Back catalogue: All genres

Review: "Right, OK!" Worm Records offer up their second various artists release for 2024, coming just a neat two months after September's inaugural release featuring Ruf Dug, Wallace, The Mole and Gallegos. Now the label turn their hand to a completely different league of artists, convoking Boulderhead, Wooka, DMX Krew and Jorg Kuning for yet another star-studded audio-strudel, spanning both chilled and heated ends of the spectrum. Boulderhead's A1 is the ludic highlight among the four, a charming Valley Girl voice peppering the vocal track with exceptional backhandedness; we hear talk of floating on clouds and an affect of casual acceptance behind the glitch-science, suggesting vibes of bounciness and breeze. Wooka goes sillier speed garage on 'Make Yourself Comfortable', a challenging charge given the track's otherwise rather jagged jam; Krew and Koenig close things off on a comparatively calm note, the former's B1 opting for a set of bruk-en beats and wet synth yaps, and the latter's 'Imbolc' quiescing with clement Rhodeses and homely drum machines.

Review: The Distorsion camp offers up its first sampler as a way of teasing you with the sort of quality sounds and artists it has on its roster. First up is a three-way collab between Citybox, Hankook & Orebeat whose 'Dangerous Changes' is an intense breakbeat workout for the peak time. Orebeat & Alex Clubbers keep the energy levels high and inject early 00s video-game style synths, Orebeat & Citybox keep it dark and raw with 'Gangsta' and Orebeat & JottaFrank laced up their thrilling breaks with acid lines and sleazy vocals on "Noche De Paris.' This is potent stuff for strobe-lit floors.

Review: Furthur Electronix's first two Furthur Journeys Into compilations tune plenty of heads and shift plenty of copies. The third one keeps the quality levels high with more explorations around the periphery of underground electronics. Chris Coco opens with a soothing synth sound before Jake Slazenger brings crystalline synths and abstract modulations to the mid-tempo '168B.' There is more pace and twisted acid energy to Global Goon's untitled contribution and then old school jungle comes to the fore on the super stylish and atmospheric Gavin Masih cut. Monika Subrtova's 'Alata' is a serene and widescreen ambient synthscape that brings things to a suitably poignant close.

Review: Spain seems to be turning out an ever more vital array of labels that delve into the vast world of electro. And here we have the grand arrival of another, Follow Your Mind, which offers up some nice cerebral styles from Samuel Jabba. 'Memorias Del Futuro' is raw and direct with frazzled pads and snappy drums, 'Retrospection' (Inferno mix) has a throwback sci-fi vibe with visceral synths firing across the linear drums and 'Lost In Space brings that nice sci-fi edge. Last of all is 'Vision Of U' with its silky arps and snappy drums all topped with some cool vocoder vocals.

Review: Igor Jadranin returns with another interstellar EP that redefines genre boundaries. Blending boogie basslines, futuristic synths, vintage drum machines and lush flute, piano and vibraphone melodies, the producer delivers cosmic electro-boogie with a playful edge. Tracks like 'Gangster Electro' bring hard-hitting beats, while remixes from Byron The Aquarius and A Vision of Panorama expand the palette. Byron's haunting 'Midnight' mixes crunch with eerie vibes while Panorama's Nu-Balearic twist adds sunrise warmth to the original. It all adds up to a bold 12" from the much-loved Chicago label.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, record slightly warped***


Jinje is a solo project from Lee Malcolm, a founding member of the Leeds-based experimental band Vessels. His music in solo mode is just as singer and hard to categorise as with his band and here on Mesh he veers between electronic, synthetic and organic sound worlds with driving breakbeats topped with gorgeous string sounds, hype-real synths and a shimmering sense of sonic futurism that is awash with melody. These are hugely detailed tracks but the overall picture is never confused as his arrangements ebb and flow with great clarity and make both a physical and emotional impact.

Review: For the fourth release in the electro-acid V/A series 'The Electro Guilde', Zodiak Commune present a three-split 12" from the combined forces of Johnfaustus, Akkaelle and AXIS3340, with a doombound selection of ominous tunes in the style. 'Deimos' and 'Dione' are Johnfaustus' opening odysseys and the latter especially blindsides us with its strained synth strings and trepidatiously tuned sixteenths. B-sider 'The Plants Move' is pitiless by comparison, annihilating everything in its path with bodying impacts and piquant pluck-slips; 'Ashes', on the close, incorporates guttural, stretchy sound design below a skeletal, atrial mix over and above.

Review: A once noted outlet for fine prog house, Powerloader Records has been away for a while but now raises like a phoenix with some fresh tunes for big dancefloor action. 'Snakebite Sounds' is a trippy cut with trippy leads and vocoder vocals that sound ghoulish and gritty. 'Bazoingazoink' is textured, kicking prog and tech fused into a surging and future sound while 'Glass Skin' is a more widescreen sound with some distant synth melodies and slick metallic beats all getting you into the groove. 'Where My Ghouls At?' is the best of the lot - a nice pumping garage house cut with a nasty bassline.

Review: Over the years, France's Favorite Recordings has been very good at sniffing out lesser-known European gems from the disco and boogie era, mostly for superb and must-check compilations. Recently, they decided to make some of these licensed obscurities available on a series of 12" singles, where a louder, club-heavy cut is preferable to DJs. The latest sees them offer-up two lesser-known Belgian gems produced in the mid 1980s by future new beat don Tony Baron. Jonathan Jr's 'Hanging On To You' is warm, shuffling and synth heavy, with the artist's soulful and jazzy lead vocal sitting alongside squelchy synth-bass, Nile Rodgers style guitars and post-electro beats. Special Occasion's 'Flying To Santa Barbara', meanwhile, sits somewhere between 80s soul, AOR synth-pop and sax-sporting B-movie soundtrack goodness.

Review: This compilation is a sonic tapestry woven from the threads of diverse electronic soundscapes, each track carefully crafted to evoke the liminal space between dreams and reality. It's an invitation to immerse oneself in a world of intricate textures, hypnotic rhythms, and evocative melodies, where the boundaries between genres blur and the music takes on a life of its own. Jonny Rock's 'Legenda' sets the tone with its purposeful groove, its driving energy balanced by a sense of introspective depth. Thanksmate's 'Take A Chance' adds a meditative touch, its gentle melodies and atmospheric textures inviting contemplation and reflection. Dobao's 'Oceano' plunges into a deep, liquid dimension, its swirling synths and hypnotic rhythms creating a sense of weightless immersion. Giammarco Orsini's 'Whirlwind' picks up the pace, its pulsating energy and infectious groove propelling the listener forward. Hiver's 'The Frontier' explores the tension and release of electronic landscapes, its dynamic shifts and evolving textures keeping the listener on the edge of their seat. Sam Goku's 'Lucid Oscillation' closes the compilation with a sense of ethereal beauty, its airy melodies and floating notes leaving a lingering sense of wonder.

Review: Originally released back in 2008, Cultivated Electronics's second 12" features still-fresh tracks from label head Sync 24 alongside the debut release from Matt Whitehead. It was a classic back then and it remains so which is why it now gets reissued. 'Resynth' is pure electronic madness with mad inventive rhythms. The EP also includes a contribution from Pyramid Transmissions label owner ADJ who showed his class on 'Another Level' and Brighton-based acid producer Junq keeps it classy on 'From Below'. This high-energy collection pushes the boundaries of techno and is a no-brainer for fans of bold, analogue-driven sound.

Review: Passing Currents aims to stand out from the predictable by offering a deeply human touch in its music. This five-tracker backs that up by melding academic expertise with dancefloor intuition and the A-side features txted by Phil Moffa remixed by Yamaha DSP coder okpk after they met during doctoral studies, they flip technical mastery into bass-driven energy while Atrevido' fuses California warmth with analogue electro, Josh Dahlberg's rediscovered 2009 electro gem, 'Ass On The Floor', still bangs and Detroit's Kevin Reynolds delivers hypnotic grooves before Hazmat Live pushes boundaries with a sound rooted in soulful, experimental innovation.