The mysterious but widely acclaimed R-Zone series roll on to a 15th EP now with a new four track release that is as essential as ever. Opener ‘Hired Gun’ is a tough and raw concoction with coarse, snappy snares, rough drum pings and lots of abrasive texture all making for a physical listening experience. ‘Midwinter’ is a deeper and more emotive jam with warm pads dampening down icy hi hats and busy synth work. It is fresh and original and sounds like little else, then ‘Captive’ gets all deep and space-y with smeared pads and slick metallic hits tied together with a molten acid line. Lastly, ‘Exile’ is five blissful and beautiful minutes of atmospheric, intergalactic electronic sounds that really take you to another place.

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The R-Zone series excels at raw, inventive, off kilter club music from a range of mysterious artists. That fine tradition continues once more here with another four cuts of inventive music that takes cues from techno, IDM, acid and house. Lumidei is all wonky drums and out of time hits and is a brilliantly weird cut full of spacious atmospherics. Mynheer is built on a bed of broken beats, knocking hits and metallic textures that all tumble and fall around loosely and invitingly.

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For their next trick, the anonymous R-Zone crew turn out three darkly engaging cuts that once again look back to a ravey heyday for their inspiration, but at the same time conjure up some refreshing contemporary ideas that will no doubt have dancefloors in raptures. EP opener ‘Onefourone’ is an epic end of the night track with big drums, melancholic chords and a sombre sense of finality that makes you think the world could end anytime. ‘Gravity’ sounds like an invasion from space, with falling synth lines, buried deep drums and clattering percussion all making for a foreboding atmosphere. ‘Stolen Birds’ fills up the flip side with a groaning and darkwave synth line and cooing birdcalls. As big hi hats come in and glassy tinkles fill in the airwaves, it turns into a stormy affair that is both dancey and cerebral at the same time. As always with R-Zone, this is compelling, creative music that bristles and brims with all sorts of occult charm.

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Just a year after starting and the irrepressible R-Zone series is up to release number 9. Again this time there is no real word on who is behind the music, but again it is fierce, searing techno for darkened dancefloors. The barrelling, stomping ‘Down You Go’ opens this EP with blocky metal beats, spares synth lines which bleed in and out of focus and plenty of rattling percussion. ‘Give Me More’ goes a little slower and deeper, with rubbery kick drums forming the base of the track as molten and melted acid gurgles percolate up through the mix. On the flipside, ‘Too Much TV’ is a more elastic groove that undulates up and down with short little acid stabs buried deep within as the bass drops in and out. Supple and propulsive, it’s arresting stuff that gets completed with final track ‘VHC Beats’. Whichever producers are behind the R-Zone series always manages to come up with the goods, so if you like fizzing, textured techno that pulls no punches, this remains the series for you.

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The 8th outing on the mysterious R-Zone series. Opening this EP’s account is ‘Percept’, a kinked techno rhythm drowning in scraping percussion, grainy synths and gallivanting basslines. Once you penetrate the textural mist that shrouds the whole arrangement, it’s a heady place to be. ‘We Sad II” is a gurgling acid jam with rattling machine sounds, rubbery basslines and plenty of sonic grit and grime, whilst closer ‘303909’ makes plenty of use of the machines mentioned in its title to conjure up a weighty, dubbed out vibe that’s thick with mystic ambiance and propped up by well swung drums.

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The R-Zone series continues down its avant-garde path with a next EP from another established producer but one who’s name will not be revealed, as is the way with this series. The jacking electronics of ‘Rebecca In The Hall’ goes first with a whipping bassline, plenty of jarring machine sounds and nebulous sci-fi synths. The tension is broken with the sensuous cry of a female vocal and from there you are elevated to a higher level of good-time vibes. ‘Romijn Ravine’ then takes us back to the old school – bristling drum breaks, hardcore stabs and crushed hits all mesh around one another to form a dusty, grainy intergalactic sonic trip. Closing out the trio of tracks is ‘Night Level II’ which is another fully analogue jam where wiry synths and jacked-up kick drums hustle and bustle with a kinetic energy that sucks you in and drags you along for the ride. It’s another fierce EP with a dense make-up, but one that has many hidden pleasures within.

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R-Zone is a new label launched by Global Darkness. Who is involved isn’t exactly a secret, those who feel so inclined can piece the information together quite easily. It is however irrelevant to the concept of R-Zone, which would like to shift the focus away from namedropping and perception based on hype around individual artists and bring it back where it belongs; in the lap of the music.

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R-Zone is a new label launched by Global Darkness. Who is involved isn’t exactly a secret, those who feel so inclined can piece the information together quite easily. It is however irrelevant to the concept of R-Zone, which would like to shift the focus away from namedropping and perception based on hype around individual artists and bring it back where it belongs; in the lap of the music.

listen