Incienso レコード& CD

Review: When composing the tracks featured on his first release on Anthony Naples and Jenny Slattery's Incienso imprint, Mister Saturday Night and Vanity Press alumnus James Bangura reportedly drew inspiration from long, late-night teenage driving experiences. There's certainly a 'speeding through canyons under a blanket of stars' feel to 'Barred Entry', a hypnotic techno journey rich in restless kick-drums, hissing ride cymbals, hazy organ loops and delay-laden chords. He flips the script on 'Mixed Signals', delivering a dubbed-out slab of mind-mangling breakbeat house hedonism, before blurring the boundaries between high-octane electro and breathless techno on 'Monterrey'. To round things off, he adds reverb-heavy ambient textures and yearning synth-strings to a crunchy dub techno groove on EP standout 'Wichita'.

Review: After debuting on Incienso in 2019, Pavel Milyakov brings Buttechno back to the label for another grip of the sneakily titled Minimal Cuts. Quite what the idea behind the title is, don't enter thinking you're going to hear sleek, stripped down tech house or abstract, reductionist fare. In fact, this second volume opens up with the buoyant, 90s-soaked thump of 'Green' before swerving into the oddball groove of 'Disko June'. There's something a little trance-y about 'Funk 33' and 'New Pnk' offers some slightly twitchy melodies, getting about as close to 'minimal' as can imagine, but still resoundingly defined by Milyakov's unique approach.

Review: Shiken Hanzo's Eternity Of Echoes EP marks his debut on Anthony Naples and Jenny Slattery's Incienso label outta New York. It is another fine exploration of his halftime drum & bass and rhythmic deep techno sound after previous releases on the likes of Samurai Music, Repertoire and Inperspective. 'Darkest Entities' is just that with its bump drum loops and moody late night pads. 'Eightfold Blessing Of Amaterasu' builds the pressure with serene future synth work and 'Eternity Of Echoes' then brings more texture and menace in the bass. 'The Reaping (Vip)' is a classic stepper from the Autonomic era that will get you locked right in.