Back in stock: Electro

Review: B12's 1993 debut album, Electro-Soma, has long been regarded as one of intelligent dance music's "must-have releases". Offering a decidedly intergalactic blend of otherworldly techno, ambient and deep space electronica, it remains a brilliant piece of work. Here, Warp Records give it the reissue treatment, packaging the peerless original album with a second disc of early B12 rarities and hard-to-find cuts recorded during the same period. There's naturally plenty to admire on this bonus disc, from the shimmering electro bustle of "Transient Pathways" and Motor City futurism of "Debris", to the intoxicating ambient brilliance of "Go With The Hiss". That this material is every bit as good as the tracks included on Electro-Soma is testament to the (then) duo's rarely matched brilliance.

Review: White Fetish X, the latest release by enigmatic collaboration between Dataintrang and Luke Eargoggle on the Italian label Pareidolia Recordings, is a hypnotic and eerie exploration of the dark side of electronica. The album's six tracks veritably pulsate with a sinister energy, blending elements of EBM, electro clash, and sci-fi to create a truly unique and unsettling soundscape. 'Starting Shift' sets the tone with its menacing EBM stomp and early techno sound, while 'Mann Gegen Mann' ups the ante with its sinister electroclash beats. The title track is a hypnotic and eerie soundscape, with its sci-fi synths and demented, horror-like atmosphere. 'Radiowelt' is a heavy electro track with a pulsing body funk rhythm, while 'Audio Warrior' closes the album out with its dark and evil-sounding but funky bassline. Overall, White Fetish X is a challenging and rewarding listen for fans of dark electronica. Its sinister soundscapes and hypnotic rhythms create a truly unique and unsettling experience that will stay with you long after the final track has faded out.

Review: Russian label Samizdat follows up its notable first release with a second 12", this time from Genning. It is classy and sophisticated outing all the way with this one as opener 'Stair To The Sky's Rooftop' soon sets you off on a trip to the stars with its slick rhythms and glistening celestial chords. 'Window To The Dub' follows more of a tech house template with loopy drums and bass that rumble up and down and 'Summer Lighting' then zones you out on some lovely pads and frictionless drums. Last off all is 'Mystic Lakes' which takes off on balmy pads and plump, cuddly but dynamic drums.

Review: Gesloten Cirkel was hero worshipped for a whole by hardcore techno nerds and for good reason. Years after his time in the spotlight he continues to turn out cutting edge techno sounds. 'Cryformechicago' has and old school Windy Cit house feel but with more muscular drums, 'Pkbday' then cuts loose on broken beats and frosted synths for another world. 'GPU_Didit' (Turbo mix) is tightly coiled and loopy, fractious and relentless and 'Detoon' rounds out with the EP highlight - a big, bold electro stomper with fizzing textures and real machine soul.

Review: Golden Pudel's number one DJ-turned-producer, Helena Hauff, returns to Actress's Werkdiscs with her debut LP, marking a fine start to the September release downpour! Compared to her last effort for the label and her banger of an EP on Lux, Discreet Desires spans across much vaster landscapes, and while we knew that she was heavily into Detroit electro, the album is heavily focused on fast, broken beats brimming with synths. "Spur" and "Funereal Morality", for example, are a pair of Drexcyian bombshells, while "Piece Of Pleasure" clearly takes inspiration from Kraftwerk and the resulting synth pop wave. Instead, "Silver Sands & Boxes Of Mould" showcases her more experimental side thanks to its cinematic soundscapes and sparse beats, along with the beatless sway of "Dreams In Color". A fine debut LP that cements Hauff's position at the vanguard of current electronics.

Review: Domesticated has been giving us a great blend of upbeat genres on each and every release since the label first came out. No exception here, Ukraine producer Kiddmisha jams five heaters on one piece of wax. The first cut 'The Search', is a demented and seedy electro cut that is sure to be a hit those who hear it. If you want to hear what bass music subgenre sounds like, then look no further than the monster that is 'Def'. For the B-side, Kiddmisha showcases a few groovier tracks with the infectious 'Gradient' and killer robotic electro of the title track 'The Game'. Fans of dangerous electro like Carl Finlow or what you would find on the Trust label will know what we are talking about. We really like the seedy and sleazy sounds that germinate 'Freaktown' as well. Once you hear these you are likely not to forget them. Wicked EP!

Review: It's been a while since we've heard from Moroccan breakbeat favourite and Convergence Records founder Kosh, but he's back with a bang on none other than everybody's favourite Atlantean, underwater-breathing, acid trance house everything kru - Kalahari Oyster Cult. 'The Chopper' EP spans everything from Drexciyan kitsch-lectro to to floaty tech house trance to sillily verbatim breakbeat, ending on a hilarious high note with the timestretching, disc-scratching, stadium-ready rave rampage 'Come On'.

Review: Having spent six years apart from one another, Marvin & Guy now reunite with Life and Death for two infectious tracks, breaking their two-year silence from original releases. Departing from their signature melodies, the duo presents minimalist compositions tailored for the dancefloor. Born from playful experimentation with a synthesiser bassline, these tracks boast distinctive rhythmic and harmonic shifts - the irresistible appeal of' 'Who Dis' is its fatness and apparently simplicity. Incorporating sounds like shattered glass and Formula 1 engine roars - both meticulously recorded for these tracks - the joy and fun of the creative process shines through in the music and results in effective good time party tracks.

Review: Poetic Hovering Synth Tinkerer.

Review: Loud Enough has readied its third outing and this one comes from the amusingly titled Raiders of the Lost Arp. As you can expect from the alias, this is music that leans heavily on arps. 'Funk009 (Otto-Zero-Out)' kicks off with thudding and taught house drums overlaid with rattling percussion and detuned synth hooks. 'Funk010 (Lava P)' hist harder, like an Italo Johnson party banger and then the flip side flips the script as it should: 'Funk006 (Drop)' has a more lively and lithe groove, brighter chords and an uplifting energy. Rounding things off is 'Funk007 (Circular)' , a cosmic looper with the best arps of the EP raining down the face of the gritty beats.

Review: Tel Aviv twosome Red Axes can always be relied upon to deliver trippy, mind-altering and left-of-centre music, regardless of what stylistic or rhythmic framework they're operating in at any given time. That assessment rings as true as ever on the duo's first Shall Not Fade outing. Opener 'The Electric', for example, mixes druggy and hallucinogenic electronic motifs with a throbbing, retro-futurist house groove, sci-fi synths and the creepiest of lead lines, while 'Next One Is Bill' is a twisted, brain-melting jack-track propelled forwards by a filthy TB-303 bassline. Turn to the B-side for 'The Bee', a buzzing, foreboding chunk of punk funk/dub-disco/dark house fusion, and the intoxicating mixture of music box melodies, restless Chicago house drums and clandestine sounds that is 'Axes in the Sky'.