Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: The latest from Swedish techno legend is a full-throttle techno assault, pushing Drumcode's legacy forward with relentless energy. The title track is a peak-time juggernaut, built on heavy chords, pounding kicks and a futuristic intensity that commands the dancefloor. With its driving momentum and anthemic hooks, it's a high-octane statement from two producers at the top of their game. On Side-2, 'Living In The Moment' ventures into atmospheric territory, teetering on the edge of trance with sci-fi textures and sweeping builds. Its long, tension-heavy progression culminates in devastating drops, overloading the senses with a euphoric yet punishing crescendo. With Drumcode nearing its 30th year, this release proves there's no slowing downithe label continues to deliver high-impact techno designed for maximum effect. Beyer and Brown's collaboration is a successful dose of tension, release and unrelenting intensity.

Review: Granada's Cosmic Tribe know the definition of "electro" in its broadest sense; their new Xtrictly Electro comp keeps the dystopian sound endemic to the genre's most present incarnation, but refuses to restrict itself to one tempo: the standard 130-ish that has sadly infected the otherwise genius genre as a necessity. An international splinter cell of spec-ops and mercenaries are recalled from retirement here, as we hear Calagad 13, Nachtwald, EC13 and many more mechanoid ilk lay down all manner of slick utilities, making up a morbid multi-tool. 5zyl brings further lasery Lithuanian steeze on 'Vilnius Bass', whilst Spectrums Data Forces betrays the existence of a sinister corporate entity, whose business model works towards the object of instilling 'Darkness In My Head' through giant, killer mozzy basses.

Review: Menacing EBM and dark synth billows from a Netherlands hinterland; our heralds speak of an esoteric encampment by the name of Espectro Oculto, said to be the remote incantators of an unstoppable curse in sound. Six shadowy emissaries have been sent to spread the pestilence; Trenton Chase, Martial Canterel, DJ Nephil, Exhausted Modern, Fragedis and Happy707. Clearly, the faction have recruited only the best, trusted and yet most nefarious of spies from as far-flung regions as Czechia and Argentina in the administering of such a sordid sonic plague. We're left most quivery at the centrifugal doom drones of Exhausted Modern's 'Fear Of Focus', across whose breakdown banshees are heard wailing and snarling, and Fragedis' 'Landing In Reality', a lo-fi techno freakout and sonochemical anomaly, channeling militant two-way radio samples and hellish FM synthesis.

Review: The cornerstone of a certain (unforgettable) trance moment in time, Eden Transmission's 'I'm So High' was *the* tune to peg the LA and San Fran rave scenes indelibly to the PI's corkboard of dance music. Eden Transmission were only one alias of an ever-evolving, planarian duo - Michael Kandel, Tom Chasteen - whose works as Voodoo Transmission, High Lonesome Sound System and Up Above The World could equally have been deemed just as significant projects. But we prefer 'I'm So High'. One of the best to do it with breakbeats, the 'Ubud' mix of the title track hears what sounds like a bazaar gathering of psychic townsfolk, set against urgent whispers, which hydrolyse against a reso-peaked lead. And by far the best tune is 'Powertrance', which startles us with its wireless charge of mega-heavy breaks and robotic C-shell sendups, whisking us into psycho-cyberspace.

Review: 'Pang i Bygget' is a bold new EP from Swedish live techno artist Niclas Erlandsson. Erlandsson has established a reputation with his intense live performances and unique blend of techno, acid, EBM and breakbeats which are never less than turbocharged with power. Once again here he offers up immersive soundscapes and controlled chaos inspired by Swedish 90s techno. D.A.V.E. The Drummer's remix brings a driving, hypnotic 90s acid techno vibe to the party while Orion's remix adds intricate, forward-thinking elements that balance rawness with more polished dynamics. It's a great coming together of pioneering artists and new school star.

Review: After his recent releases on X-Kalay and Craigie Knowes, Melbourne's Escape Artist returns to Phonica where he has previously released his well-received Energy Breakthrough EP. Once again here he shows his love of serving up euphoric and energetic cuts with the A-side, 'Forgot Who I Was,' building great intensity with delicate melodies and a shifting bassline. The B-side, 'Remembering', offers a contrasting yet complementary vibe that keeps on with the previous track's two-step rhythm while evolving into a more uplifting direction with ambient techno elements and acidic breaks. It's potent stuff.

Review: An experimental techno hexagram in LP form from Stockholm artist Evigt Morker. Without so much as a hint of context, the techno dark-shooter here drops his third LP for resident label Northern Electronics as a surprise, and the result is rather stunning. A bleary set of impressions, some tunes on this record clip the top edge of the mix, chinking our emotive armour. The effect is gastric, dehiscent, exuding bile: 'Hemilga Eldar' leaves us dumbstruck by its ambient eventidal winds and strangely sprawled drum shapes, while 'Sokaren Hittade' combines nyctophile cantos with electric twangs. The closer 'Det Blaser En Vind...' is a headland of humility, letting in much longer gusts of tuned air.

Review: EC Underground is back with more inquisitors of low-end heavy sounds on Bass Scene Investigation vol 1 and again digs deep into the worlds of electro, techno, breakbeat and IDM. The compilation kicks off with the skittish percussive patterns of Illektrolab's 'Making Heads Dip', then heads into moody ground with ADJ, Pablo Funk brings some menacing synth work and Errorbeauty gets all weird and trippy with some mad electronics. Francois Dillinger offers a dystopian electro sound full of irresistibly jacked-up drums. A fine investigation indeed.

Review: Serious seriality from the OHM Series, an imprint and sole patent owner of the rare, aurally administered chemical known as Omega X. The alphabetic Greek letter ohm determines impedance / resistance in an electrical circuit, and so too do each of the dub techno tracks released on the OHM Series amount to tergiversating transductions, their chillout chord-knocks and hardened beats never quite letting us settle. Though titles like 'Innocence' and 'Downtime' persist here, the tracks perhaps inadvertently prove that flow is impossible without resistance: Separation's track is especially unorthodox in its strange reordering of phaser, pan and saturation effects on the pad-stab, which produces an unusual swirling effect.

Review: Eindhoven underground acidcore distributor and label Flatlife generate yet another mind-melter for the nitty masses, supercolliding tracks by four of the foremost DJs come sound-summoners on the subterranean scene. Flatlife have dispatched rapid-response rave Apaches since 2009, and A-siders 'Septic' and 'Lord Of Darkness' bring a fittingly mid-noughts feel to things, during which time the roughage of hard dance fused with the encroaching gloss and finesse that came with digital sound tech that defined the decade. The mood is horrific, with 'Saure' climaxing to apocalyptic, territorial levels through waspish yamps and kick crushings, while the aggro is not lost on the ensuing 'Out Of Order', somehow the most relaxed of the four.