Juno Recommends Electro Best of 2017

Review: Given that Warp has finally bowed to pressure and reissued James Stinson's sole album under The Other People Place guise (2001's peerless Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe), there was an inevitability about this 12" getting the re-press treatment. It first came out on Clone back in 2002, and paired a fine Stinson solo effort with a rare outing for DJ Stingray as Mystic Tribe A.I. Stinson's "Sorrow & A Cup of Joe" is a thing of rare beauty: a spacey, 4/4 electro cut blessed with bubbly electronics, alien chord progressions, heavy sub-bass and a fluttering, melancholic vocal sample. On the flip, Stingray's "Telepathic Production" is a dreamy chunk of outer space warmth driven by chunky hip-hop breakbeats and an undulating bassline.

Review: Helena Hauff's A Tape first appeared on cassette back in 2015, winning praise from critics for its machine-driven fusion of EBM, industrial, acid and dark-wave elements. The set showcased tracks recorded over a three-year period, mostly with a stripped back studio set-up (TB-303, TR-797, TR-808 and a couple of Roland synths), which didn't make the cut for her Werk Discs debut, Discreet Desires. Now, Dark Entries has decided to issue the album on vinyl for the first time, allowing those of us without tape decks to revel in Hauff's off-kilter machine funk, intoxicating electronic soundscapes, and acid-flecked, late night workouts.

Review: Melbourne's Jacob (yep, just Jacob!) aka Hymns returns to Aussie label Salt Mines, a vinyl only outfit headed by Rudolf C and Shedbug based in Melbourne. Now for an offering which the label best describes as 'flecked with restrained breakbeats, off-kilter rhythms and glistening pads.' Opener "Water Acid" does deep acid by way 90's British IDM to convincing effect, while on the flip "Heinz Harald Frentzen" does abstract electro via dub techno on this sinister and experimental piece. Finally, the blissed out and euphoric title track is an evocative and nostalgic dedication to an early 90's rave heyday he never quite lived through but splendid nonetheless.

Review: Gary Gritness' real name is Tim Becherand. He is a session musician who has been around for some time and has worked alongside some of the greats such as the legendary Kenny Bobien and top producers in house music like Grant Nelson, Terry Hunter, Louie Vega and many more. The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol. 1 on London's Hypercolour was one of 2016's highlights where he explored some Underground Resistance inspired hi-tech soul jams alongside some electro-funk reminiscent of Japanese Telecom. Here for the second instalment of the series, he delivers the goods once again. Take for instance "Countin' Up With Starr" which features some razor sharp analogue arpeggios and celestial synths, dancing atop rusty vintage drum computer patterns. So convincingly that you'd think they were lost tapes from 1991. On the flip, another gem came in the form of "Pool Shark Loot" which unlike the other tracks is a lo-slung boogie jam and shows of Gary's dexterity on the keys and he tears it up on a series of slick synth solos.

Review: You can always rely on Dublin's Lunar Disko Records to provide the heat; this time it's in the form of some heavyweight electro vibes by the industry's best and brightest. But this is no surprise given the imprint's invariable doses of quality. First up is Dutch maestro DJ Overdose with "Arecibo", a comparatively more pensive and introspective electro appearance than his usual work, but TR One's "Escape From Enceladus" takes this pensive sway of synths and crystal-like sonics to an even deeper level. Raiders Of The Lost Arp kick off the flip side with the smooth and suave flow of "Equinox", this one belonging more to the house end of the spectrum, whereas Automatic Tasty comes through with a quirky little digi number with the aptly odd name of "I Can't Find My Own Manual (How Therefore Am I To Restore My Factory Settings?)". A tidy little blast of synth-filled goods.

Review: German producer Martin Matiske has been sporadic in his appearances dating back to 2002, but when he releases a record he makes it count. Following previous turns on International Deejay Gigolo and Stilleben, he now brings his fulsome electro sound to Vivod sounding fresher than ever. "Die Nibelungen" draws on a fine tradition of German electronica while using that mechanical melancholy you might find in a Bochum Welt track. "Bayerischer Wald" is a cheery synth-pop celebration, and "Virtuosic Mechanic" is a more snappy club track with plenty of Bunker-friendly darkness packed into its bones. "Kammermusik" cools things down with a lovely meander through plaintive bleep lines and plastic synth leads.

Review: Before unfurling some crystalline, IDM-inspired electro and bubbly Italo-disco on Bio Rhythm late last year, Ian Martin had been better known for releasing blends of dark ambience and unsettling industrial noise. This full-length excursion sits somewhere between the two. While mostly melodious and ear pleasing - think mutant electrofunk, IDM, Motor City techno and left-of-centre electronica - the album's seven tracks still come doused in crackly noise, and the distinctive fuzziness of straight-to-tape production. There are numerous high points, including the paranoid electro murkiness of "The Surveillance Society", the polyrhythmic moodiness of "Last Days", and the intergalactic positivity of "Sea of Visions".

Review: The Dewaele brothers' Deewee imprint is on fire at the moment. The Belgian siblings, who produce or co-produce all of the label's material, have been churning out the hits this year. Klanken is one of the pair's lesser-known aliases, having been used just once before (on Deewee 12" number two, back in 2015). "Vier" is a chirpy chunk of alien funk, where stuttering drum machine hits, mind altering synthesizer melodies and moody industrial funk sounds combine to create a weird and wonderful dancefloor workout. It's hard to describe, but really rather good. On the flip they opt for a rough and raw approach, wrapping angular acid lines and twisted electronics around distorted machine drums on the thrillingly psychedelic "VJF".

Review: After a pair of solid debuts in 2015 and 2016 respectively, Johannes Albert and Johannes Paluka return to Germany's Frank Music with their effortlessly left field Moon project, and this time they've landed in our atmosphere with a mystical, far-reaching album named Industrie & Zartlichkeit. Paluka is, of course, deep house magician Iron Curtis, but this particular project is reserved for his more experimental flex, and the duo clearly get on like a house on fire. Through a mixed bag of electro oddities, majestic machine-drum soul, and sprinkled with just a hint of house for good measure, this album keeps growing until the bitter end; it's clear that the duo have worked up something of a beaty. Ups, downs, and constant hits of gorgeous electronic constructions. Recommended!