Trauma Collective レコード& CD

Review: Trauma Collective returns with four cuts of decidedly hypnotic and abstract techno from ever-prolific ASC. Rounding out the last decade with a string of stand-out releases on his own imprint, Auxiliary, the San Diego producer brings his cerebral sonic aesthetic to the fledgling Madrid label. "Loop Research" showcases a singular artist unbound by tempo and at the top of their game.

Review: Trauma Collective returns to shock your system on their fifth release, which comes courtesy of Spain's Rafael M. Espinosa aka Geistform. The Barcelona-based artist, also known for his exploits under the Univac alias, has crafted a singular style that exists at the interzone of IDM, digital noise and electro and having earned him releases on Pi Electronics, Femur and Hands Productions in recent years.

Espinosa executes four programs in sonic warfare on the Antena EP, all sounding akin to complex bitstream amplification. A multi-level barrage of frequencies play offense on opening cut "Proxima B", which sets the theme for more widescreen pulsations that gash the senses, as heard on the syntax error of "Note Repeat" and building up to a climax on the monochromatic soundstage of "Norc" - a jagged and angular exploration in bass artefacts and static redux.

Since unleashing the austere techno of Birmingham legend Mick Harris (as Monrella) and hometown hero Kwartz on unsuspecting ears, the Madrid-based collective has now ventured into more experimental spheres, as heard on the off-kilter mentalism of ASC's Loop Research and the brooding atmosphere of Makunaimadama's limited cassette release last year. Antena is the logical progression for the label's next chapter, where it continues to push the threshold of electronic music's outer limits.

Review: New but already essential Italian label Trauma Collective's sixth transmission is another hefty dose of musical and macho techno. Opener 'Take A Break' has a supple but body-shaking rhythm with punishing drums and 'Command' then has frosty synth textures fizzing about over rumbling drums and bass that march onwards. It's blistering warehouse tackle but will also work just as well in smaller back rooms. 'Staca' gets trippy with its dangling cosmic synth lines and slapping drum funk and 'Stay Puft' closes with a heads-down bit of tunneling late-night techno.

Review: Trauma Collective mean business. Should you be in any doubt, just drop the needle on their third release and feel the wind blowing your hair back instantly. Following 12"s from ASC and Monrella, this latest payload comes from Kwartz, the Spanish producer also found lurking around Horo and other cutting edge labels. Hard as nails techno is the order of the day here, as Kwartz exorcises some industrial demons on the brilliantly clattering 'The Nature Of Our Anger'. 'Reinforced Control' is marginally more restrained, but only just. Meanwhile, Monrella returns to Trauma to remix 'Reinforced Control' with a deadly, swung groove that begs to be rocked in the club. 'Beneath The Surface' brings a total KO with a searing line in high-frequency texture and a rugged, relentless undercarriage of rhythm. What more could you ask for from a bruising beast of a techno record?

Review: Mick Harris is a master of bludgeoning sound, whether wringing out apocalyptic steppers in his Scorn guise or wrestling D&B into contorted shapes as Quoit. Monrella is one of his aliases that reaches back to the mid 90s and Regis' ZET label. These four new tracks capture the same mood of granite heavy Brummie techno as the original run, wholly compatible with the tougher end of the Downwards oeuvre, sculpted with the masterful ear for sound design that Harris has displayed throughout his accomplished career. Following on from the retrospective compilation on Berceuse Heroique last year, it's a real treat to have some fresh Monrella to chew on for the hardest of techno sessions.

Review: Trauma Collective go out all guns blazing with a fierce offering by ascendant Italian producer Sciahriar Tavakoli aka Sciahri (Sublunar Records/Unknot). The Trauma EP is at once an obviously loyal tribute to the imprint platforming him, while being a visceral soundtrack to the gradual setting in of early morning lights. Wasting no time in exercising his sonic assault, opening cut 'Hypnotism' will affect you much like its name suggests on this punishing, splintered- beat body basher, before pummelling you into submission on the strobed-out warehouse techno epic 'Plastic Rain'. He then ventures into the more abrasive shades of texture and gradient on the experimentally minded 'Ava' until getting off-the-grid once more with a descent even deeper into the void, on the knackered closer 'Dead Waves'.