Review: Heavyweight quattro-techno from A Paul, DJ Dextro, Red Rooms, Ramon Tapia and Arkvs for Planet Rhythm. Each track serving as merciless hoisters in the vein of 'Rough' techno, the A1 is deserving of the name, bringing scraping hi-hat blurs and gulping knocks to a mean mix. Deadened, unfeeling, callous calculation follows on the follower 'Binary Codes', while Tapia tabulates a 'Ratio' on the algo-rhythmic bleeper that ensues on the B1. Finally, 'Decoration Drugs' brings a prime movement, its facelessly numbered breakdowns and shuffles assuring us that there is indeed no end to off-planet production processes such as these.
Review: Planet Rhythm must be one of the hardest-working labels in the game - it seems to drop new music on a nearly daily basis but all of it is essential. Dajusch is the man at the buttons here with 'Gazell'e exploring a techno sound as lithe and quick as the animal it is named after. 'Average Channel' brings some dub chords to the party over cantering drums, and it is to Detroit for the machine soul and serenity of 'Ster One'. 'Beginner' closes down with more minimal stripped-back rhythms but no less impact.
Review: Death, taxes and quality techno from Planet Rhythm are the three sureties of life. The label that maintains a high laity output and never strays from its blueprint is back with more functional and well-formed sounds, this time from Mattia Dambrosio. He opens with a cut doused in static, fizzing synth lines and with a funky, mid-tempo beat on 'Spring.' 'Ossidiana' dials it back to allow the dub chords and deep roaming bassline room to lure you in then 'Domani' mesmerises with silky synth sequences that glow bright above an implied rhythm. 'Stabs' is an upright and warm techno pumper with Detroit chords and 'Warmer' then takes you way down deep into cavernous underground dub worlds.
Review: Dub Wars is a series from the mighty Planet Rhythm label that serves up killer cuts with a dub inflection. This new one comes on flame red vinyl from DBFB and kicks off with the driving dub techno intensity of 'Akord.' The superb 'Reminisce' then has more frosty chords rallying over the face of the track as ticking hi-hats keep time. 'Source' is a bunch one with lithe pads and silky drum loops working you into a hypnotic state and 'Radiant' closes out with some kicking broken beats for a more direct vibe.
Review: We love a trip to Planet Rhythm because it always results in hearing some fad-free, high-quality techno from key players. DBFB is behind this new white slab of wax and it starts with the hammering drum funk and rippling synth lushness of 'Stroke' before progressing into the pulsing late-night sounds of dubby cut 'Rummage'. '91' takes it back to a simpler time when jacked drums and molten dub chords are all you need for a good time and 'Resistance' shuts down with a more raw edge and driving, percussive techno slammer.
Review: Planet Rhythm help lay down 'Catalyst', the latest from producer DBFB. Four ineffable techno cuts are heard in quick synchrony, be they the title track or, yes, 'Ineffable' on the A - both evincing that mercilessly uniform feel of ultra-mechanised, ultra-fantastical, ultra-formal techno - or 'Penumbra' and 'Luminescence' on the B, which open up the floodgates ever so slightly to reveal just a hint of ricocheting light.
Review: Karol Mozgawa is Polish techno talent Deas, and he brings his class to Planet Rhythm here, although it's Ferdinger remix of 'Dissociation' which gets things underway. It's a speedy and supple techno pile-driver with euphoric chords sure to elevate the 'floor. '8 AM' is much more mechanical and industrial with unrelenting drums and textured hooks peeling off the beats. 'Dissociation' in original form is a classic bit of soulful hi-tek Motor City goodness and 'Error' closes with some raved up synth madness and super-sized hi hats.
Review: Deas is the Greek producer now based in Krakow with a relentless, prolific body of work behind him. Since he first signed with Planet Rhythm in 2019 it's been hard to keep up, but the quality doesn't dip so the onus is on you to stay in the loop. His fourth release of 2023 kicks off with the pressure cooker, strobing pulse of 'Black Air' before pirouetting into the cyclical head trip of 'Tanzhaus' So far, so solid. 'Dark Line' on the flip fires off nervy bleeps on top of a thunderous rhythm section and 'Cut' completes the picture with a huge monotone arp hitting around the low mids and some Detroit-style stabs sneaking in up top for a true roof-lifting moment to peak any self-respecting techno set.
Review: Rotterdam label Planet Rhythm has snapped up some searing tech from relative newcomers Dynamic Forces here. The electrifying duo are one again not mucking about here as they serve up some pumping techno bangers that have a playful heart and plenty of great designs buried deep in their unrelenting grooves. 'New Set Up' for example is backlit by a nice heavenly synth glow and 'Plague' is a real head wrecker with twisted leads and super sized hi hats. 'Tango' is a minimal number that moves like a cat on a hot tin roof and seems to get ever quicker throughout.
Review: The Between Two Seconds EP on Planet Rhythm delivers four dub-heavy techno tracks primed for war on the dancefloor. Side-1 begins with OFF/GRID's 'Between Two Seconds,' a hard-hitting percussive dub techno track that sets a robust tone. Following is Antic Soul's 'Free From You,' a high-energy banger with intense chord work. It's a peak-time track designed to bring down the house. On Side-2, DBFB's 'Murky' embodies its name with an underwater dub groove that delves into deep, subterranean soundscapes. Gockel's 'Night Mute' closes the EP with a powerful chord progression and an old-school piano breakdown that blends seamlessly into a frenzy of techno madness. Between Two Seconds EP is great for those who appreciate the darker, more intense sides of dub and techno.
Ramon Tapia - "Fear" (Dynamic Forces remix) (5:05)
Review: Netherlands techno titan Planet Rhythm goes full percussive gas giant on their latest V/A, 'Friction', a motorsport motivator full of accelerometric elan - one of several V/As to grace their revving catalogue in recent times. Ramon Tapia leads the motorcade with 'Friction', a stabbing aerator full of overtop claps and rims, while Louis Lp's 'Radioactivity' unsettles with its seething high ringing and affectively isolated chord-stab-melody. Deas' 'Hard Dreams' nods to the real, unshakeably material core of dreams, with its rancorous full-tone acids, while Ramon Topia closes with 'Fear', a restless, chord-throttling, hard trancey, speed demonic rally racer.
Review: Planet Rhythm's third transmission is another various artists' affair that takes no prisoners. This is straight-ahead techno that is proud of its perfect planed linear loops and ability to get you in a mediative head space. Erdem Yetim kicks off with the seriously weighty 'Perfect Silence' and its panel-beaten loops. Simone Tavazzi's 'Pyramid' is another hefty kicker with icy hi hat ringlets and fleshy drums while 'Das Ego' is as good as reductive dub techno gets. Dave Simon hits the nail on the head with his 'Dubby Stomper.'
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