Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: Menacing EBM and dark synth billows from a Netherlands hinterland; our heralds speak of an esoteric encampment by the name of Espectro Oculto, said to be the remote incantators of an unstoppable curse in sound. Six shadowy emissaries have been sent to spread the pestilence; Trenton Chase, Martial Canterel, DJ Nephil, Exhausted Modern, Fragedis and Happy707. Clearly, the faction have recruited only the best, trusted and yet most nefarious of spies from as far-flung regions as Czechia and Argentina in the administering of such a sordid sonic plague. We're left most quivery at the centrifugal doom drones of Exhausted Modern's 'Fear Of Focus', across whose breakdown banshees are heard wailing and snarling, and Fragedis' 'Landing In Reality', a lo-fi techno freakout and sonochemical anomaly, channeling militant two-way radio samples and hellish FM synthesis.

Review: Furthur Electronix's first two Furthur Journeys Into compilations tune plenty of heads and shift plenty of copies. The third one keeps the quality levels high with more explorations around the periphery of underground electronics. Chris Coco opens with a soothing synth sound before Jake Slazenger brings crystalline synths and abstract modulations to the mid-tempo '168B.' There is more pace and twisted acid energy to Global Goon's untitled contribution and then old school jungle comes to the fore on the super stylish and atmospheric Gavin Masih cut. Monika Subrtova's 'Alata' is a serene and widescreen ambient synthscape that brings things to a suitably poignant close.

Review: Corsican label Isula Science drop a fresh brooder of previously unknown electro knowns, this time from label founder Flash FM alongside HDV, Sweely and Man/ipulate. Spanning vertiginous dark acid, then moving on through to dreamatic neon breakbeat and expedient Italo - 'Vol de nuit' especially makes signature use of a classic slap bass synth - they've got us entirely covered here. Enticing bumps in the night from the exquisitors.

Review: The French duo Minimum Syndicat land on Dutch label Zodiak Commune with a double-barrelled dose of mind-altering machine funk. 'Knowing That We Know Nothing' opens with a cold-blooded electro crawl, all dystopian pads and twitchy circuitry, while the G303 remix rips it wide open with slamming kicks and acid phrases that slither like live wires. On the flip, 'Disclosures' ups the BPMs in collaboration with fellow Parisian Voiron, its militant acid techno groove sharpened into a peak-time burner. G303 returns to mutate that track too, saturating it in overdriven 303 squelch and off-grid snare flurries. Raw, unrelenting and brilliantly engineered i this is the kind of record that weaponises philosophy for the dancefloor.

Review: This mysterious, limited-edition techno release strips everything back to pure sound, delivering four futuristic tracks that span electro, techno, house and acid. Side-A kicks off with 'U Like It Raw (Red Hot)', a deep, rolling techno cut infused with raw energy and a hypnotic house vocal that keeps the groove locked in. 'Red Eye Drive' follows, channeling old-school acid techno with minimal, atmospheric production. Dubby and stripped-down, it's a heady, late-night journey through misty soundscapes. On Side-B, 'Wannado' embraces electro and acid, with a futuristic, spacey feel that twists and turns through intricate layers of sound. Closing out the release, 'Headz Vol 3' drifts into floaty, ambient-acid territoryialien, ethereal and deeply immersive. With its varied but cohesive vision, this record is a great example of the depth and range in underground electronic music. A true gem for those who seek something beyond the ordinary.

Review: London label Fourier Transform welcome back Rekab (James Baker) and label debuter Mre for 'Ace High'. 'Armadillos' rolls up its chassis for a serious exercise in minimal weight, reconstituting tuned percussions as it trundles along, while Rekab's 'Always Having Fun' posits an ideal life-mode: a steady, direct current of enjoyment, set to hedonically calculated beats. 'Climbing High' rebates the percussions for a subtle lark's ascent in deep acid, while 'Ace' complementarily descends across cross-rhythmic breaks and harmonies.

Review: Serenity is a mental health charity label that is now back with more sonic gold, this time in the form of a reissue of Marco Bernardi aka Octogen's 'The Journeyman' from 2008 on Soma Recordings. It is an immersive, emotive sound with lush and ethereal pads and a moody bassline that keeps you locked. The B-side offers two original tracks from Bernardi 'Travelling to the Sun' is one to hypnotise floors with its hypnotic chimes and raw drums, while 'Little Tiny Crickets' delivers a fast-paced IDM twist with some killer synth work. As always, proceeds go to charity this time Papyrus UK who support youth suicide prevention and MusicSpace.

Review: Seven years on from launching his Superluminal label, Matthias cements the journey so far with his very own debut album. Named after the term coined by astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn - used to describe the apparently faster-than-light movement of the ejecta (celestial flotsam) of the nova (exploding star) GK Persei - Superluminal has always drawn on the natural, parallel obsession that unifies the cosmos and dance music. The new record is expansive as such, with 'Underwater Maze' and 'Golem' colliding potent, anodic, reverberative sound design, and 'Fearless Voyager' and 'Sky Nomad' providing a chirpier ambi-acid techno front face.