Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Well Curated is a series of releases and parties that - in its own words - "reflects the ethnomusicology of the last 50 years of music" - and aims to reach into all genres, merging classic styles and breaking down barriers. Steve Spacek occupies the A-side with the breezy broken beat and soul-in-space of 'Alone In Da Sun', while Lukid's 'Hair Of The Dog' is a more intense counterpart, with wobbling sub-bass and swirling, surging atmospherics hovering above.

Review: Berlin's Cocktail d'Amore and Tokyo's Ene Records have come together once again to present the music of Solidair. The duo of Cocktail alumni Luigi Di Venere and Jules Etienne present three tracks aimed to induce a dance floor hypnosis. Orgonite (Riding the Waves) does just that, a slow build awash in the ebb and flow of acid tinges, just enough to wet your whistle on a Saturday night. The original mix keeps the skeletal support but throws in a life preserver of 8 bit gaming synthesis. Frisky arps call and respond to each other before making way for sinewy pads to lift off. Tiger's Eye sets itself onto cruising speed incorporating elements of late 90's acid techno with the sleek and smooth clubbing aesthetics of modern day Berlin.

Review: Sanderson Dear's Stasis Recordings released the original Time Capsule compilation in 2020 - a 20-track exploration of ten different ambient techno artists exploring two ideas each in compact form for a box set of 7"s. Now the label has revisited some of the project's standout moments and offered a chance to enjoy extended versions gathered on a single 12". From Maps Of Hyperspace shaping out atmospheric halls of synth work on 'Beta' to Glo Phase offering some gorgeous, sparkling grooves on 'Fire Flies', there's plenty of ground covered on this release. Of course the mighty John Beltran is a big drawer too, and his typically stellar 'The Descendent' doesn't disappoint in its full extended version.

Review: All that we know about the enigmatically named SaPa is they are affiliated with Weimar crew Giegling, emerging earlier this year with the Fuubutsushi album on the Forum sublabel that garnered comparisons with Prince Of Denmark. Sa Pa's penchant for subaqueous techno now lands the producer a 12" debut on Marcel Dettmann Recordings. Lead track "We Can Be Friends" is so dubbed-out and murky that it could almost run as a background percussive piece in your mix - that's not to say that we don't think it's absolutely killer, because it is! "Morocco" is completely in a world of its own, crackly feedback and sparse sonics abound, while "Fast Jam" is a heady techno stomper with a punchy low-end and sublime percussion, a track that is followed by another murky load of swamped atmospherics in the form of "Untitled 11". If we have to be completely honest, this has been our favourite MDR 12" in a long time, and it comes with a heartfelt recommendation. Killer.

Review: Sa Pa's mastery of dense, immersive sound design takes on fresh forms here, with four extended cuts that unravel in their own time, drawing deep from the wells of dub, ambient techno, and minimal groove. Opener 'Captigon' rolls out like a slow-motion mirage, its submerged rhythms and cavernous textures shifting like sand underfoot. 'So Simple' strips things back even further, a delicate interplay of drifting chords and weightless percussion that feels like it could dissolve at any moment. On the flip, 'Boredom Memory (Extended Mix)' lets a steady pulse guide its shimmering layers, balancing restraint with a quiet insistence, while 'Gausian Ecstacy' brings things full circleihushed, intricate, and hypnotic in equal measure. Designed for deep listening, whether warming up, winding down, or staying in, these tracks reward patience, letting their submerged details rise to the surface at their own pace.

Review: Dino Sabatini returns to his own Outis Music label with another mesmerising selection of deep electronic sounds that seem to take plenty of influences from dub, downtempo, ambient and trip hop. The open has a creeping melodic sequence that is forever subtly shifting and brings a sense of eeriness to the smooth and unhurried dub rhythms below. 'Inenarrabilis' is then a double quick flurry of tiny synth loops and trippy effects then 'Plena Lunae' allows you to breathe once more and sink into a vast dub soundscape. 'Ego Experior' shuts down with some paranoid baselines bubbling up through a slowly churning groove. Some quality work here for sure.

Review: Sawf doesn't strike us as the type of producer who suffers fools gladly. Or indeed at all. The Greek music maker has a reputation for uncompromising and unforgiving electronic beats at the harsher end of the spectrum, one foot in industrial and another in techno, but with enough respect for both genres to make sure he's never made anything that feels as though it's destined for a TikTok video of 5,000 people pretending to find groove in sledgehammers. Kafas is exemplary of this, four tracks that sound as though the machines are rising up but in a way that's infinitely danceable, even if you don't normally gravitate towards dark, single strobe-lit rooms. From 'Bordo''s stepping, broken, minimalist workout, through to the stomp, clang, march and whips of 'Tsirita', this is heavy, heavy stuff but also very good indeed.

Review: Mainrecords returns with the 'Radiation Dance' EP which is the newest outing from co-label owner Matthias Schildger. It opens with the sleek electronic lines and Kraftwerkian hypnosis of 'CH Dance' on icy rhythms and lush synth chords. 'Radiation' is a more rugged techno sound but still artful in its pads and widescreen melodic scope. There is a retro 80s feel to 'Divine Divide' while 'Rzwodzwo's Brain' birds some more buffed metal textures, tripped-out FX and jittery rhythms. Last of all is 'Datapoppers' which is a great blend of analogue kits and drums, retro-future synths and curious cosmic moods.

Review: Schlammpeitziger gets some loving remix treatment here by a superb array of artists, many of whom will all be familiar to lovers of the famous Kompakt sound. Ada is first with a remix of 'Loch Ohne Licht' that is high in exotic melody and tropical bliss. Elsewhere a Wolfgang Voigt Megamix is dreamy and zoned out for the moments when you want to get lost in your own thoughts, and Andreas Dorau and Zwanie Jonson team up for a remix of 'Parzipan' that brings indie sleaze and underlapping groves to some skyward synth invention.

Review:  The rather unpronounceable Schwefelgelb is back with more club-ready goodness across two original tracks that blend pounding 138 bpm drums with inescapable basslines. The raw energy of the designs are enhanced by intricate arrangements and fresh sound design which marks a bold step in Schwefelgelb's evolution as they fuse hard-stomping techno with tonal playfulness. Adding versatility is UFO95 who contributes a dubby yet driving 4/4 remix, while Flore shifts gears entirely, exploring UK bass territory to close out this fine slab of 140g coloured vinyl.

Review: Mad About Records is back with another essential double dose of Latin funk with this limited edition 7" from Los Sonidos De F.M. and Sola. 'Tema De Los Adolesentes' kicks off on the flip with brilliantly lively samba keys and blasts of big horn energy next to more slinky and seductive lines. It's a true steamy dancer full of sex appeal while Sola take a different approach on the flip with 'Tabu.' This one is low slung and mischievous with its prickly rhythms and wet cymbals. The Spanish vocal is delivered with power and flair and backed by brooding harmonies that add extra weight.

Review: Second Tension invites us into a singular world of industrial tech menace with the new yellow-marbled EP on Persephonic Sirens. Right from the off there is a heavy metal feel with screeched and snarling vocals over screen baselines and flashy trance synths. 'Lust From The Eyes Drips' is lit up with searing laser-like synths over ragged, squared-off drums and bass and 'No Rejoicings Of Joy Shall Ever Be Tasted' is another white knuckle, teeth-gritted stomper. 'Punishments Of Tainted Light' rounds out with more machine gun synths and hellish vocals for a dark and thrilling experience.

Review: After launching last year via an arguably overlooked EP from Obsidian, Parallel Connection has made us wait a little while for the London label's second release. It comes courtesy of Sela, a 25-year-old French producer who apparently honed his soon to be trademark sound while living in the UK. There's much to enjoy across the four track missive, from the alien electronics, loose-limbed broken electro beats and chiming lead lines of '2020 Connection' and sub-heavy, acid-flecked stomp of 'Animal Kingdom', to the pitched-down electronica eccentricity of 'Really Get Fucked' and the psychedelic late-night tech-house hedonism of 'Mr Rabbit', which boasts bleeping melodies reminiscent of both mod-90s ambient techno and Yorkshire bleep and bass.

Review: Second time around for some time Deep Dish man Sharam's 2006 anthem 'PATT (Party All The Time)', a canny combination of dark Italo-disco bass, mind-mangling TB-303 acid lines and celebratory vocal snippets (back then, you couldn't escape the sampled "my girl wants to party all the time" vocal refrain). This time round, Adam Beyer has joined forces with fellow Drumcode artist Layton Giordani and Chicago legend Green Velvet - who delivers typically evocative spoken word vocals - to give the track a massive new big room techno spin. Pitching the track up while retaining the original bassline and acid lines, the trio stretch out this hard-as-nails groove before finally unleashing the glassy-eyed vocal sample and some suitably dark and brain-melting electronic refrains. To say it's 'big' is an understatement.

Review: Hamburg's relatively new Space Drum Mediatation label's sixth release continues its tradition of deep, immersive soundscapes, blending ambient and drone elements with a wide-ranging sonic depth. This latest offering unfolds like a journey through ancient and futuristic landscapes, each track carrying its own distinct energy and atmosphere. Side-A opens with 'Yarra', a hypnotic piece driven by tribal drums and chant-like motifs, evoking a primal, meditative state. 'Water Sirens' follows, weaving hedonistic, jungle-infused textures that feel both untamed and ritualistic, transporting the listener into a lush, mysterious realm. On Side-B, the tempo shifts with 'Yacu', a pulsating, Goa-trance-inspired track that surges with momentum, its fast-paced rhythms pulling towards a euphoric edge. The release closes with 'Sun Bleed', a deeply spiritual, spacey composition laced with acid-tinged echoes and an expansive mysticism. Its reverberations stretch into the unknown, leaving an afterglow of cosmic introspection. Balancing organic and electronic elements, this release stands as another example to the label's dedication to quality and sonic exploration. It's a seamless fusion of tribal resonance, trance propulsion and ambient depthiperfect for deep listeners and adventurous sonic explorers alike.

Review: Nadia Struiwigh's Pax Aurora was a standout ambient techno LP in 2022, and now Nous Klaer Audio have returned to the project to commission a grip of remixes which respond to the source material in distinctive ways. DJ Nobu takes a delicate, mesmerising approach to 'Nana', while Jakojako plumbs the depths of immersive, feathery techno. With Om Unit and Julia Gjertsen representing with equally hypnotic, elegant versions on the flip as well, this is the perfect example of a remix EP which truly adds weight to the original release.

Review: Italian label Suoni Incisi launched in 2020 with a mission to offer up hugely emotional electronic music that fuses experimentation with multi-genre explorations. The boss that gave their name to the label takes charge of this third transmission and it is a deep techno journey into sustained chords, mysterious pads and the sort of muttered vocals that add real atmosphere. 'Track 2' on the flipside is similar in make-up with liquid rhythms, cavernous and dubby bass and subtle musings, this time with some eerie flute melodies drifting up top.

Review: Harlem & Irving label partner Brian Kelly assumes his Supplement alias here for a new and limited edition 12" that features two of his tasteful and challenging sounds. Kelly is always out to disrupt and subvert and does so with aplomb here as the a-side title track starts with a whisper but soon grows with layers of found sound, piano, percussion, and ethereal voices. It then collapses before reemerging with melodic and tonal guitars and pulses. On the flip, the same tune comes 'Revisioned' but is much more cold and distorted, edgy and urgent.

Review: Spanish mainstay Sverca is one of those techno producers who very much has his own signature sound. You probably already know that if you're reading this, and the latest on his Semantica label finds some top talents all adding their own remix spin on his originals. Stanslav Tolkachev goes first with the booming, loopy kicks of 'AW08' and searching synth blips. Felix K flips 'Utero' into a rumbling bit of lurching deep techno that echoes through empty industrial spaces and after the original comes a CONCEPTUAL remix of 'Seda Muerta' that sounds like a train on a track pushing on through a stiff wind. Another version is also included that is more physical and Sverca's 'Jade' closes with warm and tense ambient winds.

Review: 'PULSE 01' is the first release in PITP's new series, which is an ongoing exploration of ambient tech, while offering a more structured display of beat-driven ambient music. Pulse 01 features brand new tracks by SYNE and Influx.

SYNE is Dennis Huddleston from the UK, who is most recognized for his ambient work as 36. He returns to his SYNE alias for the first time in nearly 5 years, with only his second record since his 2017 self-titled debut LP.

'Dystalgia' is a 12 minute opus, spread over 3 movements. Soaring pads and razor sharp percussion combine for a dynamic, emotionally charged journey in sound. Showing love to the Detroit greats, but recognising the distinct UK influence which made him fall in love with Techno in the early 90's, it's a surprising pivot in Dennis' sound and one which all lovers of beautiful, melodic ambient techno should enjoy.

Influx is the techno/acid/trance moniker of James Bernard. With his first release in 1993 (Braineater EP on Sapho Records), Influx is no stranger to techno and acid. This project had been in hibernation for nearly 14 years until his 2021 remixes for his collaborative album with 36 and awakened souls (The Other Side of Darkness). Revel Dub is a dub-techno excursion with sprinkles of ambient and psy-trance rounding out the frequencies. The Slow Version dials back the tempo to half-time and travels to more ambient dub territories.

Review: 'PULSE 01' is the first release in PITP's new series, which is an ongoing exploration of ambient tech, while offering a more structured display of beat-driven ambient music. Pulse 01 features brand new tracks by SYNE and Influx.

SYNE is Dennis Huddleston from the UK, who is most recognized for his ambient work as 36. He returns to his SYNE alias for the first time in nearly 5 years, with only his second record since his 2017 self-titled debut LP.

'Dystalgia' is a 12 minute opus, spread over 3 movements. Soaring pads and razor sharp percussion combine for a dynamic, emotionally charged journey in sound. Showing love to the Detroit greats, but recognising the distinct UK influence which made him fall in love with Techno in the early 90's, it's a surprising pivot in Dennis' sound and one which all lovers of beautiful, melodic ambient techno should enjoy.

Influx is the techno/acid/trance moniker of James Bernard. With his first release in 1993 (Braineater EP on Sapho Records), Influx is no stranger to techno and acid. This project had been in hibernation for nearly 14 years until his 2021 remixes for his collaborative album with 36 and awakened souls (The Other Side of Darkness). Revel Dub is a dub-techno excursion with sprinkles of ambient and psy-trance rounding out the frequencies. The Slow Version dials back the tempo to half-time and travels to more ambient dub territories.

Review: Techno talents don't come much more proven than Speedy J and Surgeon. Both are veterans of the game but artists who have remained at the sharp end and their Multiples collaborative project is in part responsible for that. Now it births a full-length album of tweaked experiments that take techno into new realms. The whole thing was recorded in just two days at J's STOOR lab in Rotterdam on an array of hardware machines. Each tune is a raw, one-take affair which means they are perfectly imperfect and feel utterly alive. Techno and elector collide with beatless moments, pummelling low ends and plenty of club heft.

Review: Four years ago, Jon Linksey brought his Sectra project to Tectonic to the first time, serving up an impossible-to-pigeonhole set that combined his love of abstract noise, drone, industrial, techno and warped dancehall. The producer expands on these ideas on Through The Static, his first album to be released on anything other than cassette. In some ways it was designed with the CD format in mind, with the 13 'official tracks' - decidedly dystopian, angular and frequently intense affairs full of mutant rhythms and flashes of genuine musical emotion - being joined by a five-track bonus EP that can apparently be heard "through" the sound of static bolted onto the end of the EP. It's an interesting and unusual idea, but it's the adventurous and experimental qualities of the main album that makes it such a vital listen.

Review: For two decades Buenos Aires-based electronic music producer Sebastian Galante aka Seph has been honing his craft in the Latin American underground with his label Aula Magna Records, which in turn gave rise to releases on Echocord, Insurgentes and many more. Recently he's been dropping bangers on Tresor as one half of Oscean, alongside Andres Zacco, and now arrives on Lapsus Records with Septimo Sentido. Here he brings his expert sound design to the fore, channelling classic mid-'90s electronica ala Aphex Twin, Skam, Reload, and/or u-Ziq, except Galante's approach is a lot more digital-esque than those artists' otherwise largely analogue stances. Opener 'OBI' recalls the daydreamy pad-n-stuttery neo-IDM of Lanark Artefax or Quirke; this mood is maintained for quite a while until the first whiff of acid is smelt on the A3 'Felina'. The record gets better and better, airier and airier, in fact; 'Skyways Shuriken' is especially sharp and recondite, and 'Dragonscale' blows us instantly away with its D&D-soundscape-worthy finesse. An aetheric release, one that wouldn't sound out of place as the next Mirror's Edge soundtrack.

Review: Swedish duo SHXCXCHCXSH distort club music by using a refined, idiosyncratic palette that challenges functionality. As logophiles, they twist language into fragmented, barely recognisable sequences, reflecting their experimental process. Their new album marks their debut for Northern Electronics and showcases a broader exploration of sound. Spanning 15 tracks in style, it combines drone elements, shredded vocals and chaotic melodies to make for a dark, intense atmosphere. Interspersed with brooding yet effervescent breaks, ......t is their most focused and comprehensive work to date and it also pushes their sound into new territories.

Review: Juan Mendez took his Silent Servant project to another level when he released Negative Fascination on Hospital Productions in 2012. His EBM-informed, brooding slant on techno had already made its mark on Sandwell District and other such influential labels, but his debut album afforded the space to really shape out his seductive sonic dystopia. More than ten years on, it stands tall as a masterpiece in the space it occupies, seething with hard-boiled urban malaise but equally adept at using subtlety alongside intensity. This expanded edition incorporates the Extended Mixes 12" as well as additional demo versions for those who like the tracks a little rawer.

Review: Dutch industrial techno producer Parrish Smith created Light Cruel & Vain over the course of nearly three years. Each track on the record was originally conceived solo, then further realised with the assistance of contributing musicians Sofiane Brahmi and Javier Vivancos. The collaborative where no studio sessions occurred due to the pandemic - the full collaboration conducted remotely. Notable tracks include the seething post-punk swagger of "Black Scarlet" or the brooding industrial rock of "Sway", to the industrial strength breaks of "Never Break Faith" and a frantic techno banger towards the end "I Wanna Be An Idol".

Review: After being commissioned to produce several 'interlocking' ambient pieces for an art gallery piece in LA, Brian Foote and Sage Caswell decided to take the concept of 'audience crossfading' to the next level, creating an entire ambient album using a particular sonic technique. Over five long pieces from 'Waterwheel' to 'Smiley', their aim was to evoke the feeling of bodies moving in thoroughfares. The tracks are long-exposed movements captured in ambient space, blending rhythms and soundscapes for chillout rooms that exist only in memory now.

Review: This first album from Sons proves them adept at a range of techno soundscapes, It was written as the soundtrack to a movie that does not exists and it plays out with a great sense of narrative because of that. It tells the story of Anna and her escape from earth to a new planet, Seylanide. The record features well-received singles such as 'Identity' (ft. Sun) and 'Eternity' (ft. OCB), complete with plenty of rich layers of emotive pads, deep basslines and melodic vibes that have your mind cast adrift in a cosmic abyss.

Review: DJ Sotofett is a cult hero with a sound that is never less than eccentric. This new album Braindance on Sued is a collection of material the mercurial one has written between 2002 and 2020. All of the tracks are short but high impact in different ways and despite some of them being the best part of 20 years old and pre-dating all the famous Sex Tags projects they still bang. Thrilling breaks, icy techno, mashed up jungle and deeper, more acid laced late night grooves all feature and offer a window into the mind of one of electronica's most vital talents.

Review: Space Drum Meditation is back with a reissue of Four Tusks, a 12-track odyssey of dreaded sonics and trepidatious treks through augmented wildernesses. Their debut album and seventh reissue on the eponymous label, the duo of Eddie Ness and Liem were once fixtures of the house musical landscape at large, yet only with SDM did they turn their hands to demurer experimental soundscapes, informed by the "tribal" gloom and etherics of an electro-auxed rainforest. Throughout Four Tusks, we hear the sleeker, pantherine side of their catalogue, with ritualistic drumming heard well-melded into many a grim, cowled and rattling texture, all glued by the faint but here still oppressive sound of rain, not to mention vapour steaming off the megaphylls.

Review: Mad-heads, rave veterans and lovers of having their brains rewired by previously unexplored sonic realms unite, because here comes the first of four, yes four, new albums from the fantastic freak of nature that is Special Request. His 'What Time Is Love? Sessions' arrives in several different formats this month and across six sizzling tracks that re-wire the KLF's hit of that name, he taps into everything from "ephemeral ambiance to barnstorming hardcore, pummelling house to pointillist trance" and does so with a mix of the surreal and the psychotic, the psychedelic and the downright ridiculous. It's mental, and we love it.

Review: As you know if you have followed the work of Special Request aka Paul Woolford, it often comes in huge bursts and across several releases at once. So it is that this year the one-man production machine is to drop not one but a four-album run over the next 12 months, all independently. Quite what he runs on we do not know but we need some because once again on this limited clear vinyl version of his 'What Time Is Love? Sessions' he taps into the future as he rewires the musical DNA of rave, techno, bass and jungle into tracks that make your brain fizz and your body move. Unreal work once more from this unstoppable force.

Review: Warp continues to comb back through the landmark Artificial Intelligence series with this landmark record from Jochem Paap, aka Speedy J. Alongside a tandem reissue of Richie Hawtin's F.U.S.E. album Dimension Intrusion, this remastered edition of Ginger takes us back into the heart of early 90s techno innovation, when new ideas were developing globally at a rate of knots. Paap had already established himself in the harder end of the techno pool, but Ginger flipped the script with an immersive, meditative exploration of minimalism and melodic structure. Amongst the eternal classics are some dazzling miniatures deemed 'Fills' which make for some of the most compelling listening on this seminal slice of early 90s techno.

Review: Affin Records label head and long-time techno maker and sound designer Joachim Spieth is back with a new album project called Retrace. It is one that finds him blending dub with ambient electronics into seven "complex, aqueous soundscapes" packed with great textures and crystalised melodies. Opener 'Recall' sets a fine tone for the record then 'Shine' sinks into hazy and lo-fi static-laced tundras, 'Longing' is delicious dub techno from the bottom of the ocean and 'Drain' follows suit but with a little more propulsion. Many more such tracks follow on what is an intriguing album full of evocative narratives and heady pads.

Review: Statiqbloom's new album Kain epitomises the essence of industrial music as it transcends mere sound and embodies a more broad worldview. With a fusion of innovative, dystopian sounds, pulsating basslines, and mid-tempo rhythmic beats, the album offers a meticulously crafted industrial techno journey that never lets up. It goes beyond conventional boundaries to embrace forward-thinking elements to create an arresting and immersive experience that encapsulates an outlook on the world, inviting you into a realm where darkness and innovation converge. With its evocative soundscapes, this album stands as a testament to Statiqbloom's commitment to pushing the boundaries of industrial.

Review: Stiroll's Sofia marks the Ukrainian artist's return to Greyscale Records with his first full-length album, painting a sonic portrait of a day in the life of a suburban area. The album invites listeners to experience the subtle intricacies and layered sounds of a community awakening, bustling, and finally resting as night falls. The journey begins with 'Intro - Dusk,' a brisk and atmospheric opener that evokes the early morning stillness before a city stirs to life. The full chord remnants and distant echoes set the stage for the day ahead, capturing the anticipation of the morning. 'Standbye' follows, offering a more airy and purposeful vibe, moving away from minimalism to suggest the first signs of activity, as if the world is slowly beginning to wake. 'Foundamental' continues this progression, riding along with gentle sounds punctuated by flares of static, hinting at the humidity and energy building in the air. The track flows effortlessly, mirroring the natural rhythm of a day gaining momentum. As the day matures, 'Sequence To None' introduces more serious, conflicting chords, perhaps reflecting the push and pull of daily routines and interactions. The crisp production and deep bassline ground the track, offering a sense of structure and direction. Midday arrives with 'Vidlunnia,' a sparse, downtempo piece that feels like basking in the warmth of the sun. The chords wash over the listener like rays, creating a relaxing, chill-out atmosphere with a broken rhythm that invites reflection. The pace slows with 'Interlude - Fall Moon,' where a churning, almost mechanical heartbeat drives the track forward, building tension as the day begins to wane. The ominous mood that emerges in the second half hints at the challenges that often accompany the close of a day. 'Nulle Part' shifts the mood with a more pronounced beat, offering a straightforward yet catchy rhythm that feels both harmonious and conflicted. The hypnotic quality draws you in as it moves toward a positive, yet complex resolution. 'Fall Control' then soothes with heavily processed sounds, offering a brief moment of respite before the album's closing tracks. 'Hope' stands out as the most original dub track on the album, blending strings with a lofty melody that soars before plunging into deeper, more uncertain territory. The track feels otherworldly, capturing the complexities and contradictions of hope itselfia fitting theme as the day begins to wind down. Finally, 'Outro - Dawn' signals the end of the day and the album, with ambient washes that gently alert like a clock, leaving the listener with a sense that it is time to close. Sofia is a meticulously crafted album that encapsulates the ebb and flow of daily life in a suburb, bringing together the sounds of different people and languages into a unified, sonic narrative.

Review: Andy Stott excels at exploring the spaces between electronic genres and has gone for many years now, He is known for crafting a unique, ever-evolving sound and after experimenting with minimal techno and dub early on, he defined his style in 2011's Passed Me By, a world of grey tones, static and experimental rhythms. In 2012's Luxury Problems, Alison Skidmore's haunting vocals added a human touch to his artificial landscapes then with the now ten-year-old Faith in Strangers, Stott fused his signature sound with influences like trap and minimalism. Over 54 minutes, the album builds in intensity and is still unmatched in its originality and impact.

Review: Born and raised in Bern, Switzerland, Michael Antener spent most of the 1980s concerned with interpreting the subconsciously and overtly apocalyptic discourse of that time through the medium of industrial-edged, dark feeling music. "I found a niche where I could express myself, along with other people who were not afraid of dark themes," he's quoted as saying in retrospect, before going on to explain that singing about love would have been more difficult than using "cries of pain taken from horror movies". This triple vinyl collector's item celebrates that fertile, if angry and dystopian period in Antener's life. Bringing together work from two of his formative projects, The Stranger of the Swamp and Bande Berne Crematoire, what's here is captivating. Electroclash with groove, distressed collages of noise, a certain sense of sonic expressionism - all brooding shadows, menacing arrangements and deeply unsettling moods.

Review: Paul Dickow has made some memorable and mesmerising music since emerging as Strategy 21 years ago, initially switching between much-admired experimental and underground labels (Kranky, Idle Hands, 100% Silk, Further Records) before establishing his own imprint (Community Library). Wet Room, his 20th full-length, is another fine collection of cuts in his distinctively deep, dubby and trippy sonic style. It's rooted in ambient, sound collage and experimentalism, but also touches on digi-dub, deep dub techno, trip-hop and the far-sighted, intergalactic electronics (if not the rhythms) of Motor City techno. Most of all, though, it feels like a coherent, immersive sonic journey, making Wet Room one of his most coherent and accessible LPs yet.

Review: In Japanese history Suemori refers to a castle constructed in 1548 by Lord Nobuhide. A short-lived structure, it was abandoned just over a decade later and subsequently- in the many years between then and now - all but vanished from the face of the Earth. A solitary stone stelae now marks the site, but whether impermanence was really a central theme to Suemori forming isn't clear. Nevertheless, their growing, reforming and restructuring sound certainly fits with the idea.

Occupying a strange, jerky and juxtaposed place between art sounds, crunchy electronica and noise, Maebashi represents a real melting pot of ideas and details. 'Yakkosan''s scatty hi hats, 'Kaminari Okoshi' and its strange sense of abstract rhythm, the pared back is-that-breakbeat of 'Bonsai'. Definitely destined for the pile marked less ordinary, if you're diving in prepare for a real experience.

Review: Minimal Wave present a reissue of Yoshifumi Niinuma's 1980 self-titled debut album, having already released his Automaticism and Plastic Love EP's previously. Produced in his Tokyo living room, Niinuma built his own synthesizers and speakers from scratch to create these 'intense proto-techno soundscapes.' A zeitgeist of early pioneering electronics, it runs the gamut from minimal synth ("A Worm"/"Automatic Type"), noisy industrial beats such as on "Temprament" or early electro sounds as heard on "Quick Starttype".