Back catalogue: Techno

Review: Polish label FOMO_ debuts with the first in its news Spectral series, and who better to kick off with than the ever innovative ASC. He is a master of musical tension and abstraction and shows that with four tracks that build up the pressure and never let it go. 'Calm Under Pressure' is soothing up top with its smeared, spectral pads, but there's pent-up tension in the low end that keeps you on edge. 'Dark Arches' soundtracks an underground cavern with haunting pads and icy, watery droplets and 'Maelstrom' gets more direct with jostling broken beats, hissing trails and unsettling deep space mystery. 'Torsion' is the most maximal of the lot - an in-your-face collage of loopy, snappy drums and sordid synth sludge.

Review: Originally released in 2007, 'Our Life With The Wave' stands as a prime example of the late great Detroit producer's deep, soulful approach to electronic music. Crafted entirely with the Waldorf Wave i a synth Huckaby often called one of his favourites i the track captures his distinctive blend of warmth and precision. This reissue, featuring the original alongside new remixes, is both a tribute and a celebration of his legacy. The original version remains as hypnotic as ever, its rich textures and subtle groove sounding timeless. On the Federsen live dub, the track takes on a more fluid, organic character, with shimmering layers unfolding over a sturdy, pulsating rhythm. Side-B opens with the Cv313 + Federsen dub, a deep, aquatic reimagining where ambient chords ripple over a taut, rolling bassline i a perfect dive into weightless, dubbed-out techno. Finally, the Intrusion dub stretches the track into a more expansive, airy space, full of atmospheric drift and slow-building, epic emotion. Together, these versions honor Huckaby's spirit while expanding his vision. Each dub feels reverent but also full of life, ensuring that 'Our Life With The Wave' continues to ripple forward through the evolution of deep electronic music.

Review: Derral is a young and exciting producer based just outside Barcelona. But if you didn't know that and were to judge purely off his music then you would assume he was some Italian producer from the 90s who had been digging in his archives for some unreleased material. These are lo-fi, dreamy house tracks with a real sense of bang but also quality emotional depth. 'Tree Man' is particularly glorious with its neon details and old school piano chords while 'State of Mind' brings a touch of acid to a jacked up Chicago house beat.

Review: Made famous for their mammoth mammary Brainiak-issued sophomore record Blow (1996), The Infinite Wheel came in 1996 as the North London based ambient trance collab of James Johnson and Mark Smith. Many a psychedelically tinged downtempo record would just as easily sporulate across the likes of Nu Groove and R&S, but it was this Brainiak exclusive from 1994 that really took the edible. 'Java Dub' is a psychic dub breakthrough, with its steamtrain bells and eighth note expansions making for a proper tonal tunnelling. 'Enviro', just as it was, has us puckers our lips to its ambient acidic sours, as cascades of percussive pulsion rain down like disembodied parts of a collective self.

Review: DJ Nobu's avant-garde Bitta label looks to fellow Japanese great in Osaka-based Erik Luebs for its next trick. As always with this fine imprint, the sounds are about balancing transcendental synths with deep tech rhythms. They are masterclasses in economical arrangement and on the surface don't do much, but when you tune in properly, they are mind-melting trips, starting with the mystery of 'Granite Monolith'. 'Irradiated Body' has loopy synth sequences unfolding at great pace with pristine accuracy and 'Coming Up For Air' gets a little more extroverted with dubby kicks and the sound of overloaded AI machines getting ever more frenzied. 'Facing The Horizon' is a flickering, optimistic and mildly euphoric sound for dropping when the sun peaks through the blinds and you celebrate getting through another night of darkness.

Review: The sign of a truly great artist is that you can put on one of their records from some 15 years ago, as well as one out next week, and not tell which is which. Mr Pittman is one of those - a Detroit flag bearer with a raw, otherworldly take on house and techno that always sounds futuristic. 'The Midwest Advocates Part One' first dropped back in 2007 and is being repressed now and is just as good as ever with ramshackle and dusty grooves, wonky synths and eerie textures all getting you into a trance and keeping you there. Both cuts on this are standouts in his impressive discography.

Review: There's a real sense of purpose running through these three tracks, like they were made for a distant world's warehouse party lit by strobe lights and swirling dust. With over ten years releasing music and up to more than 15 EP's, this producer is collecting an impressive catalogue of quality techno music. Here, the A-side opens with 'Undisclosed', a tightly wound piece of sci-fi techno that gleams with a polished edge. It flirts with trance without fully giving in, layering crisp percussion and sleek synth work. 'Serotonin Level' dives deeper into that interplanetary mood. Rooted in techno but smeared with a touch of psychedelic color, the track floats like a spacecraft sliding through static. On the 2nd side, 'Find Yourself' brings the most physical energy. The low-end rolls forward with serious weight while the top end keeps things agile. It's a catchy conclusion to this futuristic, slick and exciting EP.

Review: The Space Drum Meditation duo marks their first release outside their own label with an EP that pushes their sonic vision outward into something that resonates equally on physical and spiritual levels. There's a wide sphere of influence on show here with tribal percussion, hypnotic techno and esoteric instrumentation all making for an EP that bridges ancient and modern worlds. Each of these body-moving soundscapes balances meditative textures and rhythmic drive with the swampy scuzz of 'Banyan' a standout. Also featured is Blue Hour's fierce remix-a faster, harder techno take that remains true to the original's entrancing essence.

Review: In the formative years of his career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ricardo Villalobos frequently utilised a handful of alternative production aliases - first Minta Spacew (one EP way back in 1993) and then more frequently Richard Wolfsdorf. Tia, first released way back in 2000, was the Chilean minimal maestro's second outing under that alias and has become a sought-after EP in recent times - hence this Rawwax reissue. A-side 'Echt Rot' is typically Playhouse-era Villalobos, with cut-up vocalisations, odd noises and spaced-out electronic snippets riding a crunchy minimal-house beat and looped, mind-mangling TB-303 bassline. Title track 'Tia' features simmering orchestral samples clustering around a typically wonky, stripped-back beat, while 'Feurwasser' sounds like the blueprint for many of his later minimal techno workouts.

Review: This 2025 reissue of the British duo's 1995 breakthrough offering captures the raw energy and genre-blending brilliance that made it an instant classic. Still revered for its fusion of techno, house, and ambient with a distinctly industrial edge, the album's resonance continues to define electronic music today. Tracks like 'Dark & Long' and 'Surfboy' showcase their ability to create expansive, atmospheric soundscapes that are both tough and emotive. The low-end drive of 'Cowgirl' and the serene tones of 'River of Bass' reflect the duo's mastery in blending dancefloor-ready beats with intricate textures. Hailing from the UK, the duo pushed boundaries with their dark, melodic sensibility, crafting a sound that remains influential. Their influence on modern electronic music is undeniable, and this reissue serves as a vital reminder of how they redefined the genre back in the 90s, keeping the core of their vision intact while inspiring new generations of listeners.