Review: A2L were active between 1988 and 1990 and released two albums and several EPs on labels like 1st Bass, Big One and Force Inc. Their sound blended British psychedelic house with elements of new beat, industrial, EBM and early acid house and in doing so captured the raw energy of the UK rave scene. Notably different from typical acid house acts of the time, A2L's music took in machine funk, samplers and turntable techniques to create trippy, infectious grooves. This collection compiles rare underground gems from them from 1989 and features standout tracks like 'Even Though It's Make Believe' and 'Come On.' It's a great look back to the experimental spirit of the late 80s.
Review: Modular synthesizer fetishist Luke Abbott apparently got the inspiration for this sophomore set during time spent as the "musician in residence" at the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire back in 2012. Named after a piece of woodland close by, it sees Abbott using live analogue electronics to try and create a "natural life cycle" over the album's nine tracks. Interestingly, it differs from his impressive debut album in a number of ways; while Holkham Drones touched on krautrock, drone and intense ambience, Wysing Forest doffs a cap to spiritual jazz, Terry Riley and ambient explorer Pete Namlook. It's a beguiling set, all told, and one that constantly veers between crunchy bursts of intense IDM and becalmed, breathtaking ambience.
Review: Sama' Abdulhadi is a DJ who very proudly represents her Palestinian roots and is the first artist from her homeland to break out onto the international stage. She has a passion for sound design and has famously been arrested and jailed for eight days for desecrating a religious site when she played a set, with permission, at Nabi Musa. Her entry into the legendary fabric series is a doozy with emotive techno and cavernous deep house from the likes of Michael Klein, Carbon & Peter Groskreutz and Acid Arab as well as her own cut 'Well Fee' (feat Walaa Sbait).
Review: UK artist David Duncan recorded only one EP as Ability II and it recently got reissued and soon snapped up. Now, much to the delight of fans of the man behind the classic tune 'Pressure Dub' he is back. This album features an exclusive collection of tunes he made back in his heyday in the 90s, none of which were released at the time, and none of which you will have ever heard before anywhere. They feature his signature sound designs across seven cuts that sound as futuristic now as they ever could as they combine jacked-up house, techno and tech into scintillating and dub-weighted sounds for the club.
Review: The Abstract Eye often works live and crafts tunes in one take, and that MO is the idea behind this new collection. It features plenty of hard-to-define sounds from over the last ten years, many of them with a cosmic synth outlook and raw analogue drums. 'Skyfather' is a real eye opener with its sense of mystic cosmic wonder, 'Real Myths' fizzes bring as burning phosphorus and 'A Yearning Feeling' is more paired back and introspective with jittery drums and electro rhythms all soothed by the melancholic synth work.
Review: As the artist alias kind of suggests, Abyssy takes a deep dive into the unknown depths of the human spirit. It finds the artist returning to Simona Faraone's label after several years and finds him exploring electronic sounds of the 70s and 80s, blending Berlin school minimalism with Detroit techno's soul and funk. It is a record that ranges in mood and tempo as it heads into oceanic depths where wispy pads and chattery percussive patterns collide in unusual ways. It's a largely abstract album of unusual sound designs and genuine electronic discovery that often has you wondering just how certain abounds have been made.
Review: Electronic music is guilty of so many injustices it's hard to know where to begin. Among the least talked about historically is the lack of space made for South Asian and South Asian-heritage artists, who, despite the written pantheons doing their best not to emphasise it, have contributed an incredible amount to the canon's many genres. Things are improving in terms of representation and visibility, but there is still a very, very long way to go.
Even without the urgent need for more equal coverage, it was always going to be hugely exciting to get a copy of an Acid Arab album. And Trois does not disappoint. The Paris-based production duo invite us into ever-deeper corners of their sound, from the tense prog chug of 'Ya Mahla' and the stripped techno build of 'Rachid Trip', to the slick and sexy, writhing broken gem 'Gouloulou', it's as varied as the influences involved.
Review: New York City techno veteran Adam X returns to Long Island Electrical Systems under the ADMX71 alias, where he once again explores the outer fringes of experimental electronics on his latest LP The Aging Process, existing at the intersection of industrial, EBM and techno. Beginning with the contorted noise soundscape of 'Speaking Via Telepathy' he soon unleashes the seething brain bash of 'Sensor-Tised' followed by the strobing tunnel vision of 'Walking Through Walls'. Elsewhere, there's more dystopian themes aplenty as heard on the static TBM pulse of 'They've Instilled Fear In Us', or the pitch black war funk of 'Leading The Way' and the muscular slow burner 'Leading The Way'.
Review: Alien D is the NYC-based producer Daniel Creahan, and he's back with a debut on Theory Therapy that taps into widescreen worlds of techno immersion. Departing from the ambient abstraction of his previous work, this album as a subtle kinetic pulse with tracks like 'Soil Dub' and 'Sleepy's Gambit' propel listeners forward with dubwise rhythms crafted for deep dancefloors. The album builds on an infectious, steady groove with repeating phrases and subtle shifts that keep the music in constant motion. Conceived in the first days after the COVID lockdown, these sounds exude a hopeful quality and capture the transcendent moments of early-morning parties when the moment is full of unbridled hope for what might come.
Review: Michel Amato aka Amato is a French producer more widely known as The Hacker. Alongside Miss Kittin, Amato has been a cornerstone of the European house, techno, and electro scene, dropping singles and album like bombs. Having contributed to a previous split 12" on Cititrax, Amato returns to Minimal Wave's sister label with a wondrous homage to industrial, EBM and electro in Le Desordre De La Nuit. The difference between The Hacker and Amato? The sounds of The Hacker are more constrained than this particular whirlpool of pseudo electro and gargling quasi techno. Whatever you want to call it, these four slammers are all made for the dark room dance, each one nastier than the other and all of them audibly produced by an artist with plenty of experience and effectiveness know-how.
Review: This superb new record from AnD embarks on a conceptual journey inspired by the fusion of granular synthesis, innovative sound design, and rhythmic explorationd within polyphony. It delves into the cosmic phenomenon of star collisions as the artists leverage their background in engineering and explore mathematical intricacies surrounding the timing and impact of stellar collisions. Through a sonic landscape echoing the vastness of space, this record incorporates elements of white noise, fragmented breaks and minimalist synth arrangements that are said to mirror the mental experiences of the listener.
Review: Turin-born and raised artist Andrea has explored plenty of different genres across his wonderfully experimental sounds, but mostly they are couched in techno with hints of 90s breakbeat and IDM. "Living Room is his third album and finds him tapping into an introspective sound with reflective melodies and a cosmic sense of travel. Right from the off, you're cast adrift in a world of shimmering melody and plucked strings, cascading arps and widescreen synthscapes and it is there you stay for the whole absorbing duration, though sometimes lithe rhythms bring more propulsion. A magnificently accomplished and detailed work.
Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.
Review: Originally released in 1996, Aphex Twin's fifth album in as many years meant business from the very moment the wild and whimsical opener "4" scribbled it way through the speakers. With jaunty jams such as "Cornish Acid" and "Fingerbib" running amok mid-set, Richard D James Album acted as a fine mission statement to expect the unexpected and never anticipate formula or form. And it still carries that very same message today. Essential.
Review: Tristan Arp's second album on Facta and K-Lone's Wisdom Teeth is a multidimensional exploration of sound blending pin-drop rhythms, ethereal vocals and swirling ambience. The writing started in Mexico City and was completed in New York and through the tracks, Arp fuses modular synths, cello, found sounds and spoken word to craft a rich world where nature and technology converge. Inspired by the idea of machines collaborating with nature, the album's hopeful tone envisions a future of rewilding and new possibilities across tracks that were performed live and improvised throughout. Many standout moments include the 10-minute 'Life After Humans' which ogres a beautiful escape.
Review: Italian-born/Berlin-based DJ & Producer Pasquale Ascion delivers his second LP since 2016, comprised of largely 303 centered sounds. Acidtraum is a journey into the dark side of the genre, with a dozen tracks that combine lysergic synths, heavy drums and haunting ambience. Further showcasing the Neapolitan producer's wide sonic repertoire, there are moments of bass-heavy electro as heard on 'It Began With That Sound', throwbacks to early hardcore rave sounds explored on 'Needless' (Troller Coaster Kaos mix) and wild Italo reinterpretations ('Tribute To Bad Passion') in addition to many straight ahead techno bangers.
Review: DDS has tapped up the mysterious and enigmatic Japanese dub techno stylist Shinichi Atobe for another album. Discipline is his seventh for the label and each of those has been as faultless as the next - happily, this keeps up that impeccable run which started with a debut on the Chain Reaction label in 2001. The eight cuts on the record offer up delay-laden steppers, swaggering 909 rhythms, plenty of evocative pads and subtle backlit synths that bring a future feel to the soulful, authentic grooves.
Tales Of The Unknown (unreleased Chill mix) (10:04)
Review: In the mid-90s, Audio Science released two CD-only albums, Aural X-Perience and Hypnotic, both of which gained critical acclaim and have since achieved cult status. This new double album on the Rezpektiva label brings together standout tracks from those revered recordings. It begins with the slow motion and psyched-out prog of 'Tales Of The Unknown' and takes in highlights like the slick house punch of 'Strings In The Night' as well as an unreleased Chill mix of 'Tales Of The Unknown' which brings new cosmic energy to the lush original. A great reminder of one of the 90s' finest innovators.
Big Bag Of Imaginary Cans With The Imaginary Lads (4:21)
Starry Night (4:40)
Ringfort (4:24)
Raymond Tuesday's Big Day Out (5:15)
Walking Down Your Street (5:15)
Love's The Only Thing Gonna Make It Out Of This World Alive (5:00)
Review: Jonny Dillon is Automatic Tasty and One Foot in the Rave is his debut album on Winthorpe Records. An influential name in acid-driven electronic music, Jonny has spent over 15 years with labels like Acid Waxa, Further Electronix and CPU and knocks it out of the park once more with this new eight-track LP. It's immediately recognisable as his work thanks to its sonic blueprints, melodic acid grooves, bleepy funk and warm analogue textures. Tracks like 'The Apocalypse is Now' and 'Raymond Tuesday's Big Day Out' bring upfront energy, while 'Starry Night' and 'Ringfort' infuse subtle psychedelia to make this a captivating braindance workout.
Review: Floppy haired indie techno wizard Daniel Avery has become one of the genre's most notable craftsmen. He has done fine projects with Nine Inch Nails's synth player Alessandro Cortini already recently but now is back with a superb new solo album for his home label Phantasy Sound. The 11-track work is composed entirely of piece he made for his London show Together in Static. It The socially distanced show took place at the recently restored Hackney Church which no doubt influenced the gothic sounds and shadowy drones that define the album.
Review: While Daniel Avery's earlier LPs were deemed by the artist to be dissociative exercises - either working in dance or ambient escapism - his new album 'Ultra Truth' faces up fearlessly to life. Through mega washed out and blurred breaks and, it's the sonic expression of Avery "staring into the fire" of life, however dreamy and indistinct the experience of it may be, and living mindfully, completely in the body he finds himself housed in and controlling. Of course, dance music is embodied music, so we're more than blown away by this representation; Avery pulls it off by going in a direction we've not heard him move in before.
Review: In recent times Daniel Avery has been busy collaborating with the likes of Alessandro Cortini and Roman Flugel (the latter as Noun), so few expected him to drop a new solo album in 2020. Yet Love & Light, his surprise third full-length, could well be his most sonically stunning set to date. Beginning with the gaseous ambient opaqueness of 'London Island', the set sees him blaze a trail through 1990s style Sabres of Paradise/Sabresonic techno, hazy dub techno, beatless soundscapes and intense drone tones, before switching focus to deep, gentle and melodious mutations of breakbeat, IDM and electronica.
Review: If UK talent Daniel Avery still feels like a new kid on the block then maybe that's because his music remains vital and fresh despite having actually been around for so long. We can't really believe it's been a full decade since his Drone Logic album arrived, but it has. This anniversary edition is a great reminder of its class across a bunch of dark and dirty, sleazy and seductive minimal, acid, and tech cuts. They are rife with his signature post-punk attitude and the early low-end chug he was known for, all with plenty of strobe-lit moments for the heart of the rave.
Review: Phantasy Sound's main man Daniel Avery has linked up with modular wizard Alessandro Cortini for a debut full length, "Illusion Of Time". It came together over many years, with no real concept or constraints but it has still managed to make a powerful impact despite its spare, lo-fi, ambient vibes. There are heavier, darker tracks like "Inside The Ruins" that are brilliantly bleak, but also thoughtful meditations like the title track, which has some magical piano playing at its core. It's the rays of light amongst the darkness that make this such a beguiling and beautiful listen, and a perfect soundtrack to long lost days at home during lockdown.
Review: LILA mainstay Ayaavaaki and ambient veteran Purl speak different languages but used a translator to convey ideas to one another as they made this record. And they very much foment their own unique musical language on Ancient Skies, an album that blends ambient, drone and space music into richly layered soundscapes that are constantly on the move. Each piece is meticulously crafted and suspense you up amongst the clouds, hazing on at the smeared pads and swirling solar winds that prop you up. It's a record that would work as well in the depths of winter as a bright spring day such is the cathartic effect of the sounds. Beautiful, thought-provoking and innovative, this is as good an ambient record as we have heard all year.
Review: Next up on Outer Place Records is the fifth installment coming from the vault of Meister Bert Ashra, a veteran from Berlin's '90s underground scene who is still active in the city today. His solo project B. Ashra has existed since 1993 as a live act, DJ, composer, sound designer and mastering engineer. He's been known to delve into ambient, experimental, soundscapes, trance and techno, as well as deep house and electronic jazz. Much of the aforementioned is explored on the Eyes In The Sky EP: from the deep 303 swing of 'Space Rock', the chill downtempo electronica of 'Give Me Contact', to the heady acid house of 'The End Of Rain' and the hypnotic techno of 'Sputnik'.
Review: Michigan artist John Beltran has had a long and winding career that has seen him put out shimmering ambient electronics, organic techno and also find some of his tracks used on high-profile HBO TV shows. Aesthete is his latest offering and once again it pairs the synthetic with the natural in beautiful ways. His melodies are bright and beautiful, his drums float in mid-air and the overall mood of his music is painfully melancholic. This album marks the American's debut on the Furthur Electronix label and a fine one it is too.
Review: Bigeneric aka Marco Repetto is a legendary producer who returns to the same Swiss label that put out his The Compilation album three years ago. This time out the man of many different allies (Planet Love, Sinbiotik, Marco Repetto) assembles a vital bundle of beautiful and well preserved techno and ambient tracks that make for a cohesive listen and were all produced between 1995 and 1999. Some are delightfully light and airy, others dark and moody, others caustic and textured.
Review: Billian hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina and is and film and game music sound composer currently working on the Scorn game and his first film, Fugitive. He has also found the time to craft this new full length on the Vision (drum & Bass) label land it comes on nice green and blue marbled vinyl. He draws heavily on his work making sounds for films and manages to cook up an array of evocative soundscapes that play out like a mental movie. The likes of 'Uncanny Valley' are kinetic, tightly woven affairs alive with static, and 'Different Eyes' has a more serene feel with swirling pads and distant melodies hinting at a brighter future. Great stuff.
Review: After a run of reissues and a boundary-blurring fusion of classical music and electronica (January 2021's Angel's Flight), Norwegian ambient veteran Geir Jennsen AKA Biosphere has gone back to basics on Shortwave Memories. Ditching software and computers for analogue synths, drum machines and effects units, Jennsen has delivered album that he claims was inspired by the post-punk era electronics of Daniel Miller and Matin Hannett, but instead sounds like a new, less dancefloor-conscious take on the hybrid ambient/techno sound he was famous for in the early 1990s. The results are uniformly brilliant, making this one of the Norwegian trailblazer's most alluring and sonically comforting albums for decades.
Review: Ever-interested in pushing boundaries through sound and ideas, Bjarki returns to the full-length release schedule with another captivating adventure down electronic roads less travelled. More IDM than techno, tracks like 'Puppet Parade' perhaps hit the nail most squarely in terms of descriptions here - warm pads and metronomic accents in the foreground, strange, treacle-y alien noises in the background. Weird and always wonderful, one of the most impressive achievements here is the deft ability to create soundscapes that simultaneously welcome us with open arms and defy expectation and norms. Whether it's the 170 snares and lush tranquility of 'Healing From Memory', or the strangely rousing but thoroughly off-planet 'Void Visitor' to close.
Review: Album number six from Sheffield's electronic heroes The Black Dog was closer to their debut, Bytes, than anything that came in between. "We never set out to make it like Bytes," group member Martin Dust has since explained. "My idea was to create something you could come home to after you'd just ben to a club or gig, that would start at the right pace and then just wind down into a great album and just chill out." Suffice to say, they achieved that and then some. Silenced is an example of downtempo that still feels like it has one foot in the rave, sounds informed by 4AM highs and 10AM quiet, here made precious through the use of blissful and complex tones that envelop and encase your mind. A record everyone should own.
Review: Hamburg's Helena Hauff and F#X return resurrect their darkly experimental Black Sites project after an 11 year hiatus. Their first full length LP - for Berlin's techno institution Tresor Records, no less - pulls about as few punches as any of their material, improvised live and recorded straight to tape with minimal editing and post-production buffing up. 'BLOKK' has a touch of the distorted glories of Aphex's early Polygon Window work, 'C4' has a low slung bassline throb and supercharged kick meets radioactive cymbal rhythm track, and elsewhere skeletal electro and Throbbing Gristle-style industrial noise either does battle or teams up. Maximum toxicity!
KFR - "There Is Something I Can't Find" (feat Mayah Alkhateri) (3:29)
Slim Soledad - "Vai Toma Na Rave" (3:22)
Manni Dee - "Break Me" (feat BODUR) (3:47)
Schacke - "Control Freak" (6:06)
Otta - "Mao Na Parede" (5:39)
Anna Lann - "Silver Plug" (5:59)
TINKERHELL - "Cross Ways" (5:15)
David Lohlein - "El Baile" (4:33)
Isaiah - "Lone Soldier" (4:40)
Dj Babatr - "Kick The Floor" (4:42)
Ilya Gadaev - "Pleasuredom" (5:21)
MarcelDune - "Run & Dream, Kiss & Bye" (4:09)
SCNTST - "Feedback" (4:02)
Baseck - "Let It Go" (3:15)
DJ WIFI - "Like 2 Ride" (3:20)
AERO NOVA - "B1te" (3:12)
Boys Noize - "Sireneh" (3:08)
Review: Boys Noize has been tearing up dance floors and serving up arresting electronic assaults for ages, often on his own self-titled label. He branches out here though with a new one, Ones & Zeros, which he has said is a "concept label reflecting new modes of creative and subcultural circulation". it launches with a bumper compilation featuring 22 blistering sounds across six sides of wax. Two of them come from the bas himself, one is a collar with Locked Club, and elsewhere new school and more established names like Skee Mask, Safety Trance and Manni Dee all offer up the sort of high impact tracks that will always be useful to have at your disposal for when the rave really is ready to peak.
Review: Ben Lukas Boysen's Alta Ripa marks a transformative milestone in his artistic evolution as he blends introspection with bold experimentation. Rooted in the serene landscapes of rural Germany where his creativity first blossomed, the album also reflects the dynamic energy of Berlin, which reshaped his sound in the early 2000s. Boysen's fourth studio album bridges past and future, merging the reflective melodies of his youth with the innovative tones of Berlin's electronic scene. He describes it as music his 15-year-old self would admire but only his grown-up self could create. Unbound by tradition, Boysen's eclectic influences drive his constant musical reinvention.
Review: Breaka returns with Aeoui, a highly anticipated second album that will again establish his reputation as a bass music innovator. Charlie Baker continues to evolve here with his mix of footwork, techno and dancehall influences and jazz drumming background all coming together into fresh club rhythms. The album's unique vibe emerged from a burst of jet-lagged inspiration in late 2023 and led to tracks like 'Squashy Track' and 'YOLO Bass Rewind' which both off-set a mix of organic and synthetic elements, Afro-Cuban rhythms, 'amapiano' and psychedelic influences. Breaka's sound remains unlike anything else.
Review: Mark Broom is a techno veteran, but just because he enjoys that sot of status doesn't mean he has lost his edge. He proves that here with a hefty new record on Radio Salve's mighty Rekids. It bangs from the off with his signature heavy drums defining each of the tracks across all four sides of vinyl. '100% Juice' is peak time tackle with incendiary hit hats and loopy synths, 'Slush' is a head melter with more warped lines and elsewhere 'Wonky Workout' does exactly what says on the tin. There is a brilliantly unsettling and eerie vibe to 'Boxed In' and straight up dance floor fire in 'Wiggle Me This.'
Review: Berlin Atonal returned two years ago from a long hiatus, 23 years to be exact. After three tremendous festivals this decade, they now present us with their first recordings since 1984. These particular ones from the 2014 edition. Cabaret Voltaire (in this incarnation featuring only Richard H Kirk) was a true highlight and contributes "Microscopic Flesh Fragment" and "Universal Energy". One half of Demdike Stare Miles Whitaker went solo, presenting his truly unique take on techno, and the slow burning attitude of "Vagabond No. 7" is evidence of this. New Zealand's Fis also appears; rather uncategorisable as always on "Dist CL (Atonal Version)." On the third disc we have Northern Electronics main man and modern auteur Abdulla Rashim presenting two commissions from his captivating atmospheric set that year. Limited to 700 copies.
Review: Call Super has always been something of an underground darling - one of those untouchable artists with next level skills in the club, and a unique studio sound that excites even the most hardened and passionate fan. 'Eulo Cramps' is the artist's fourth album and one from the centre of a multifaceted project they call 'Tell Me I Didn't Choose This' which includes poetry, auto-biographical writing, painting and music. It is full of personal reflections and his signature melding of jazz, electronica and the unique voices of Julia Holter and Eden Samara. Though adventurous and experimental, it is an album steeped in very real emotion which we can all connect to.
Fear-E Presents Breakbeat Energy - "Rinse Out Ma Selecta!" (5:22)
Oliver Huntemann & Marc Romboy - "Teufelsfisch" (7:03)
Gorge - "Erotic Soul" (rework) (7:25)
Deluka - "Ghost City" (4:24)
Joseph Capriati & Indira Paganotto - "Mantra" (9:57)
Gaetano Parisio - "Orbita" (5:26)
Review: Joseph Capriati has very quickly risen from underground techno player to top-tier titan. The Italian hails from Naples, a famous hotbed of minimalism that has spawned stars like Marco Carola. whose footsteps Capriati has followed in by securing his own Ibiza residency for his Metamorfosi party. The sort if sounds you can expect to hear on that label and at the events are well showcased here on his new mix of the legendary Global Underground series. From dark and driving techno to more emotional and melodic house, it's a colourful and widescreen ride that features a couple of his own fresh jams and many more from contemporary artists.
Review: London Techno Collective's Steve Loss aka Catharsis returns to Berlin's Zhark Recordings for his third release and first long-player. Terrifying Shadows features eight tracks of 'hydraulic techno func (sic) .. and roaring drill mechanisms' that altogether make for some seriously difficult listening. Such disturbing titles as 'Into The warm Embrace Of Deviancy', 'It's So Easy To Corrupt A Soul', as well as 'The Tao Of The Scarred' or by far our favourite 'Tasting Hate From The Cup Of Gods' give you a fair warning of what to expect on this eight track opus: brutalist experimental techno delivered in uncompromising style. Not for the faint of heart!
Review: Italian techno heavyweight Claudio PRC's fifth album, Self Surrender, is a meditative dive into self-acceptance that comes on Amsterdam's long-running and always top-notch Delsin Records. Claudio delivers a fluid narrative across an exploration of tasteful ambient, dub, minimal house and deep techno here, and it opens with some absorbing introspection before gradually shifting into more kinetic territory. It is driven by pulsing kicks, dreamy textures, acid flourishes and ghostly strings as a refined blend of techno and house sounds all coalesce with the signature depth Claudio has honed over years of his craft. Self Surrender closes on an ethereal note, which encapsulates its core message of letting go.
Review: Given that she released her first solo material way back in 2008, it's taken Factory Floor and Carter Tutti Void member Nik Colk Void a fair old while to get round to recording a debut album. So, has it been worth the wait? Bucked Up Space is certainly alluring, with the modular synthesizer enthusiast charging between mind-mangling analogue techno ('Interruption is Good'), trippy electronic soundscapes ('Big Breather'), buzzing, industrial-strength heaviness (the formidably fuzzy 'Demna'), post-electro wooziness ('Romke'), Radiophonic Workshop style weirdness (the 1960s Doctor Who freakiness of 'Absence Pile Island'), acid-flecked bounciness ('Flat Time') and druggy, slow-motion workouts ('Oversized').
Review: In musical terms, Bill Converse is as iconic as the basketball sneaker with which he shares his name. He's a techno favourite and veteran of the Midwest scene who has come up under the likes of Claude Young and Traxx but very much fomented his own sound. Here the American ace returns to Dark Entries with a new seven-track exploration of raw, analogue-driven techno. His sound blends the acid grit of Relief Records, the hypnotic pulses of early IDM and Detroit's energy all with an unpredictability that mirrors that of his live sets. He makes fine use of classic hardware like the Roland TB-303 and modern modular synthesis to cook up off-kilter rhythms and abrupt shifts that keep you on edge. Another vital and visceral offering from this legend.
Crush (Deconstructed) (feat Klo & Lucia Odoom) (4:12)
Wrote This For Somebody (2:40)
Gretel Girl (feat Sophie Joe) (4:19)
Does Every Track Have To Be A Journey? (4:53)
Ways Of Raving (feat Aaron Altaras & Geoffrey Mak) (4:23)
Review: Courtesy's second studio album is another no-holds-barred deep dive into the heart of a minimal and tech house dance floor. Eschewing the usual ambient intro in favour of getting right down to business, things kick off with the surging comic-tech of 'I'm Happy I Am Not Susan Sontag', then the slamming drums of 'My Dazed Friend (feat Klo)' come with zoned out and alluring vocal musings. 'Let There Be LOVE! (feat Lyanne)' is another fast but smooth tech cruise with emotive vocal textures and 'Does Every Track Have To Be A Journey?' is a punchy tool which suggests not.
Review: Dance music stars don't come much bigger or more iconic than Carl Cox. The big man with the big smile and famous gap in his teeth has been at the cutting edge for decades. He plays all across the spectrum with high energy and a really infectious style. Now the legend returns with his first album in over a decade and it comes on BMG. It was written over the last two years at his home studio in Melbourne and takes his sound to a whole new level. It is also being played live by Carl on the road right now.
Review: Renowned producer, remixer, DJ and record label owner Carl Craig is one of the few artists who can truly claim to have shaped the sound of
modern electronic music. Making music since the tender age of 17, Craig has created everything from ambient soundscapes to jazz
during the past 20 years, but it's his work in dance music that is at his core. 'Sessions' is a long overdue album that brings together a personal
selection of Carl's incredible back catalogue, from his early work under the aliases Paperclip People and 69 to worldwide hits like 'Throw'
(recently covered live by LCD Soundsystem) and groundbreaking tracks like 'Bug in the Bassbin'. Alongside the classics, the two discs also showcase why Craig is still such a powerful force in music today with a diverse range of remixes for the likes of XPress 2, Theo Parrish and many others. For his rework for Junior Boys'. 'Like A Child' he was just nominated for a Grammy.
The selection also includes previously unreleased tracks, alternative versions of his own productions, as well as some exclusive unreleased
remixes. 'Sessions' reminds us of how exciting and unique Carl Craig's productions and remixes are and why he remains at the top of his game,
a retrospective of one of the world’s most influential and groundbreaking figures in electronic music.
Review: Minimal wave pioneer Das Ding aka Danny Bosten is back after ten years on Electronic Emergencies with a nicely curated collection of archival tracks sourced from early 80s tape recordings. Working with friends in a bedroom studio in the Dutch countryside, Das Ding crafted raw, experimental music with cheap analogue equipment that drew on new wave, early EBM and proto-techno. Listening back now these sounds are unmistakably Das Ding and this clear vinyl pressing preserves the original lo-fi atmosphere with meticulous remastering by Ruud Lekx. A real triumph of the DIY spirit of the era.
Review: Left Coast electronic music producer Dave Aju and The Invisible Art Trio have joined forces once again to deliver Glossolalia, a powerful seven-song album that defies conventional genres and transcends cultural differences. Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic at the legendary G-Son studios in Atwater Village LA, Glossolalia is a timely and uplifting call-to-action that reflects the turbulent times we live in. With its twisted grooves and every song's lyrics in complete gibberish, Glossolalia takes listeners on a complex and nuanced sonic journey that leaves us with as many questions as answers. It is a testament to the power of collaborative music-making and a reminder that, despite our differences, we are united by our love of music and our shared human experiences.
Review: M>O>S Recordings are no strangers to the long player format, having previously issued impressive long players from D'Marc Cantu and Morphosis, but with the label surpassing ten years of activity it feels the right time for founder Aroy Dee to grace us with his own debut album. If you've read up on Dee you'll know he's also an architect with a specific interest in the sprawling structures of Asian cities and this has bled into the aesthetic of MOS as a whole; it's certainly present on Sketches with his own city based illustrations adorning the cover art and an urban sensibility running through his productions here. A doleful serenity is present throughout much of Sketches, though tracks such as "City of Others" and "Ashes To Ashes" fit snugly into the canon of great MOS floor burners.
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