Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: Leeds-based label Turnend Tapes showcase the wide and very assured skills of Malmo man Martin Abrahamsson aka Bauri across a choice selection of five tracks from the more thoughtful and atmospheric end of the techno scale. That's not to say there aren't grooves aplenty going on. Opening track 'Zoom0036' has some irresistibly shiny, downbeat electro moves, offset by a touch of Autechre-like ghostliness. 'Jody' comes on like Drexciya at their perkiest, with a soupcon of Air Liquide's cheeky phasing, while 'Sunrise (take 2)' has the majesty and simplicity of Aphex's first 'Ambient Works'. Flip it over for 'Easter Sunday', where streamlined polymetric machine funk and solar flare arpeggios do a merry dance, before 'Feeling Reprise' finishes things off with spiralling half-speed beats and yet more melodic grandeur rising out of the mix. Abrahamsson has a long, impressive pedigree with more alter egos than you've had hot dinners, but this is up there with his most original and confident efforts. It's a Flow-brainer.

Review: Well Curated is a series of releases and parties that - in its own words - "reflects the ethnomusicology of the last 50 years of music" - and aims to reach into all genres, merging classic styles and breaking down barriers. Steve Spacek occupies the A-side with the breezy broken beat and soul-in-space of 'Alone In Da Sun', while Lukid's 'Hair Of The Dog' is a more intense counterpart, with wobbling sub-bass and swirling, surging atmospherics hovering above.

Review: Sam Binga has established himself with boundary-pushing club tracks on labels like Critical and Exit and for this one teamed up with Welfare, a junglist and the Rua Sound label boss. Together they were inspired by the rugged beauty of Conamara, County Galway and began the project in a 300-year-old cottage overlooking the sea in a place free of creature comforts but rich in inspiration. Using a handheld recorder, the duo explored tidal caves, ruins and windswept coastlines while recording the ambient sounds they heard on the way and then turned them into these deeply textured dub compositions through live desk mixing at Dubkasm's studio.

Review: Bluets' debut on Kimochi Sound seamlessly integrates into the label's well established and distinctive style. This one, with a hand-sprayed sleeve as always, opens with "if you can imagine," a confident bit of microhouse that mixes rich melodies and a lively bassline. 'Action Potential' echoes RDMA's aesthetic with its precise beats and on the B-side you will find a vaporous melody that weaves through sparse downbeat house grooves to make for a dreamlike atmosphere. Closing the EP, 'Buong Bilog' features distorted IDM rhythms and a poignant refrain that balances twitchy textures with melancholic tones. This carefully crafted release bridges home-listening electronics with dancefloor clout.

Review: Third part of the compilation celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Milanese record shop. This collection is entirely composed of previously unreleased music, exclusively produced for the occasion by many artists of great relevance in the worldwide music scene, who supported the store over the last ten years. The artists who produced the music for this compilation are Egyptian Lover, Ellen Allien, Thomas Brinkmann, Neil Landstrumm, JD Twitch, Matias Aguayo, San Proper, Tolouse Low Trax, Jay Glass Dubs, Dj Marcelle, Jorge Velez, Tamburi Neri, Fabrizio Mammarella, Heith, Itinerant Dubs, Timeslip89, Kreggo and Intersezioni Ensemble. The entire work is composed of 4 x 12", plus a bonus EP.

Review: FOXBAM INC is back to build on the momentum of their first EP with a second one that packs a mighty punch. This one kicks off with EBY, who this year has been cooking up acid for 40 years and here offers the warped low ends and garage-techno power of 'Goldtooth'. Foxtrot vs Ma Bla then mashes up old school samples with earth-shattering bass on 'Deep Down Inside' and bRz vs Stije is a double-time hard techno stomper with warped synths and twisted bass that is inspired by and named after ISCO, a concept from Einstein's general theory of relativity that makes predictions about the dynamics of black holes.

Review: MELMAK's new 12" is entitled All Stars: The Rave Years which gives you an idea of what to expect. These are high-tempo, dense and rave ready sounds from the drum & bass vanguard. There is plenty of space out cosmic energy to the exploratory leads of X Termal's 'Tragnal Kozze' then 'What If' (The Doulo Klan edit) is a tightly coiled stepper. Bugger lays down a hyper speed rhythm with drilling bass and slapping hits on 'No Silence Now' and Umbra's 'The Big Dumb' is a real slow-motion churner with textural synths and alien sound designs. All four are ready to get the party going in different ways.

Review: Ever-interested in pushing boundaries through sound and ideas, Bjarki returns to the full-length release schedule with another captivating adventure down electronic roads less travelled. More IDM than techno, tracks like 'Puppet Parade' perhaps hit the nail most squarely in terms of descriptions here - warm pads and metronomic accents in the foreground, strange, treacle-y alien noises in the background. Weird and always wonderful, one of the most impressive achievements here is the deft ability to create soundscapes that simultaneously welcome us with open arms and defy expectation and norms. Whether it's the 170 snares and lush tranquility of 'Healing From Memory', or the strangely rousing but thoroughly off-planet 'Void Visitor' to close.

Review: Album number six from Sheffield's electronic heroes The Black Dog was closer to their debut, Bytes, than anything that came in between. "We never set out to make it like Bytes," group member Martin Dust has since explained. "My idea was to create something you could come home to after you'd just ben to a club or gig, that would start at the right pace and then just wind down into a great album and just chill out." Suffice to say, they achieved that and then some. Silenced is an example of downtempo that still feels like it has one foot in the rave, sounds informed by 4AM highs and 10AM quiet, here made precious through the use of blissful and complex tones that envelop and encase your mind. A record everyone should own.