Ostgut Ton Germany レコード& CD

Review: It was only a matter of time before Etapp Kyle, Ukrainian's new techno king, made it onto the mighty Ostgut Ton. A flurry of releases for Klockworks and Unterton paved the way for these four new tunes on One of Berlin's most legendary institutions, and it's not hard to think about how well these murky bangers would penetrate the Berghain dancefloor. "Alpha" is a deep and cerebral techno spear with a heavy bit of dub bass at its core, and "Quantum" follows up with neat swarms of designer bleeps for the more mindful techno DJs. Over on the B-side, "Source" has all the characteristics of what we like to call 'mind-tech', or rather, the sort of gear to pulsate through the piste at the crack of dawn, which leaves "Ritual" to break the trip with a cavernous wormhole of minimal textures.

Review: All hail the return of Etapp Kyle. For over 10 years this ever-intriguing producer has been orbiting the Ostgut Ton axis, from Ben Klock's label to Unterton and lastly Ostgut Ton itself back in 2017. After some time away, Kyle is back with a new EP that was wholly worth the wait. "Nolove" is a dreamy, fractured slice of techno abstraction with insanely detailed production chops, while "Unseen" opens things up with some more forthright drums that move like a more linear take on the Shackleton sound. "Polar" thrums and pulses with sound design as much as beats, but the icy atmospheric swirls are the star of the show. "Eden" strips things back with a beautiful, plaintive electronica finisher that keeps percussion to a minimum and focuses on gossamer synth lines to melt away to.

Review: All good things come to an end. Part ten of ten in Ostgut Ton's tenth various artists' compilation and they've recruited some of their superstar residents to give their very best. Marcel Fengler's restrained fury on "Fallin' (feat. Elif Bicer)" almost sounds like something off the soundtrack of a sci-fi film where dramatic elements face off with Bicer's angelic voice. Etapp Kyle's "Nolah" is another example of his well executed hypnotic techno with a nod to the master himself Robert Hood. Finally Steffi's "Loweborschtel" is the kind of surefire sub-aquatic electro funk and the standard in quality you'd always expect from the Dolly boss.