techno
Edit Select – Phlox [PRGLP006]
Scottish producer Tony Scott graces Prologue for the first time with a debut album under the Edit Select guise – now as established a name as his old Percy X work was. The Munich label is cultivating quite the reputation for techno album projects, with excellent longplayers from Mike Parker, Echologist, Dino Sabatini and of course Voices From The Lake in recent times and we can add Phlox to that pile. The Scotsman’s collection of mesmerising and sometimes big-room techno productions is a perfect match for the Prologue aesthetic, pitched perfectly between moments of emotional ambience and “hypnotic monsters for the dance floor”. Look out for a new rendition of “Bauer”, which appeared on the Berghain 03 Mix CD and the Dino Sabatini collaboration “Survivors Of The Pulse”.
Garnier – AF 4302 EP [50W034]
You have to admire Laurent Garnier’s continued desire to push boundaries and confound critics. His plan to devote 2014 to releasing five EPs on five different labels, whilst mixing up the styles, is undoubtedly bold. This three-tracker for the ever-intriguing 50Weapons imprint is particularly impressive. “MILF” bristles with stuttering analogue rhythms, foreboding chords and attractive bleep melodies, coming on like an unlikely jam session between Sweet Exorcist and Orbital. “DSK” sees the French veteran moving further towards his techno roots, while “He” sounds like an homage to darkwave with techno overtones and more than a hint of stripped-back early Chicago acid.
VA – Super MT [SUPPLY008]
The first Supply showcase: four label-newcomers range with veteran authority from deep house to driving techno. The opener is a grooving house burner: an infectious loop and low-slung drums build triumphantly. Anders Hellberg drops in some acid, with a strident 909 beat stalking an open, melodic soundscape. Kicking off the flip, label co-owner JB teams up with Bostonian Paul Morse in an icy, tantalizing variation of elastic, swinging deep-house; before Stojche’s Outward opens up an ending, its pounding beat laced with bitter-sweet Detroit strings.
Skudge – Skudge Remixes Part 7 [SKUDGE007R]
Lewis Fautzi – The Gare Album [SOMALP107]
Soma welcome the debut album from the ever-growing roster of youthful talent as Lewis Fautzi drops The Gare Album, named in homage to The Gare Club, Porto, where Lewis made his discovery of Techno. A bold 4 track single debut gave rise to the album process midway through 2013 and under the careful supervision of Soma, Lewis has provided a definitive peak in his sound cultivated on the back of years of studio work. A collection of deep, dark and twisted techno awaits.A definite maturity in production shines through on this fantastic LP from Fautzi as he creates a cold and calculating output, clearly focused on the future. The Gare Album has allowed Fautzi to express himself fully through electronic music, a task that he has taken to whole-heartedly.The Gare Album will be released on limited double LP.
Echoplex – The Soft Reaction [IMF002]
Index Marcel Fengler continues with its second installment, introducing an expertly produced EP from respected long-running artist Echoplex. Since 2000 Echoplex, the Polish born Peter Sliwinski, has released truly pioneering, atmospheric and soulful techno, appearing on his own Soleil label, or Synewave amongst many others. This triumphant return to the limelight comes in the form of three stand out tracks.
Charlton – An End To good Manners [KRL007]
Appearances from Charlton Ravenberg are few and far between, with just seven releases since 2006 including a few shared spots alongside the likes of Regis and Djorvin Clain. This turn for ever-growing Argentinean techno imprint Krill Music showcases a sturdy approach to the techno blueprint, keeping things dynamic and fluid while making sure it smacks where it ought to. “Beyond Misery” is something of a smoke screen with its housey groove and minimal bleep demeanor, but “The Aggression Scale” soon puts paid to this with abrasive acidic swirls of atonal melody and a mean-tempered rhythmic thud. “Know Yourself” takes things deeper with some intricate percussive detail in a cyclical arrangement, while “If They Don’t Realize” lets the drum machines fit and start around a dubbier kind of techno throwdown.
Yan Cook – Essential Wave EP [SILENTSTEPS008]
Yan Cook has started a close collaboration with Silent Steps 2 years ago since he released his first full lenght album.
For this new EP, Yan made new synthesis and sampling experimentations and went even further in his own music development. Mixing raw fat kicks and basslines with exciting rythmics and mind blowing synth loops, every track is unique and brings its own energy but a similar color of sound hook up the whole package. Yan’s EP features a quality remix from the well known and highly respected artist, Mike Parker, which is the perfect reflection of his very own hypnotic and linear Techno, obviously recognizable.
Jorge Velez – Territories [LIES046]
Jorge Velez returns to L.I.E.S. with his first effort since 2012’s Hassan LP. Through this six track LP we see the ultra versatile Velez weave seamlessly through numerous strains of electronics. From menacing drones to EBM influenced floor tracks to Sakamoto-esque melodic experiments, he creates an atmosphere equally suitable for home listening or adventurous club play. All of this very much reminding us of the days when Mute, Factory, Cherry Red, or Fetish Records were at their best.
Syncom Data – Sweet Sadness [SD034]
Raw, analogue-drenched album by Syncom Data. Ranging from deep and dubby to detroit-inspired electro and industrial-influenced bass music.
Efdemin – Decay [DIALLP030]
Dial regular Efdemin returns with a third album of a respected career, with the autumnal theme of Decay inspired by the German producer’s three-month artist residency in Kyoto, Japan. Sollmann immersed himself in the local culture while in Kyoto, attending ceremonies with monks at temples and visiting local instrument makers. This results in a ten track set that canvasses the sort of poignant, introverted house music that’s characterized much of Phillip Sollmann’s work as Efdemin to date. There are however a few stylistic surprises along the way – the stripped back, jacking “Transducer” or the fusion of jazzy licks and noisy bursts of percussion that makes up the title track – but overall you’d be hard pushed to think of a better label to house Decay than Dial.
DVS1 – Lost Myself / S.O.S. [HUSH002]
Two deep tripping techno tracks. DVS1 revitalize his own imprint HUSH with his second release focused only on his own tracks and his love for deep and purist techno.
Savas Pascalidis – Level Shift [NON011]
Rolando – TRAX.101
DJ Skull – Revenge of The Synth [CHIWAX013]
Ron Maney aka DJ Skull lived in the Southside of Chicago. His musical career started during the summer of 1986, DJing first at basement parties, building his reputation to go on to larger events such as loft and hotel parties, and eventually the infamous Music Box and Power Plant clubs. At the age of fifteen Ron shopped his first demo at Trax Records. There he first met Chicago’s legendary DJ Ron Hardy, working as A&R for Trax Records. Two years, and a new alias later (DJ Skull) later while at the Power Plant, Chicago’s own Steve Poindexter heard a DJ playing one of Rons tracks, and met Ron. Steve was now A&R at Saber Records and invited Ron to release some tracks. So in October of 1991 DJ Skull’s first record ”N.R.G. Music” was released. In 1993, he released the EP ”The Stomping Grounds” on Djax-Up-Beats, which was more noted than the first one. Over the years that followed DJ Skull released lots of EP’s on several labels. He has become well-respected producer and DJ in the Techno industry.
Kel – Kel [7777-006]
Kel, aka Elias Landberg of Skudge, with 3 analogue techno cuts for the 6th release on 7777. Sci-fi acid from the future or the past?
Intergalactic Gary – SUNK Promo Mix
Mike Dehnert – Lichtbedingt [104DSR]
Three years after his last full-length album on Delsin, tireless techno producer Mike Dehnert is back with another one. The 104th release on Delsin, entitled Lichtbedingt, counts 12 tracks and is yet another subtle evolution away from the chord driven, functional sound he has championed before now. The album starts off with a suitably sombre intro that features cold, slowly shifting synths. They set an uneasy and moody tone before ‘Construction’ settles into a fat, swaggering. From there you get lost in broken, ruptured, malfunctioning bits of hardware that spit out random hi hats, bleeps and gurgles and then eventually get spat out the other side into a cantering bit of dubwise techno with paranoid vocal snippets. Moving along, the album throws plenty of diverse influences into the mix: ‘Movement’ is freaky and dynamic, skipping and pumping, ducking and diving through all sorts of occult synth sounds and shadowy vocal loops then ‘Single Action’ is like a sledge hammer groove run through with harmonic elements that glint and glisten like diamonds in the rough. Classic sounding Dehnert tracks like ‘ReRe’ remind us where this producer has come from, whilst the breezy house swagger of ‘Emlo’ show us where he might be headed. Key to this album and Dehnert’s output as a whole is, besides the killer grooves, the production: crisp and clean, full blooded and always outstanding, it makes his tracks leap out of the speakers and into minds, bodies and souls without relying on the usual tropes or same old cheap tricks.
Ngly – Russian Torrent Versions 07 [CCCP007]
Four tracks of gritty club ammo straight outta the East side torrents… from bleep era warehouse vibes to sweaty dub to all out jak madness.
The Hipodrome Of Music 