Techno Recommendations April 2016

Review: Scientific Dreamz of U returns to Tabernacle with 4 tracks for open-hearted dancefloors.

Review: Dark Entries are simply a good record label, enough said. However, we will give you a touch of context on this latest killer, a four-tracker by the mythical Frak trio, still wearing their aluminium hats after twenty years of head-banging. "Sudden Haircut" has been recorded exclusively for the label, and it's a delicious techno lick with a crescendo of XOXBOX acid, while both "Synthfrilla" and "Synthgok" were recorded in 2010, and have previously appeared on the much coveted Sex Tags Mania label out of Bergen, Norway - both essential bangers. The finale is in the shape of "First Glimt I Ogat", another of Frak's classic drum-led house weavers that works both on its own and mixed into just about anything. Recommended gear - be quick!

Review: Given that he's always approached life with a cheery gusto, there's something rather ironic about Tim 'Love' Lee being involved in making a track called "Living Is Serious Business". Happily, he has man-of-the-moment Aaron 'Fit' Siegel by his side. The duo's original version is something of a trippy, late-night treat, with dubbed-out keys and percussive flourishes riding a dark Detroit bassline and fizzing, Motor City techno groove. It sounds like something that the brothers Fett would release on Sex Tags Mania, which is definitely a bonus in our book. Carl Craig does a sterling job on his flipside remix, retaining some of the original's eccentricity while adding a sweet melodiousness and production polish all of his own.

Review: Crete's Lena Platonos is a Goddess of the piano, and her illustrious career spans over thirty years. Having reissued the excellent Platonos album Galop last year, Dark Entries return with another dose of Lena goodness, transforming her gentle harmonics into dancefloor bliss. The culprits are Tel Aviv's Red Axes, who start their thrashing by moulding "Witches" into a deep, sleek, and masterfully contained groove featuring the artiste's vocals at the helm - perfectly detuned and distorted. "No9" is a broken shred of steely drums and bass, while "And We Hear I Love You" goes for an industrial approach, and "Liqueur Ruby" for the lo-fi and mystical. Warmly recommended.

Review: There is little to say about Rod Modell's Deepchord project apart from the fact that it has been one of the most consistent techno projects of the last ten to fifteen years. The man has done it all and seen it all, landing on labels such as Modern Love, echospace, his own Deepchord, of course, and even Scotland's long-running Soma. He's back on the latter with three aptly mental slices of dub techno, with "Exploring The North" dominating the A-side with a fast yet subtle bass drum surrounded by an ocean of masterful sonics that have been transformed thanks to the mounds of effects laid upon them. "Pinewood Lodge" is a similar sort of beast, and it reminds us of an early-morning rave-up on some far-away planet, while "Shot Point" is for the real dub enthusiasts, a simple sea of delayed harmonies woven together by sounds of the ocean.

Review: After 19 years in the game, techno veteran Jens "Lowtec" Kuhn is still going strong. While he's recently been in a nostalgic mood - as reissues of early material prove - Kuhn is still capable of producing fresh, high quality material. There's much to enjoy about this first EP for new Malmo label Blundar, from the loud tape hiss, spooky melodies and weirdo ambient dub intent of "Track 2", to the moody, early Autechre throb of Skam-ish closer "Track 4". Dancefloor-minded thrills come in the shape of hypnotic opener "Track 1" - all unsettling, one-note chords, restless rhythms and distant electronics - and the hard-to-pigeonhole madness of the schizophrenic "Track 3".

Review: Some of the less charitable critics out there referred to Juan Atkins and Mortiz Van Oswald's side-project as 'boredomland'. While the pair's debut album under this name was a largely sedate affair, on the evidence of this single, they will be opting for a more engaging approach for the follow-up. It's not hard to hear both producers' influence on "Riod"; Van Oswald's love of layered textures and hollowed out drums comes up against Atkins's vivid melodies and synths from outer space. On the alternate version they venture even farther down the dreamy route, with hypnotic chords guiding the way.

Review: Revered Berlin podcast series Reclaim Your City now has a label and this 12" makes it four releases deep. Much likes its podcast, it focuses on the more hypnotic and atmospheric strains of techno. Quite fitting then that Evigt Moerker appears with his truly ethereal and immersive "Dromsen" which will trance you out and make you feel like you're floating upwards to the light like an Edit Select track. Fellow Swede and Northern Electronics mainstay Acronym serves up some more of his trademark atmospheric tribalism on "Across The Baltic Sea": this guy's a modern master in the making; what more can we say! On the flip, Finnish hypnotic techno legend Samulli Kempi gives us the rather Jeff Mills sounding bleep-fest that is "Cekis" and fellow Deep Space Helsinki cohort Juho Kusti appears also with the fierce yet restrained "In Dream We Swim In Fountains" a real highlight on here; this is well executed techno!

Review: Vivod move into their next series of releases with Portuguese maestro Photonz at the helm. A 4 tracker of dark house that effortlessly slip into the label catalogue entitled Lotus Wheel On My Orion. Beautiful packaging again this time with full printed sleeve.

Review: French producer Jeanson Antonin aka Antigone represents the new wave of techno artists, and he has made his mark on labels like Token and Demented. Saudade is his follow up to his 2015 debut on Kr!z imprint and it showcases why he is held in high regard. "Night Adrift" is a tense, tough roller, its metallic drums precisely crafted. On the flip, he delivers "Hiraeth"; there, the rhythm is intricate yet also dense and robust, with a tonal bleep fading in and out of the arrangement and the listener captivated by the few elements that Antonin has seamlessly brought together to have such an impact.

Review: Chicago producer M50, aka Area, and hypnotic techno don Donato Dozzy inaugurate new mysterious imprint Tesuji. On the A side Area tears it up on "Entireless," an industrial strength monster with grinding and razor sharp synth textures buzzing about the place in restrained fury and reminiscent of Regis or more recently Perc. On the flip Signor Dozzy serves up a surprisingly fierce yet restrained effort that's powered by all the atmosphere and tunnelling vision that he's renowned for. Sure he had to work some pretty intense source material, but he's no doubt made this one his own!

Review: This duo is not from Massachusetts, rather Turin, Italy and focus on psychedelic / acid / techno vibes according to their Soundcloud profile; quite an apt description. They have appeared on labels like Involve and Enemy previously and now Germany's Odd Even for the Oblivion EP. "Nightcall" has a taste for the acid life that pushes that 303 to it's full limit like an Acid Test record over a tough beat, but it's the title track which really nails it: this is droning and hypnotic techno further fuelled by a well-executed acid snarl and a ferocious and shuffling rhythm. On the flip "Split String" sounds like a fierce Jeff Mills 909 live drum solo but then that chiming synth melody comes through with those claps on the kick, sounding more like a Rodhad cut. Great stuff!

Review: 400, 12" 180g, hand stamped, individually numbered records, single press only.

Review: Last year Berlin institution Ostgut Ton marked their ten-year anniversary with an extensive 30 track compilation housed across the width of ten 12"s and packed neatly in a rather fancy looking box set. Long since sold out, Ostgut have done the right thing by commencing a series of individual 12" reissues featuring all of the music for the label fans who missed out first time around. After Eins and Zwei, we arrive at Zehn / Drei which features a triplet of modern techno productions from four of the label's closest associates. Up top Len Faki remixes the LB Dub Corp and Function collaboration "Roller", adding a subtle few notches of intensity to the original, whilst Dave Sumner goes alone on the lead B-side track "DX3_Analog_Bass_Seq". Lastly Substance aka DJ Pete offers up "Keine Angst," a fleet-footed tribal stomper and jacking vocal samples.

Review: The latest 12" from Lucy's Stroboscopic Artefacts label pits two heavyweights of modern electronics against each other in Kangding Ray and Rrose. The pair may possess strong associations with Raster Noton and Sandwell District respectively, but they've become increasingly part of the Stroboscopic family in the past few years. Ray takes the lead with title track "Ardent" and it's a chance for him to engage in a style of epic techno away from the more conceptual bent of his output for Raster Noton. There's a sensation of magnitude to Rrose's "Swallows" that is apparent as soon as the music begins to swell upwards from the depths of the channels and unfurls into some eight minutes of waveforms that that multiply and disintegrate with a real elegance. Oh to hear this one on an appropriate soundsystem.

Review: Ostgut Ton reach the midway, or Funf, point of their programme of 12" issues from last year's mammoth Zehn boxset which draws for the contributions from DVS1, Answer Code Request and the Dutch connection Doms & Deykers. DVS1 is up first with "Ecks", a blinding little DJ tool rife with skittering drums and trademark touches of psychedelia, whilst Answer Code Request's "Zeitspielraum" has a touch of the Underworld classic "Rez" to it. Plenty of broken drums too, naturally! Martyn and Steffi have the keys to the B-side and they use the space to lay down their own breakbeat house epic "Whirling" which bodes well for the mooted Doms & Deykers album that is supposed to be out this year.

Review: Florian Meyer is one of the most experimental artists working in dance music and Gammellan shows why he enjoys that status. The follow-up to 2015's Hexentrix on Berceuse Heroique, it sees him take influence from the Indonesian music referenced in the title to construct a dense, percussive rhythm track replete with chiming, melodic riffs that glisten like dew on a lawn at sunrise. The label has also commissioned a great remix; Acido and SUEd pair Dresvn draw on inspiration from the shimmering melodies of early to mid-90s Warp's back catalogue to create a version that teems with intricate melodies and dramatic strings.

Review: Having previously kept his pet project Bintus on the Power Vacuum homestead, Milo Smee aligns with UAE label Bedouin for the superbly named Reincarnated Savage EP. While there can often be a slightly scary amount of distortion shaping out the Bintus sound, the lead track on the record is finely honed, pummelling electro of the highest order, albeit with plenty of unhinged noises zipping around in the mix. Fear not red-line lovers, for there's still ample room for overloaded madness on the flipside by way of balancing out the release. Smee's effort lands in the midst of a flurry of activity for Bedouin, who have put out some great sounds this year from Healing Force Project, Ekman and many more besides. And yes, the killer artwork is by Skull Disco designer and all round aesthete Zeke Clough!

Review: Gravity Graffiti is reborn from the unknown space with this explosive split EP. Two jazz-influenced gems by Marcello Napoletano and Richeart through the roots of rhythm! On the A side the third chapter of Ra Toth's saga, after Mathematics and Berceuse Heroique, with a diabolic trance dance. Flip side for a killing-edge banger by the emerging producer Richeart, a new definition of Acid Jazz. Let the spirit move you! Supported by Jamal Moss, Funkineven, Soichi Terada, Raybone Jones, John Swing and Robert Crash.

Review: It's been a long time between drinks for Dennis Van Gemert, whose last 12" under the Area Forty_One alias dropped some three years ago. This second installment in the Nocturnal Passions series picks up where the last one left off, effortlessly joining the dots between classic Detroit techno, Drexciyan electro and glistening IDM. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the rolling, deep space bliss of 4/4 roller "Voyage" and horizontal, deep techno bliss of "Consolation", to the grandiose, intergalactic ambience of "Orbiting". Best of all, though, is "Nocturnal Passions Part II", a sprightly electro jam that gets just the right balance between dark foreboding and shimmering Motor City futurism.

Review: Woof! Lovefingers clearly has more music pencilled in for release on ESP Institute than he knows what to do with it! The latest 12" of a supremely busy 2016 sees the LA label seek out the refined house music sculpting talents of Frankfurt's Benedikt Frey, a producer who has been quite active himself over the past 12 months or so. Some three tracks deep, The Lobbyist offers a nice overview of Frey's talents as a producer with the title track a foray into stomping, unpredictable techno tension replete with some strange vocals reminiscent of Phil Daniels' turn in Blur track "Parklife". Fellow Frankfurtite TCB colludes on the heat-treated, murky house cut "Cupids Delight" whilst closer "Gravel" is a loose percussive number that eases down the intensity levels to 'factor: breeze'.

Review: Since launching their career with a hypnotic 12" on Crosstown Rebels back in 2014, Swiss duo Azimute has done their own thing, establishing their own label in order to further their cause. Clearly, Derrick May was impressed, because he's decided to put out their latest track, "Paradox". In many ways, it's an unusual release for Transmat, as it contains little of the label's trademark retro-futurism, and instead delivers the kind of restless, late night techno grooves more associated with German imprints. It is, though, rather good, building in intensity throughout via creepy riffs, unsettling electronics and a moody bassline.

Review: For the first vinyl release on Sound & Object we are thrilled to have Chicago resident Area bring us the EP Forbidden Plateau. In Forbidden Plateau Area is able to create a mood of equal parts confident swagger and tentative emotion. Rich pads, loping piano melodies and robust rhythms swirl and mix to land somewhere between house and techno. The 3 original tracks - and a remix from Mikaere - create an EP that is full of space, details, bright edges and dark corners all framed by lively beats.