Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: A2L were active between 1988 and 1990 and released two albums and several EPs on labels like 1st Bass, Big One and Force Inc. Their sound blended British psychedelic house with elements of new beat, industrial, EBM and early acid house and in doing so captured the raw energy of the UK rave scene. Notably different from typical acid house acts of the time, A2L's music took in machine funk, samplers and turntable techniques to create trippy, infectious grooves. This collection compiles rare underground gems from them from 1989 and features standout tracks like 'Even Though It's Make Believe' and 'Come On.' It's a great look back to the experimental spirit of the late 80s.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


The third in Switzerland's best and truest retro dance throwback series; here the Mental Groove Classic series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard to find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene. Only the best, brightest and most effulgent of house, techno, bleep and analog jams are heard on this series, bringing that heady, yet much sought-after, cross-section of dreaminess and rawness to our wanting ears. From the dreamy breathalizings and Himalayan hollerings of Uncle 22's 'Pain', to the deep ficus-bathed melodic blossomings of Point Zero's 'Coastal', it's clear that the ability to portray wateriness and fluidity in the otherwise (stereotypically) arid drum machine and sequencer form was something extant; a superpower shared collectively in the Swiss psyche of the time.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


The Mental Groove Classics is a new series of reissues documenting the sweats and oversights of Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene. Ducret's Mental Groove label collected and discographized many of the 90s' brightest and yet roughest gems of the time; as both Volume 1 and this follow-up demonstrate, there is an unabashed rawness shared by the likes of Airtight's 'Housewerks FXTC' and Techno Grooves' 'Hiawa' here, the kind of rawness in sound that the various music-makers of today may only emulate, yet may never truly fully replicate, if not for the simple fact of overproduction and/or the all-too-easiness of overindulgence and possibility enabled by digital audio tech. To contrast, this one's simple, drum-machinic grooves mesh rather effortlessly with a transcendent trance, one which reaches a dubby apogee on The Moody Boys' C-sider 'Jammin', not long before a wonky French touch leaves a lasting tactile impression on Nagai Eri's D2, 'Delta'.