Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: Opal Sunn's 'Elastic' lands on Test Pressing Recordings as the first in a trilogy, bringing together Alex Kassian and Hiroaki Oba's knack for genre-blending electronic soundscapes. Known for their captivating live sets, they've crafted an EP that traverses moods and styles. The A-side opens with hypnotic deep trance, layering rich synth textures and rolling grooves. Over on the B-side, things get lush and atmospheric: one track dives into dub influences, saturated with warm basslines and echoing chords, while the final cut drifts into serene, ambient territory. It's an impressive start that shows their mastery of both rhythm and space.

Review: Jake Stephenson sadly passed away in 2005 but his music lives on not least in the minds of the re:discovery records label who honour him again here. He was a prolific producer with a wide array of monikers and had several different styles in his arsenal. This five track EP shows that and then some with a mix of deep techno, ambient laced electronic and more. This one comes with an insert in which Jake's brother Silas and producer and friend Brian Trower share some stories of Jake the person and musician. 50% of the proceeds to go a charity Silas picked to honour his late brother.

Review: Poet, librarian, Mancunian, father, husband, uncle, brother. Mike Garry is many things to many people, but tonight, Matthew, his voices guides our eyes upwards, inviting us to stargaze to one of Orbital's most emotionally resonant and timeless pieces of rave noise. Belfast Revisited would be one way to describe it, taking some of the classic and unmistakable elements of that anthem and turning it into something new. First and foremost freshness comes with the spoken word addition - a thoroughly positive, passionate and amorous declaration of unending love that could feel jarring depending on whether you always felt 'Belfast' was reflective and slightly melancholy, or not. Gone too are the breaks, replaced now by stadium-sized four-to-the-floor turning what was once the end of the night walking home at dawn into something that sounds way more 11PM at the concert.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Poet, librarian, Mancunian, father, husband, uncle, brother. Mike Garry is many things to many people, but tonight, Matthew, his voices guides our eyes upwards, inviting us to stargaze to one of Orbital's most emotionally resonant and timeless pieces of rave noise. Belfast Revisited would be one way to describe it, taking some of the classic and unmistakable elements of that anthem and turning it into something new. First and foremost freshness comes with the spoken word addition - a thoroughly positive, passionate and amorous declaration of unending love that could feel jarring depending on whether you always felt 'Belfast' was reflective and slightly melancholy, or not. Gone too are the breaks, replaced now by stadium-sized four-to-the-floor turning what was once the end of the night walking home at dawn into something that sounds way more 11PM at the concert.

Review: Conoley Ospovat, having crossed paths with deep heads like Pier Bucci, Pablo Bolivar, and Area, now turns up with a fully-realized EP for Kimochi. Solitude is a pulsing meditation, but with the rays of sunshine breaking throughout, it's clear that if it's alone, it's not lonely. The springtime sounds are full of optimism as well as introspection. Ambient house for the adventurous.

Review: OVID's Dream Sequence EP, released by Fauxpas Musik, delivers three tracks of deep, atmospheric techno that feels ethereal and immersive. Side-1 has 'Distant Village', which captures a magical, melodic vibe, with dubby, echo-laden chords that create an expansive, otherworldly soundscape. Its intricate layering and delicate melodies transport listeners to a realm of deep introspection and tranquility. On the Side-2, 'Dream Sequence (edit)' brings a tribal, rolling beat, blending ambient elements with a spacey, downtempo rhythm. The track radiates depth and hypnotic energy, perfect for late-night journeys. 'Internal Dialog' closes the EP with soft ambient pads, a broken electro beat and a smooth fusion of dub, electro and ambient textures, resulting in a lush, reflective sound that rounds out this entrancing collection. Overall, a real nice blend of subgenres combined into a melting pot of chill out.

Review: So many artists were hammered by the pandemic, it's impossible to draw much distinction between who fared well and who fared worse. Psychologically, the impact of disconnect and isolation on major global stars would have been immense, while emergents had the wind taken out of their sails in such a brutal way, at a time when momentum was everything.

Kelly Lee Owens falls somewhere between the two, with the pandemic devastating plans for a world tour, indicative of where she'd got to, and where she was tipped for next. With all dates off, she opted to jump on a plane - as it happens the last plane to Norway before borders shut - where she hauled up in a studio with avant-noise supremo Laase Marhaug. No particular place else to be, nor a plan, their recording sessions are capture here in music channelling industrial electronica, Celtic mysticism, leftfield pop and something else.

Review:  Lost In Translation's debut release, Anthroposcene, is a vital coming together of various artists each with their own take on ambient. It is all airy soundscapes and lo-fi pads to start with from Saphileaum's 'Prologue' while Alfred Czital & Moon Patrol bring in some silky broken beats and warped electronics on 'Act I.' Human Space Machines's 'Act II' is deep rolling techno bliss and on the flip, we get everything from cavernous underwater soundscapes to Orca Silent's edgy dub 'Act IV' and Martinou's soothing closer 'Epilogue.'

Review: For well over a decade, Italian producer, electronic musician and sound designer Ocralab (real name Rocco Biscione) has been serving up immersive and enveloping ambient soundscapes, most of which tend towards the meditative and subtly sun-kissed. That's the trademark sound that he explores on gorgeous new full-length Locus Impervio, a set whose gently rising and falling melodic motifs, calming soundscapes and spacey sounds recall the halcyon days of ambient music in the mid-to-late 1990s. It's a genuinely gorgeous, soul-enriching set all told - the kind of thing we might have expected Pete Namlook, Jonah Sharp, Move D and Mixmaster Morris to put out circa 1994 (albeit with subtle nods to more contemporary, sound design-driven academic ambient releases).

Review: This clear vinyl version of Kelly Lee Owens's third album, LP 8, is another masterclass in building ambient layers into alluring noise. She herself calls the album "an outlier" as it makes a move towards more caustic and abrasive sonic textures and industrial sounds. It was written like many recent albums during lockdown after her tour of 2022 was cancelled. The Welsh singer, producer and songwriter hooked up in the studio with Norwegian avant-noise artist Lasse Marhaug and took cues from both Throbbing Gristle and Enya and the resulting record is intricate and emotive, with stone deco-messages in the final three tunes.