Planet Rhythm Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Nowhere does techno as proper as Planet Rhythm. This latest 12" is another no-frills banger with rusty synth and menacing drum loops all perfectly intertwined. There is a hurried sense of funk to 'Formation' that really keeps you on edge, while 'Basel' is turbocharged with video-game style synths. 'Romance' gets more edgy and brings some industrial percussion and automation to the beats while 'Here' slips into thumping and loopy house territory of the sort that reminds us of the one and only Floorplan.

Review: Rotterdam label Planet Rhythm has snapped up some searing tech from relative newcomers Dynamic Forces here. The electrifying duo are one again not mucking about here as they serve up some pumping techno bangers that have a playful heart and plenty of great designs buried deep in their unrelenting grooves. 'New Set Up' for example is backlit by a nice heavenly synth glow and 'Plague' is a real head wrecker with twisted leads and super sized hi hats. 'Tango' is a minimal number that moves like a cat on a hot tin roof and seems to get ever quicker throughout.

Review: Italian techno heavyweight Giorgio Gigli has been at the forefront of his country's scene for some time now, working with Dozzy way back in 2004 and releasing an album on Speedy J's Electric Deluxe label in 2015. This release on Planet Rhythm gathers together a series of collaborative EPs Gigli recorded for the label between 2015 and 2018, working with tough techno operators Ness, Paul Ritch and VSK. Gathered together in one handy triple-vinyl package, this is an essential set for anyone who cherishes dark, driving techno loaded with steely atmospheres and next-level production.

Review: Don your space suit and hop onboard another trip to Planet Rhythm. This one is at the hands of techno troubadour Klint who is a master of achieving a lot with a little. HIs perfectly designed flops could roll for days if you ask us. And that's whether they are edgy and restless as on the unsettling 'Your Fault' or the more intensely layered 'Organic Rewind' which sounds like an automated factory at peak production levels. The tunnelling techno of 'Carbone' is a real mind maze and 'Dust' is from the Mills school of minimalism.

Review: Planet Rhythm's approach to techno is pure and simple, but always effective. The label's sub-series hits an eight relate here with Lenny San serving up some monstrous and macho dub tackle across both sides of this new white 12". 'Matrix' has grainy, gritty chords and hurling great kicks that cannot fail to make a vast warehouse march as one. 'Suggestion' is another economical yet efficient dub techno banger, 'Acryl' has subtle distortion and rusted metal texture bring the forceful groove to life and 'Antagonist' shuts down in fierce fashion.

Review: Portuguese techno powerhouse Re:Axis has been working with Planet Rhythm for over eight years now, presenting a dynamic big room sound across a steady stream of EPs. Now he heads up a new VA 12" with 'Protoportal', a sinewy, seductive workout for those darker corners of the dance which originally came out in 2015 alongside tracks by Petter B. Petter B himself then steps up to rework 'Protoportal', twisting it into a thrumming, heads down weapon with an industrial tinge. VSK's 'Wrap' opens up the B side in a masterful display of contemporary Italian techno before the record rounds out with a collab from Scalameriya and Re:Axis, the knotty, dramatic 'Spectra'.

Review: Red Rooms is back on Planet Rhythm not long after his last outing here back in April. Once again here these tunes will get any crowd up on their toes and locked in for some serious techno shapes. 'Radiation' is pure heads down tunnel vision techno tackle. 'Side Effects' layer sup warming solar winds with well programmed drums that almost tumble over one another they are so quickened. 'Black Holes' has a darker vibe with cosmic keys peeling off the beats and 'Drift' brings some muscular techno funk. A versatile EP.

Review: The Planet Rhythm White series is all about serious dance floor business. It now welcomes back Senh for four cuts of well designed and stripped back but effective techno. Opener 'In Version' is a dubby one that leans into the wind as well crafted synth smears bring scale and mood. 'One Night In Athens' pairs things back even more to an icy dub, with perfectly frictionless drums, airy pads and echoing claps that are brilliantly wet. 'Rainbow Dub' is more spangled and high tempo in its onward journey though no less hypnotic and 'The Healer' closes on a classic Maurizio style vibe.

Review: Twinned with a new SND / RTN EP comes this new curveball from Senh on the same umbrella label, Planet Rhythm. A mega-fast dub techno EP that might as well be considered its own microgenre altogether, tracks from 'Pow Ride' to 'Underwater' operate in electric harmony and cutoff-rinsing hat washes. Imagine John Beltran or East Of Eden colliding hard with Basic Channel and both duelling to the death; Senh's music is the cosmic baby that emerges from the rubbly aftermath.

Review: Senh knows a thing or two about laying down advanced techno sound designs and he did just that with his November 2022 album Shape The Future on the one and only Planet Rhythm. Now it's picked apart for a new EP featuring four of its most fearsome cuts. There is expert minimal tech funk to kick off with on 'Shaba Funk' then moody dub on 'Odyssey' stripped back deep techno serenity on 'Vision.' Last of all is 'All Right', a thumping and emotionally intense house sound that will have you dripping.

Review: There are no specific credits behind this drop on Dutch label Planet Rhythm, but someone has decided to take one of Nina Simone's most powerful musical moments, 'Sinnerman', and create a great big peak time techno monster out of it. The original version bristles with tension, not least thanks to Simone's dexterous piano work, and the looping quality of those keys certainly foreshadowed the cyclical nature of club music. It's not hard to see why the song inspires energy in a club setting, and on this one-track single-sided 12" you can hear Simone's creation chopped up, sampled and strapped to a thunderous kick.

Review: Welcome back to Planet Rhythm, the most groovy of all the astral bodies and one that deals only in seriously high-spec techno. Unknown Code is the one cooking up the goodness here and does so with a real focus on weighty low ends. 'Jede Dunkle Nacht' has just that as well as starry synths flashing across the face of the tune. 'Paranoid' is a darker cut with more grainy texture and scraping hits then 'Vision' thumps out a linear groove embellished with panel beaten loops and 'U-bahn' gets edgy with more strobe-lit synths. These are tools, but tools of the highest quality.

Review: Planet Rhythm's third transmission is another various artists' affair that takes no prisoners. This is straight-ahead techno that is proud of its perfect planed linear loops and ability to get you in a mediative head space. Erdem Yetim kicks off with the seriously weighty 'Perfect Silence' and its panel-beaten loops. Simone Tavazzi's 'Pyramid' is another hefty kicker with icy hi hat ringlets and fleshy drums while 'Das Ego' is as good as reductive dub techno gets. Dave Simon hits the nail on the head with his 'Dubby Stomper.'