Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: Drivecom's latest release, a 2xLP album, feature new tracks meticulously reworked from 2022-23. This collection is a sonic homage to past works like La Hora de las Maquinas and The Source by Boris Divider, yet it features a modern production twist. The album kicks off with 'The Way You Feel Me,' blending electro and synthwave with moog bass and arpeggios reminiscent of Arpanet. Following this, 'Letters From A Sleeper' evokes a postnuclear future with its prominent synthline. 'Distante' introduces slower BPMs, combining J. Carpenter-inspired synths with vintage digital rhythms. On Side-2 'You Know What I Know' recalls the signature sound of La Hora de las Maquinas with its sequential prophet's arpeggio. 'Sin Mirar Atras' stands out as a deeply introspective piece rich with vintage synths and reverb. 'Your Light' reappears as a future electro classic. 'Recursos Infinitos' offers a Tangerine Dream-esque instrumental interlude before the dark, dystopian 'Cenital' channels Vangelis' Blade Runner. The title track, 'Memories From The Dust,' merges 80s digital keyboard sounds with the album's overarching themes. The closing track, 'Out of Sync,' features intentionally misaligned synthlines recorded in one take.

Review: DJ Sotofett is one of those producers who operates on his own plane. His sounds are like no other, his ideas are weird and wonderful and his execution is always exceptional. He is a producer who does things in his own playful way and that bears out on this new 12-track album. It's couched in electro with 80s Nintendo console vibes and a fusion of analogue and digital synthesis that makes for a jubilant celebration. Along the way, things shift from acid-infected beats and catchy electronic pop to avant-garde electro cuts. Vital stuff.

Review: Veteran electrohead and former artist on the Rephlex Records roseter DMX Krew's Ed DMX takes the well-known story by Jorge Luis Borges of The Library of Babel, said to contain all the different languages of the earth. Some deep philosophical thought has gone into the album's concept, but we'll leave that to Ed to explain. Instead, we'll tell you that from beginning to end there's plenty of the kind of trademark 80s synth playfulness in evidence, with a generally more mellow and soundtrack-related rather than frenetic and dancefloor-filling vibe in evidence, even on faster tracks like 'The Combed Thunderclap'. Still, Ed knows what he's doing when it comes to this kind of leftfield electro gear, and it's a rewarding, never boring listen.

Review: A sprawling, typically irreverent effort from the ever-prolific DMX Krew. With each unfolding track, Edward Upton charts a new tributary in the Detroit-Berlin-Sheffield pipeline, from the grouchy technoid stomp of 'Bathtime Bobby', to the hazy chillout room introspection of 'Escape To 92', to the dazzled machine funk of aptly named elektro quest 'Desperate Measures'. Another thoroughly satisfying entry in the ever-growing DMX catalogue, Spiral Dance is a sizzling hotplate of timeless electro wizardry.

Review: Having previously mined Drexciya's back catalogue for four superb compilations (the Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller series), Clone has decided to reissue the Detroit electro legends' final studio album, 2002's Grava 4. It remains a superb set, moving between deep space explorations (the superbly atmospheric ambience of "Cascading Celestial Giants"), rolling, intergalactic electro ("Drexcyen Star Chamber"), intense dancefloor work outs ("Drexcyen R.E.S.T Principle"), glistening IDM ("Hightech Nomads"), and fusions of Sheffield bleep aesthetics and Cybotron style rhythms ("Gravity Waves"). In other words, you'll struggle to find a better electro album. If you don't own an original copy, you should grab this reissue sharpish.

Review: Released in 2002 as the Drexciya project was forced towards an untimely finish with the passing of James Stinson, Grava 4 remains a high-point in the legendary Detroit electro pioneers' catalogue. As ever, the magic of the record lies in the balance between experimental, provocative sound design and fully physical, instinctive machine funk. Stinson and Gerald Donald were able to say a great deal within the parameters of their project, and Grava 4 remains leagues ahead of what most people think electro can be. Just marvel at the likes of 'Gravity Waves', which feels like the truest representation of the genre without ever following a pre-existing formula.

Review: This is the one that kicked it all off for Mr Dynarec. By far his best work to date and already a classic electro album. Really cool stuff which wasn't available for a couple of years after the initial press. Sure shot for the Drexciya/Dopplereffekt heads.