Juno Recommends Electro September 2018

Review: The remarkable rise (sorry) of Reedale Rise continues apace, as the Frustrated Funk regular pitches up on Kondi with an undeniably impressive debut album. As you'd expect, it's rooted in his usual brand of high quality electro, but there's plenty of variety to be found across the 11 tracks. So while "Kerris" and "Distance Between Waves" take an angular and spacey approach to dancefloor electro, the mood elsewhere is undoubtedly deeper, warmer and even more melodious. This is deep techno to stir the heart and head as much as the hips and feet, with "Canopy of Light", "Astral Flex" and opener "Luminous Air" counting amongst the most picturesque and emotion-rich deep electro cuts we've heard this year.

Review: Although still little known in Europe, Nite Fleit is a headline attraction in her native Australia, where dancers flock to hear her driving and dystopian DJ sets. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that fellow Aussie Mall Grab has signed her to his fast-rising Steel City Dance Discs imprint. This debut 12" is rather impressive, all told, with highlights including the ragged electro/acid/EBM fusion of opener "Psychic and Mental", the ludicrously bass-heavy, acid-electro rumble of "Little Friend" and the throbbing, acid-fired electronic psychedelia of triumphant EP closer "Partly Sunny". Those looking for something warmer and breezier should also check the breakbeat-driven dreaminess of "Scram".

Review: 2013's Das Heise Experiment album was one of Robert Witschakwoski's wilder efforts under the storied Exaltics alias. This belated second volume is perhaps not quite as intense - there are less acid-fired workouts, for starters - but it is just as impressively mind-altering in tone. Although rooted in machine electro, the 12 obliquely-titled tracks draw on a myriad of influences, resulting in a largely dark, moody and clandestine mixture of dark and paranoid ambience, panicked IDM, punchy, Drexciya-style missives, end-of-days mid-tempo techno and fuzzy, L.I.E.S/Vatican Shadow style lo-fi murk. As you'd expect, the whole thing hangs together brilliantly, sounding not unlike the soundtrack to an imaginary sci-fi horror set on a haunted spaceship.

Review: Hot on the heels of his deliciously wild, psychedelic Play album on SEQUALOG - a fine collection of acid-fired breakbeat, electro and off-kilter electronica - TC80 pops up on Blank State with a quartet of club-ready cuts. He begins with the punchy, all-action warmth of "Virtual Cascades" - all shimmering synthesizer melodies and rubbery synth bass - before peppering a bustling 4-4 rhythm track with ghostly chords and sci-fi electronics. "Positronic" channels the spirit of Kraftwerk and drags the robots kicking and screaming into the 21st century, while "Singularity" doffs a cap to Detroit techno whilst harnessing the spacey warmth of classic British tech-house.

Review: More from regular studio partners Assembler Code and Jenson Interceptor, whose previous joint EPs for Boyznoize, Private Persons and Cultivated Electronics were little less than essential. First, turn your attention to superb opener "Random Pain", a melodious and evocative deep electro cut that morphs into something dirtier, darker and far more hard-hitting midway through. "HRL6" is altogether moodier and more Drexciyan in tone, while flipside opener "Drive Shift" fixes elastic electronics and gently pulsing motifs to an altogether more relaxed and rolling 4/4 electro groove. It comes accompanied by an altogether darker and moodier remix by The Hacker that boasts raw electronics, spacey bleeps and a slightly paranoid vibe.

Review: It all started here; one of the landmark releases that sparked the tidal wave of legendary electronic music to emerge from Detroit, featuring Juan Atkins alongside Richard Davis taking their lead from Kraftwerk, post punk, synth pop and industrial and coming up with a distinct Motor City twist that would eventually morph into techno. Just listen to the likes of "Cosmic Raindance" and you'll hear the future echoes of the Belleville Three and the scores of music that came after. This is an essential milestone for any avid electronic music fan to keep a hold of.

Review: Ben Westbeech continues to impress under the Breach alias, a pseudonym used for the Bristol producer's most dancefloor-focused material. In the past, much of this has been weighty and dancefloor focused, but in recent times Westbeech has served up far more melodious fare. "SOST", the track that opens the latest Breach 12", takes this approach, peppering a relaxed, funk-fuelled electro rhythm with cascading synthesizer melodies and attractively spacey electronics. The skewed deep electro vibe can also be heard on similarly attractive flipside "Turtle Dance", which fixes the far-sighted sounds of IDM/electro sort B12 to a rubbery synth bassline and punchy machine beats.