Back in stock: Techno (Alles)

Review: DC11's approach to techno is that he is always trying to find the perfect loop. Whether or not he thinks he has on this latest EP for Dutch label TH Tar Hallow, he sure does hit a nice sweet spot between dub, techno, depth and drive. 'Forced Removal' is a fierce opener with twitchy synths peeling off the muscular drums. The hulking great groove of 'A Vast Reserve Of Indifference' keeps the pressure on while 'Florus' is lit up with synths that shiver across the face of the drums. After a locked groove comes the menacing funk of 'Terribly Partial.' Serious tackle.

Review: Brazilian Jesse "Dreams" Pimenta has been roaming around underground circles for a decade plus. He has a stylish sound that is about heady excursions into deep rhythms. 'Losing Control' opens up with a warped and flabby baseline over buoyant drums for peak time deployment. 'Dangerous When Wet' is a tightly programmed and kinetic cut with flappy drums and snares, aliens in the machines and psychedelic vocal swirls. 'XTC Messenger' then hits hard with thudding kicks and hints of 90s tribal techno. Last of all, 'Pressure Points' flips out with broke beats and dubby undercurrents.

Review: Mutual Response first appeared with its inaugural release back in 2023, so this second one has been a long time in the making. It's the Brit-based Dockett Eddy who runs the Turnend Tapes label who steps up and brings some invention to four tracks of deeply atmospheric techno. 'Monofly' has modulated synth bleeps and squeaks and smeared pads, making it a trippy and futuristic sound, while 'Delayed Response' is slow, heavy and marbled with sombre, downcast chords that make it an introspective delight. '00:04' has a lithe, jittery rhythm with eerie pad swirls up top and 'Tapeline' brings a bit of late-night urban grit and cosmic eeriness. It's a moody EP, this, but one that is always intriguing and inviting.

Review: Last year Joe Baker took his Forest Drive West project to legendary Dutch label Delsin for the very first time, in the process offering up one of his deepest and most picturesque to date. There's a similarly hazy and hypnotic feel about his latest EP, Dualism, which sees the East Londoner return to Livity Sound for the first time in the three years. He sets the tone via the EP-opening title track, a typical on-point combination of broken techno drums and drowsy dub techno style textures, before opting for more energetic Afro-tech beats and spacey, almost ambient chords on the equally brilliant 'New Day'. He further explores his love of polyrhythmic techno on feverish and mind-altering flipside opener 'Ritual', before joining forces with Lucky Pereira on cumbia-influenced, sub-heavy workout 'Scorpion'.

Review: Melbourne's Tim Jackiw brings a retro future vision to this latest sweaty workout on the Physical Education label. 'Manifestation' is a full singlet on, socks up, headband in place, striding forward electro jam with nice cosmic energy and 'Multi Pass' then brings wistful Detroit synth work and sleek grooves designed for heady escape. 'House Wine' keeps the deep and driving dynamic flowing with more dusty drum programming and meaningful synth work and 'Unseen Forces' then gets more raw and percussive. Last but not least, 'Taking Measures' shuts down with some reflective moods and slower tempos.

Review: Rushing from the starting blocks as though life depended on it, Kahler opens the scoring with the perfectly balanced and fine-tuned 'Mosaic', a driving, percussive techno workout that's direct and peak time yet also minimal and patient, poised even. Grillac follows suit, keeping things ghostly with plenty of energy coming from the top ends, while using a vocal hook to add a little rave bounce. By now, it's probably clear R 0 01 is a strong collection of belters, and the remainder do nothing to quash that belief. Lorenzo Mancino and Exos arguably unleash the most fury - tracks that feel like stepping into a warehouse party in 1999 with a nose full of whizz and stomach full of pills - while BENKHLIFA keeps it more heads down and Berlin.

Review: DJ Nobu's avant-garde Bitta label looks to fellow Japanese great in Osaka-based Erik Luebs for its next trick. As always with this fine imprint, the sounds are about balancing transcendental synths with deep tech rhythms. They are masterclasses in economical arrangement and on the surface don't do much, but when you tune in properly, they are mind-melting trips, starting with the mystery of 'Granite Monolith'. 'Irradiated Body' has loopy synth sequences unfolding at great pace with pristine accuracy and 'Coming Up For Air' gets a little more extroverted with dubby kicks and the sound of overloaded AI machines getting ever more frenzied. 'Facing The Horizon' is a flickering, optimistic and mildly euphoric sound for dropping when the sun peaks through the blinds and you celebrate getting through another night of darkness.

Review: Features the original Maurizio mix plus the classic Carl Craig remix. Berlin and Detroit combine with some amazing results. Timeless stuff.

Review: Haworthia Records is a new sub-label of Luzerna that kicks off with Nomad Soul, an artist from Marseille who has been making beats for a decade. He likes to tap into dreamy 'scapes but keep the feet moving, and here he also colours his sounds with some 80s and 90s nostalgia on the 'Transpace' EP. 'Dropped' has a raw drum groove that stands you upright, 'Soul Hacker' has warped and psychedelic pads and hallucinogenic vocals, and 'Equal' is a thudding trance-techno pumper. 'Dub Spaced' shuts down with plenty of deep space eeriness, weird sounds and a throbbing, dubby low end.

Review: Relative newcomers Sicion and Kuss combine their skills on this new outing for the Molekul label with two collaborative cuts and one solo outing each. Their opener, 'Dissolve To Evolve' has a dark tribal energy to it and a sense of cinematic tension from the haunting pads and echoing effects, then they double down on the vibe with the equally muscular and chunky 'Ego Death.' Kuss's 'The Ride' is a pent-up and funky bumper with smudged vocals and psychedelic synths, then Sicion's 'Breaking Point' shuts down with all the menace of a late-night runaway train.

Review: Dan Piu and Grant's Theory of Movement project has served up gold for lovers of heady tech and minimal. After something of a hiatus, it is now back on When The Morning Comes with more of the sort of tuneage that is going to quickly sell out and soon become the ID request du jour at your favourite underground parties. These are of course sophisticated sounds from the silky house bumps of 'Now & Then' with its seductive vocal allure to the throwback 90s sounds of 'Over Time' (Acid Mix). 'Basis' (Foundation mix) is another immediately classic house sound with analogue and dusty drums and zippy melodies next to more smooth chords. 'Motion Of Objects' shuts down with a more zoned-out vibe and widescreen melodic architecture for late nights.

Review: Belgian-born, Vietnam-based innovator Peter Van Hoesen returns to the fore here with a daring four-track EP that dives deep into experimental techno. Known for his precision and intensity, Van Hoesen lives up to that as he crafts a cerebral yet visceral journey through chaotic structures and abstract rhythm. From the hypnotic disarray of 'Definition by Absence' to the stormy turbulence of 'Variables Edit 1,' each track embraces unpredictability without forgetting the floor. 'Prime Directive' disorients with anti-club energy, while 'Morphology' offers a slightly more grounded groove that gives form to his conceptual explorations. Fearless stuff as ever from big Pete.

Review: Colombian producer JP Lopez aka Verraco delivers full-throttle techno gritted up with grime influences on his new 'Basic Maneuvers' EP for Tra Tra Trax, the label he co-founded. His offbeat, chrome-plated and heavy style has been heard on Blawan's Voam and Batu's Tiemdance before now and here Verraco blends Latin club energy with signature rhythmic invention. The title track drives with mind-melting techno and ragga-infused bass, while 'Total' fuses gqom and dubstep with holographic vocals inspired by Arca. The grime-tinged 'Sobe Sobe' features Ugandan MC Yallah over Orbital-like pads and gritty, Coki-style midrange. Verraco's genre-blurring mastery knows no bounds.

Review: Dutchman David Vunk returns to his Moustache label with the Backdoor EP, which is a powerhouse concoction of electro, EBM, acid and techno in true bunker style. The 12" features gritty, all analogue-produced cuts like the hefty 'Purple Light,' more bright and melodic stomper that is 'K2' and gurgling, swampy, depraved 'Tornado Acid'. 'Stop the Insanity' is a crackerjack of pinging toms and rickety drum machines backlit with synth warmth, all crafted in his basement studio by the harbour and mastered by the master, Alden Tyrell. These are sounds that are ready to storm speakers but do so with plenty of narrative and emotional nuance.