Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: A compelling compilation that delves deep into the cosmos of techno, offering four tracks that each explore different atmospheric dimensions. On Side-1, Charlou's 'Hidefaces' sets a dark, spooky tone with its stomping beats, blending elements of techno, industrial and 90s rave sounds. It's a haunting journey that captures the raw, visceral energy of underground techno. Mar C follows with 'Wentron', a spacey breakbeat track characterised by its crisp production, which elevates the atmosphere with a futuristic edge. Side-2 opens with Lanzieri's 'Vogue', a track that brings a touch of goa-trance influence, combining ethereal melodies with powerful basslines, making it feel like a cosmic flight through sound. Kvrk's 'Haunted Illusions' closes the EP with a progressive house touch, providing a deep, entrancing groove that muystifies. Each track offers a unique exploration of techno's darker, more experimental side.

Review: Inhuman (but not inhumane) electro-techno from Kafkactrl, bringing moods of faceless robo-bureaucracy to the Spanish label Another Perspective. Highlights on this cryosonic clatterer include the Modular K collaboration 'Weird Particules', an inner isolation chamber packed with overactive reagents, and Alonzo's version of 'Kuramoto Model', whose muddied UR-style hits resound like mechy hand-claps, as chaotic bass gunfire unloads itself across a traipsing mix.

Review: Detroit's Brian Kage is back with more Motor City goodness, this time as a remixer alongside a fine selection of peers. It is his Timeless Times album that gets reworked here and for his remix of 'Nordhouse' he works with fellow Detroiter and dub techno don Luke Hess to cook up a warm, shuffling sound. Elsewhere Delano Smith brings his signature smoky loops and plaintive keys to 'Detroit Techno City', Milton Jackson steps up with a buddy deep house roller and 'Galaxian' gets an electro remix from Max Watts to make this a classy, quality collection.

Review: It is over to Sapporo's Jun Kimata aka BirdMan for the Forbidden Colours imprint out of Bilbao (Spain), who've previously delivered great work by the likes of label boss Aitor Etxebarria aka EL_TXEF_A, Eduardo de la Calle and Andres Aguirre. The Shape Of My Voice EP starts off with the driving and tunneling deep electro workout "Two Billion Light-Years Of Silence" that's dripping in futurist aesthetic, while "Track 2" is a more dystopian affair on this dark ambient/drone piece. On the flip, we have got "Train Music" which effectively bridges the gap between hypnotic techno and deep house (the label's preferred aesthetic of late) and rather inventively indeed. The "Spicy Paracousia remix" by the aforementioned Aguirre takes the track on wonderfully spaced out deep house journey over its glorious seven minutes. Nice one!

Review: It's 2024, and we must say, there's no label name less apt to characterise the spirit of the age better than Trance Pandemic Ukraine. With featuring artists Komponente and Kurillo launching their own imprint here - in turn named after the 2023 release 'Trance Pandemic' on fellow Berlin label System Error - their new extended play 'Boston Dynamics' is a DARPA-dogged acid techno acme ("trance" is debatable), fervently embracing the real-world threat of military robotics in sating the all-too-real, present cybernetic human appetite for war. War has, in fact, always been a muse for much electro and techno; the riffling sound design on this one comes backed up by saltatorial leg-kicks and stomping robo-march claps all throughout, and the sinister phase-twists heard most notably on 'Not From New York' do not help let up the mood of downtrodden pugnacity either. Serious stuff!

Review: 'BOOOoo! VA2' delivers a four-track EP packed with otherworldly techno that's as imaginative as it is intense. Krijka kicks off with 'Kronos', a high-energy, sci-fi-infused techno journey that's both lively and atmospheric. Next, Lamalice's 'Ti Tac Trip Trap!' plunges into darker territory, with its creative vocal manipulation, growling bassline, and menacing vibesiperfect for late-night, sinister sets. On Side-2, Ludovic's 'Qosqo Time' brings a nostalgic 90s flair, mixing catchy techno rhythms with acid trance elements for an infectious groove. Rambal Cochet's 'Hot Chills', featuring Marzipan, closes the EP with addictive space techno, offering a blend of cosmic soundscapes and driving beats that pull you into another dimension. Altogether, this EP is a stellar example of futuristic, experimental techno.

Review: Passing Currents aims to stand out from the predictable by offering a deeply human touch in its music. This five-tracker backs that up by melding academic expertise with dancefloor intuition and the A-side features txted by Phil Moffa remixed by Yamaha DSP coder okpk after they met during doctoral studies, they flip technical mastery into bass-driven energy while Atrevido' fuses California warmth with analogue electro, Josh Dahlberg's rediscovered 2009 electro gem, 'Ass On The Floor', still bangs and Detroit's Kevin Reynolds delivers hypnotic grooves before Hazmat Live pushes boundaries with a sound rooted in soulful, experimental innovation.

Review: Audio visual sculptor Kero operates the multidisciplinary arts collective Detroit Underground record label and continues to produce bit crushed experimental electronic music with over two decades under his belt. Demo Vectors showcases Kero's sonic range-bouncing back and forth between IDM fractures, broken electro shapes and an all around low-end forcefield. Splicing machined modular tunes with syncopated rhythms and Detroit-inspired slivers, Kero's fingerprints can be found on imprints like Blueprint, Wild oats, Ghostly International, Shitkatapult, Semantica, Touchin' Bass, BPitch Control, and many others.