Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: The Advent returns with Quad EP on Mord, showing off his mastery of rhythm and dark, driving techno. Side-1 kicks off with 'TK421', a darker banger that features intricate rhythms, perfect for setting an intense, hypnotic mood on the dancefloor. 'Clap Trap' follows, delivering an atmospheric groove that demands your attention with its wicked, layered techno sound. Side-2 ramps things up with 'Bad Transfer', a fast-paced, subterranean track that feels minimal yet manic, pushing the energy forward with relentless momentum. The EP closes with 'Mugger Scum', a primal, crunchy cut that strips things back to a raw, minimal core while still maintaining a gritty, powerful edge. Quad EP highlights The Advent's ability to blend complex rhythms with deep, atmospheric elements, resulting in a collection of tracks that will resonate with fans of intense, no-nonsense techno.

Review: Amorphic and Tensal hook back in to the machine to dialyse their crafts once more, with 'Highland Frequencies' offering up four, machine-numbered atoning lambs to our mech overlords, following up the equally arrayed 'Distant Landscapes' EP (2024) on Blueprint. Now bringing their distinctive cataloguing system to the discographic vanitas Mord, four more 'AT' tracks make for an irresistibly well-layered, synthetically one-of-a-kind release. Only 'AT4' gets a subtitle, 'The Sleepwalker', where a sandman's slumbrous, lollygaggling beats somehow, at the same time, betray a subconscious, paradoxical restlessness.

Review: Aocram was last on this label when he appeared on the Herdersmat compilation and now returns to More with a full EP which comes with a great sleeve featuring German geographer and naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt. The tracks blend abstract sound designs with smooth, automated rhythms such as on 'Neurotransmitter Operating Between Neurons', while 'Electroquimica' is a little more dark and manic. 'Between Atoms (Asking Each Other)' is married with alien effects and scurrying little details and 'Illusions Of Reflections' closes with hurried loops that tie your mind in knots.

Review: Mord has put together a bumper collection of 17 searing techno cuts as part of its Herdersmat compilation but is also seeing up four at a time on individual 12"s. There is no messing with Part 41 which opens with DJ Shufflemaster & Go Hiyama's ear-splitting, brain frazzling 'Salasa Geometric'. Bartig Move opts for a much more minimal and roomy sound on the rolling 'Asistencia' then Tensal picks up the pace once more with the rusty loops and broken beats of 'Esbar'. Aocram's 'Dreams In NYC' is a swamp, depraved closer for late night mischief.

Review: Mord's Body of Divinity EP, featuring Oxygeno, dives headfirst into the raw, industrial techno sound the label is known for. Across six tracks, the release delivers the kind of dark, relentless energy you can easily imagine rattling through a peak-time set in a gritty, dimly lit club. Deep, wobbling basslines and acid-laced elements pulse through the EP, giving it a fierce edge while staying true to that tough, industrial vibe. The second-to-last track introduces a spacey, slightly elevating twist, but never drifts too far from the EP's heavy, mechanical atmosphere. The closer, 'Body of Divinity', shifts gears with a chuggy, more house-inflected groove, making it stand out without breaking the overall intensity. It's one of the strongest cuts on the EP, balancing a bit of swing with that signature Mord grit.

Review: Milo Raad is back on Rotterdam's finest, Mord Records, with a fine follow-up to his last outing, the 'Blood Pressure' EP. This one opens at pace with 'Bushido' and its rushes of synth and hi hats, which sweep you off your feet in an instant. 'Flash Point' has a more stripped-back sound with a hypnotic meld of drums and kicks that makes for perfect 5am escapism. The deep techno of 'Yawara' is run through with eerie, searching synths that describe a desolate urban scene and 'Detour' is a final assault on both head and heel with its unrelenting drum pressure.

Review: The Rotterdam label Mort's long-running Herdersmat series was first released in digital compilation form; only now has this round table turned its swords towards a sequential vinyl series, not the first of which you hear here. This 12" marks parts 16 in the series, clocking contributions from producers Rumenige, TAKA, Jokasti, Nek, and NX1. The heads-down producoes so named have delivered a creative, blazing irradiation of broken techno heat here, charting a rumbly and grounded, yet no less interoceptively arresting haul; our fave 'Eka' throws our sense of balance of course with quick, hard autopans and roughly ingrained, kick trods; then the silver medalist 'MRD1' bucks the proceedings off to unploughed courses, frightening the listener with garbled, found-footage EVP voices between horror-techno kicks.

Review: Dark, hard techno producer Tensal brings a heathen, cultic mood to the arc of techno orthodoxy with his latest record 'Perpetual Survivor'. With its ominous heraldic symbol on the 12" inner label, and a four-track sonic palette portraying the seedy underbellies of religiosity, this is a record that recalls the Brum-school solemnity of Downwards Records or the post-Catholic heresies of Vatican Shadow. Opener 'Sonic Particle Rain' claps back with a status-quo-shattering barrage of sonic madness by way of 16th-note stutters and squelching lows, while 'Ethos' breaks from the horde with a personal, textural reflection on what it means to follow one's own ethical code. Meanwhile, 'Perpetual Survivor' and 'Nemesis' strip things down to barer bones, amounting to something of a puritan Reformation in sound; the gilded ornamented of their clerical predecessors are contrasted starkly here by the B-side's electric, merciless and sparse sound.

Review: Viels' Pensieri Ricorrenti EP offers four intense and high-powered explorations into deep techno, each track delivering its own distinct energy. Side - opens with 'Wujhca,' a blazing sci-fi journey with aggressive, percussive elements that feel dangerous and futuristic. This track sets a fierce tone, capturing the listener with its high-tech edge. 'Effetto Bilaterale' follows, a hypnotic banger that pulses with relentless energy, drawing you deeper into its rhythmic trance. On Side-2, 'Pensieri Ricorrenti' brings a tech groove that is compelling and seamlessly blends intricate layers of sound. The EP closes with 'Magnete Permanente,' a menacing track reminiscent of Jeff Mills, with its dark, powerful beats and a relentless drive that leaves a lasting impact. Pensieri Ricorrenti EP is for techno lovers seeking tracks that push boundaries and deliver intense, deep techno experiences.

Review: For this new 2xLP mini-record for Mord, British music producer Rich Jones aka. Operator slips off the surgical gloves and wriggles his way into a set of special occasional, crusaders' gauntlets. Only a pilgrim or knight's hand could wrangle this much grit and hate from the techno production process. As we listen, we digest the accompanying, deathly mysterious poem - "the transmutation of the shadow, an ingress of novelty, under austere skies, the spirits of the city awaken" - and we're left to wonder just what collective spirit Jones may be getting at. 'Running From The Man', 'Evasions', 'Bottom Of The List'... it's almost as if the combo of technocracy, urbanism and austerity is too much for the average person to handle, and that there's a latent rebellion in us all somewhere! But despite the prophetic theme and title, Jones prefers to fight fire with fire: his sound design is barky, scientific and at times trancey ('Watashi No Gyangu' has a particularly amazing drone undercurrent to it), suggesting urban denizens must harness, not run from, the means of its own oppression.