Electro Recommendations April 2011

Review: Limited reissue of 'The Party Scene', a stone-cold electro funk classic 12" from 1983. The only release ever by the mega-talented Russell Brothers (what a shame!), the production on this ultra-rare Portrait cut is years ahead of its time, and no other early hip hop producers came near to making a sound as immense and interesting as this. The 12" contains the superb party-starting short and long versions featuring a grinding electro groove topped with hypnotic driving melodies and great vocals plus the masterful instrumental which is darkly atmospheric with its sparse instrumentation, pounding bass drums and ominously ticking hi-hats.

Review: The perennially excellent Irish label Lunar Disko goes conceptual to celebrate the tenth release in a peerless discography, with regular contributor Automatic Tasty on board to "tell a tale through his machines of a lonely Wicklow field from dawn till dusk". Across this neat almost fluorescent red 10" (naturally) our erstwhile Automatic Tasty works through various musical moods to successfully fit the imaginary periods. Thus the A Side draws on bright analogue textures amidst playful think break on "Field In The Morning" with the mood increasing in upbeat tone on "Field In The Afternoon". The flip slowly plunges towards the dusk the bubbling clouds of "Field In The Evening" while the mysterious acid-tinged "Field by Night" neatly leads us into the darkness.

Review: Swedish-born, Luke Eargoggle is something of a legend and few words can describe the magnitude of his output. Also, he's a regular name on Bunker Records, which in our books makes him a kind of God. This time he's up on Germany's Abstract Forms and kicks things off with the title track, "Information Points", a gritty, hardware-based electro spinetingler, falling hastily into "Magic Everywhere", a squelching vocal-led anthem. "Thought In Motion" reaffirms his love for that late 80's vibe and on the flip we have the aptly named and fantastic "Electro Musik", probably the EP's oddest and most stellar moment. "Want To Come Back" is a calmer storm of chines and harmonics, whilst "Adrian Elliot" revisits those good ol' retro passions so many electro producers just can't do without. Big 12" form Eargoggle!

Review: If you have prior experience of either Dublin label Lunar Disko or the producer Automatic Tasty, who hails from nearby Wicklow, you'll be familiar with both a sense of humour and accomplishment in production that lifts them a fair few iotas above the standard disco affair. This latest EP from the latter on the former demonstrates this perfectly, launching with the spoken word opener "Keep Your Receipt" which shows a cheeky idiosyncrasy absent from most records since Ninja Tune in it's late 90s pomp, whilst "Beannach Mhor" could easily be mistaken for Vibert under his Kerrier District alias, rewiring the think break to drive dreamy analogue clouds of 303. "Over The Hill" sounds like the sorely missed Italian duo Jollymusic reborn - all percussion scattering gleefully over a thick 101 bassline and outer galactic keys before dropping into a streamlined, dub-laden thrust. "Tropic Exchange" continues in this manner with dusty, jacked drum complemented by ever twinkling layers of keys and Lowlands style analogue bass, whilst "Small Hours" heads for the stars with colourful bursts of sonic texture filling the gaps between the 808 patterns.

Review: After last years well received mini-LP, Lost Trax and The Connection Machine are back in cahoots for another round on the ever-blooming Tabernacle Records. There's something undeniably 'Artificial Intelligence' about the kind of techno crafted by this shadowy meeting of minds, full of colourful squelches and emotive pads. The Lost Trax sound is far more propulsive, with a clattering sound palette challenging adventurous DJs, whilst The Connection Machine scoops through the debris left behind to make some compelling downtempo cuts. For truly spellbinding techno with classic values and bright ideas, this EP one of the first places you should look.

Review: Shangaan Shake is the complete document of the remixes Honest Jon's commissioned to pit leftfield Western artists against the Shangaan electro of South Africa. It's an all-star cast, from house heroes to dubstep tinkerers. Mark Ernestus turns out an elegant slice of dub techno, while DJ Rashad and RP Boo throw down a sweaty slice of footwork action, and Peverelist plies a typically complex rhythm at a slower, seductive tempo. Out of all the remixers, Theo Parrish is the one unafraid to maintain the original BPM, which leaves his remix stark against the multitude of other tracks. Essential.

Review: It's been a while since mysterious noisenik Mr 716X dropped an album on longtime home Skam; in fact, he most recent full-length dropped way back in 2007. Those who've been missing his intense, brain-melting fusions of ragging acid, break core, jungle, techno and concrete-hard IDM are in for a treat, though, as Experiment Four is as breathlessly uncompromising as ever. While there are brief moments of fluid positivity - see the bubbling "Pod", Squarepusher-ish circuit board jazz of "W4l23z" and chiming, Aphex-ish "Arabic Acid" - for the most part Mr 716X keeps it consciously off-beat and challenging. Yet for all the clattering, titanium-coated beats and overloaded computer freakery on show, there's a strange beauty throughout - not least on the frankly bonkers "Lectric Landlady".