Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: Clut deliver a specialised clout-glut with a fresh split EP from rising artist Alric Aerial, who here teams up with yet another artist who's so far flown under the label's radar - Electrodynamique. Here the pair deliver four electro-dancefloor tracks primed for every situation: sleazy bar, backlit festival stage, ironic doomsday scenario, you name it. This EP's cascading sixteenths flow like metallic droplets, their acid lines and FM blurps splurging forth with increasing restlessness and impertinence, and decreasing self-control. Particularly squelchy is Aerial's 'Tough Cuts', which moves trigger-happy on the cutoff filter whilst dungeon-bound sine tones splay across the top edges of the track, like ectoplasms left behind after a string of Zeno's paradoxes have been solved. 'We Are The City' by Electrodynamique indulges a final emery note, abrading its curveball electro mix to a grinding, apocalyptic oblivion.

Review: An electrifying dose of uptempo, futuristic techno, the first side opening with the title track, 'Machine Code', a dynamic, big-room anthem that brings intense sci-fi energy with its heavy rave alarm sounds and pulsing bass. It's a high-octane ride, perfect for peak-time club moments. 'Waveshaper' follows, leaning towards electro while retaining a sinister techno edge. Its heavy, brooding rhythm and sharp, mechanical textures make it a standout in the darker corners of the EP. On Side-2, 'System Error' ramps up the energy with pounding beats and relentless drive. It's a techno killer, designed for the dancefloor with its hard-hitting impact. The final track, 'System Error (The Hacker Remix)', slows the pace slightly, offering a deeper, more reserved groove, but it still burns with intensity. The remix brings an atmosphere that adds a layer of mystery while maintaining the EP's fierce energy. 'Machine Code' EP is a powerful, relentless techno offering from start to finish.

Review: Distant Gaze champion the return of producer E-Bony to the label with 'Shapes & Frequencies', their new six-track record blurring EP and album. Delving deep into the unfiltered worlds of acid and Detroit, 'Shapes & Frequencies' expresses a pure exercise in formal techno abstraction, delivering a wide range of moods and intensities through analogue textures and heavy-hitting kicks, both synonymous with E-Bony's distinct sound. The EP hastens as it progresses, with 'Fantasy' indulges a nice n' rough 135-ish BPM, 'X-drix' commanding a sleekly scientific surround sound, and Clouzer's remix of 'Let It Be' swerving full aircraft hangar electro, giant snare verbs and gobby acid rattles aplenty.

Review: Exxtra Beats Records backs up its commitment to pushing things on with a new four-tracker of minimal and tech cuts. Edo Ecker's 'Extraluxxo' has warped synth lines that encourage introspection while the snappy beats make you move physically. Leff's 'Future Problems' has hazy and positive arpeggios that toot away over sustained chords and move at a nice inviting pace. Little Sea offers the snappy drums and gurgling acid lines of 'How I Wanna Feel' while Andrea Bertoli & DJ Bogdan's 'Extremely On Line' is a snappy and upbeat cosmic tech cut with wonky lines adding the charm.

Review: Believe In Records is a division of MixCult Records and this new EP is an extraordinary one that unites two broken-beat heavyweights, Electrosoul System and Dawn Razor. Drum & bass legend Electrosoul System channels his vast expertise in broken-beat rhythms, while Dawn Razor adds a distinct mutant edge to the tracks. The release is elevated by an on-point remix from the talented context, aka Dissident, who seals the deal on this dynamic, destruction four tacker which is perfect for every moment of the night with its unique, bass-driven sound.

Review: The Cimedirapax crew are back with another superb various artists collection that nudges at the borders of tech house and minimal. Eliaz's 'Enbaspremal' is an alien sound with abstract designs and trippy pads and Lapucci then gets deeper and darker on the menacing 'To Be On Top.' F_Phono brings some nu-disco energy and bright 80s arps to 'Sollievo' then Marco Biagioli heads into more occult worlds with the eerie and haunting 'Strange Mirror' before Equinox's 'Intergalactic Space' offers a caustic electro workout.

Review: Cyphon Recordings celebrates its tenth release with Emotive Technology, a new project by Chilean artist Massiande. The five-track EP offers soul-stirring techno spanning various styles. Despite being his debut under this alias, Massiande boasts a decade-long career, releasing music on esteemed labels like Housewax and Phonica. The EP kicks off with 'Rise,' a fusion of new beat and arp-operated techno, setting the stage for peak-time euphoria. Tracks like 'It's On' and 'Your Zone' dive deeper into hypnotic rhythms, while 'Walk Into The Light' pays homage to Detroit's techno legacy. Closing with 'The Swing,' the EP captivates with its resonating synths and pulsating basslines, embodying machine music with soulful depth.

Review: Eris, aka. Enrica Falqui and Dea Dvornik, mint the Plexus 4 label with the 'Glimmers' EP. New outings breed novel vibes; so too does this exciting new house pairing bring future-facing, melancholic electro-progressive flavours to the table with opener 'Kundalini Rising' and A2 ensuer 'Serpente'. Both tracks shimmy and plod through the twinned vibes of alien atmospherics via a driven whimsy, nailing a sweet interplay of seriousness and affability. B-siders 'Anticipation' and 'Game Over' contrastingly move more minimal with things, using, revelling in the natural monophony of, their various analog synths, their delectably dedicated studio gear. The final track ends on an eerier note, suggesting murkier future ambi-topias to navigate.

Review: The man best known as Convextion assumes his ERP aka Event Related Potential alias for four more next level cuts that find him pushing his electro electronics ever more into the future. 'V/Eight' opens with a melancholic bassline under busy drum programming to get things going. 'Equiponderance' is more complex with squirming electronics, more hefty bass notes and serene background pads adding a third dimension. 'Engine Vibration' is a more gritty mix of busy analogue machinery and star-gazing chords then 'Enfield' closes with optimistic sonics and propulsive bouncy bass to end this cosmic cruise on a high.

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: Electro don Robert Heise turns his attention back to The Exaltics project for a new EP on his steady label home Repetitive Rhythm Research. Forgetting the proverbial "house" that birthed the song, Heise borrows the canonic title and lends it a certain force majeure, in the vein of bristly "helicopter blade" synths and classic techno drum machine furrow. Best on this fearsome crock is 'Parallel Reality', whose impressively miscible cuckoo-clock offbeats and sneak-up, reverse-worked, burring lead line have yet to meet their match this year. ORX's opening edit is the most expulsive, firing off a grunting artillery of monstrously low synths and brusque cymbal crashes in enfilade.

Review: Spooky Wooky return with a newly nourished Pandora's box worth of tunes, welcoming four new producers each for their own scare, as well as an opening fourfold fright. Joining forces only under the name Spooky Wooky, 'Cauchemard Ambulant' puns on the French term for "waking nightmare" terming it a "walking nightmare", with fidgety, motile synth snaps and pops aligned alongside bow can scrape samples and strange monstrous gurgles. Our faves among the solo cuts have to be Lazer Man's 'Fuck The Bass' and Gogo Gadgeto's 'FREAK', both of which seem to convey a sort of crazed elvish otherworld.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight tear to left side of outside sleeve, but otherwise in excellent condition***


Robert Witschakowski's tunnel-like focus on the advancement of electro continues apace with this latest Exaltics transmission for Clone West Coast Series, his second album after 2019's II Worlds and his latest since the acclaimed link-up with Heinrich Mueller, Dimensional Shifting. Of course this is electro first and foremost, so the likes of 'Let's Fly The Gravity Together' will hit the pleasure centre of any machine funk aficionado, but even more special is the presence of Detroit Grand Pubahs' Paris The Black Fu offering his unmistakable MC work to 'Lif Eono Ther Planets'. Paris returns for penultimate track 'Did You See Them' alongside Mr Remy, and in between there's an abundance of electro riches to fulfil your cybernetic fantasies.