Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: As part of Amniote Editions' fifth birthday, the admirably experimental label has decided to release a full-length excursion from Mirror Zone founder Spekki Webu, AKA Heliobolus. The multi-disciplinary artist has decided to utilise both aliases on the album, a way of reinforcing the key conceptual idea behind it - that it is a "story of intertwined storylines" akin to "parallel universes that connect and diverge". Musically, it's an intriguing affair, with pulsating, full-throttle sci-fi techno workouts sitting side by side with darker, more intense cuts, sound design-heavy experimental techno soundscapes, and nods towards the horror end of the cinematic soundtrack spectrum. Throw in a few mutant, noise-laden post-IDM compositions and you have a genuinely impressive full-length excursion.

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: 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: The creative partnership between Tiga & Hudson Mohawke expresses a mutual love of "hardcore romance," a liminal state where the bounds between euphoria, melancholy and the raw power of friendship disintegrate completely. Recorded in Los Angeles from 2019-2023, these commonalities ebbed and flowed through various recording sessions, culminating in their debut album - L'Ecstacy - the sounds in which "all come from the same place, the same musical universe," in Hudson Mohawke's own words. Referencing the album's locus of bouncy elasticity and cinematic gloss - "we're building a particular kind of zone where it all fits together. A place lost in time." With guest appearances by luminaries like Abra, Channel Tres, and Jesse Boykins III, as well as album artwork by Wolfgang Tillmans, the result is delivered with "no apology, no cynicism, no irony, no winking."

Review: Marseille's IOT Records is the home for Azu Tiwaline's latest dubbed out and dreamy pads and manipulated field recordings. It's her second album and is another one that stands up to her reputation for being a true innovator. Following on from Draw Me a silence in 2020, Teh Fifth Dream is an hour long session that veers from reverberating and bass heavy steppers to next level synth-scapes. Field recordings made in the desert of her native El Djerid, in South Tunisia, feature heavily as do tombak drums and modular synths from Franco-Persian spar Cinna Peyghamy.

Review: Recorded and released after the crossover success of 'Born Slippy [Nuxx]', Beaucoup Fish remains Underworld's most commercially successful album. The third and final set to be recorded with then third member Darren Emerson, it has fewer rough edges and in-your-face grooves than its predecessors whilst still retaining the band's rave-igniting sound of the 1990s. Now remastered and reissued on CD for the first time since 2017, it's a set that has aged well. For proof, check the woozy slipped deep house of 'Cups', the breakbeat-powered, acid-fired peak-time insanity of 'Shudder/King of Snake', the rushing release of 'Push Upstairs', the heady ambient bliss of 'Skym' and the drum & bass-influenced warmth of 'Something Like Mama'.

Review: Karl Hyde and Rick Smith continue to offer-up remastered CD reissues of gems from Underworld's vast back catalogue. Here they return to 1996's Second Toughest In The Infants, a set - co-produced with then third member Darren Emerson - which cemented their growing status as one of British electronic music's true headline attractions. While not as admired as its predecessor, it remains a fantastic full-length excursion - an inventive and frequently inspired collection of peak-time-ready epics that borrow liberally from progressive house, techno and spacey drum & bass (see 'Banstyle/Sappy's Curry'). It also contains a number of genuine stunners, not least the bustling 'Confusion The Waitress', the acid-fired insanity of 'Rawla', and the trance-inducing early morning hypnotism of 'Air Towel'.

Review: User.Exp's first release on Greyscale Recordings provides a thoughtful sonic exploration, made up of field recordings, contact and hydrophone mic sessions and shortwave transmissions (either generated from scratch or really recorded). Artist and label are met with serendipity and ease here; though many releases have hit the Greyscale stocks - all working well within their trademark sonic and visual monochrome - User.Exp's latest is an especially congruent record, bringing crackly burrs and earthen movements to an album that feels large in scope and difficult to pigeonhole, yet intuitively felt. As if to describe a set of 12 different microbiomes - all besieged by a black-and-white, ecosystemic blight - the likes of 'Pollution', 'Erosion' and 'Wind' provide indications enough as to the set of ideas going in here. A deeply calming release, full of textural intricacies and yet not without a creeping sense of unbalance too.

Review: After almost three decades, Kompakt Records is set to deliver its' 500th release - a ridiculously impressive landmark that few electronic labels have previously achieved. To mark the occasion, the Cologne-based imprint has decided to deliver an anniversary compilation featuring (mostly edited) versions of some of its most iconic club hits, underground gems and early obscurities. It does a terrific job in explaining, via music, the label's contribution to European electronic music culture - think 'maximalist' minimal, off-kilter tech-house, ambient pop, synth-heavy hypnotism and twisted, off-kilter nu-disco. Naturally, all of the label's most significant contributors are present (Superpitcher, Justus Kohncke, Robag Wruhme, Gas, The Orb, Jurgen Paape etc), alongside artists you probably didn't realise had released on the label.

Review: Those who enjoy the more intense, mind-mangling end of techno (particularly the trance-tinged, big room-ready European variants) should check out this three-disc mix-up on ZYX. Felix Reichwelt handles disc one, surging through tracks from the likes of Uncertain (the warehouse-ready excellence of 'Whack'), Thomas Schumacher (the acid-fired Jam & Spoon revivalism of 'Come Closer') and Spartaque (the fiendishly brutal 'Exhausted'), before SLT and Schwarze Puppen take over on disc two with a mix tailor made for massive venues with enormous soundsystems, minimal lighting, and thousands of wild ravers reaching for the strobes. NK4!D handles the third and final disc, offering a fine balance between riffs, melodies, intense acid lines and thunderous techno beats.

Review: Kompakt's Total 24 compilation is the nest episode in the label's amazing series. This cd version opens with Hamburg's Ada remixing Heiko Voss, followed by Jurgen Paape's vibrant 'Chee-Caruso.' Newcomer Deer Jade delivers the frolicsome house track 'Jukurpa,' while Jonathan Kaspar's 'Are You' captures the euphoria of his DJ sets. Hardt Antoine impresses with his dynamic style, and Sascha Funke pays homage to German showbiz with 'The Heck.' Tee Mango joins with his unique sound, and Joyce Muniz teams up with Sara Blum for the uplifting 'Beats & Lines.' Gui Boratto collaborates with Darren Emerson on the captivating 'The Shell,' and Rex The Dog offers the heartfelt 'Laika.' Raxon's 'Beskar' showcases his Star Wars inspiration, and David Hasert and Nicone's 'Wasting My Time With You' is a highlight. Reinhard Voigt's quirky 'Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)' features various animals, while Argia's 'Love Keeps You Running' blends groove and pop. Wassermann's track concludes the compilation with a touch of Arabian Nights magic. Total 24 is a diverse and engaging collection that exemplifies Kompakt's ability to curate exceptional electronic music.

Review: Music From Memory share the CD edition (there's also a vinyl release) of their latest in a series of compilations, which focuses on the tide of new ambient and minimalist electronica which came about at the turn of the millennium, Virtual Dreams. Whilst the first volume focused on the techno and electronica musics emergent in Europe in 1993-99, Virtual Dreams Vol. 2 homes in on Japan during the same period, tracking the regional, geosonic differences between each global cultural centre. Tracing a fibrous thread, that began to weave itself of its own accord, out from the early 90s acid house FOMO experienced in Japan's early days, through to its restful response with the dawn of "listening techno" proffered by the likes of Sublime Records, Syzygy Records and Frogman Records, many of the tracks featured therein cull their choices from not only these leading lights but also the odd and not-so-odd rarity, helping usher in a truer representation of the era.

Review: Bonzai Classics delivers a nostalgic package with Bonzai Compilation IV - The Fourth Level, a fully remastered collection of trance and techno gems that once ruled the 90s dance floors. Now available on a double CD, this compilation revisits an era when underground rave culture was in full swing, and each track pulsates with the energy that defined the scene. From booming basslines to sweeping melodies, the remastered sound breathes new life into these iconic tunes, providing a thrilling experience for both long-time listeners and newcomers to the style. The Fourth Level has a lineup of influential artists who helped shape electronic music, capturing the creativity and innovation of the time. With its powerful rhythms and euphoric synths, this album serves as both a tribute to the genre.

Review: "It's All For You" is a complement to the Sect vinyl catalogue, and a mark of respect to the CD in techno history. Artists known and new swell the ranks, representing the techno forms in the honorable Sect style. Beyond the usual, exceptionally high standard of quality from the Sect roster of artists so far, new artist productions on the first CD include Ben Gibson's "Clamour", a modern take on a Tokyo-style future cityscape, Jeroen Search's "Section A", a physical, forward thinking deep techno triumph and Voidloss' "In The Void" - techno the way it should be made for the 21st century. On CD 2, AnD's "Granular" offers traditional dub aesthetics and modern techno techniques taken to a wholly satisfying next level, while OCH's "Tears" manifest as a dark techno experience of rhythm-led lines of perfection. CV's "Acceptance Of The Fact At Hand" hones hues of colour in aural form, as a subtle vista is painted with strings of haunted beauty.

Review: Franck Vigroux may be a nightmare for journalists - he rarely talks about his music, preferring to keep his aims, influences and inspirations to himself - but he's amassed an impressive catalogue of experimental-minded releases over the last two decades. While that was initially abstract jazz/electronica fusion, in recent times his releases have explored full-throttle, synths-and-drum-machine driven industrial music, albeit with plenty of dark, paranoid ambience - and his trademark fuzzy guitar textures - thrown in. It's that hybrid sound that he explores on Grand Bal, flitting between horror movie soundscapes (the John Carpenter-esuqe '68'), 'cold wave' workouts ('Vice', the ghostly 'La Live'), fractured ambient ('Lightnin') and intense, noisy and insanely weighty industrial slammers ('Loic').