Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: Drivecom's latest release, a 2xLP album, feature new tracks meticulously reworked from 2022-23. This collection is a sonic homage to past works like La Hora de las Maquinas and The Source by Boris Divider, yet it features a modern production twist. The album kicks off with 'The Way You Feel Me,' blending electro and synthwave with moog bass and arpeggios reminiscent of Arpanet. Following this, 'Letters From A Sleeper' evokes a postnuclear future with its prominent synthline. 'Distante' introduces slower BPMs, combining J. Carpenter-inspired synths with vintage digital rhythms. On Side-2 'You Know What I Know' recalls the signature sound of La Hora de las Maquinas with its sequential prophet's arpeggio. 'Sin Mirar Atras' stands out as a deeply introspective piece rich with vintage synths and reverb. 'Your Light' reappears as a future electro classic. 'Recursos Infinitos' offers a Tangerine Dream-esque instrumental interlude before the dark, dystopian 'Cenital' channels Vangelis' Blade Runner. The title track, 'Memories From The Dust,' merges 80s digital keyboard sounds with the album's overarching themes. The closing track, 'Out of Sync,' features intentionally misaligned synthlines recorded in one take.

Review: Although instalments are few and far between (the last one dropped eight years ago), Terrence Parker's From The Far Future album series contains some of the Detroit veteran's finest work. The latest volume - Part 3, fact fans - continues this trend, mixing weightless, deep space ambient with a wealth of Afro-futurist techno and tech-house works that make great use of impeccably programmed, loose-limbed rhythms, twisted synth lines, and aural textures that are genuinely cinematic in sound and vision. The plentiful highlights include warehouse-ready club cuts 'Unconditional Love', 'Spectrum of Light' and 'Out of Darkness', and the ambient sprawl of 'Remarkable Wanderer'. Sci-fi techno at its finest.

Review: DJ Bone is a Detroit titan. He plays on the decks with high energy and next-level skill that few can match - which is why they call him the Terminator. He pulls no punches in the studio either, crafting all killer no-filler club weaponry as exemplified here by his new album Further. This is top-level techno on his own Subject Detroit label with lashings of machine soul, futuristic ideals and evocative atmospheres. Some cuts sink into deep inner grooves and take you on a mindful trip and some are more wildly expressive, but all of them bang in the club.

Review: DJ Shufflemaster (real name Tatsuya Kanamori) first saw fame with Tresor's release of the 'EXP' album all the way back in 2001, at a time when the Berlin clubbing institution was already aiming to shine a light on techno scenes beyond its own walls. Vastly ahead of its time, the tracks on the album (now once more called to our attention via this reissue) are what we'd have considered ourselves more liable to encounter in the UK in the mid-2010s; tracks like 'Onto The Body' have a broken beat feel to them, and many tracks verge quite readily off the edge of 4x4 kick drum orthodoxy. A compressed and washy techno album drawing on every influence from dub to Brummy sound.

Review: DJ Sotofett is one of those producers who operates on his own plane. His sounds are like no other, his ideas are weird and wonderful and his execution is always exceptional. He is a producer who does things in his own playful way and that bears out on this new 12-track album. It's couched in electro with 80s Nintendo console vibes and a fusion of analogue and digital synthesis that makes for a jubilant celebration. Along the way, things shift from acid-infected beats and catchy electronic pop to avant-garde electro cuts. Vital stuff.

Review: DJ Sotofett returns with a double 12" packed with eight hard-hitting, underground techno tracks. Featuring frequent collaborators LNS, L.A. 2000, Ronny Nyheim, and Zarate_Fix, this release is a direct nod to the no-nonsense techno nights at Berlin's iconic Tresor club, where Sotofett holds residency. Each track is crafted with pure dancefloor energy in mind, moving through dub-driven techno, acidic overtones, and percussive basslines, all delivered with a raw, uncompromising edge. WANIA mk1 is a masterclass in DJ-ready versatility, perfect for those who love their techno stripped back and potent. Standout cuts include the bombastic, percussion-heavy Preparation and the 909-vocoder-fuelled My Spirit Is In Techno Music, both of which exemplify the release's dedication to the underground essence of the genre. With alternative mixes from WANIA mk2 making an appearance, the album offers both continuity and innovation, keeping true techno fans hooked from start to finish. Sotofett's attention to detail in programming, mixing, and mastering is evident throughout, making this a must-have for DJs and clubbers who live and breathe the core of real, unfiltered techno music. WANIA mk1 isn't just an album; it's a statement for those who value authenticity in their club experience.

Review: Veteran electrohead and former artist on the Rephlex Records roseter DMX Krew's Ed DMX takes the well-known story by Jorge Luis Borges of The Library of Babel, said to contain all the different languages of the earth. Some deep philosophical thought has gone into the album's concept, but we'll leave that to Ed to explain. Instead, we'll tell you that from beginning to end there's plenty of the kind of trademark 80s synth playfulness in evidence, with a generally more mellow and soundtrack-related rather than frenetic and dancefloor-filling vibe in evidence, even on faster tracks like 'The Combed Thunderclap'. Still, Ed knows what he's doing when it comes to this kind of leftfield electro gear, and it's a rewarding, never boring listen.

Review: A sprawling, typically irreverent effort from the ever-prolific DMX Krew. With each unfolding track, Edward Upton charts a new tributary in the Detroit-Berlin-Sheffield pipeline, from the grouchy technoid stomp of 'Bathtime Bobby', to the hazy chillout room introspection of 'Escape To 92', to the dazzled machine funk of aptly named elektro quest 'Desperate Measures'. Another thoroughly satisfying entry in the ever-growing DMX catalogue, Spiral Dance is a sizzling hotplate of timeless electro wizardry.

Review: Having previously mined Drexciya's back catalogue for four superb compilations (the Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller series), Clone has decided to reissue the Detroit electro legends' final studio album, 2002's Grava 4. It remains a superb set, moving between deep space explorations (the superbly atmospheric ambience of "Cascading Celestial Giants"), rolling, intergalactic electro ("Drexcyen Star Chamber"), intense dancefloor work outs ("Drexcyen R.E.S.T Principle"), glistening IDM ("Hightech Nomads"), and fusions of Sheffield bleep aesthetics and Cybotron style rhythms ("Gravity Waves"). In other words, you'll struggle to find a better electro album. If you don't own an original copy, you should grab this reissue sharpish.

Review: Released in 2002 as the Drexciya project was forced towards an untimely finish with the passing of James Stinson, Grava 4 remains a high-point in the legendary Detroit electro pioneers' catalogue. As ever, the magic of the record lies in the balance between experimental, provocative sound design and fully physical, instinctive machine funk. Stinson and Gerald Donald were able to say a great deal within the parameters of their project, and Grava 4 remains leagues ahead of what most people think electro can be. Just marvel at the likes of 'Gravity Waves', which feels like the truest representation of the genre without ever following a pre-existing formula.

Review: Looooooongish Cat and Davecoin have come together for their debut album Realizer on Adeen. It is a record that swings from the dark and mysterious to the more upbeat and playful as it explores a range of techno styles. The material originates from the pair's live set so has a real dynamism to it as well as it moves through ever-evolving psychedelic soundscapes. Vocals, synth lines, and guitars have all been laid down on tape and then resampled and deconstructed to "create an analog patchwork which floats over the hard-hitting beats and fat analog synths and bass lines." It's an immersive and inventive record that also has a fresh cover design.

Review: 2020 marks the 30th birthday of Network Records, a label that did arguably more than any other in the early 90s to champion both US and UK techno. As part of their celebrations they'll be reissuing some key singles and albums from their catalogue, starting with this 1991 compilation of key Derrick May productions. Now stretched across two slabs of wax rather than one to guarantee a louder cut, "Innovator" contains a wealth of vital early Motor City techno classics, from the acid-powered insanity of "Nude Photo" and the rushing, piano-heavy rush of "Strings of Life", to the thrilling sci-fi futurism of "Wiggin" and the deep techno warmth of "Hand Over Hand".