”Today it has been 6 years, 7 months and 19 days since I based all my music on the colundi sequence. This album is a milestone on my colundi journey. The first half of it was made in Montreal, Canada; and the second half in Lahti, Finland.” Aleksi Perälä
Adam X’s highly respected, deep, science fiction laden, Traversable Wormhole project celebrates its 10-year journey with a first full-length studio album titled Regions Of Time. Lying mostly dormant since 2012, with a cameo appearance on Hospital Record back in 2016 with two tracks, TW is now fully awoken from the long travel through the space-time continuum with eight new songs of thought-provoking, psychedelic, bass-heavy, galaxian techno. Adam X’s back catalog is, of course, vast, spanning over a period three decades under several aliases. The New York native recently released his devious escapade through rumbling EBM and industrial techno in the form of his full-length album Recon Mission, released under his Sonic Groove Imprint. With this project being under the Traversable Wormhole alias, be sure to expect a completely different facet to X’s repertoire of pounding excursions. Step through the wormhole portal and take a deep cerebral mind trip into “Regions Of Time “
DJ Nobu returns to his own Bitta label, his personal playground for new musical projects with a focus on artists coming out of Japan. The label functions as a space for experimentation with the intention of instigating multiple styles by unexpected artists or pairing them with stimulating remixers. The unique chemistry created by these cross-genre connections results in an exciting catalogue carefully curated and directed by DJ Nobu himself. After recent outings on Rush Hour, Token and BleeD, the Japanese producer dives even deeper into a pure and adventurous techno journey with his most simplistic output to date. A DJ tool EP designed for the club, with four tracks of stripped down yet powerful dance floor workouts. All cuts have been tested and proven in Nobu’s own DJ sets before now, so he decided to make them available for fellow DJs to play and experiment with.
As Planetary Assault Systems, Luke Slater is an innovator of psychedelic mindfuck techno. Across a lengthy catalogue that stretches back into the 90s, the music’s bleepy, polyrhythmic loops are as recognizable as they are genre-defining. Plantae is Slater’s first release as PAS on Ostgut Ton since Arc Angel (2016) and covers the spectrum of PAS’s different strains while remaining grounded in Slater’s uncanny funk and knack for developing oblique melodies and rhythms over longer stretches. Deepness and hypnosis come as much through duration as sound design. For Slater, Plantae is made for Berghain, where he is a long-standing resident. In his own words: “I’m sure it’s no surprise that when it comes to putting together a release on Ostgut Ton, PAS takes on its more mind-altering, otherworldly quality by natural cause, quietly reflecting the dark sweaty nights and days at the club; at the point, the common neural coupling, of us all together. PAS has been part of Berghain and Berghain part of PAS for a long time.
Metro Skim provides ‘Generator Of Thoughts’ on Steve Bicknell’s 6dimensions. Metro Skim, deeply rooted in the underground, shrouded in mystery, and adopting music as their preferred form of communication to convey their message. Metro Skim unifies symbiotic relations between technology and human form, preserving a pure and natural process guided by an uncompromising mode of production.
For those who dig Jeff Mills but don’t have the time or money to hoard records from his extensive back catalogue, the ongoing “Director’s Cut” series showcasing hard-to-find gems from his discography is a godsend. Volume five begins with a trip back to 2015 and “Solar Cycles” – an alien-sounding, otherworldly mid-tempo techno loop jam – from the limited edition, USB-only “Proxima Centauri” album. Side B begins with the bleeping tribal techno hustle of “L8” from 1998’s “Skin Deep EP”, before Mills offers us a chance to drift through space via 2006 track “Above Waiting Worlds”, which is one of his most intergalactic and cinematic dancefloor cuts to date (and that’s saying something).
Swedens’s Julien H Mulder delivers the sixth release for Ben Sims’ Symbolism LTD imprint this Autumn. Mulder, who has been releasing his brand of tripped out, spacey techno since 2007 received what is perhaps the ultimate techno compliment early this year when Jeff Mills mistakenly released Mulder’s ‘Patterns in Nature’ as his own on Axis offshoot, Str Mrkd. Now, we’re treated to a full EP of spaced out but punchy techno cuts.
”Commemorating 50th Anniversary of the Moon landing (July 20 2019) Axis Records is pleased to announce the release of the album by Jeff Mills on his interpretations of Earth’s Moon. ”There are influences of the Moon we can detect, measure and document as scientific facts. If these are perceived as rational explanations, then it should raise questions about the possibility of other unseen mental and metaphysical connections humans have, not just with the Moon but with all other celestial bodies in and outside this Solar System. On the flipside, as we recognize that our Sun gives us light and a lifespan, what does an even greater force in the Cosmos, perhaps the darkness [or absence of anything] affects us. If we look at the Moon as a component in a vast configuration of integral connected parts, then an intuitive sense might lead us to a wider understanding about how deeply our relationship lies. This album and the imagination that helped to produce it should be considered as a proposition with open-endedness and no foreseeable conclusion. It is a chemistry of facts and feelings based on then, now and forever”. Jeff Mills”
The prescient sound of an abstract never-coming future built from the everlasting commitment to the boundless experimentation. The prolific one-of-a-kind Terrence Dixon is back to 30D Records. “Vertical Hold EP”, holds on his unlimited creative scheme: on the basis of the Detroit sound, he transforms that legacy in a fully refurbished approach wherein the true creativity smashes any possible stereotype. Every track leads us to the unexpected. From the skillful Dixon’s mind, any sonic universe is possible. The straight low pad of “Due Process” flows on a kaleidoscopic background, energized by a danceable bass drum. Second cut, “Vertical Hold”, is a wicked amazing sequential madness from a dreamlike dance floor. “Transition Area” seeks and finds out the depth, a mental mantra to disappear in. The rhythmic and mechanical arpeggiator of “Total Vehicle” drive us to a dancing frenetic hypnosis. And, finally, “Assembly Building”, unfolds a fine-draw and imaginative minimalistic groove.
LSD is the techno supergroup of Luke Slater, Steve Bicknell, David Sumner. They launch their new self-titled LSD imprint with a six track double pack of pure techno. Focusing on psychedelic aspects of techno while drawing on the unique rhythmic sensibilities of each of the three members, between them this group have all had a major impact on the global techno scene over the last two decades. Their new collaborative double pack carries on where the debut left off with six tracks of melodic and mind melting techno with surreal atmospheres and propulsive drum programming that takes you into the next dimension.
Smoke Machine returns with a new split EP featuring two artists from the Organik festival stable: Agonis and Valentino Mora. This will be Agonis’ second outing on the Taiwanese based label and a first for Valentino. Now 9 years in the running with a successful podcast and parties, this will be Smoke Machine’s second release on their newly established label with many more to come.
Experimental Italian techno duo Crossing Avenue return to Spazio Disponibile for their third EP on the label. Once again their four track effort explores new tempos, rhythms and moods in stylish fashion. The Carmaleonte EP counts four multi layered trips into mind melting half time jams that pairs rubbery, rolling drums with hypnotic lead synths. After the gurlgin deepness and sparsity of ‘Monoica’, ‘Carmaleonte’ is high pressure and unrelenting, ‘Santica’ got the razor sharp and unresolved rhythms where ‘Decimo Piano’ is a flurry of high speed drums and sci fi signifiers that plays out like an intergalactic space war. Techno never sounded as adventurous as this.
Retina.it debut on Nonplus Records, with five tracks of analogue driven Techno/Electronic music.
Four track EP containing 2 remastered cuts and two unreleased tracks by Jeff Mills on his own Axis label. Note by Jeff Mills: ”Looking back in hindsight to the activity and accomplishments of Axis is with much pride – to witness the relationship between the music and listener evolving to this point. The Director’s Cut reissue project is about manicuring detail. It’s about a rare opportunity to enhance what we’ve done so that the relationship strengthens for the long term”
This EP represents in full effect the evolution of the solid duo from Utrecht. Four tracks where they show their roots and their influences, that definitely are techno. They don’t like to be too exposed; they like to share their concept through their music.
Symbolism Ltd keeps up the pressure with another super limited 12inch, this time from Dutch producer Mike Storm. Four urgent, trippy dancefloor movers in typical Symbolism Ltd style make for an essential slice of four to the floor techno for those that know.
