Techno Recommendations September 2013

Review: As his techno repertoire grows ever stronger, Trevino makes another appearance on Martyn's 3024 label with signs that his approach to 4/4 is maturing and diversifying. The trademark snarl still sits underneath the constructions, but "Gone" is notably fluttering in its delicate synth shimmers and restrained groove. "Twelve" is a more feisty number that neatly picks up the thread from previous releases, as powerful bass swells bring in the harmony that the higher synth stabs crave. "Regnie" heads into a more esoteric kind of Detroit mentality, all searching bleeps in optimistic tones over a snaking rhythm that calls to mind the most refined of techno approaches.

Review: Following essential cuts from Jared Wilson, Marquis Hawkes, Vernon and O.D.D, Dixon Avenue Basement Jams present their first various artists release, the self-explanatory DABJ Allstars Vol 1. Two unheralded names share the billing for this one, TX Connect and CT Trax; the former delivers "TX Acid", a tuff 303 jam for sweaty basements, and "Ghetto 972", a slamming piece of house with its eye on the more raucous end of the 90s, while CT Trax presents "Redline", a driving techno belter filled with phased synths, and the standout "Jack Attack", which distils classic Dance Mania down to its most primal rhythmic elements. Probably the most ferocious missive from the Buckfast loving crew yet - essential!

Review: With their first team-up on Wild Oats still on heavy rotation, the Funkinevil pairing of Kyle Hall and FunkinEven return for another quartet of tracks combining some of the finest young minds of Detroit and London. Following an arpeggiated intro that sets the scene with its vocoder vignette, "Ignorant" provides a heavy-set piece of machine funk with some serious swing in its step; "In The Grid" meanwhile injects some serious Motor City soul into proceedings with a combination of sweeping pads and raw drum machine beats, leading into the enveloping analogue wash of "Outro". More fire from the Funkinevil guys - don't sleep.

Review: With Silent Servant having inaugurated the Jealous God label alongside the like minded Svreca, the second release sees another founder step up to the plate in the shape of James Ruskin. Taking the much less grander title of Jealous God 02, this 12" from the Blueprint boss will be of interest to fans of the Sandwell District Fabric mix, featuring "Into The Circle" amongst it's six tracks. It's also the first solo Ruskin release since his Sabre / Massk EP for Blueprint back in 2010, and it sees Ruskin return to a sound similar to that of his Fear Ratio collaboration with Mark Broom, whilst also incorporating shades of his more experimental productions for Stroboscopic Artefacts' Stellate series. The famed British DJ and techno producer supplies three full tracks, which sit alongside three shorter excerpts spread across the single 12-inch. The record comes accompanied by an "artefact" in the shape of a Silent Servant designed postcard, and a free mix CD from the Melbourne-based Moopie - who met and played with Silent Servant during a recent tour of Australia - which draws on a far-flung selection of USSR-made synthesis, gamelan-krautrock infusions and American psych-rock.

Review: If you like techno 'harder, harder, harder' then look no further than Blacknecks. Like AnD's white label series, the rule book of how to make electronic music has been thrown out of the window bursting into flames before hitting the ground. The clamour of the brilliantly titled "Death Before Eastenders" builds into a screeching fanfare of depressed horns serrated by razor sharp statics, while "Life For Rent" sounds like Norman Nodge's "Maniac" subjected to a maximum overdrive - twice. Pumping Jeff Mills loops mixed with a Regis-like aggression make up "Say Beams", while Blacknecks introduce some emotive qualities other than just slamming industrial techno in "Theme From Blacknecks".

Review: The second release for Perc Trax LTD is the first direct collaboration between friends Ali "Perc" Wells and Tom "Truss" Russell. Once again Adult Art Club's Jonny Costello has been called on contribute the sleeve art and Spiker looks as distinctive as any previous Perc Trax commission from Costello, whilst the three tracks within are a dynamic, potent combination of both producers' heavy hitting sonics. A particular highlight is the climbing rave chords and peaking acidics of "Clapacid", while the ear piercing title track and rolling "Broken" offer all the hallmarks of the fierce and industrial sounds of UK industrial techno.

Review: Pennyroyal's fourth release sees label owner Untold call upon two of the UK's most seasoned techno producers in Ben Sims and Paul Mac. The two make their full debut as Fokus Group, who to date have the one credit to their name with a remix of Mark Ambrose's Floorplan-esque "Shooting Stars". File the four track self-titled EP under party techno, as it sees Sims and Mac match the rigid techno force of Pennyroyal's previous releases, while also incorporating the label's signature bass and rave aesthetic.

Review: Stuart Argabright's overlooked work as part of Black Rain was given the attention it deserved last year when Blackest Ever Black issued Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95, a collection of material the iconic No Wave figure recorded with former Black Rain cohort Shinichi Shimokawa. Protoplasm sees Argabright return to BEB as Black Rain and it represents the first new material from this project in some 17 years. Described quite aptly as "four tracks of desolated cyberpunk techno" this collection was recorded live from the mixing desk whilst Black Rain performed at last year's Blackest Ever Black label showcase in London and offers some fascinating insight into how the forthcoming album from Black Rain which is pencilled in for an early 2014 release on BEB will turn out.

Review: A regular fixture at Hamburg's Golden Pudel club where she presides over the Birds and Other Instruments night, Helena Hauff is a killer DJ with a keen interest in classic and contemporary electro, something confirmed via the Obscure Object C90 mixtape released recently on the Krokodilo Tapes cassette label run by Blackest Ever Black. A longstanding friendship with Actress has resulted in his Werkdiscs label issuing Actio Reactio, her debut EP of solo productions. Both the title track and "Break Force" see Hauff utilize her arsenal of analogue gear to deliver two tracks of acid-drenched hardware techno in the mould of producers like Svengalisghost or Beau Wanzer, while shorter production "Micro Manifesto" is more grounded in the realm of primitive electronics with Minimal Wave act In Aeternam Vale a good reference point.

Review: Gothic, melodic, soothing and eerie; swarming and swooping, experimental yet familiar, collaborative project These Hidden Hands have created something truly special with Ivy, the forerunner to their coming debut album. The art-child of Berlin-based techno experimenters Tommy Four Seven and Alain, THH forgoes the hard, thumping rhythms of the genre as we know it and delves deeper into atmospheric soundscapes. Yes, the irresistible pull of industrial techno still exists in their sound - their studio is based in a former metals factory in the techno capital of the world, it could hardly escape - but it exists like a current rather than the backbone, guiding and suggesting, linking and smoothing over the artfully riven cracks. Remixes by Vatican Shadow and Lakker only sweeten the deal.

Review: Berlin based internet TV station Studio r- expand operations with the launch of an eponymously titled label that aims to further disseminate their efforts to document modern club culture. Initial plans for the label centre around a series of split releases on vinyl pairing established names with rising talents and Studio r- have pitched it just right on their debut release. The A Side features a pair of New York to Berlin transplants in the shape of Fred P and Eric Cloutier, whilst the flip looks to bubbling electronic scene in Eastern Europe housing productions from well-regarded Russian talents Anton Kubikov and Korablove. Obviously the presence of Fred P is the big draw here and his cut "Moving Systems" is a wonderfully grainy slab of dub techno, but it's matched by what follows. Cloutier for example offers up his debut production "Adytum" and you can tell his years behind the decks at NYC club The Bunker have played some part in his new direction, whilst on the flip Kubikov offers a wonderfully smudged slice of deep house in "Jan4Bg". His compatriot Korablove signals a change in tempo to round out the record with the stuttering 6/4 beatdown of "Sea Son".

Review: Comprised of a collaboration between Chicago Skyway and Hakim Murphy, Pegasus Heat makes its debut appearance on fellow conspirator Ike Release's Episodes imprint, and as you might expect mind-bending machine mangling is the order of the day. "Candy Mountain" is an ill-tempered beast, all clashing synth lines of a delirious nature bumping up against hyperactive acid and rugged drum machines. "Yum Yum" is friendlier, ditching the abrasive beats for a soothing, blue note take on deep house that calls to mind the most elegant moments on Real Soon, while "Doorbell Action" decides to plonk straight in between its two predecessors with tender chords offset by that unruly 303 and some bad old beats. Ike Release rounds to EP off with a more fulsome but equally dreamy take on "Yum Yum" that fits the tone of the record perfectly.

Review: Time To Express usher in the final instalment in their trilogy of Reciever remix 12"s themed around Pete Van Hoesen's excellent Perceiver LP, with Marcel Fengler and Neel stepping up and nonchalantly maintaining the standards set by Messrs Dozzy, SCB, Sigha and Phase. Adopting a reduced principle , Berghain resident has remixed "Inspection In Solitude" dropping swarming, buzzing riffs over a sinewy groove that gets right under your skin. In contrast to the ambient textural nature of Donato Dozzy's previously released remix, his Voices In The Lake cohort Neel offers a gradually building, densely filtered reshape of "Objects from the Past" that gets more intense with every few bars.