Back catalogue:

Review: Volksmusik's Underground is a captivating release on Unusual Systems, featuring five dance tracks that fuse various darker subgenres into a compelling electro house hybrid. The album explores dark wave, EBM, and electro techno, creating a unique sonic experience. Side-1 opens with 'Underground,' an uptempo track with a darker Italo house feel that captures an 80s futuristic vibe. Following is 'The Force,' a dynamic piece with engaging lyrics that blend a Nu-Romantic vibe reminiscent of Visage. Side-2 begins with 'Glowing In The Dark,' maintaining the album's dark and atmospheric tone. 'Snake Island' shifts towards a darker rock sound, verging on Goth rock, adding variety to the album's texture. Closing the release is 'We Danced,' which infuses an EBM edge, rounding out the collection with its energetic and intense rhythm. Underground stands out for its innovative blend of genres, making it a great release for fans of dark, electro-infused dance music.

Review: Whether or not you head the first one, Jon Savage's second exploration of the diverse sounds of the post-punk era is another eye (or ear?) opening listen that will teach you plenty and join many dots you might not have done otherwise. Spanning electronic music, disco, experimental, and proto-techno, Do You Have The Force Volume 2: Jon Savage's Alternative History Of Electronica 1978-82 is a masterfully curated compilation that showcases an eclectic range of genres and influences all handpicked and well sequenced by the renowned cultural commentator, writer, and filmmaker that is Savage. This is a double LP version which comes with a 12 page digisleeve booklet.

Review: Notoriously elusive, sophisti-thereal pop/post-punk collective Vazz answer to almost no-one. Emerging from the same late 70s/early 80s mutant formaldehyde mists that spawned This Mortal Coil and Crepuscule, yet bringing the dream pop sound to Glasgow, Hugh Small and Anna Howson are still going strong as a boutique bringing-together of mindful, magnetic musicians, pedigreed for the seemly discotheque. First released on Cathexis Records, we are indeed much cathected to both EPs in this collection. In sloshing but somehow still self-contained fashion, 'Your Final Word' swims in reverb nearly to the point of drowning its own harmonies, yet breathability is somehow still retained. 'Bleached White Skin' is the perfect storm of wavy wash, operatic doublings and ditzy drum machine, and 'Breath' brings spring-verb coldwave stylings to a languorous, pitchy closer. Then 'Feverpitch' and 'For A Reason' hear the compilation sprawl further into arpeggiating tumult, as we move on to material from the 1987 'Feverpitch' EP. This 40th anniversary edition collates both EPs and adds a handful of unissued minimal wave pearls.

Review: Returning to vinyl for a 40th-anniversary edition, the Glasgow duo's singular approach to post-punk and coldwave is sure find a larger fan base with its fantastic vintage sound. Originally released in 1986 and formed by Hugh Small and Anna Howson, Vazz carved out a distinctive space in the mid-80s. Their soundia fusion of skeletal electronics, atmospheric guitar and hushed yet striking vocalsimelds the austerity of coldwave with the melodic sensibility of synth-pop. Drum machines pulse beneath shimmering textures, while Howson's spectral delivery drifts through the mix, lending an eerie, romantic detachment. Key moments highlight their range: 'Your Final Word' bathes in cavernous reverb, 'Bleached White Skin' sways with layered vocals and murky waves and 'Breath' lingers in icy, stretched-out melancholia. More rhythmically urgent, 'Feverpitch' and 'For A Reason' build on cascading arpeggios and taut structures. Vazz's work has grown in stature over time, finding a home in the post-punk imagination for its ghostly charm and understated allure.

Review: A compelling selection of unreleased tracks from influential Italian artists and producers who continue to shape the underground electronic scene. The project features a mix of electro, synth-pop and new wave, each track pushing boundaries and exploring new sonic frontiers. Rimini Metafisica, led by Paolo Gozzetti (known for Sigma Tibet and Italoconnection), presents a fresh exploration of sound, while TenGramsione of the Piatto brothers' aliasesidelivers dark, minimal synth with an essential edge. Diego Montinaro, aka Sandiego, contributes a cybernetic ballad, while Mono Han, another Piatto project, shines with bright, authentic synth-pop, powered by a Linn Drum and Roland Jupiter 8.Other standout contributions include Deep Field, a synth-pop venture from Danilo Carnevale and Castelli's new-wave disco track. Fogli and Ventura's collaboration brings isolationist minimal synth, while Through Twelve offers a post-punk-synth-pop blend with contemporary flair. Body System, a collaboration between Enrico Colombo and Ventura, aims to revive the EBM sound and Italoconnection, with Francesca Gastaldi, presents a "lost" track reinterpreted by TenGrams in a Kraftwerkian style. Spittle Italy continues to bring out some excellent compilations for their followers.

Review: Paris has always had an interesting relationship with electronic music. While offering a home to venues such as the legendary Concrete, La Machine, and, of course, Rex, the city has always struggled to reconciling what many consider to be the true spirit and aesthetics of underground club culture with its famous penchant for the polished and pretty. Nevertheless, scratch beneath the surface and you are likely to stumble upon, if not purposefully find, plenty of grit, weirds and experimentalism edging into the realms of sinister S&M pleasure droids on synths. Vox Low represent this underbelly of the city well, and across the eight tracks here invite us into the subterranean and industrial, the derelict and the destitute for a party that somehow still feels very sexy indeed.