VA – Dark Acid IV [CDR12012]

Glasgow’s Clan Destine Records present the fourth volume of the essential Dark Acid series. As you’d expect, the included material is as trippy, intense and left-of-centre as you’d expect. Canadian producer Khotin kicks things off with “Tsoi”, a deep, psychedelic acid shuffler that builds incessantly towards a breathless climax. Varg’s “Ultra Acid” takes things up further via ghetto-tech inspired beats and icy melodies, before Kid Who drops a twisted chunk of midtempo acid chug (the delightfully claustrophonic “Gap Related Injury”). Finally, Becoming Real’s Toby Ridler and Golden Teacher/General Ludd man Richard McMaster join forces for “Terminator”, as intense an acid track as you’re likely to find.

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VA – Dark Acid IV [CDR12012]

General Ludd – Hitit / Kickout [CDR12006]

Tom ‘Dam Mantle’ Marshallsay and Rich ‘Golden Teacher’ McMaster’s debut under the General Ludd alias, The Fit of Passion EP on Mister Saturday Night, was a delightfully sweaty concoction – a riotous trip into percussive, off-kilter house territory laden with dense percussion, obscure funk samples and addictive rhythms. Here, they pop up on local Glaswegian label Clan Destine with an altogether murkier proposition – two tracks of fuzzy, horror-tinged, darkroom oddness. There’s a wayward, tipsy late night feel to the dense beats, nightmarish noises and curious samples on “Hitit”, while “Kickit” – complete with obligatory MC5 sample (as bitten by the KLF all those years ago) – layers throbbing sub-bass and spooky noises over a sparse but intense rhythm. Both tracks are neither house nor techno, but something altogether more intriguing.

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General Ludd – Hitit / Kickout [CDR12006]