Diagonal Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Ren Schofield aka Container is back with his first release of 2016 and our favourite noise/techno fiend lands comfortably on Jaime Williams and Powell's ever-excellent Diagonal label. Title cut "Vegetation" sets the scene with a murky, swamped-out techno fuzz that sounds a little like the soundtrack to an apocalypse, a blur of the senses that is swiftly followed by the more militaristic beats of the equally fuzzy 'Soak" - what a tip! On the flip, "Funnel" waves its distorted bleeps through heavy kicks and snares, "Radiator" a certified Container head banger, and the final tune "Insulation" is a broken medley of bass, drums and pure grit. Sick.

Review: Ren Schofield aka Container is back with his first release of 2016 and our favourite noise/techno fiend lands comfortably on Jaime Williams and Powell's ever-excellent Diagonal label. Title cut "Vegetation" sets the scene with a murky, swamped-out techno fuzz that sounds a little like the soundtrack to an apocalypse, a blur of the senses that is swiftly followed by the more militaristic beats of the equally fuzzy 'Soak" - what a tip! On the flip, "Funnel" waves its distorted bleeps through heavy kicks and snares, "Radiator" a certified Container head banger, and the final tune "Insulation" is a broken medley of bass, drums and pure grit. Sick.

Review: Japanese experimenter Kouhei Matsunaga has been quietly building an exceptional discography as NHK yx Koyxen and the numerous variances. With prior NHK yx Koyxen output on PAN, Skam and Raster Noton, Matsunaga's growing alliance with Powell's Diagonal label makes perfect sense. After debuting on Diagonal last year, he's back with Doom Steppy Reverb, a fresh NHK yx Koyxen LP that expands on his fuzzy, texture-laden, leftfield techno blueprint. So, while there's plenty of industrial-influenced darkness, claustrophobic tape hiss, and redlined rhythms, the Japanese artist also includes quietly beautiful textures and hazy, looped melodies. This is most evident on the foreboding, late night swing of "Y", where the application of dub delays helps emphasize the skewed, doom-laden mood. Superb artwork too!!!