Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: The Black Venison label are back with their release and this is the follow up to Die Roh's scorching Lancia Delta EP from earlier this year. We don't know anything about the currently anonymous Q3A project but we can sure hear that they know how to make some badass house-techno hybrids, and "Apocalypse" is just about as raw as you can get for a deep house cut. Over on side B, "Beyond Reality" takes some stepping, tape-kissed beats and pounds its way through a Chicago kinda vibe, whereas "Facing Worlds" is all about the percussion: dusty, swinging flurries of drum machines goodness to get you out of that chair and onto the floor.

Review: Mark E's Merc label resurfaces with a new name at the helm in the shape of Quaid, who may be based in an East London studio or indeed some fantasy fire laden digital realm known as Metropolis. What we have here are two prime slabs of neo futuristic machine funk - apparently influenced by years of treating ears to the sounds of Prince and The Egyptian Lover. Lead track "Watchbeat" chirps into action, the thick stumbling bass drum coaxing out the uneasy textural intricacies that drive the track ever forward in full flight. Throughout you get the sense the production is teetering on the brink due to the sheer weight of its various elements, but onwards it moves. "Dedication" streams forth brilliantly with recycled soul and could easily be mistaken for a Sound Signature release, the various vocal harmonics weaved deep into the rhythmic template and what's so impressive is how the track seems to constantly fizz in different directions, never attempting to settle into one groove. Excellent release!

Review: The second invitation this week from Millions of Moments to traverse the outer echelons of expertly crafted dubbed house and it's another debut release on the imprint; this time courtesy of Quantec. Anyone who has indulged in the producer's output for a multiplicity of imprints including Styrax and Echochord - or indeed his sumptuous refix of Aaron Carl for the MoM imprint - will have an inkling of what to expect and naturally Schienhammer doesn't disappoint. Frosted Basic Channel rhythms run throughout the opener "Sub-System", gently easing through the aural mist atop crisp metallic drums, a sensation that pours into the accompanying languid charms of "Substratum" - all dreamy panned soundscapes laying down the mood before a gentle rhythmic staccato urgency arrives. "Easing Of Tension" is perhaps the most luxuriant offering here, stretching a thick sonic soup all the way across the B Side and willing you to fully engage your senses.

Review: Quarion's "Karasu" was a big hit with DJs like Ame, Dixon, Derrick May and Laurent Garnier. This Drumpoet Community release features hot new Detroit techno influenced remixes by Swiss producers Deetron and Crowdpleaser.