Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: French dub techno label Berg Audio, founded by Berg Jaar in 2016, has a self-stated mission to uniquely draw on lost stylistic remnants of the Soviet Era, combining organic and dub-infused elements with the hopeful quality of that place and time. The latest 12" EP 'Asymmetrical Connection' showcases the label's ability to combine so-solid talent from far-reaching global corners, with melodic acid contributions from Chris Ledger, Jamie Leather and Malin Genie in tow.

Review: Greek label Ethos is all new and says that it aims to "present music from carefully curated artists that are consistent and true to their sound regardless of the current trends or hype." For their all-important inaugural release, they serve up a limited edition, hand-numbered hand-stamped 12" from Leonid who brings plenty of deep Detroit stylings. 'Diurnal Drift' opens with mid-tempo drums and loose analogue percussion in a dusty and dubby cavern, then 'Elliptical Orbit' is a serene and late-night horizontal groove. There is real musical craft in the lush chords and jazzy leads of 'Parallel Paths' while 'Eastern Horizon' sets down with a more raw and driving sound but still has a warm lo-fi glow.

Review: Joe Lewandowski may still be relatively young, but some of his musical inspirations are undoubtedly vintage - as this return to Skylax Records for the first time since 2020 proves. 'Here I Am' sees the Paris-based New Yorker team up with vocalist STOLT for a trip into moody, turn-of-the-80s new wave territory. As you'd expect from someone with Lewandowski's track record, it's a beautifully authentic and stylish production that adds Johnny Marr style guitars and STOLT's impassioned vocals to Visage-esque electronics and fuss-free drum machine beats. Confirmed retro-futirist Lauer delivers vocal and instrumental remixes that strip out the guitars and boost the raw, alien-sounding new wave synths, while bonus cut 'Casual' is a surging dark Italo-goes-new wave throb-job tailor-made for peak-time dancefloors.

Review: Liquid Earth is another alias for the cult underground house beat maker Urulu and here he lands on Kalahari Oyster Cult with another fine bit of futurist house. 'Scope Zone' is a great meeting point between cosmic synth work, spaced out breaks and retro house action. It's got a fat bassline that powers it onwards and some mice subtle prog melody. On the reverse is a Youandewan remix from the Berlin based Brit who is in superb form right now. He smooths things out, keeps the bounce and heads for the stars. A tidy two tracker for sure.

Review: The brand new Hyperdrive label kicks off with a mix of the old and the new - some tracks made recently, some that date back to the 90s, all of them top quality. Liquid Earth opens up with the spaced-out synths and electronic house sounds of '1_HP_D' then Art Of The State gets a little more tranced out and cosmic on '2_HP_D'. Dan Piu's '3_HP_D' is a tech house exploration with wispy sci-fi leads and a playful rhythm then Luis Malon & Seb G combine for the turbo-charged tech of '4_HP_D.' The legendary Freddy Fresh closes down with a high-speed sound on '5_HP_D.' Says the label, "Hyperdrive is dedicated to preserving the rich history of electronic music," and on this evidence, it will do so expertly.

Review: Given that copies of the original 7" release flew off the shelves in record time, it's heartening to see that Classic has decided to give Sophie Lloyd's brilliant "Calling Out" a proper 12" release. Her fantastic original version - a jaunty, floor-friendly gospel treat that sits somewhere between house and disco - is this time accompanied by two fresh rubs from Robert and Lyric Hood's Floorplan project. Naturally, both mixes move further towards sing-along gospel house territory with the fantastic Revival Mix - all crunchy Chicago drums, wild organs, jaunty pianos and relentless chorus - hitting home particularly hard. It's very rare that we describe an EP as being "flawless", but this is as close to perfection as you'll find.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record is slightly warped, otherwise in excellent condition***


Moxie Presents Volume Two Sampler is the first physical release from Moxie's compilation series of the same name on her newly conceived 'On Loop' imprint. The compilation was released for free via Moxie's Soundcloud page in January 2016, and was met with rave reviews and radio support from the likes of Benji B, Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac and Toddla T. This sampler features 3 tracks taken from the compilation and an exclusive Dub of Medlar's 'In Dreams,' the original of which was a highlight on the compilation.

Review: RECOMMENDED
The DJ Kicks series has managed to outlast the vast majority of other DJ mixes we can think of - the good, the bad, the populist, and the plain cash cow. Even the mighty fabric compilations have rebranded and rethought, bringing the original legacy, FABRICLIVE included, to a respectful end at 200 outings. Strange, then, to think, that !K7's mighty offering to the world of "What should we listen to at the afters?" has arguably managed to become more relevant as the years have flown by.

There was a time when the series existed at the lighter end of club fare, with some examples barely even matching that description. These days, though, there's often a dance floor heaviness central to the selections, with Jessy Lanza's broken, bass-driven set a case in point. Pointless attempts to describe the music, and lazy track list namedropping aside, this is energy-packed, heads down, futurist stuff packed with infectious percussion.

Review: You wait ages for a Lord of the Isles album, and two come along at once! 'Night of the Endless Beyond', the Scottish producer's second full-length excursion for ESP Institute, follows hot on the heels of the inspired (if shorter) 'Subtle Thoughts' on Lapsus. While that was almost entirely made up of typically atmospheric ambient sketches, this epic goes further, complimenting his usual beat-free brilliance with forays into dubbed-out, deep space ambient techno ('Endless Beyond'), analogue-rich emotive techno (the star-fall brilliance of 'Strato'), ambient house ('Together' and the wonderfully trippy 'Quadralogue'), crackly IDM ('Truth') and picturesque, soft-focus dancefloor hypnotism ('Wonder').