Back catalogue: Techno (すべて)

Review: Coeur De Glace on DKO Records (DKO 34) delivers four fantastic electro tracks, each with unique influences and directions. Side-1 kicks off with Binary Digit's 'U Want Dis,' an exuberant, high-energy track that pays homage to old-school rave with its lively vocal samples. Fasme's 'Morning' follows, blending smooth electro with soft keys and a whimsical AFX melody for a perfect combination. Side-2 features GGGG's 'La Cueillette,' a feel-good, fun and melodic electro tune. The EP concludes with Mud Deep & Sans-Qui's 'Mesonyx,' offering IDM goodness reminiscent of Rephlex, Squarepusher, and AFX. Coeur De Glaceis a vibrant and diverse collection, sure to delight fans of electro and techno.

Review: Those with a deep knowledge of electro and techno will be salivating at the prospect of More Than A Machine: Part 1, an EP that boasts cuts from such legends of the scene as Sterac Electronics, The Advent and Christian Smith. All deliver the goods, of course, as does rising star Client 03, whose EP-opening 'Regression Container' brilliantly flips between shimmering, deep space ambient and warming, tactile electro dreaminess. Those looking for more rugged and robust club fare should check Sterac Electronics 'Reinstated', with its' out-there lead lines and machine-gun bass, and the sleazy, up-tempo futurism of the Adveny and Zein Ferreira's 'Seven'. Christian Smith's deep, Kraftwerk-influenced 'Pressure Drop' rounds off a predictably strong EP.

Review: Mainrecords returns with the 'Radiation Dance' EP which is the newest outing from co-label owner Matthias Schildger. It opens with the sleek electronic lines and Kraftwerkian hypnosis of 'CH Dance' on icy rhythms and lush synth chords. 'Radiation' is a more rugged techno sound but still artful in its pads and widescreen melodic scope. There is a retro 80s feel to 'Divine Divide' while 'Rzwodzwo's Brain' birds some more buffed metal textures, tripped-out FX and jittery rhythms. Last of all is 'Datapoppers' which is a great blend of analogue kits and drums, retro-future synths and curious cosmic moods.

Review: Banging electrobass from Spain's Masa Series, mooting six of their roster artists for an incendiary exercise in grit and vibrancy. Having already invited a slew of artists for individual releases, the Cluster series here aims more at collectivity. All the tracks here nail the label's signature smushing of heavily heat-glued sound, moving between everything from electro to breaks, landing somewhere in the synaesthetic register of an earthen sonic purply-brown. The highlight here, though, has to be Anna Kost's 'Conjunction', which breaks this general rule through a fast dubstep-ish 150BPM exploration in nervous respiratory pad design and glance-off percs, making for a bracing potential set intro.

Review: Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain, the masterminds behind Future Sound of London, return with The Pulse EP Vol 3, a reissue of their classic work under various aliases on the Jumpin' & Pumpin' label. This highly anticipated 12" features tracks that showcase their 90s techno brilliance. Side-1 opens with Smart Systems' 'Tingler' (Four By Four mix), a dark, sinister track that channels Beltram's 'hover' sound into a hardcore rave anthem. Indo Tribe's 'Owl' (I Can See You mix) follows, hailed by fans as one of the greatest breakbeat hardcore tracks ever made, a retro-classic loaded with chunky, energetic beats and an unforgettable sample. Side-2 kicks off with Indo Tribe's 'Bite The Bullet Baby' (Jacques Reynoix mix), another gem that blends early 90s rave energy with a unique edge. The real highlight, however, is Yage's 'Calcium' (Elementary mix), which first appeared on Future Sound of London's Accelerator album. Even today, it sounds transcendental and timeless, its melodic piano lines and otherworldly ambiance continuing to win over listeners. This EP is a vital piece of underground rave history and an essential listen for fans of early techno and breakbeat hardcore.

Review: Sound Synthesis is back on his own new young label Subversive Underground with more atmospheric techno. This is warm, analogue driven tackle for sophisticated floors with opener 'We Are Still Here' sinking you into a world of celestial pads, aqueous chords and dubby, high speed drums. 'Sonic Transmissions' brings more texture to the fore with an edgy sustained synth line and metallic percussion and 'The Untold Story' then hits hard with stumbling kicks and tense pads keeping you on edge. Last of all, 'Above Below' keeps dancers on their toes with more electrifying synth work unfolding over charged-up techno kicks.

Review: The ever-excellent Ilian Tape label regular Stenny's 'Onda' comes as a limited one-time pressing "square wave homage" on 180g vinyl and as ever with this artist both tracks are devastatingly heavy and perfect for ultimate dance floor destruction. The title track takes up the A-side and is a crisp and snappy breakbeat underpinned by vast plunging bass notes and detailed with subtle electric fizzes and fills that are all-conquering. 'Quadra' is no less direct with its mix of physical low ends and microscopic details all warping mind and body in equal measure. Do not sleep on this one.

Review: Brazilian electro provocateurs STK have been carving out a distinctive niche with their stripped back machine funk on their own Sudd label, dropping two quality EPs last year. They're at it once again with this fresh crop of workouts from the Drexciyan school of electronics, offering three original tracks which aren't afraid to head into more experimental pastures. Meanwhile Unique Reason steps up for a remix of 'Stoned' which holds true to the title's vibe while offering a different slant on the STK sound.

Review: Ilian Tape is back with a new entry into their ITX Series and as always it comes with four interesting but unhelpful keywords from the Munich crew themselves: Mind-expanding Spaceship Customer Support. The music sure is cosmic and mind-expanding from Struciton, who opens with the thrilling breakbeats of 'Just' which are wired up with fizzing synths and whirring machine noises. 'Flip' then gets busy with a nimble rhythm and bright, pixelated synth sequences and spangled percussion. 'Givven' strips things back a little to a more deep and dubbed-out but still vital groove while 'Sunray' is a mind-melting deep space trip. Unique as always, this one.

Review: Elements Electric is a brand new label out of Dublin that kicks off with revered local talent Peter Sweeney who has also worked as Rustal on labels such as 393 Records and Diffuse Reality. His delightful electro, techno and house fusion sound brings plenty of key Detroit references with it and opener 'Celestial Flame' features pitch-bent acid streaks over kinetic drums. 'Love Not Lost' is another one laced with the sound of the 303 and has glistening celestial melodic details over deep drums. 'Motor City Man' is a classic Mid-Western cut with turbocharged drums and future synth soul while 'Aurora Lake' shows a more melodic side with nostalgic synths intertwining with each other over jacked up beats.

Review: Matt White and Paul Baines make a welcome studio return, dusting off their collection of synths and drum machines to resume their previously fruitful and, until recently, paused Synaptic Voyager collaboration. The Sheffield-based duo's work draws upon the Steel City's vast electronic music heritage, and their latest effort, arriving on the always-reliable Cyphon Recordings, is a masterclass of emotive electro futurism. The title track sets the EP off on the strongest possible footing, with lush pads and gorgeously evocative melodies looped over crisp drums and thick analogue bass. The growling funk bass of 'Lonely Promontory' combines with blissed-out synths and jagged rhythms, while the alien bleeps and driving kick of 'Stellar Engine' power through hypnotic harmonics and rolling bass. 'Once Exposed' adds a layer of Motor City grit to the sonic palette, before the 4/4 thrust and arpeggiated bass of 'Cognitive Network' drives smoke machines and strobes for a nocturnal warehouse workout.

Review: Acquit Records takes it back to its roots with ACQR00 marking a new beginning with Synaptic Voyager. This artist always cooks up Detroit-influenced techno and house tracks that ooze sophisticated synth craft and absorbing atmospheres. This fantastic seven-track double 12" features more club-ready stunners like 'Auditory Imagery' which marry disuse chords with tightly programmed beats. 'Echo Location' has punchy analogue beats softened with widescreen chords straight from the Motor City and 'Preordained Destiny' goes slower, with percolating bass funk and wispy, glowing keys slowing worming their way into the cosmos.

Review: The newly formed Shades Of Blur label comes out blazing with this electro and new wave firework, an EP drawing on various subgenres like electroclash, punk and nu-romantic. Each track here explores strong visions of classic sounding bands - 'Plama 1' is pure electro post-punk that infuses a bit of EBM and techno while 'Plama 2' has echoes of New Order's Confusion. We especially like 'Plama 3' with the slower electro funk that sounds like a mix of Severed Heads, Chris & Cosey and Throbbing Gristle and 'Plama 4' sounds like some kind of YMO outtake. If these are any sign of what's to come, than Shades Of Blur will be a label to look out for.

Review: Cititrax's first Tracks 12" sampler did a good job in showcasing material from some of the Brooklyn-based label's favourite contemporary producers. This follow-up, arriving only a few short months after the first, aims to do the same. Returning for his second appearance, Tsuzing kicks things off with the razor-sharp shuffle of "Nonlinear War", whose intoxicating electronics and wild synth lines recall Brown Album-era Orbital, before London-based L/F/D/M takes a trip into bleak techno territory with the acid-laden "Mouth Holes". Flip for Silent Servant's deliciously grandiose, muscular electro-disco workout "The Touch", and the clanking industrial percussion, EBM attitude and humming electro beats of Maelstrom's "Lithium".

Review: While most party DJs lament their wedding gigs while lauding their fun cool jobs, Wedding Acid Group - the openers of this latest V/A by Undersound Recordings - marks a point of going beyond mere cultural Stockholm syndrome, not just making light of our matrimonial masters, but redirecting those cheugy energies into a killer beatific-corrosive intro.AThen come three more riveting uplifts of a blissful and bouncey variety, from 'Do As I Say' by Albert Ess to 'Singlestranded' by Systelman to 'Love2' by J. Mono, seguing from industrial anvil clankage to a nightbus-bound house closer.

Review: Now resident artists on Point Of Departure, the techno collective Sandwell District present their latest blooping contradiction in transparent blue vinyl form. Drawing on the well-defined Birmingham techno idiom that made them, the elusive revolving-door trio also here welcome temporary stopovers from fellow floor functionaries Function, Regis, Monic and Rivet on each track, treading roads 'Less Travelled' with a 'Restless' intent. From the synaptic promo forerunner 'Hidden' to the tartly corrosive 'Citrinitas Acid', an unsurprising variety of new techno hurlers follows 2023's Feed Forward reissue, augmenting the free-partisan's immune system by hooking it up to a kind of patchwork electric lattice. Controlled chaos ensues.

Review: Aftere their unexpected reformation - apparently after key member Karl O'Connor was persuaded by none other than grunge king Mark Lanegan to end their decade-long hiartus - comes an even less expected new album from the cult Birmingham (or Black Country, to be more precise) techno gods. The album is a tribute to the late Juan Mendez, a key member of Sandwell District who passed away in early 2024. Mendez's unfinished artwork, originally intended for the album cover, serves as a poignant memorial to his contribution to their legacy. It's anything but functional techno, thouhg, with plenty of skittering, sidewinding beats and pared back rather than utterly banging rhythms. See the cinematic techno and dancefloor energy that blends Drexciya's innovative approach for reference, but also Autechre and more esoteric electro across the eight cuts. Plenty of sonic rebellion and meticulously crafted rhythm with a dark energy, not to mention edgy atmopsheres that will leave a lasting mark.

Review: Tresor's extended focus on reissuing old Drexciya and Drexciya-related projects continues here with this version of Shifted Phases' 'The Cosmic Memoirs Of The Late Great Rupert J Rosinthrope'. A short-lived alias of Drexciya's beloved James Stinson, Shifted Phases' only LP here is one of few affiliated projects that has remained out of print ever since its rather low-key release in 2002. Wildly popular despite it, the music heard on the album is undeniable early electro, locking in a characteristically frank, almost meek, yet astro-nautical electro sound. Scratchy crud and sonar feedback beeps extend to the deepest sonic reaches on this one; you better salvage it from the abyssal waters of history (by copping it), and quick.

Review: As one of the leading lights in Norwegian techno with guts, heart and soul, Skatebard has long skirted scene recognition to simply focus on slipping out his own strain of wayward machine matter. Given his track record with Sex Tags Mania, it's no surprise he'd trust DJ Sotofett with access to his archives, and so Spektral has come together as an exploration of long-buried recordings from the early 00s, edited by Sotofett and wrestled into a digestible form for this record. Capturing the best aspects of freeform jamming while cutting everything into shape, there's an inherent dirtiness to these recordings which instantly tells you it comes from an honest place.

Review: DJ Sotofett is a cult hero with a sound that is never less than eccentric. This new album Braindance on Sued is a collection of material the mercurial one has written between 2002 and 2020. All of the tracks are short but high impact in different ways and despite some of them being the best part of 20 years old and pre-dating all the famous Sex Tags projects they still bang. Thrilling breaks, icy techno, mashed up jungle and deeper, more acid laced late night grooves all feature and offer a window into the mind of one of electronica's most vital talents.

Review: Sound Synthesis is the alias of a Maltese producer with a brilliantly evocative and rich take on electro. He proves that beyond doubt with this new album of accomplished sound design across four sides of vinyl. Right from the off this one sucks you into its own singular world. 'Finding Balance' pairs a pensive melody with slick rhythms and from there the goodness never stops coming. 'DRG Branch' is a double-speed workout, 'Realm Of Human Understanding' is ambient for star gazing and 'The Cosmic Highway' is a lush brain dance.