Review: Fourth part of the compilation celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Milanese record shop. This collection is entirely composed of previously unreleased music, exclusively produced for the occasion by many artists of great relevance in the worldwide music scene, who supported the store over the last ten years.
This EP features Ellen Allien, Kreggo, Timeslip89, Itinerant Dubs and Heith.
Review: Amorphic and Tensal hook back in to the machine to dialyse their crafts once more, with 'Highland Frequencies' offering up four, machine-numbered atoning lambs to our mech overlords, following up the equally arrayed 'Distant Landscapes' EP (2024) on Blueprint. Now bringing their distinctive cataloguing system to the discographic vanitas Mord, four more 'AT' tracks make for an irresistibly well-layered, synthetically one-of-a-kind release. Only 'AT4' gets a subtitle, 'The Sleepwalker', where a sandman's slumbrous, lollygaggling beats somehow, at the same time, betray a subconscious, paradoxical restlessness.
Review: After the success of their last outing, A New Chapter, from this label, Balders Audio offers up a second various artists 12" with some punchy techno for loud sound systems. Audio Units opens up with the thrilling drum programming and intense synth textures of 'Transmodality.' Linear System then keeps up the pace with '0724am' which is a sleek, linear, heady techno roller marbled with eerie little cosmic details. Tangram's 'Variant Trials' shuts down with what is a deep, dark, moody acid-laced techno mind melter. Perfect 5 am tackle if you ask us.
Review: Sure Thing presents Well of Sand, its second compilation. Six tracks from the label's friends and favourites, each new to the roster, offer bold, untempered explorations of tempo and weight, a concise yet expansive collection recalling the deliberate cadence of rippling sand and the sheen of shimmering oases. From Command D's subtly groundswelling, but snappy 'Half Blue (Violet Mix)', to Foreign Material's alarmingly alien 'The Living Planet' and Third Space's supremely stereoized, lowercase opus 'Push (Part 2)', this is a release for that large intersection of audiophiles and techno-philes.
Review: Drei Vinyl launched back in 2023 and has slowly but surely amassed a respectable catalogue of various artists' releases. This sixth outing is the most straight-up techno offering yet and it opens with one of Spain's finest in Eduardo De La Calle. 'Deva5Vyasa' is heady and otherworld loop techno perfection with synth daubs and conscious vocals peppering the rubbery kicks. DJ Shufflemaster brings more texture to the raw, percussive madness of 'Axiom' and Tensal layers up unsettling and anxious synth murmurs with rising drum tension on 'Thermal Cycler.' Pergo's 'Lume' is a brash, industrial closer full of urgency.
Review: Soma sub-label Avoidant Records recently put out a fantastic collection fo electro cuts but it was a digital only release. Now some of the standouts from it get pulled together on this fresh new 12"that joins the dots between Europe and Detroit. DJ Godfather kicks off with some rapid fire 313 electro, squirrelling bass and slick claps then 'One Direct Line' from The Exaltics is more cosmic and blissed out with lush ambient synths. On the flip, Flug goes hard with mad digital patterns and Blaktony layers up jacking drums, corrugated bass and dark hits. Great stuff.
Review: DJ Hyperactive's now-defunct Contact was the label that first put out this cult cut from 1996. Some 25 years later it now gets a welcome reissue on Truncate's own self-titled label and features a remix from the techno titan himself. 'Reptilian Tank' gets a breath of new life and a refreshing new remix by label boss Truncate. First up is the original - a head-wrecking, panel-beating techno rave-up with wispy pads and pulsating bass that is full of pent-up energy. The remix is a speedy, stripped-back version that races ahead with all the urgency of a shooting star.
DJ Shufflemaster & Go Hiyama - "Salasa Geometric" (5:20)
Bartig Move - "Asistencia" (5:12)
Tensal - "Esbar" (6:54)
Aocram - "Dreams In NYC" (6:41)
Review: Mord has put together a bumper collection of 17 searing techno cuts as part of its Herdersmat compilation but is also seeing up four at a time on individual 12"s. There is no messing with Part 41 which opens with DJ Shufflemaster & Go Hiyama's ear-splitting, brain frazzling 'Salasa Geometric'. Bartig Move opts for a much more minimal and roomy sound on the rolling 'Asistencia' then Tensal picks up the pace once more with the rusty loops and broken beats of 'Esbar'. Aocram's 'Dreams In NYC' is a swamp, depraved closer for late night mischief.
Review: Robert Drewek vs Tomie Nevada's 'Time 4 More' EP was originally released on Unleash Records in 2005. Nine years on and Rawax are reissuing it on black wax and the tunes sound as good as ever. 'While He's Away' is a slick blend of garage-infused house drums and warm synth pulses with catchy vocal samples that bring a hint of old school. On the flip is 'Down With the Bass' which flips the script with a stripped back and militant but silky groove, dubby pads and a head's down vibe that really hypnotises.
Review: Yay Recordings closes out another solid 12 months with a various artists' EP that showcases right where the label is at. Heavy Mental kicks off with 'Dabro', a colourful and loopy house jaunt for sunny days. Twowi's 'Metaverse' takes off to the cosmos on lithe electro rhythms with ice-cold beats and widescreen pads. Parchi Pubblici & Lucretio's 'Aladdin Sane' brings some wonky deep tech vibes with of-balance drums and muffled spoken words and Rinaldo Makaj closes down with a fresh party sound perfect for cosy floors. There's plenty of variety here, which makes this a great addition to your bag.
Review: Short Attention Records makes a welcome return here with a new drop of wax that fits the label head into its roots in deep techno sound worlds. This one takes the form of a various artists' EP crafted with an intake feel for cosy floors and who better to kick off in that vibe than the revered Lawrence whose 'Hawser' is a groovy and melodious track. Next, New Jersey don Joey Anderson sets a slow and deep tone with 'Human Kind' which has moody vocals and Japanese artist Takuya Matsumoto follows with 'Three Flowers', a more potent and driving cut with a fine acid bassline. Rounding off the EP is 'Desired Spring' by R/K, a loop-driven deep house gem designed for both listening and dancing.
Review: Chris Liberator's experimental techno label Maximum/Minimum forms part of the Stay Up Forever Collective umbrella, which has been going for a heck of a long time (since 1995-ish), charting untouched terrains of teratological UK hardcore techno. An offshoot imprint dedicated to the "creative corruptions" of the Stay Up Forever crew, Liberator and co. would originally release these ones without catalogue numbers, that is until the market beseeched them to behave more conventionally. Now, well past their 65th V/A release, comes their latest, a decapitatory pummeller fronted by Sonico's 'Did You Say Acid?' and Zyco Seon's 'Citric Frequencies'.
Review: Serious seriality from the OHM Series, an imprint and sole patent owner of the rare, aurally administered chemical known as Omega X. The alphabetic Greek letter ohm determines impedance / resistance in an electrical circuit, and so too do each of the dub techno tracks released on the OHM Series amount to tergiversating transductions, their chillout chord-knocks and hardened beats never quite letting us settle. Though titles like 'Innocence' and 'Downtime' persist here, the tracks perhaps inadvertently prove that flow is impossible without resistance: Separation's track is especially unorthodox in its strange reordering of phaser, pan and saturation effects on the pad-stab, which produces an unusual swirling effect.
Review: Ohm Series #10 continues to be a shining example of the remarkable work being done in the dub techno genre, consistently featuring top-tier producers who excel in their craft. On Side-1, Monomood kicks things off with 'Spring In Space,' a track that boasts deep sub-bass hits and long, blending chords. Its strong kick and clean production make it a powerful example of dub techno at its finest. Following this, Octal Industries delivers 'Rewind Repeat,' a piece that layers epic strings and a soaring melody over an abstract broken beat. Powerful and evocative! Side-2 opens with G-Prod and Taho's'"Light Forest,' an uptempo dub techno track with a techy edge. Its smooth production and dancefloor-ready vibe make it a seamless fusion of technical prowess and groove. Closing out the release is Gradient's 'Track 4,' which offers classic dub techno sounds. Gradient's exceptional craftsmanship is evident in this track, which epitomizes the lush textures and hypnotic rhythms that define the genre. Overall, Ohm Series #10 upholds its reputation by delivering high-quality dub techno that resonates with both purists and new listeners alike. This release is an ideal example to the innovative spirit of the genre.
Review: AcidLab is back with a fourth dose of medicine and this one comes on translucent red vinyl with various different artists behind the beats. Musikaddikt's 'Acid War' is a straight-up techno banger with oversized hi-hats. Tassid & Eski offer up the best named tack of the year with 'Ok You Cunts' which is raved-up hard techno, Acidrats & Skandal get even more wild and unhinged with their barrage of wind-up melodies and hard-edge and flat-footed beats on 'Massive Murder' and last of all comes Crime with 'Knife Blast which is a big distorted wall of white knuckle rave-techno, not for the faint-hearted.
Review: Mental health charity label Serenity keeps it sophisticated with its sixth outing and once again donates all proceeds to charity this time Young Minds. It is underground house mainstay and DiY Discs legend Nail who steps up first with a much more breezy and balmy sound than you would expect but it sure is lush. 'Pad On' slips into his more usual and driving house sound but with swirling pads up top for summery refinement. Trixie, Connor Male & Thoma Bulwer then get deep and late night with their punchy 'Impromptune' while Trixie's solo cut 'restless sculptures' is a jacked-up and percussive number that leans into techno.
Review: Iceland's Thule offshoot label 66 Degrees was a vital label back in the day. After a 20-year hiatus, it came back strong in August and now follows up quickly with a second superb EP. This one is a carefully curated various artists collection that pulls together some local house anthems new and old. Ozy's 'Sequential Dub' is a super smooth deep house number with lush chord work. Sanasol brings heavier, more raw house drums and grinding bass that will get floors in a sweat. Oz Artists mixes up a raw, mechanical groove with balmy, dreamy pads up top to make for something utterly compelling on 'Atomox; while last of all Terry Cummingz pays homage to dusty Windy City house on his perfectly lo-fi 'Cherry Bon Bon. Classy business for sure.
Review: The Rotterdam label Mort's long-running Herdersmat series was first released in digital compilation form; only now has this round table turned its swords towards a sequential vinyl series, not the first of which you hear here. This 12" marks parts 16 in the series, clocking contributions from producers Rumenige, TAKA, Jokasti, Nek, and NX1. The heads-down producoes so named have delivered a creative, blazing irradiation of broken techno heat here, charting a rumbly and grounded, yet no less interoceptively arresting haul; our fave 'Eka' throws our sense of balance of course with quick, hard autopans and roughly ingrained, kick trods; then the silver medalist 'MRD1' bucks the proceedings off to unploughed courses, frightening the listener with garbled, found-footage EVP voices between horror-techno kicks.
Review: The third drop on Tonske's Cogo label welcomes another grip of high-functioning techno freaks to the table. The mighty Jeroen Search leads the charge with the loopy, Hood-flavoured pressure of 'Observer' before Border One throws down a primal mind-warper which is built for creative blending and psychological submersion. ORBE heads up the flip with a deadly, simmering workout built from densely interwoven threads of drums and synth, all the better to open a wormhole up with. Tonske's own sonar bleep stylings offer the deepest foil to the intensity of the other tracks, favouring minimalism as a vessel for pure, eyes-closed techno escapism.
Review: Following up two volumes in the Sextant various artist EP series, the enigmatic Tachyon makes their full proper EP debut here on Swiss imprint Unruh. 'Fried' is very much an advanced take on the minimal techno sound and will effectively warp minds at the afterhour, followed by the mutant electro textures of 'PCM' (dub). Over on the flip, the icy and spatial 'Traffic' takes its cues as much from 2-step as dub techno, followed by the eerie twilight beats of 'Late Chatter'. Tip!
Review: Paling Trax 5 is a new record by TAFKAMP and Vromo, two techno artists from Rotterdam and Amsterdam respectively1. Paling Trax, meanwhile, comes as a new sublabel of renowned club pushers Self Reflektion, focusing on the comparatively rawer and groovier. Four tracks appear: 'Trakpad #1' and 'Ghett-hoes', courtesy of TAFKAMP, establish dub-tecchy and retro, MPC-style NRG respectively. Vromo's 'Clarity' and 'Pump The Rhythm' , meanwhile, both puslate in different ways, one locking in a serious respiratory mood, and the other sounding like a Bop-It jailbroken for the club.
Review: Blackmarket is a New York party that has always led from the front and been a rare underground haven for threads. The label reflects that similar mindset and here label boss Taimur and long-time Costa Rican friend Artro link up for a four-track techno trip. 'Know Your Friends (Vox)' is a percussive workout with sinewy synths reaching into the cosmos. There is more low-end heft to 'Machina' which is weighty and dubby. A second version of 'Know Your Friends' is surging and metallic and last of all 'Elements' brings a touch of high-speed funk to a techno framework.
Review: Rotterdam techno label TH Tar Hallow is all about providing peak-time techno nourishment. Next to cook up the goods is Augusto Taito who kicks off with the caustic intensity of 'Kanji' which has unsettling bleeps and big rusty drum loops. 'Paradox Of Choice' captures, in techno form, the unresolved anxiety of being lost with infinite options on your Netflix home page then 'O1.2' is a more wispy and roomy blend of dubby low ends and intricate sound designs that trigger your synapses. It's all heavy drums and unrelenting synth loops on closer 'A Sip Of Blood '.
Review: Taken, in case you didn't know, is the duo of former Skudge man Elias Landberg and Nihad Tule. This latest slab of techno follows their previous work in that it is functional but stylish. The drums are analogue, muscular, and perfect to hook on to, and the synths and hi-hats that peel off a rusty, glitchy and slight, but make enough of an impact to cut through. 'Hybrid' is a sleek opener, 'Drumcode' is more dubby and raw and 'Ice Truck' has a more mysterious sense of intergalactic exploration thanks to the sonar-like synths. 'Standard Truck' shuts down with mind-melting and warped synth lines all twisted around one another.
Review: You'll struggle to find any deeper or more alluring tracks in Norm Talley's catalogue than 'Powder', the wonderfully hypnotic, locked in and subtly spacey opener from the Motor City producer's 2011 EP on Mixmode, Tracks From The Asylum. It's a good thing, then, that Talley has decided to reissue the sought-after EP on his own label. The Detroiter doesn't put a foot wrong throughout, with the chugging, beatdown-inspired brilliance of 'Lost', which boasts some sublime piano solos, and the up-beat hustle of 'Private Party' being equally as essential as 'Powder'. Speaking of that track, Delano Smith's 'More Powder' version is also worth a listen, featuring as it does slightly bolder synth riffs and a tougher, techno-influenced groove.
Ramon Tapia - "Fear" (Dynamic Forces remix) (5:05)
Review: Netherlands techno titan Planet Rhythm goes full percussive gas giant on their latest V/A, 'Friction', a motorsport motivator full of accelerometric elan - one of several V/As to grace their revving catalogue in recent times. Ramon Tapia leads the motorcade with 'Friction', a stabbing aerator full of overtop claps and rims, while Louis Lp's 'Radioactivity' unsettles with its seething high ringing and affectively isolated chord-stab-melody. Deas' 'Hard Dreams' nods to the real, unshakeably material core of dreams, with its rancorous full-tone acids, while Ramon Topia closes with 'Fear', a restless, chord-throttling, hard trancey, speed demonic rally racer.
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