Terrace – Perks [DSR/EEVO010]

Robbers was at the flying centre of Dutch techno in the early 1990s. “Perks” is Robbers’ fifth EP for Delsin in a relatively short time. On the one hand, it contains his signature sound: melancholic melodies and complex drum patterns wrapped in outstanding production; on the other, Perks surprises on many fronts. For starters, the overall vibe is a lot more sombre, the chosen route much more experimental. Take ‘Model A’, a dreamy, 12 minute-long meandering epic that nods to the kraut-infused electronica of Tangerine Dream and Cluster but at the same time proudly carries the techno DNA.

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Terrace – Perks [DSR/EEVO010]

The Black Dog – The Grey Album [DUSTV113]

The Black Dog exploring the old ways… ”We pushed further by adopting old practices, working with one synth per person and limiting the use of our computers. We only stopped short of putting everything on beer crates. It seems like madness these days, but there is raw creativity within these confines.”

vinyl / CD

The Black Dog – The Grey Album [DUSTV113]

XDB vs. Kryptic Universe – Lockertmatik 014 [LOCKERTMATIK014]

Great deep techno on this collaborative split release between XDB and Kryptic Universe! They’re bringing 2 of their favorite cuts onto the table. C.O.N. and Cloud Riders do dive deep and relentlessly into dub techno territory. 

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XDB vs. Kryptic Universe – Lockertmatik 014 [LOCKERTMATIK014]

Derek Carr – Allez EP [TRECS008]

Derek Carr has been pretty untouchable in the last couple of years. His work in the fields of deep house and deep techno has been consistently innovative and captivating. He takes care of the eighth EP on the Trident label now with more of his serene sound designs and dynamic grooves. ‘Allez’ heads off into the cosmos with balmy pads and smooth drums then acid lashes about the mix of ‘I Want You’ which rides a nice tight, clipped, locked-in drum line. Things get more loose and star gazing on ‘Revival’ while ‘Typhoon’ closes with playful synth patterns tumbling down over invitingly warm deep house drums.

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Derek Carr – Allez EP [TRECS008]

Sterac – Teknitron EP [DSR/STC5]

This fifth EP in the Steve Rachmad re-issue series contains a colorful combination of three tracks from different releases. Side A brings the sought after track ‘Teknitron’, originally released on his 3rd EP, originally released under his short-lived alias Black Scorpion back in 1995. ‘Transpose’ is taken from his first Sterac EP from 1994, while the last tracks ‘Alastria’ comes from his second album Thera, originally released in 1998. All tracks are re-mastered of course. Steve Rachmad’s richly melodic strain of techno has resulted in a huge body of work he has been growing since the early 90s. His sound is the perfect distillation of machine soul – dubby atmospherics and crisp, danceable dynamics balanced in perfect unison. Amsterdam’s Delsin Records gathers together some of the Dutch techno figurehead’s most important, sought-after works in a new EP series, all remastered from the original DAT tapes from Steve’s archives.

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Sterac – Teknitron EP [DSR/STC5]

DYL – Fjord [NOUS031]

Eduard Costea aka DYL is a Romania-based (born in Deva & living in Cluj-Napoca) experimental producer. He lands on Nous’klaer with Fjord: a deep dive that starts out soothing and gets deceptively heavy and hypnotic as you swim further offshore – filled with immense echoes that can feel eerie and comforting all at once.

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DYL – Fjord [NOUS031]

Vril – Animist [152DSR]

Channelling his own explorations in search of the soul inside the machine, VRIL draws from the deep well of his live performances to present his third LP for Delsin, Animist. Inside lie 12 pieces which seem to probe at the unknowable distance between tangible consciousness and the astral plane, imbuing even the most seemingly synthetic of materials with a living essence. Given his illustrious back catalogue, it’s no surprise to hear VRIL conjure explicitly electronic music with such loaded emotional impact and seemingly organic animus, but in the process he also toys with the idea of how far the technology’s spiritual potential can reach.

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Vril – Animist [152DSR]

Jeff Mills – Metropolis Metropolis [AX107]

”Metropolis Metropolis” album is an abbreviated version of the most recent electronic music soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) by Jeff Mills. Unlike his first soundtrack version (released in 2011) where tracks addressed specific segments of the film in a track listing form, this version is more a symbiotic mix of compositions that proposes a nuanced representation of the plot and storyline. As an electronic symphonic music creation, Mills proposes a few interesting points in the schematics of this album. First, the positioning and role of the listener as the soundtrack is based on the environment of the scenes, rather than pure transcription and second, as a storyline that takes place in the year 2000, the choice of sound elements refer to some future commonality and foresight between the genres of Classical and Electronic music – between man and machine.

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Jeff Mills – Metropolis Metropolis [AX107]

Ultra Random Analog Orchestra – EP2 [3ELP2020012]

Third Ear presents a new Brendon Moeller project … Ultra Random Analog Orchestra. The project kicks off with 13 tracks released on vinyl over 3 individually released 12″ and a digital album with 16 tracks. The music ranges from deep, wide-screen Techno to Ambient and beatless, that pushes the limits of the sonic palette. Brendon says, “the ability to sculpt an audio collage in realtime employing techniques of randomness is one of my favorite pursuits using a Eurorack modular system.”

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Ultra Random Analog Orchestra – EP2 [3ELP2020012]

Levon Vincent – Medium Is The Message II [NS-40]

Levon Vincent continues unabashed to combine the Streetwise and the Elegant on his newest release, The Medium is the Message II – a reference to Marshall McLuhan’s theory that the message signifies content and character, and the ‘content’ of any medium blinds us to the character of said medium. Levon doubles-down with Novel Sound #40, promoting his love for vinyl all these pleasurable years.

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Levon Vincent – Medium Is The Message II [NS-40]

Game Plan – Club Negotiations [BIENV004]

Game Plan is the meeting of Gabriel Rei and Gene Tellem. A longstanding friendship unfolded through mutual love for dance music and experience. ‘Club Negotiations’ arrives on Bienvenue Recordings as their first official studio collaboration. Three melodic and hypnotic compositions to help find your focus from the ecstatic nature of the party to the daily hustle of modern life.

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Game Plan – Club Negotiations [BIENV004]

John Shima – The Empty Lands [FS028]

John Shima has proven himself to be a natural disciple for the kind of emotive techno sound B12 were pioneering in the early 90s, and so it makes sense to see him working closely with Steven Rutter’s FireScope label now. More than meeting a pre-meditated formula, the focus here is on expression through the machines, and Shima is a dab hand at getting his synths and sequences to sing. After 2019’s The Lonely Machine, he’s back with The Empty Lands, an engrossing long player which journeys through enchanting, interwoven synth lines and delicate drum machine patter that will keep you invigorated and inspired for aeons.

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John Shima – The Empty Lands [FS028]

Darren Nye – Voyage Of Light [ELUSIVETWO]

In the year 2022, two induvidual electronic entities have formed an alliance; Spacetime Records by Darren Nye and Childhood Intelligence by Venus News Network – morphed into Elusive Intelligence. Darren Nye has been devoted to deep machine-dreaming techno since the 90s, but he’s hit a particularly productive run in the last four years. On “Voyage Of Light” across nine tracks Nye weaves a spectrum of sci-fi tales with the textbook tools – warm, expressive synth lines and crisp, intricate drum machine patterns.

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Darren Nye – Voyage Of Light [ELUSIVETWO]

Nuron + Fugue – DAT Tapes 1993-1994 LP [ASGDE037]

Nuron makes a spectacular return on De:tuned with a compilation of hidden treasures. Nurmad Jusat aka Nuron / Fugue, one of the originators of the UK emotive techno sound, went on a quest for archived material and unearthed a handful of DAT tapes with previously unreleased music from the early to mid 90s. The tracks offer a deeply melodic and unique masterclass. Nuron combines a pulsing four-on-the-floor signature beat of the traditional techno sound with his characteristic rhythm and harmony elements. Classic Likemind-esque material that comes with an exclusive Stasis remix of ‘Contrapoint’.

vinyl / CD

Nuron + Fugue – DAT Tapes 1993-1994 LP [ASGDE037]

Konduku – Mantis 09/10 [DSR-MTS09/DSR-MTS10]

Konduku returns to the Delsin Mantis series with an exciting double pack which dives deeper into his remarkable fractured rhythms and light-touch synthesis. Over the course of nine tracks Ruben Üvez straddles the space between introspective headphone trips and hypnotising dancefloor elegance, operating in a liminal zone of fluid tempos, submerged atmospheres and pointillist beats. It’s an open-ended but clear-sighted approach that aligns perfectly with the direction of the Mantis series.

Mantis09 / Mantis10

Konduku – Mantis 09/10 [DSR-MTS09/DSR-MTS10]

Ke Thu – Like A Beacon Against The Fog [STILLT004]

For the fourth offering of Still Techno, newcomers Ke Thu drop a massive deep techno EP – ‘Like A Beacon Against The Fog’. Ke Thu is a Detroit-based live act consisting of Tim Barrett and Steven Stavropoulos. The two have been making music together for the last decade, developing the Ke Thu alias in 2018. Their music is an earnest exploration of techno and everything it is capable of: ethereal soundscapes, broken beats and rhythms, deep textures, and more.

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Ke Thu – Like A Beacon Against The Fog [STILLT004]

VA – Spectral Flux [GREYEXPO003]

Greyscale is back with a new set of burners directed specifically for the DJ’s and the dancefloor. ‘Spectral Flux’ offers four club monsters that spotlight different emotions and times in a classy deep techno set. Tracks by Stelios Vassiloudis, Jamie S., Operandum and Armin Bender.

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VA – Spectral Flux [GREYEXPO003]

Code 6 – Second Chapter [OW001-PWV]

Joey Beltram 1991 timeless classic is back on vinyl, originally released on Nu Groove. This reissue from brand new imprint Orange Wedge hears the original in fully-remastered glory, charting the proto-bleep tones of a trio of quizzical ‘Quad’ tunes. These B-side tracks are very nicely intro’ed by ‘C.O.D.E.S.’, a trance track which seems to revel quite well in the wonder of cyberspace, lilting between two chords in permanent alternation.

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Code 6 – Second Chapter [OW001-PWV]