Juno Recommends Techno November 2021

Review: Richie Hawtin will also be intrinsically linked to techno from across many different eras. He pioneer the minimal sound, was a master of acid, and more recently took tech to the bog room masses. This series finds the Minus boss and constant innovator reconnecting with the dance floor after last year's Time Warps EP. He kicks this one off with the 303 introspections of 'Acid King' (Full Tilt Mix) before offering up a dark and intense Vox version. The FUSE Bass dub is a wild machine workout to melt your mind and the Bonus Beats are for all the hard-working DJs out there needing a serious tool

Review: For our money, Luke Slater does his best work as Planetary Assault Systems. The iconic British producer now returns with his first album since 2016 and it is brimming with new material. Some of the tracks have been crafted in the audio, others are works taken from his live show as PAS, all of it is mind-melting minimal techno from another dimension, as per usual. There is a real focus on the dance floor here as soft hits, harmonic bells, warped synths all warp and weft their way around the rubbery, pulsing grooves. Of course, plenty of psychedelic colours help define this most stylish of records.

Review: Pavel Milyakov has many irons in the fire these days, and he's adding to it once again with the PSY X label. Previously working closely with labels like Gost Zvuk, the Moscow-based artist best known as Buttechno has rightly positioned himself as one of the more prominent artists operating in the Russian techno scene. His sound on this new release is wayward and punky, revelling in knotty acid lines and submerged rhythm sections to arrive at something which feels delightfully deviant. Given the six tracks across this record, there's plenty of space for Milyakov to roam, touching on sparser moments of tension as well as more forthright dance pieces. But experimentation is the glue holding the record together - the singular driving force behind the Buttechno sound, promising much with the launch of this new label.

Review: Idris Bena & Paolo Mosca take care of one side each of this tasty new 12" on Opia. Their brand of techno is hugely funky, with a healthy reverie for the past but also a passion to take things forwards. Bena kicks off with 'Earth Delight' which is all happy melodic business and tight, kinetic drums. 'Blood Moon' again brings retro video game melodies to shimmering, well polished tech drums and 'Home' gets busier with the chords and layers up woodpecker hits and sheet metal snares. The b-side is no less intergalactic with 'Different Places' riding a nice buffed up neon bassline while synth modulations get freaky, and last of all 'Orion Trance' brings the subtle waves of euphoria with its trance chords and jacked beats.

Review: Japanese producer Takuya Sugimoto is hugely prolific and for this six track Dei Talk EP he assumed his COLOGNe alias. Originally released on Japanese CD only label Viola in 1999, it offers a great snapshot of his sound where IDM meets techno. These are intelligent tracks that elevate the soul with glistening electronics, inventive drum machine sounds and futuristic ideals. There is loose playfulness on 'Deep Talk,' dark and abstract design on 'Cold White' and heady melody on 'Do Not Cry.'

Review: Ellen Alien's BPitch Control label has been at the heart of underground Berlin club culture since forever. This new 12" is something of a different sound than you might expect: it comes from Detroit selector, producer and Pure Sonik Records owner DJ T-1000 who brings some hardcore sounds to four fierce cuts. 'Clitfuck' is a big old wall of sound, 'Think You Can Handle It ' pairs hamming kick with squelchy synth motifs and 'I Love It In My Acid' is a throwback rave tune that will take you to the heart of a strobe-lit dance floor in an instant. 'I Fucking Love Berlin' rounds out with peak time energy to spare.

Review: David Flores aka Truncate presents a 10 year anniversary release on his eponymous imprint, featuring four powerful cuts to pummel the newly reopened dancefloors on the First Phase EP. The direct and functional execution of the title track in its original form is a solid DJ tool that's made to play, with the Planetary Assault Systems remix adding another level of ferocious intensity to it beforehand. Over on the flip, the hypnotic cyclicality of "The Eve" is certainly in the vein of Robert Hood yet finely executed in its own right, while the rework by Blueprint's James Ruskin stays respectful to the original while adding some nice dancefloor dynamics.

Review: Legendary 90s dance band Inner City had a brief stay at the Network label that produced some classic recordings. Here, three techno icons serve up their own contemporary interpretations, with Planet E boss Carl Craig going first. He flips 'Ahnonghay' into a steely, metallic, train track groove that hustles and bustles you into action without ever boiling over. UK Baron Dave Clarke gets much more physical, his frosted synths whipping about next to jacked up perc that is primed for peak time floors. Last of all, Inner City main man Kevin Saunderson draws things out deep, with steamy vocals and future soul colouring his work.

Review: Originally released in 1995, Metaphor is Detroit second wave icon Kenny Larkin's sophomore full length under his own name. This is a truly timeless release which really captures the zeitgeist of the most seminal period in techno's recent history. For those that know, we know we're preaching to the choir, but to those who don't - get familiar! From the classic hi-tech soul of the title track, to the moody future funk of 'Nocturnal' and the driving Motor City energy of 'Catatonic (First State)' and more - Metaphor has certainly held its own 26 years later. Essential.

Review: Steven Rutter was of course one half of the hero-worshipped bleep techno outfit B12. He's now back, going it alone, on the De:tuned label with his Close Your Eyes And Breathe EP. It's typically starry-eyed fusion of techno, IDM and post-rave design that takes you way back to a warehouse scene you might not have even lived, but recognise all the same. 'OLF ResPekt' is the melancholic opener with its smeared chords and gentle rhythms,
'Rewind 273' develops that theme and 'Incredible' closes with a more direct but still blissful beat.

Review: You always know what you are going to get from Radio Slave, and that is high functioning techno that never fails to make an impact in the club. The man behind the music, Matt Edwards, is one of techno's most enduring and consistent performers and he confirms that again here with the pair of bangers on his own Rekids label. 'Acid Dip' has punchy, funky drums that hammer home the groove with big, bouncy hits bring further dynamics as an occasional slaying synth sprays across the face of the tune. Devastating. 'Armani' is a brian-frying, loopy, synth-heavy workout full of texture.

Review: Strap in, because there is mucking about on the 80th EP from Mord. The ever popular, ever excellent Exum is at the helm and is a fine artist to enlist given his proven track record dating back years. The Spanish producer never fails to cook up fresh sounds while drying on a classic techno template and that is the case here. 'Erosion 1' is a screw-face banger with stomping drums and twisted acid. 'Erosion 2' is all about the jostling, bulky, macho drum programming which forces you to move and 'Erosion 3' rocks back and forth on a drum loop that will turn your mind inside out. Lastly, 'Erosion 4' gets all freaky with the edgy synths that light up the mix like a laser gun.

Review: Mental Disorder is back to mess you up once more with another devastating two-tracker. This one has two techno titans at the top of their game. Reeko opens up with some seriously dark and visceral techno. It's wired up with hellish fizzes, brutal drums and gauzy textures that make for an impenetrable wall of sound. Tensal steps up on the flip. He brings some light to things, with glowing, bright chords over punishing drums. They squeal and squirm in a conversational style that takes your mind's eye on a real trip. These seem perfectly timed to arrive at Halloween.

Review: Stuttgart's Parquet Recordings returns with another vinyl exclusive here titled Parquet Most Wanted EP 20. Featuring label chief Solee demonstrating his mastery of sonic dream weaving as always on the slinky and hypnotic "Rebellion", while the Stil Vor Talent affiliated Several Definitions serves up some epic dancefloor drama on 'Orion'. Over on the flip, D Nox & Gai Barone seve up some deep tech house on "Painkiller" (vinyl edit) and Convolute conjures up feelings of Sunday morning sunset euphoria on the sublime breaks of 'Isn't Love Important'.

Review: At this point we don't know who DJ Steve is. A few years ago, some masterful leftfield disco edits came on the Beats in Space label from an apparent Spanish butcher named DJ Steve, but we sense this is a different person entirely. Mainly because these are prop throwback acid tracks that transport you to a '90s dance floor in an instant. 'Azul Electrico 1' is all rugged bass undulations, cowbells and bleeping melodies. 'Secret Touch' layers in a classic vocal sample to add some soul to the glistening electronics then 'Vandal Eyes' offers a scruffy drum track overlaid with more bleeps and squeaks. Luca Lozano's A Perfect Circle remix is a chunky bit of cosmic tech funk to close down with.

Review: Following a pleasingly intoxicating debut on NAFF earlier in the year, Maara-Louisa Dunbar transfers to Isla with an even more psychedelic and mind-mangling collection of cuts. We're particularly enjoying title track 'Potion Activated', where echoing bleeps and breathy, whispered vocals ride rolling techno drums and a delicious acid bassline, though the trance-inducing 'Miss Sweetie's Inferno' and trippy ambient techno number 'Dungeon Babes' are equally as potent. Those searching for breathless tribal techno thrills would be advised to check 'Do You Feel Me (featuring Nap)', which is subsequently pitched-up on D Tiffany's hectic and energetic remix.

Review: Savvas "DJ Savage" Georgiadis is a producer from Thessaloniki, Greece who put out some essential techno from the nineties onwards. Now, the best of it has been collected from the source and pressed onto and stamped wax for this white label reissue. The tunes come from between 2000 and 2002 and do not muck about. 'Long Time' is is a bumper, with sheet metal snares flapping in a stiff breeze, snatched vocal yelps and pummelling drum programming. 'Breaking Point' carries on where that one left off with its panel beaten loops. 'Cover-Up' is such a rush it nearly falls over itself and 'Threshold' brings some industrial energy.