Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Stephen Hitchell's debut under his Intrusion moniker follows the dub techno blueprint of his previous project, Echospace's The Coldest Season. While that album drew on Basic Channel's icy soundscapes, The Seduction of Silence incorporates reggae influences particularly through the collaboration with Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman), whose vocals add a unique twist. The album balances intense rhythms and serene moments with tracks like 'Montego Bay' and 'Seduction' demonstrating Hitchell's rhythmic creativity. With a warm, celestial atmosphere, the album's spiritual quality sets it apart from typical dub techno. Remastered here for even better sound, it is a classic that should be added to your dub cannon immediately.

Review: Ken Ishii's 1994 album, Reference to Difference, is a crucial, yet often overlooked, masterpiece in the world of techno, ambient and electronic music from Japan. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Musicmine Records, this album is now reissued and remastered, available on vinyl with its original track-list for the first time. Born in 1970 in Sapporo, Ishii's journey into electronic music began with arcade games and pioneers like Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk. The discovery of Detroit techno in the late 80s shaped his artistic vision, blending with influences from British and American IDM and ambient techno. Reference To Difference is a futuristic blend of ambient atmospheres, techno rhythms, and minimalist compositions. It transports listeners back to the mid-1990s, a golden era for Japan's unique techno culture. This era saw Tokyo's clubs like Maniac Love becoming essential hubs for the underground scene, where Ishii and peers like Susumu Yokota thrived. Ishii and Yokota set benchmarks for Japanese techno with their early works. Ishii's Reference to Difference and Yokota's Acid Mt. Fuji, released simultaneously on June 29, 1994, were pivotal in putting Japan on the global techno map. Martyn Pepperell's new liner notes accompany this reissue, shedding light on Ishii's influence and the album's significance. Rediscover this gem and experience a landmark moment in electronic music history.