Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Italian turbo talent Earwax brings his techno perspective to this new one from the Dolly TS series. 'Upstairs Downstairs' soon sweeps you up with its buoyant and bouncy techno drums and wavy cosmic synth lines. 'Protection' then gets more dark and heads down with a menacing low-end throb and increasingly edgy percussive through-line. There is comic tension and turbulence to 'Key Of Life' with its unsettling and eerie synths and banging drums, and last of all is 'At The Door', which races on with hints of original 90s techno rawness. Very useful, high-functioning techno.

Review: Astonishingly, 18 years has now passed since Gilles Aiken - probably more celebrated these days for his work under the alternate Desert Sky alias - first offered up off-kilter tech-house tracks as Edward. Last year, he impressed with a wonderfully deep and unctuous EP on deep house imprint Smallville; here, he makes his bow on another must-check label, Kalahari Oyster Cult. In keeping with the imprint's love of all things trippy and otherworldly, opener 'Tentacle' sees him wrap chiming lead lines, psychedelic synth motifs, weird noises and layers of percussion to a chunky, locked-in house groove. Aiken then goes off piste via a skewed, druggy and at times dreamy tech-house remix of Trybet's 'Moodsetter'. Arguably best of all though is impossible-to-pigeonhole flip-side 'Dr Octo', which is immersive, unsettling, tactile and eccentric in equal measure.

Review: Swedish label Borft has been digging in its archives again to assemble another volume of what it sees as its most classic cuts. And we don't disagree with these, which are taken from releases that originally landed between 1998 and 1999. Egglady's- 'Prinsessan Och Agget 1' is well-swung and deftly dubbed out with lovely analogue drum sounds cutting through. Nikolas Rowland's 'Headspin' is another smooth one with molten chords and a firm low-end drive. 'Puffy Nipples' from Kord is a wonky number with an unhinged charm and stomping groove that will stand out in any set while Crinan closes with the classy and raw house, dub and tech fusion that is 'Suit 61'.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve split at the top but otherwise in excellent condition***


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: Oscar Escapa continues to carve out his space in the techno scene with his latest offering, a pair of tracks that are as compelling as they are inexorable. Hailing from Barcelona, Escapa has made a name for himself with productions that blend hard-hitting rhythms with atmospheric intricacy. On 'Enemy Returns', he delivers an unremitting onslaught of hyperactive techno, driven by a pounding kick drum, a gnarly bass riff and dissonant industrial stabs that dart in and out with menacing precision. The track's chaotic energy is held together by subtle shifts in texture, creating an almost hypnotic effect despite its aggression. Flip-side, Escapa teams up once again with Joanna Dark for 'It's My Life', a track that balances industrial intensity with an odd sense of melody. Dark's robotic vocal, repeating the track's title like a mantra, contrasts sharply with the swirling percussive layers and fuzzy bass arp. The track's unsettling atmosphere is heightened by unexpected guitar notes, which provide a brief respite from the techno madness. Escapa once again proves his mastery of balancing fierce, implacable energy with nuanced, finely-tuned composition, solidifying his role as a rising star in the genre.

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: Headek Records second release is as good as its first, with The Eyes of Goa's Syncrosonix EP diving into deep, hypnotic Goa trance sounds. Both standout tracks-'Syncrosonix' and 'Goagoa'-come in dual versions that merge the raw energy of classic Goa with bleep-laced techno futurism. It's a heady blend of bold basslines and acid-drenched sequences on both parts of 'Syncrosonix' with turbocharged drums sweeping you off your feet. 'Goagoa' is all shimmering bleeps and sleek synths so the result is a high-intensity, time-warping experience that pulls you into a vortex of rhythm and light that will expand your mind. These tunes really celebrate trance's timeless transformative power.

Review: Grenoble DJ and producer The Hacker, known for his dataphile dark trance excursions, teams up with newcomer Endrik Schroeder for a full-blown creative grand slam, 'Puissance 4', betraying decades' worth learnedness in the knob-twiddling manual arts. The title track here builds from a classic beat into a euphoric hoover-rave crescendo - luring dancers in with hypnotic acid textural decoys - but then finds mercy on said prey, giving the dance what it needs: a rave riff on loan from heaven. 'The Voyagers' contrasts with an 808 soul slapper, its sensuality and understated heavenliness recalling obscure 7th Plain releases.

Review: Serious seriality from the OHM Series, an imprint and sole patent owner of the rare, aurally administered chemical known as Omega X. The alphabetic Greek letter ohm determines impedance / resistance in an electrical circuit, and so too do each of the dub techno tracks released on the OHM Series amount to tergiversating transductions, their chillout chord-knocks and hardened beats never quite letting us settle. Though titles like 'Innocence' and 'Downtime' persist here, the tracks perhaps inadvertently prove that flow is impossible without resistance: Separation's track is especially unorthodox in its strange reordering of phaser, pan and saturation effects on the pad-stab, which produces an unusual swirling effect.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Uruguayan label Eviterno Records makes a striking debut with a split EP featuring esteemed producers Stonem and Elias Sternin, and it's another that makes us take note of what is going on down there in South America. Stonem takes the A-side with two meticulously crafted tech house tracks. 'Banana Afair' energises with deep basslines while 'Jolgorio' fuses acid sequences and intricate drum patterns that embody the Uruguayan groove. On the B-side, Sternin delivers 'Quema Madera,' a hypnotic, acid-driven cut with commanding basslines before closing with 'Acufenos,' a melodic yet intense finale. This debut release has our attention and locked in for what comes next.