CHARLOTTE DE WITTE 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Belgian techno titan Charlotte de Witte is one of the scene's biggest draws right now. This new EP on her own KNTXT label sees her once again draw parallels between the big, bold techno she makes and the euphoric rush of 90s trance. Right from the off she weaves bright, hands in the air chords into bulky, unrelenting drums to hypnotic effect. It is simple but well-designed stuff that will have a huge impact on the large crowds she plays to. 'Soma' is more intense, with the drums pushed to the front and incendiary hi-hats layered in next to spooky distant pads. 'Stigma' closes out with a textbook acid cut.

Review: Having spent much of the last two years delivering wild, rave-ready outings, Charlotte De Witte now finds herself sat atop the global techno tree. That wasn't the case when she first released Weltschmerz on Tiga's Turbo label way back in 2015. It was an assured debut, as this timely reissue reiterates. Deeper, hazier and quietly melodic, the five tracks on show tend towards the hypnotic rather than the wild, acid-fired sound she's become famous for. Highlights include the ghostly title track, where deep melodies and intergalactic chords rise above a lo-fi techno beat, the after-hours haziness of 'Damage Control', and the stripped-back, lo-fi techno oddness of 'Relatives of None'.

Review: Following up some great releases recently by ONYVAA and Alignment, Belgian techno heroine Charlotte De Witte is back with a vengeance this week on her beloved KNTXT imprint. The Formula EP features three ferocious cuts, all aimed squarely at the main room dancefloor at peak time. From the strict, heads-down shuffle of 'Doppler' and its ravey, infectious chord progression playing centre stage, to the cerebral stomper 'RPM' taking you aboard a wild ride on the acid express. It ends with the adrenalised energy flash of the title track, which goes out all guns blazing.

Review: Charlotte de Witte takes care of the sixth outing on her ever more prominent KNTXT label, and does so with her usual sense of techno power. "Sgadi Li Mi" opens in hard hitting fashion, with laser-link synths shooting across the face of the cantering drums and distant vocal cries adding a churchy feel to the arrangement. "Return To Nowhere" dials it back to a more shuffling techno groove and "Ensemble" offers perfectly transcendental techno for late night reveries. Enchanting ambient vocal "What's In The Past" closes out a forceful EP.

Review: On Rave On Time, her third EP of 2020, Charlotte De Witte giddily pays tribute to the throbbing, warehouse-ready techno sound of her home city of Ghent - and particularly the intense, mind-bending brand particularly associated with R&S Records in the early 1990s. De Witte sets the tone via the razor-sharp and insanely heavy title track, where ragged acid lines and spiky synth stabs leap above a stomping techno groove, before opting for drums, drums and more drums on the restless 'There's No One Left To Trust'. Acid techno is the order of the day on 'The World Inside' and 'Common Era', while triple-time closing cut 'Wahr Ist Sie Dann' is an odd, alien-sounding treat.

Review: Charlotte de Witte is at the forefront of the harder techno revival. After big outings on Mary Go Wild and Novamute she is back on her own KNTXT label - which is also a touring party concept - for four more bangers. Searing acid lights up the cantering drums of opener "Selected" and that continues on "Form" with its undulating lines and relentless drums. "Time" is still laced with acid, but in a softer, more hypnotic style that locks you in a trance. "Amar" shows another side, closing out with some thoughtful ambient bliss.

Review: Charlotte De Witte has been threatening to break into the big time ever since her earliest releases on Tiga's Turbo label back in 2015. Following a prolific 2017 in which she released a string of acclaimed EPs, the Belgian producer makes her first appearance on Spanish imprint Suara. Check first the relentless, full throttle techno heaviness of A-side "This" - think foreboding voices, constantly building drum machine percussion and occasional creepy electronics - before turning your attention to the strangely beguiling "This Heart of Mine", where solo vocal snippets echo over another bombastic rhythm track. To round off a fine EP, Lewis Fautzi delivers an intoxicating rework of "This" that's in the same sonic ball park as Kowton's remix of Throwing Shade's "Chancer" on Happy Skull.