 'Exit Level' is an acid laced, rave tinged techno banger for strobe lit warehouses and 'Function' then gets more mysterious, with an ethereal vocal sound and more acid all going deep. 'System Error' closes on a scintillating percussive energy and broken beat techno.

Review: The Sushitech label turned 15 years old in 2020 and to celebrate this milestone Yossi Amoyal has put together the Fluere compilation across four discs, plus this extended fifth part, titled Fatum. Juan Atkins' remix of 'Someone' by Killer Loop takes up residence on the A-side of this three tracker, all swirling, warm pads and spiralling filters, the percussion almost leaning towards disco with its syncopated handclaps, although the overall effect is as shiny and futuristic as you would expect from this Detroit legend. Flip it over for Terry Brookes' 'Breaking Cycles', a calm spoken word narration providing a meditational mantra to accompany the chugging house foundations, full of gentle tease. 'Limits of Likeness' by MSL completes the package with restless electro machinations and shifting clouds of synth floating across its horizon. Sheer bliss all round.

Review: The Lempuyang label gets off to a strong start by inviting one of the dons of dubby minimal techno to lay down some peerless material. Steve O'Sullivan's Bluetrain moniker is revered by anyone who knows their onions in the annals of UK techno, and he's on imperious form as the Homegrown Dubs EP fires up with the gaseous chord drops of 'Bubble Up'. 'Go With The Flow' is a sleeker, more uptempo affair with a snappy beat to appeal to the DJs out there, while 'Two Foot Terrorist' maintains the pace with some deeper metallic ink bursts for variation. 'Straight To The Back' channels the billowing tones of the A1 into a more groove-oriented form in case you want the tick of the hi-hat to steady your sea legs.

Review: Christian AB is making low key waves with a self-steered angle on hardware house and techno which packs plenty of personality into the time-honoured tradition of box jamming. Four years since the last exemplary 12" on London In Transmission, AB is back with another grip of charismatic club cuts. 'Mind Wipe' is the logical choice for the A side, riding a warm and fluid monosynth bass hook, classic boxy 707 drums and eerie pads to inject a little spooky mystery into the dancefloor. 'Our Mission' is a more adventurous track which dusts up the drums good a proper and lays the psychedelic textures on heavy, but not at the expense of the beat of course. 'Praying For Better Days' is a rousing finale, using some anthemic organ chords as the lead hook for an uptempo jacker par excellence.

Review: Scott Hallam has been an acid devotee since the early days, and he's largely put out his music on his own Axia label. While most of that is digital-only, now Cartulis have picked up on the considerable talents of this hardware lifer and presented five of his finest works on wax. The vibe veers tremendously, touching on dark and sinewy dungeon acid, boxy electro workouts, strangely psychedelic hardcore and plenty more besides. Hallam's style feels betrothed to the outboard approach - it's all synths and drum machines to these ears, and its immediacy is a big part of the charm. That, and the playful personality he works into those wigged out acid lines and pinging FX.

Review: Prince de Takicardie has got the stuff to make you sweat, make no mistake. Having broken through in 2019, his music has been straining at the gates waiting for the grand reopening to truly get a workout on the party people of the world. After dropping the P record on Cartulis Music last year, as well as his debut album Live 4 Love, he's now back with 2, which comes loaded with smart and punchy club tracks for the players. Aligning with the sound you might hear on Partisan or Time Passages, Takicardie fires off his drum machines and synths with dead-eye precision, keeping a cool demeanour and placing the emphasis on the low end rhythm section. That is, after all, where the action is in any self-respecting dancefloor weapon, and here you're treated to four of them.

Review: Trauma Collective mean business. Should you be in any doubt, just drop the needle on their third release and feel the wind blowing your hair back instantly. Following 12"s from ASC and Monrella, this latest payload comes from Kwartz, the Spanish producer also found lurking around Horo and other cutting edge labels. Hard as nails techno is the order of the day here, as Kwartz exorcises some industrial demons on the brilliantly clattering 'The Nature Of Our Anger'. 'Reinforced Control' is marginally more restrained, but only just. Meanwhile, Monrella returns to Trauma to remix 'Reinforced Control' with a deadly, swung groove that begs to be rocked in the club. 'Beneath The Surface' brings a total KO with a searing line in high-frequency texture and a rugged, relentless undercarriage of rhythm. What more could you ask for from a bruising beast of a techno record?

Review: It may have taken a while - his massive debut single 'Hyph Mngo' was released 12 years ago - but Joy Orbison has finally got round to recording his debut album. It's a highly personal affair, peppered with speech snippets from various family members (including his mum, dad, sister, cousins and famous uncle, Ray Keith). It's a narrative device that works well, providing a unifying thread throughout a woozy, musically eclectic concoction that sees the now veteran UK producer give his distinct spin on ambient, slow house, two-step garage, deep house, post-dubstep beats, dubbed-out soundscapes, British bass music, experimental electronica, cutting-edge deep D&B and much more besides. It's perhaps not the all-out assault on the dancefloor some may have expected, but it is a genuinely brilliant and entertaining album.

Review: Following scattered appearances on Gestalt, The Untold Stories and First Second Label, Sputnik One makes a landing on Well Street with some nimble, needlepoint techno modernism that fits the label's forward-leaning tendencies perfectly. 'Schwann' is a fast-paced blizzard of blips, bleeps and pin-prick beats, while 'Vain' locks into a more earthen groove accentuated with dynamic layers of sound design. 'Warm Body' plies some dexterous drums sculpted with finesse and detail, and 'Teef' completes the set with a spiritually charged uplift peppered with dub sirens and dislocated voices. There's a lightness of touch in the balance of sounds across the whole EP, and yet it hits with force, making for a thoroughly smart club record for those who like to keep things inventive in the dance.

Review: The first anyone heard from Robert Fleck was an early drop on Well Street back in 2018, and it's been quiet since then. Anyone following Well Street knows it's a hot tip for upfront artists in the fractured fissures of the UK underground, and Fleck makes a welcome return to prove the point. There's a lot of different touchstones you could point to on this release, from nimble-footed broken beat and a whiff of nu jazz orchestration, not to mention a bass music sensibility and an appreciation for deeper strains of UK techno. But more than all that, Fleck merges his unique spread of influences into something fresh and unique, comfortably slipping between conventional genre markings with the kind of flair we've come to expect from Well Street.

Review: EYA Records continues to grow in stature as they strut into their third year of operation, and they're scoring a big coup with this new release from the ever-prolific EDMX. The man otherwise known as Ed Upton offers up some especially floor-focused tackle here, leading in with the freaky house flavours of 'Made In Japan' before slipping into the shuffling techno freakery of 'Options'. 'Euler' has a punchy thrust to it, and '101 Thru 09' taps into a bleepy vein which calls to mind some of Mathew Jonson's wonkier output from the mid 00s minimal era. It's a different slant to what you might expect from EDMX, but it slots in perfectly on EYA, a label championing warm, outboard twists on the tech house tradition.

Review: SIT, short for Sideways Invisibility Theory, is the collaborative project of Vlad Caia and Cristi Cons. As two scene leaders of the Romanian minimal phenomenon, both artists have proven over many years to have a unique vision for creativity and fresh approaches in what can be a homogenised scene. Of their many achievements, on their Amphia label as much as elsewhere, this album on Sushitech stands as one of their finest moments. As with all the best Romanian minimal, it's also still hotly in demand, making it a welcome addition to Sushitech's 15th anniversary pressing marathon. From dub tech laced rollers to gossamer-light trippers, this is the classiest end of the minimal tech house game from two artists with the vision to push things a little bit further.

Review: Nail has been busy in lockdown with a few releases now surfacing in early 2021. The former DIY Discs and Classic man knows exactly how to craft infectious house tunes with high pressure vibes and mind melting synths. He does that here from the off on Ornate music. '313151' is bleepy techno that never lets up while '44151' has drunken synth sounds tumbling over one another and making you move in weird ways. '313154' is a class closer with undulating acid taking you deep down a rabbit hole with no way back.

Review: Matthew Dexter has been waist deep in electronic music, and techno in particular, for years, mainly as the DJ behind a club night called Space Division. Behind the scenes he was also learning the ropes as a producer, with this EP on Eya marking his debut vinyl release. It's a gorgeously retro-futurist affair, with Dexter utilising synthesizer settings and machine drums that recall techno's sci-fi roots, as well as its many mutations over the last 35 years. Check first the faintly foreboding and slightly ghostly 'Desolation of Kind', where flashes of TB-303 and an 'LFO'-esque bass sound catch the ear, before turning your attention to EBM-influenced opener 'AES'. Elsewhere, 'Barlow's Lens' is an undeniably intergalactic affair, while 'Gene's Paranoia' is a gently bleeping roller.

Review: Given the recent rise in interest in early-to-mid 1990s ambient techno, IDM and melodic electronica, it was probably only a matter of time before Paul Smith dipped into the archives of his Likemind label and offered up a new collection of period works from Nurmad Jusat under the Nuron and Fugue aliases. The eight tracks scattered across this essential double-pack originally appeared on two separate EPs in 1993 and '94 respectively. The standard is exceptionally high throughout, with Jusat casually joining the dots between deep space electro, B12/Black Dog style IDM and bubbly, acid-flecked ambient techno. We expect this to (righty) sell quickly, so don't hang around if you want to snag a copy.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Following on from a sell-out first release, Serenity Records returns with a four track double-header from Thoma Bulwer & Anna Wall. In alignment with the label's policy of allowing the artists commissioned to choose a mental-health charity of their choice, 002 dedicates all its proceeds to Centrepoint - an organisation which seeks to combat the ever-growing problem of homelessness. The EP spans across the full spectrum of Techno, with the cuts varying from soft melodic textures, floaty synth work and a B1 that wouldn't stand at all out of place in a peak-time club setting - a nice surprise from this exciting new not-for-profit label...

Review: Following on from last year's impressive Redlight debut, Scott Hess is back on his Adeen label with another selection of warm and inventive house cuts splashed with colour and analogue wobbles precision-engineered to catch your ear. Lead track 'Sirius City' leans on a harmonically rich lead line and plenty of off-kilter wriggles to appeal to those who want some cheekiness in their tunes. 'UFO' sports a tasteful acid tweak running in between plush pads and snappy drums, while 'Call Me, Acid' plays around with telephone tropes to make a bleepy jam that will have the ID requests flying in. 'Stars' offers something sweeter to complete the set, spacing out the beats to leave the synths plenty of room to cavort around a celestial name-checking session for deep house dreamers.

Review: The fourth multi-artist EP from blog-turned-record label Innate takes the imprint's inherently warm and far-sighted sound into new intergalactic directions. Offering a quartet of cuts from established producers and rising stars, all inspired by dreams of cross-cosmic travel and the alluring weightlessness of deep space. 004 explores the love of stargazing electronics in much greater deapth.

The A-side is all about melodious and spacey electro with Dutch legend Aroy Dee making a rare appearance away from his acclaimed M>O>S Recordings label. "Leegte" A1 is impressively immersive, cloaking a jaunty bassline and lo-fi beats in sumptuous aural textures and glassy-eyed chords. Accompanied by Innate label regular Gilbert, "Furthest Planet" A2 is a deep roller whose lilting lead lines, shimmering electronics and tumbling acid lines are little less than life-affirming.

On side B, the sound subtly shifts towards the multi-coloured, sci-fi shimmer of techno. Newcomer Jonski, (aka Bristol electro producer Zobol) drops "Venusian Surface" B1 - a classic interstellar jam full of vivid chords, echoing synth squiggles and alluring leads that rise above a classic tech-funk bassline. Last but not least, effervescent Welshman DJ Guy (Unthank/Other World Music) slams down an energetic techno stomper in "Aphelion Orbit": boasting brilliantly breathless drum programming, illuminated by the celestial shimmer of accompanying chords. A perfect conclusion to Innate's most action-packed release to date.

Review: Innershades has put out a lot of heavyweight club tackle in the past few years, gracing labels like CABARET, Time Passages, Crimes Of The Future and so very many more with plush, high-end hardware house. Now Serenity have brought him on board with Jos for a split EP in support of Save The Children. Innershades takes up the A side with the warm, jacking peak timer 'A Better Life' and the emotionally-charged acid pearler 'In Their Eyes'. On the flip EYA Records boss Jos brings a similarly upfront, bold production style, but favours the slow n' thumping breaks approach over straight up house on 'Rituals Of Resistance'. 'The Palace Of Illusions' is markedly more jacked up, with a peak time thrust to the drums and some big synth hooks to latch onto. Four big time belters, what more could you ask for?

Review: Techno producers and DJ's first and foremost, Subradeon find Soul at the heart of their work, be it via their productions on labels like Rekids, Motech, and Hardgroove.Subradeon are the Neapolitan new school techno producers who carry on in the fine tradition of the likes of Rino Cerrone and Gaetano Parisio. Their sound is soulful, with bouncy drums and vocals to embellish the grooves and really make sure they strike hard. 'The Last Trumpet' is a sleek and clean banger, an early Detroit-styled anthem for the peak of the night that still has its foot in the underground. 'We Don't' is lit up with silvery synths and chatte-ring percussion, again a la Motor City sound of Underground Resistance. The closing two tracks bring yet more high energy, stirring laced sounds that are epic and excellent in equal measure.

Review: There are more seismic ruminations from the deepest depths of Iceland's dub techno scene afoot, as Ohm shores back up on X/OZ with more of that densely packed, heavily textured techno tackle. 'Going Back' opens the EP up in a submersible, riding a looming sub bass and pinging out sonar blips into the encroaching gloom. 'As We See It Coming' turns up the intensity with some sharply chiselled percussion and an eerie line in synth tones, while 'Shiva' locks into a truly propulsive, fully balanced techno workout. 'Seidingur' is perhaps the purest dub techno offering on the record, teasing out the rhythms and letting the chords swirl in the mix for a classically rooted, classily executed trip.

Review: Boris Barksdale's Eternal Remorse originally saw the light of day on Portugese label Eye For An Eye as a digital release back in 2018, and now it's getting a vinyl pressing. A physical release feels appropriate for this pointedly dusty release, which leans in on synthwave influences to create a thoroughly dark and gnarly atmosphere. '5.0.5' steps out on a tough, dishevelled rhythm section, with seriously degraded synths falling apart behind the jackhammer drums. '7.0.8' takes the intensity up a notch, hitting with an industrial bite, while 'Sentier' channels even more of that Ministry-flavoured malaise with its disturbing yelps and screams. 'Sramota' has the hallmarks of a mid 80s bedroom beatdown from a blackened soul, 'Take Notes' delivers yet more pounding, percussive punishment, and 'Geezer' rounds things off with a bleak and troubled slab of EBM dragged from the underworld to stalk amongst all nightcrawlers and ne'er-do-wells.

Review: Dutchman Malin Genie is head of his own self titled label, as well as this one, is co-owner of Oscillat and De Vloer and is also a member of Mandar member with Lazare Hoche and SAM. Despite all those projects he still manages to sound fresh and different each and every time he pops up. This time out he strides forwards on a loopy techno pulse on 'Corpse Grinder' , gets freaky on the dark synths and eerie pads of 'Death Mangler' and flips you the fuck out with the acid frenzy that is 'Weakling Poser'. And that's just the a-side, on the reverse are three more left of centre dance floor weapons that take in both sleazy house and cosmic electro. What an EP.

Review: Cocktail d'Amore Music returns from a short hiatus with a new release from Russian producer TMO. The three tracks are tied together by a propensity for heavy rhythm construction and distorted acid lines, executed to great effect. Opening with "Last Moment Jam" , a searing main room projectile, TMO presents what is heavily inspired by early Chicago acid track. For those looking for something on the trippier end, "Drums Jam" provides a low bpm hallucination full of delays. Closing is, "Buchla 909 Jam", a 10 minute slow burn exercise in analog fundamentals for late night fantasies.

Review: EYA's sister label Lonewolf celebrates 2 years of activity with a 3x 12"! The VA explores a wide range of electronic music styles...from ambient to techno,breaks,electro,acid and more! 'The Wolfpack'will be a must in every record bag and vinyl collection!Music by Innershades,Es-Q,Matthew Dexter,Dom,Zolaa,Intareality,Tadan,Paradise City Breakers,NND,Cool and Frank,Patient Better Drivers.

Review: Club Night Club is a new Brooklyn label born out of an event series, and they're positioning themselves squarely in the leftfield of the contemporary techno scene with a wild EP from the lesser-spotted Herron. The Manchester-based artist has slipped out a few scattered releases over the past six years, from EPs on the meandyou label he helps run, and one big drop for Peder Mannerfelt's label. This fierce return to the fray shows the producer pushing a tough yet supple strain of mutant, stepped techno with soundsystem blood pumping in its veins. It's ludicrously high-end, swimming in needlepoint sound design and yet still rough as hell, and it comes very highly recommended.

Review: Deep house don Brad Peterson started the Common Dreams label and alias back in 2014 as another outlet for his prolific strain of machine soul. Various artists have graced the label including John Shima and Dan Piu, but now Peterson returns to steer the ship himself with a new project entitled Ancient Trees vs Skyscrapers. It's not hard to ascertain the ideas bubbling away behind the release, and sure enough Peterson rolls out exquisite synthesis which ebbs and flows with a fluidity which feels inspired by nature, albeit still very much in the context of crisply rendered deep house and techno with a Motor City influence.

Review: Tresor has been a global home to techno for 30 years now. The world was a very different place when the Berlin institution opened in 1991 but it has remained at the forefront of the gene though all its many different mutations. The club itself has been a breeding ground for new talents, dancers and DJs who have pushed the boundaries and explored new realms. The Berlin-Detroit connection always remained strong at the club and it does here on this landmark compilation. It profiles all the key artists who helped to define Tresor, and techno at large, over three decades, and it should not be missed.

Review: Following up some great releases recently by ONYVAA and Alignment, Belgian techno heroine Charlotte De Witte is back with a vengeance this week on her beloved KNTXT imprint. The Formula EP features three ferocious cuts, all aimed squarely at the main room dancefloor at peak time. From the strict, heads-down shuffle of 'Doppler' and its ravey, infectious chord progression playing centre stage, to the cerebral stomper 'RPM' taking you aboard a wild ride on the acid express. It ends with the adrenalised energy flash of the title track, which goes out all guns blazing.

Review: Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills has suggested that his new conceptual opus should be experienced in isolation, free of noise and visual distractions and listened to in its entirety. Like its name may suggest, The Clairvoyant has an arcane, mystical and somewhat understated quality throughout. Opening cut the 'The Seance' has that chiming and hypnotic style of trance induction familiar from most of his other work on Axis, other times venturing into knackered, off-kilter territory as heard on 'Someone Who Feels Things' and at other opportunities exploring similarly unusual time signatures, textures and moods as heard on the mesmerising trilogy 'Three Signs From The Other Side'. More upbeat, groove based experiments you've come to know from Mills (and which will similarly appeal to DJs) can be heard on the majestic 'Questions, Decisions And Consequences' or the typically syncopated rhythms of 'Ganzfeld Experiments'. In a word, magnificent.

Review: Design Default first emerged back in 2018 with a release on Fragil Musique - the vivid, finely sculpted ambient LP Dawn Chorus. Now they're back with a new album, this time on New York label Club Night Club (who put out the excellent Herron Lowflow EP. The vibe is decidedly different, dealing in punchy electronica workouts with ample sonic manipulation and high production values. 'Lyrids' has enough brute force and deft dynamics to snap your head clean off, in the club or elsewhere, while 'Quarantids' teases between lush ambience and gravelly future-tech beats. 'Geminids' ramps up the industrial strength drum hits and nudges the tempo in kind, but still the artful programming and visceral mixing prowess is on full display - something Significant Other steps up to on their remix too.

Review: James Pennington is a true Motor City original who will forever be etched into the legendary city's musical history. Under his revered Suburban Knight alias he crafted the powerful single 'Listening Systems' in 2021, initially limited to a spotter-taunting 200 copies, but now repressed - and relax, record buyers everywhere. It's a deep, warm, driving techno cut stripped back to the bare essentials with a smoky vocal whisper adding the intimacy to a kicking rhythm that is dubbed out and soft around the edges but not lacking in impact. Perfect music for mind, body and head that needs to be played nice and loud.

Review: With the last few releases coming from label head Matthew Oh, Russia's Outlaw is back with a new one that comes courtesy of Igor Arsenjev aka Gradient, who some of you may know from his impressive releases recently on labels such as Greyscale, hello strange and Space Of Variants. OUT009 features four densely atmospheric executions in dub techno: starting out with some deep mood music on A1 and going into Basic Channel territory on the hypnotic locomotion of A2. Over on the flip, we were really feeling the ice-cold and cavernous echoes of 'Contour Four' as well.

Review: Skee Mask, who only recently was found out to be called Bryan Muller, comes through with his second LP to date, making a wonderful follow-up to 2016's Shred. Compro is, ironically, comprised of a much more explorative palette of sounds, with many corners of the album veering off into otherworldly ambient, often through a striking new-age sensibility. The most impressive element of this album is its flow and evolution across its 12 tracks, sounding a lot more like one single-minded thought rather than a collection of disparate dance-not-dance tunes. The quality of the recording is noticeable, too, with tracks like "Rev8617" or "Via Sub Mids" sounding professional, both in vision and style. Through an intricate collage of breaks, samples, polyphonies, and subtle electronic manipulations, Skee Mask has truly mastered his own art, and is giving a new direction to the wider 'UK rave' sound. BIG.

Review: Robert Hood kicks off his M Plant label's 2021 with a big return for the Perpetual Masters series, with his Underestimated EP. The series is designed to serve up classic back catalogue tackle that has all been newly remastered and made available on vinyl, digital download and streaming. This one came out originally in 1998 and is a powerful and futuristic now as it was back then. 'Black Man's Word' is crispy, driving techno, 'Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death' offers scintillating synth work and 'Hard To Kill' traps you in dark loops.

Review: During last year's extended pandemic-related lockdowns, Levon Vincent spent more time in his studio than he has in years. He's been releasing the results this year and plenty of people have (rightly) been impressed with the epic, analogue-rich jams Vincent has shared. His latest two tracker - the NYC producer's fifth of 2021 - continues in a similar vein to its predecessors. While confirmed fans will lap up flipside 'Bells Phase (Phasing Tribal House)' - a surging, slowly building affair that sees a chiming melody ride a scuzzy techno groove - it's the more musically expansive A-side, 'We Will Dance Together Again' that really hits the spot. A near 15-minute excursion that peppers a jacking machine groove with warming live keys, pulsating bass and lovely musical flourishes, it's one of Vincent'smost positive-sounding tracks to date.

Review: After making an impressive turn on Wisdom Teeth last year, Okand Konstnar returns to Kimochi Sound with a new grip of bubbling, left-of-centre techno grooves for those who like things supremely dubby and dipped in stardust. There are discernible grooves coursing throughout this latest Shielding record, but the beats play second fiddle to nimble melodic lines and atmospheric ripples. Even on 'Indoors', the more kinetic thrum of the beat feels closer to a tonal synth part than a beat. 'Vinter' meanwhile invites us into a beatless realm where the synthetic organisms in Shielding's biome have the run of the place. It's deep, immersive techno existing on the fringes, where the most interesting things tend to happen.

Review: Zwen makes a strong impression as they circumnavigate the stars to impart their strain of machine music. This first release on Trapid has little to no reference point, placing all the focus on the tunes contained within. "Space Zone" aptly launches this mission in a muscular fashion with a hefty kick and some strafing synth blasts, while "Etching" gets tangled up in a more tightly wound loop with a raw, deliciously early 90s finish. "Restriction" keeps things stripped back, but it's certainly still orbiting the same quadrant as the other tracks. "Trapid" switches focus by embracing a more dub techno-informed approach, and Zwen does a masterful job of capturing that vibe too.

Review: Alan Dixon launches his brand new label Love Attack, the Multi Periodic Oscillations EP being a three tracker from Man Power at his curious techno best. Deep, dark and dubby, not to mention suitable for 3am needs everywhere, it opens with 'Cepheid Variable Part 1', 11 minutes of twists and turns, revolving around a hypnotic groove. Its baby brother 'Part 2' keeps the vibes intact before 'Applegate Mechanism' closes the EP in a straight up dancefloor fashion. Keep your eyes on Love Attack, with many more releases lined up for the next year.