After a gap of seven years JS Zeiter returns with the next instalment of dubby tehcno in this long running, but intermittent, series of releases.
JS Zeiter – JS-05 [JS005]
dub techno
STL – Constructive: No Words Required [BOOGIE001]
Boogie Box, a bi-monthly party in the Middle East, launches its record label with an EP by STL aka Stephan Laubner. STL has crafted an unmistakeable sound that he has become so well known for, Deep and Dubby House and Techno. The a-side opens up with Hide & Seek, a 10-minute story filled with dub delays, weird soundscapes, and eerie pads, backed up by STL’s signature drums. If you are into Andy Stott, Deepchord and Rhythm & Sound, then this if for you. Perfect warm up material. On the flip-side is Haze & Kraze. Another long player by STL. This time, there is more drive to it. Leaning towards the darker side, the track is driven by Stephan’s loose drums’ programming, and muffled bassline, keeping the track moving and ever-changing.
Eshu – Fraktur EP [ESHU010]
ESHU Records hits release number ten with a new EP. ‘Fraktur’ features six tracks of stripped back house and techno that are all atmospheric and heady. Opener ‘Winter Track’ is a smooth and rolling dub techno number that is grainy and economical yet hugely absorbing thanks to its circling synth details and woody drums. ‘Creating Moods’ is even more expansive and spacious, with gently swirling pads enveloping a soft, broken rubber kick drum. The title track is another expertly distilled, dry and heady groove with its frayed edges and warm analogue feel, then ‘Hello’ really flips the script with over driven Jeff Mills kicks and intergalactic synths bring a spooky sci-fi feel to proceedings. ‘Yorubaland’ is then a cosmic ambient interlude with fax tones bleeping and blipping as lazy pads smear out in the background and last of all ‘Core’ comes on strong with more quick and slick intergalactic techno carrying you off to some distant planet.
Alex Danilov – Religion 2000 EP [FOXTRAX010]
Fluxion – Vibrant Forms III [SUBWAXFXCD002]
Konstantinos Soublis, aka Fluxion, and Subwax Bcn have decided to pick up the banner and release Vibrant Forms III. It contains everything anyone could hope for and more: The massive, booming basses, the clicks and hisses, the atmospheric thunderstorms, the opium smoke-scented streaks of reverb, dub echoes and the warmth. Yes, above all else the warmth: Sometimes moist and dripping as in “Safe Harbour”, sometimes blisteringly dry as in “Variant”. It’s no easy task, giving cold, dead machines warm breaths. And no-one quite does it like Fluxion.
Altitude – Integration EP [AS016]
The first new release in 15 years for Matt Thibideau under the Altitude name and it’s as if he never left. Just like his legendary 1998-2001 output on Blue Recordings, each of these tracks is a deep and dubby analog groove to get utterly lost in. ‘Integration’ could be a new addition to Maurizio’s classic M series, while ‘Harmonic Scan’ lays the reverb on even thicker over a dark pulsing bass. ‘Stabilizer’ provides a techier counterpoint more aligned with the deep and driving loops of Bluespirit or Driftwood.
Vakula – A Morning Without Glory [BANDURA005]
mgch – 87 [L2M004]
mgch comes through with a dexterous debut 12” for listen2me. This 4-track EP explores lush pulses and shadowy rhythms, balancing both introspection and evocation. Label mate and long time collaborator Serb flips the title track on its head, delivering an ever evolving and explosive remix.
Sounds & Sequences – Undercover [SS004]
The 4rth release in the Sounds & Sequences series with 2 warm dusty deep techno tracks that go on and on.
VA – 15 Years With Echocord [ECHOCORD071]
After 15 years in the game, Kenneth Christensen’s Echocord mark that achievement with an exclusive ten track compilation spanning their broadest parameters, from a beatless panorama by STL thru mesmerising dub techno from Deadbeat. Along the way they present a clinical, squashed dub-stepper from Arovane, Struktur 1; the Detroit ghetto acid of Hoodmode by Luke Hess; purified dub suspension from Fluxion; and strangely enough, a vocal turn from Mike Dehnert in Track Providing Home.
Idealist – Firewood Street [IDEALISTMUSIC007]
The seventh Idealistmusic installment and debut album by the Swiss artist. Deep dusty dub techno tracks by the Idealist.
Johannes Regnier – Hilbert Space [THC012]
The Healing Company re-release a highly sought original version of Johannes’ Regnier “Hilbert Space”, coming with two stunning remixes by Palms Trax and Massimiliano Pagliara.
Dino Sabatini – Concentrica [OUTISOPERA002]
After inaugurating the ‘Opera’ sub-series of his Outis Music label with the ‘Omonimo’ double LP, Dino Sabatini has invited some choice allies to help define the vocabulary and expand the vision of the new imprint. The aforementioned album, which wove together Sabatini’s atmospheric conjuring skill with the piano flourishes of Antonello Salis, already exhibits the label’s commitment to dismantling the ‘either-or’ logic of contemporary genres by successfully merging a variety of supposedly irreconcilable styles, talents, and worldviews (e.g. both mythological and the technological perspectives). The follow-up EP, ‘Concentrica’, draws on the material from ‘Omonimo’ and delivers it into the hands of additional remixers in order to continue the Outis Opera voyage.
VA – Espectrum 2 [AR048.2]
AvantRoots present Espectrum, a year-long effort to put together a compilation of the best dub techno. The compilation was carefully built with hypnotic, obscure, dense, and magical sounds with an eternal hook.
Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present Borderland – Transport [TRESOR285]
To coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Berlin club Tresor, Juan Atkins and Moritz Von Oswald have released a second Borderland album together. It begins in ominous mode, with the title track’s brooding bass tones casting a long, dark shadow, but the pair soon find a way to break away from the gloom with the mesmerising chords and heavy rhythm of “Lightyears” and the wonderfully spacey Detroit techno of “Riod”. Both “Odyssey” and “Merkur” push the tempo back down but keep an emphasis on hypnotic, woozy textures, snappy drums and jazzy tones, while “2600” shows that Van Oswald hasn’t lost his ability to craft dub-heavy, dreamy techno.
Dan Curtin – The Waters of Mars EP [7SR027]
A key artist in the shaping of electronic music, Dan Curtin has explored many styles in his career and now he has come full circle. The hardware repopulates the studio, bringing with it the inventive, organic techno sound he is most fondly known for, this time with a modern twist. These tracks take you to the heart of the man and are some of his best work.
Unbroken Dub – Untitled Dubs 2 [RAWAX019]
With his fulminant debut ep “Untitled Dubs”, RAWAX became over night an incredible focus in the techno scene worldwide. Unbroken Dub aka Denis Safiullin was let’s say the co-founder of it and still a very close friend of the label. No wonder that now comes Denis’ 7th release and follow up to the first one called “Untitled Dubs 2”!
Echologist – Good Vibrations EP [ECHOCORDCOLOUR034]
Brendon Moeller dons the notorious Echologist moniker again for some superbly executed dub techno experiments and finds a rather fitting home on Kenneth Christiansen’s Echocord imprint. The slo-mo, sci-fi dub of “Bent” is so vivid and smoked out that you can almost hear the lighter going off in the background; some serious darkside bass therapy on this one. “Repeat Rate” is more straight ahead on this stomping yet hypnotic techno track with some immaculate dub chords. Finally on “Good Vibrations” he works those resonators and dub delays like a true master in a wonderful exercise in restraint that’s perfect to build the vibe or equally transition out of the peak time with style.
Cio D’Or – All In All Remixed [SEM073X]
‘All in all’ getting a special treatment from Milton Bradley, Electric Indigo & Monolake, Mike Parker and Svreca.
Fluxion – Bipolar Defect [SUBWAXFX002]
Dub techno legend Konstantinos Soublis aka Fluxion is back with another album, his first since 2014’s Broadwalk Tales on Echocord. Bipolar Defect is presented by Barcelona based label Subwax Bcn and is a further exploration of Soublis’ delay drenched, smoked out and chillingly glacial soundscapes that have earned him releases on a who’s who of the niche sub genre’s finest labels such as the legendary Chain Reaction and his own Vibrant Music imprint. Highlights include the signature sounds of “Multidirectional”, “Friction Pulse” and “Stream II” which sound like soundtracks for stoned and spiritual explorations through the Arctic, while there’s some immersive and drifting affairs like “Omnibus” and “Aviation” that’ll totally drown you in sound.
The Hipodrome Of Music 