Techno Recommendations July 2016

Review: Superstar Eric Prydz is back under his lesser known Cirez D alias for some slamming peak time techno on his Mouseville imprint. The brutal "In The Reds' lives up to its name with its hoovering bassline and slamming beat engineered for peak-time festival main stage madness! He shows a bit more restraint on the flip; "Century Of The Mouse" burns away with a grinding arpeggio, faint mentasms in the background and the metallic hiss of the 909 lurking in background. Hard!

Review: Robert Hood's Floorplan alias has been a real hit over the years. Not content with captivating audiences for two decades with his minimal-futurist hypnotism on M-Plant, Floorplan explored his love of sampling, bringing back the vibe of early noughties DJ tools that looped up funk and disco classics for infectious dancefloor dynamics. The Victorious LP is the project's second full length since 2013's Paradise and is co-produced by his daughter Lyric. It features the absolutely massive "Tell You No Lie" which works those loops from the 1977 disco classic "Lovin' You Is Really My Game" by Brainstorm to full effect.

Review: Following acclaimed releases by Jeremiah R and HVL, Organic Analogue is proud to present an extensive new release from a true underground hero of UK electronic music, DJ Guy. The tracks on the Structures 12" prove that the same spellbinding atmosphere, swooning melodic content and crafty arrangement flex is as present in Guy's contemporary work as it is in his earliest tape rips. Elements of Drexciyan electro and UK ambient techno can be felt throughout, but they're delivered with an equal dose of ingenuity that is all his own. As well as his plentiful techno output, Guy equally turned his hand to some crucial experimental jungle over the years. Rhythms 94/99 harks back to the era of Black Secret Technology, Plug and Depth Charge, all phased, diced up amens and dreamy pads that form a link to Guy's 4/4 work while once more demonstrating how on point his productions were at such a seminal time. The tape they have put together contains ten tracks recorded by Guy between 1994 and 1999 as well as an additional remix by White Peak that draws upon all the tracks for source material.

Review: Originally released back in '91 on Naples label Underground Music Movement, Stolen Moments was the sole 12" produced by Emanuele Luzzi under the Onirico name and was picked up by the likes of Derrick May, Speedy J and Steve Rachmad. The four-track 12" has remained a curio for fans of techno from that era and now gets a timely re-issues thanks to the good people at Flash Forward. The title track is a delightful little number, full of dreamy acid and slow enough to be played in a house set and is matched by the skittering bliss of final track "Echo". Sandwiched inbetween these are two cuts that see Luzzi adhering more to the techno template of the time, and it's really not hard to see why Derrick May was dropping this when you listen to the deep futurism of "Onirico."

Review: According to Infrastructure NYC head Function, this compilation was compiled like an album and involves not only the core group of artists but also connects the dots between the label's past, his Berghain 07 mix CD for Ostgut Ton, the legendary Sandwell District days and the respective history of the artists. Infrastructure Facticity spans "a narrative ranging from lush, ambient electronics and post-club diversions, to contemporary club techno and back again." British artist Robert McNally provides the artwork and musically the highlights are not so much the dancefloor ready bangers, which are mainly quite good, rather the moments of restraint such as Vatican Shadow's brooding and almost Boards Of Canada sounding "Swords Over Paradise", the slow burning reduced acid of Cassegrain & Tin Man's "Open Sea" and Rrose's finest moment yet, "Cephalon", which can barely be described in words!

Review: Having previously delivered two moody, dystopian EPs for L.I.E.S, Taipei-based Malaysian Tzusing is now an established member of the label's growing roster of artists. A year on from his last missive for Ron Morelli's imprint, he returns with A Name Out Of Place Pt III. As usual, he's in a dark mood, delivering a trio of tracks that bristle with pitch-black electronics, crackly drum machine hits, mind bending acid lines and metallic, industrial-influenced noises. Our pick is probably "Face Of Electric", with its' foreboding chords, warped vocal samples, wild electronics and crunchy breakbeats, but the bittersweet "Emotional Eater" and acid-flecked "R" aren't far behind.

Review: For the opening EP from Too Many Squares, Frank butters manages to gene-splice together the raw DNA from all of the ugly-beautiful sounds present in the birth of modern dance music.
"Conditioning for Solitude" is the hum of dark tubes, the slice and hiss of sharp synthesised percussion and the scream of blissful dementia. The mutant that existed for a brief and joyous frozen moment while disco was still birthing house.
"Body Burn” is the tropics with a black sun and Africanism with a stopwatch instead of a heart.
Recalling experimentalist forays by the likes of Liaisons Dangereuses, Patrick Cowley and Karen Finley, the 2 originals on offer manage to recall the raw passion of an era without feeling contrived or derivative.
The EP is rounded off by Sheila Fleurrater’s remix of “3 Minute Warning” which continues the pioneer-ist motif, albeit allying itself with a much more early industrial aesthetic.

Review: Some years back, Aleksi Perala joined forces with Rephlex co-founder Grant Wilson-Claridge to invent a custom musical scale, The Colundi Sequence, which boasts 128 frequencies "chosen via experimentation and philosophy". Perala has been using this as the basis of his attractive electronic work for some time, self-releasing 15 EPs of tracks since 2014. This epic, triple-vinyl album gathers together highlights from the previously download-only series - all with deliberately obtuse titles, made up of letters and numbers - and accurately showcases the depth and diversity of Perala's work. Clone is calling it "spiritual techno", and that's an excellent catch-all description for a set that variously touches on Motor City futurism, IDM, electro, dub techno, ambient and Rephlex-esque "braindance".

Review: Structures & Solutions: 1996-2016 presents 20 years of James Ruskin's esteemed institution. Seminal, uncompromising and forward thinking over its existence, this compilation focuses on Ruskin's many projects both solo and in collaboration with the likes of like-minded techno legends. For example with Regis on OVR's "Metal Slipper" a slow burning broken beat excursion full of attitude. Or with Minneapolis legend DVS1 on the woozy and minimal "Page 1" or as part of The Fear Ratio with Mark Broom who deliver the fine industrial trip-hop of "Lonor". Or just striking out on his own in glorious fashion like on "6teenth" which proves just why he still one of the most forward thinking producers of techno music still. Honourable mentions to a mix of old school legends and warriors of the new garde such as Steve Bicknell, Planetary Assault Systems, Lakker and Blawan.

Review: More conceptual techno from the The Wizard. Jeff Mills presents the Domino Effect, the first installment of 12" EP from Jeff Mills new solo LP, Free Fall Galaxy, the ninth chapter of his "science-fiction story" Sleeper Wakes and first since 2014's Emerging Crystal Universe. It is a sublime serving of Millsian intergalactic ambience on "The Hunted", while "Solar Crossroads" sees the man employ his classic, cyclical minimalism on this bleepy and hypnotic groove full of rich strings his magical 909 touch. On the flip he takes us deeper into the void on "Rabid Star Clusters" with its snarling use of 303 acid and "Triangularism" which keeps things stripped and minimal on this wonderfully executed method of trance induction. Often imitated yet never matched, Mills still has it and this EP is brilliant from start to finish. Oh... And that cover art!

Review: Shadowy Swedish duo SHXCXCHCXSH are back with another full length on Shifted esteemed Avian imprint, with SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs. Always the pranksters, their cryptic language pushes the threshold yet again with the LP's 15 tracks (most come in at around three minutes) taking on increasing variations of lower and upper case. Dark and challenging freeform techno that turns the usual conventions of techno on its head, featuring harsh and textural power electronics plus the blatant abuse of looping, tape delays and excessive overdrive. Deconstructed rave aesthetics drowned in field recordings and surface noise throughout: heavy!

Review: B is the first in a series of three albums that Bjarki will release on Nina Kraviz' label this year. If this first instalment is anything to go on, the Icelandic producer looks set to provide a real mixed bag. The album starts with the jarring, rave-heavy break beats of "Marsian Raver" before veering into stripped back, pounding techno ("Opalocka Acid Groove 12 Bit Mix") and the DBX, pitch-bent vocal minimalism of " Planet Earth Q94 [Live Edit]". Proving that he is a maverick, hyperactive talent, the album also features the wispy downtempo "Son Of A Son" and the grimy bass and electro ticks of " T4it 3". Heaven only knows what the next two albums will sound like.

Review: Originally released back in '91 on Naples label Underground Music Movement, Stolen Moments was the sole 12" produced by Emanuele Luzzi under the Onirico name and was picked up by the likes of Derrick May, Speedy J and Steve Rachmad. The four-track 12" has remained a curio for fans of techno from that era and now gets a timely re-issues thanks to the good people at Flash Forward. The title track is a delightful little number, full of dreamy acid and slow enough to be played in a house set and is matched by the skittering bliss of final track "Echo". Sandwiched inbetween these are two cuts that see Luzzi adhering more to the techno template of the time, and it's really not hard to see why Derrick May was dropping this when you listen to the deep futurism of "Onirico." **LTD MARBLE EDITION**

Review: Having recently devoted more of his time to the breezy, melodious bliss of the D.K project, Dang Khoa-Chau once again dons the 45 ACP alias for a more downbeat E.P on L.I.E.S. It's arguably far more accessible than his previous work for the label under the now familiar moniker, but still pleasingly left-of-centre. There's much to admire throughout, from the poignant melodies, drifting keys and spaced-out drums of "Hang In There", and Marimba-laden deep space techno of "Smoked Out", to the clarinet-laden ambient textures of bittersweet closer "Graveyard Shift". While opener "Slick Response" - a bubbling, ear-pleasing chunk of metronomic techno - feels a little more positive, it's still largely melancholic in tone.

Review: Taylor Burch and Joe Chocherell's DVA Damas project has always inhabited a sound space all of its own. While heavily influenced by post-punk rock, new wave and minimal wave synth-pop, quite a few of their records also draw on contemporary minimal techno and Visionquest style tech-house. It's the latter that comes to the fore on "Clear Cut", with Burch's stylized, groaning, Mascara-clad vocal riding a dubby, hypnotic tech-house groove and spiraling, EBM electronics. It stretches out for a mesmerizing 10 minutes, too, and subsequently overshadows the fine - but not quite as potent - bonus tracks.

Review: J ZBEL is the artist behind the Brothers From Different Mothers label out of Lyon, responsible for that absolutely mental track "How I Made My Mom and Sis' Sexbot Slaves" and now presents Hyena Sticks Head In Elephant's Butt also contender for best 12" title of 2016. The music ain't all that bad either. On the A side "Diablo Verde (live At Bordeaux)" is a serving of classic early techno that you would honestly think was a lost tape from the '90s in the vein of early Underground Resistance or Plus 8. "Nem De Porc" goes for a weird junglist flavour that's equally retro leaning. On the flip "Lauren Mysogyn" hammers the message home on this brutalist gabber stomper that absolutely blows the doors off.

Review: Tikita is a new label record label focused on body & mind music. Starting out with the deep and hypnotic tribalism of Dorisburg and Efraim Kent's "Bubblebad", Japanese legend DJ Nobu then starts trancing you out on the deep acid trip that is "Safari". On the flip we've got the Prologue affiliated Iori with "Transparent" which further explores his awe inspiring take on modern ambient music; absolutely lush this one is! Finally Neapolitan purveyors of trance induction Natural/Electronic System are back with "Emersione"; a slow burning and emotive journey with eerie pads, delayed drums and sonar blips just made for dropping out to!

Review: Since making his debut a decade ago, Belgian-in-Berlin Peter Van Hoesen has earned a reputation as one of techno's most reliable producers. Perhaps it was that reliability that persuaded Dekmantel to sign him up as the debutant of their new UFO vinyl-only series. There's naturally plenty to get excited about on Quadra, with each of the four tracks hitting the spot. "Cartesian Taiko" sounds like Derrick May reworking Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack after a few love pills, while "Duet Dub" is a crustier, more urgent affair, full of pinging electronics and post-industrial sleaze. "P2ME" laces oddball electronic bleeps and stabs over a relentless techno groove, before he breaks up the beats on the trippy-but-dense electro shuffle of "Quadra

Review: The latest release on Marcel Dettmann's label starts with a surprise; "Onto (2010 edit)" sees the MDR owner in mellow form, as warm piano keys and blissed out chords coalesce over a housey beat. It's only a temporary arrangement however, and "Escape" sees him tease out a dense, dub-coated groove and a slightly stepping rhythm. Both "Nautilus" and "Foundry" mark a return to the purist approach that inspires much of Dettmann's production and the totality of his DJing. Consisting of intricate, stripped back rhythms and ticking, bubbling percussive slivers, they are less abrasive than early MDR records and provide further evidence that Dettmann is maturing as a producer.

Review: Storming into our fifth release from the dirty shores of New Jersey, Green Village is proud to present Village Elders 001, a compilation EP featuring new material from artists who have already flown the flag for GV. The A-side is held down by the Plan B duo of DJ Spider and Dakini9, purveyors of the Metro Area's dirtiest and deepest house sounds. Spider gets toxic a second time, following his 2013 Instruction drop with 'Toxic Trace 2', a thickly layered deep house cut whose seedy percussion underbelly contrasts vividly with the more traditional deep house pads that accompany it. Dakini9's 'Lost Paradise' is dark and mysterious like its title, the hats, trumpets, and vocals emerging in tangled webs of dub effects, a strong follow-up to her dope EP for the label. Disaroen, a duo from Toronto, half of which previously appeared on GV, turns in the most barren of the four tracks, 'Serious Doorman', heads-down techno that crackles to life halfway in and an auspicious debut for a promising new group. Last is NJ heavyweight Nicuri, a rising star whose 'Ripples of Time' closes the EP in his signature searching, melodic style.

Review: Gareth 'Lumigraph' Smyth appeared to be a producer on the rise a few years back, delivering critically acclaimed outings on Mister Saturday Night, Opal Tapes and Odd Frequencies. This 12", though, is his first release in two years. Happily, he appears to have lost none of the old magic, serving up a range of tracks that sit somewhere between the distorted crustiness you'd expect from L.I.E.S or White Material, and more melodious, aesthetically pleasing fodder. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the electro and deep house influenced pulse of "Garbage 4 Garbage" and glitchy techno-funk hustle of "Spectacular Times", to the Larry Heard-goes-techno brilliance of "Bulletproof Holiday".

Review: Scottish producer Gary Beck presents Barefoot Sunday for his eponymous imprint showing his knack for peak time hypnotic techno as always. The title track's tunnelling vibe and chugging rhythm is made all the more interesting by his use of a guitar riff and soul vocal samples chopped up over the top. On the flip, who better to do the remix than Floorplan aka Robert Hood who polishes the track up perfectly on his rendition. He gets that funky and cyclical groove looped to infectious perfection, like only a Floorpan remix can. Matter of fact; it's pure genius!