Diagonal Schallplatten & CDs

Review: After he dropped his 17-strong opus to Diagonal back in September, maverick noise botherer Russell Haswell gets bothered himself by a strong cast of other ne'erdowells from the outer reaches. The stars of the show are Autechre, who turn in something quite unusual for the occasion with a brutally reduced, interference reveling "Conformity Version" of "Heavy Handed Sunset". Label boss Powell brings some of his future-EBM stylings to his "Cov Megamix" of "Hardwax Flashback", while DJ Stingray does a fine and confrontational job in reworking "Gas Attack". It's a powerful collection of fringe sonic studies that manage to make experimentation lots of fun.

Review: In advance of release, Diagonal and Elon Katz have been particularly mysterious when it comes to the contents of The Human Pet. Instead of the usual press release, they simply emailed journalists a bizarre list of "care instructions" for said mythical companion. Katz, who rose to prominence as part of Streetwalker and White Car, is something of a bombastic, electronic eccentric, and The Human Pet is ostensibly a pop album dragged through several hedges backwards. Expect impassioned, stylized vocals, twisted boogie synths, scattergun electronics, bizarre beats, breakcore style cut-up madness, and crusty special effects. Oh, and discernible nods to EBM, industrial and Autechre.

Review: Diagonal boss Powell designed the New Beta series as a kind of re-set: an opportunity to go back go basics and make music differently. The first release in the series, which landed earlier this year, was certainly a stripped-back affair, notably free of many of the stylistic flourishes we've come to expect. This follow-up is similarly inclined and sees the lauded producer saunter through tracks that variously doff a cap to weird ambient, bubbly modular electronica, surging, sample-laden post-punk workouts (see "Rudeboy, Let's Funk"), mentalist fusions of jungle and synth-wave ("Drums VIP"), intergalactic noise and tracks that defy easy categorization. There are a few impressively melodious moments dotted throughout, with the colourful "Strobe" standing out.

Review: Always one to keep us on our toes, Diagonal bossman Powell steps away from his XL output for this sudden mini album that's strictly vinyl and likely to be limited. Unpredictably, fizzy, fun and often perplexing, no one blends influences and bends machines quite like this man. From the anarchic double-speed new beat paranoia of "Wormhole" to the weirded out time signature and spasmodic sines of "Dogs On Acid" via the mangled reece and death metal tones of "97", this is Powell at his most comfortable, insincere and experimental. Grab it while you can.

Review: Powell's Diagonal Records label continues to plunder it's own unique sonic path, with the label debut of Prostitutes following swiftly on from that excellent Shit & Shine EP. Prostitutes is the current creative focus of James Donadio, a veteran of Cleveland's underground music scene, whose blend of blend of primitive rhythms and industrial sonics have graced Opal Tapes and Digitalis after the project's emergence with a self titled release on the artist's own stabUdown label in 2011. Fans of Container, Metasplice and Carlos Giffoni will find much that appeals in the Prostitutes approach that is demonstrated with aplomb on the Shatter and Lose EP. Indeed we'd go so far as say there are echoes of vintage Cabs in cuts like "Poison The Masses" and "Sold A Decade At A Time". As with previous Diagonal releases great attention has been paid to the sleeve art; created by Guy Featherstone and photographer Robbie Maynard, the pair tracked down two real prostitutes off the Caledonian Road in London, and overlaid their pictures on top of each other to create the striking, if disturbing, cover.