DJS: MOST CHARTED - TECHNO - MOST CHARTED IN NOVEMBER 2013

Review: Ever committed to the techno cause, Dario Zenker returns once more to his own Ilian Tape imprint with four intense statements of how classic and modern elements should be fused to make timeless tracks. "27 Northwest" undoubtedly has a whiff of original Detroit about it, but there's no escaping how much of a hook the lead synth is over the tough but dextrous beat. "Cooking Booking" meanwhile exists somewhere in that discordant realm Kevin Saunderson dipped his toes into before rave emerged as its own offshoot, all the time still pounding out a detailed broken techno pattern. "Growin" gets a little more heady in its use of old-skool chords before "Karlim" softens the edges of the EP with a glorious slice of emotive techno.

Review: M-Plant boss Robert Hood rounds out another prolific year with one final Floorplan 12" featuring two tracks that seems to represent the project's nascent beginnings and where it's at now. "Phobia" could almost be an off cut from Paradise, the album Hood released as Floorplan earlier this year, featuring many of the sonic hallmarks that made it so memorable. Meanwhile "Glory B" jackhammers along with a sampled preacher for company in a fashion similar to early Floorplan gem "Funky Souls" though admittedly the production values are a lot more refined. Sandwiched in-between is a typically booming Ben Sims remix of Paradise album cut "Higher!" which is set to feature on the producer's forthcoming mix CD for Fabric,

Review: Over the course of ten tracks to appear on Frames Of Reference, the long-time coming debut album by O [Phase], the Englishman draws upon ideas he's been fine tuning for more than a decade. Of the fresh material is the rich bass and sinister crawl of "On The Edge", the haunted glass whistles of "Dirtro II" and the respective electro and dubby leaning "Just Another Dance" and "Shadow Caster". Rearranged riffs come via the LP's opening track "Binary Opposition (process 3)" which sets the tone for a heady mix of no frills techno undeniably designed for club play. It's an impressive debut which incorporates elements of muscular European rhythmics with passages of motor city mechanics and melodic tonality.

Review: Rich Oddie of Orphx delivers a very solid EP of dubby electro and submerged techno to the rejuvenated Surface LTD. It's his second EP for the label since launching it like the nuclear ice-sub that emblazons this release. The title track is regimented by disgruntled sonar blips and fizzing snare hits, while "Bloodstream" finds that happy medium between the pounding grooves of Jeff Mills and Regis. "Undercurrent" is twanging, Aphex-twin like electro, while "Quintessence" - an EP highlight - is one for lovers of aqueous and power dub techno.

Review: This year has seen respected Spanish techno Doyens Oscar Mulero and Christian Wunsch team up to create Spherical Coordinates and dropped a series of releases on their respective labels Pole Recordings and Tsunami - a split release which also featured Reeko and Mike Parker. The pairing align again on for a debut on Kr!z's towering Token label. Consider Vector Projection an EP of battle hardened club techno made for long nights in - Tracks "SCFLS-12" and SCFLS-17" typify this - but it's the chiming bells and silky grooves of "SCFLS-05" and "SCFLS-11" that define this EP. Really..

Review: The re-emergence of Paris as a hub for engaging new techno continues apace here with the first release from Unlearn, a label whose releases aim to make you "forget everything you've ever been taught in order to rediscover music in its realest and most personal way." Choosing Vanguard Sound co-founder Chris Mitchell to launch the label is a smart move then, with the American producer responsible for some of the most vibrant and percussively interesting house music at the moment. The Eyedeal EP finds Mitchell on inspired form which impresses from the opening title track to the end. The manner in which a compressed kick drum is consumed by the increasingly psychedelic surroundings is truly memorable as is the way in which XDB transforms the track on his remix. Facedown, "Caj" sees Mitchell in more forthright mood with an insistent key refrain hooking you right away, whilst "Bubblin" will appeal to Joey Anderson fans.

Review: Sleeparchive delivers part two of his A Man Dies In The Street series for Tresor, which by its title, sounds more suited for a release on Blackest Ever Black. When it comes to the music however, it's suitably made for a caged, concrete dwelling. The buzz of "5" sounds like an approaching swarm of angry hornets, while there are echoes of early Regis techno in "6". The repeat of "7" at some stages sound like a malfunction dial up modem stuck in a loop, while "8" again highlights the expertise of Sleeparchive's ability to create bleepy techno.

Review: The mysterious 'man from Marseille' VernoN joins Marquis Hawkes in contributing a second 12" of rattling, unhinged techno for Glasgow's excellent Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and we think this might be the best release from the label yet! With a title like How To Travel The Universe (Without A Flying Saucer)it's definitely the best named DABJ platter thus far. Musically, the four tracks here build on the instant gratification of VernoN's debut missive, if anything showing a tougher side to the Frenchman. "One Night In Tanzania" is perhaps the stand out track, nestling snugly in the interzone between deep and deranged whilst B Side pair "How To Buiild A Pyramid" and "Nightmares" sit steadfastly in the latter camp. B1 is all jagged acid lines shooting out in various directions amidst cascading drums whilst B2 is pure jacking intensity.

Review: Direct out of deepest Neukolln emerges Z O D I A C 4 4. Rusty, broken and cantankerous we spill forth our first ever release with Dungeon Acid at the helm. Dungeon Jams sees the Swedish producer summon madness from the depths of his mind and unleashes it on the world via his Computerriddimdrummachiner and the Analoguewavecombosignalizer. Aboard the pirate ship are fellow Viking RIVET (Skudge/Kontra) and Nordic saint DJ FETT BURGER (Sex Tags Mania/Sex Tags UFO) with both bringing their own inimitable and unparalleled sonic grooves to the battleground. ZAQUA is the first of 12 releases. One for each sign of the stars and then Z O D I A C 4 4 is forever dead and gone. Forever.

Review: Gerd Janson and Maurice Fulton continue their mutually beneficial partnership with this Running Back 12" edition of DJ Nori's wonderful Bubbletease debut We Don't Know. Originally released digitally earlier this summer, Nori's four tracks were co-produced by Fulton and, as with anything that blessed with Maurice's touch, are predictably excellent. There's a touch of melancholic, acid-flecked stargazing in the shape of "Spaceg" (all heady synth melodies, fuzzy bass and 808 cowbells), some out-there, beatless space calypso (the unwieldy "We Don't Know"), and a mighty chunk of Syclops-ish wonk-jack ("80s Drugs"). Oh, and a moody, Detroit-influenced Fulton remix of "Happy Sunday" that breaks into a space disco jam near the end.

Review: It is labels like UntilMyHeartStops that proudly do deep house justice. The fourth EP to come from the UK imprint, and third this year, is a various artist sampler featuring label inaugurator Joey Anderson, who is joined by the best of British; October, Lief and the impressive Arnaldo. The latter opens the EP with something sparse, dubby and lonely in "People In The Sand", while A Side companion Anderson delivers an effervescent and cosmic "One World". October toughens up the EP with his bullish and phase filtered "Decompression Chamber", while the combined classicalism, ambience and slow drums of Lief's "Until Dawn" is reminiscent to Sven Weisemann's music as Joeum.

Review: Munich trio Tambien come through with their most high profile release yet, gracing the esteemed ESP Institute with an excellent two track excursion in the shape of Drogato. Formed of Public Possession founders Marvin and Valentino and their Munich pal Bartellow, Tambien first emerged on a killer white label release last year before inaugurating the Public Possession label in final style with the Robusto / Sexalitat EP. The sonic themes explored there - straight to tape analogue techno throw downs where robust, rumbling drums duke it out with sinuous basslines - might not seem immediately suited to an ESP release but you can't fault the two productions on Drogato. The title cut implements the sort of psychedelic qualities amidst the rhythmic intensity that clearly appealed to Lovefingers but it's the 12 minute B Side that really impresses. "Dois" swaggers at mid tempo, teasing out a classic breakbeat over a backdrop of sound rich in emotion and colour.

Review: AVN #011 sees Shifted and Ventress' Avian label look to the USA for the first time, as it taps up New York producer Shaun O'Sullivan for a six-track EP under his new 400PPM alias. O'Sullivan already has a deep knowledge of techno developed over a broad range of musical projects as anyone who has heard his excellent releases for The Corner and L.I.E.S. will attest. Bookended by two stark explorations into noise, the EP is joined by four solid techno productions which all marry the hard-hitting industrial sounds of pioneers like Adam X together with the rolling percussion and impressive sound design of the Berghain school of Dettmann and Klock. The off-kilter syncopations and metallic clutter of "Monoculture" is a particular highlight in what is another essential 12" from Avian.

Review: Returning to Skudge Presents for a second full release (this time sans mask), Rivet's Driftwood EP is apparently inspired by a Swedish theatre soundtrack from the 80s, and sees him manipulating vocals throughout to stunning effect. Each track sees him in particularly deep form, with the title track combining some pleasingly rubbery bass with some house-inspired piano, "Crane Dance" operating on a more abstract tip, with skipping drums and reversed sonics building to a chattering vocal climax. "Line Of Moments" closes with a deep 303 workout that comes across like Andreas Tilliander's TM404 material as seen through a distinctly cracked lens. Highly recommended stuff as always from the Skudge camp.

Review: The freshly revived Dance Mania reaches its third release of its restarted lifespan with a collection of classic tracks from Chicago veteran Robert Armani. Like the rest of his Dance Mania cohorts, the tracks on Collection are as raw as they come - "Ambulance" is all buzzing 303, squealing synths and rattling drums - but they also explore all sides of the producer's oeuvre, with the chopped up diva of "Give You All", the discofied "Circuit Breaker" and lo-fi 80s vibes of "Muzik Man" all essential for fans of straight up unadulterated club trax.

Review: Joey Anderson can do no wrong in 2013 as he delivers his fifth EP of the year and debut for French label Syncrophone. "Ass Kicked" may be no techno stomper, but it has that same underlying menace of a DJ Qu production, with a synthesised chime that whistles like an unanswered office phone that never stops ringing. On the B-side is "Sunday Is Brunch", which again displays Anderson's ability to have spaced out atmos as a track's focal point, while an organised chaos of smudged and bit-crushed drums create an undecipherable, but enjoyable background din.

Review: Benny Rodrigues' (Alves Fortes Monteiro) Rod alias debuted on Klockworks in 2007 giving Ben Klock's label its seventh release. Following Etapp Kyle's debut on Klockworks earlier this year, Rod returns with the first creatively titled EP the label has released. Anindica (Klockworks 11) provides two productions, and the title track is in line with a zapping Detroit style of techno, and perhaps something you may hear played in a current Eddie 'Flashin'' Fowlkes DJ set, while the muscular, dub-tinged, European B-side of "Hux" is well a truly destined for some heavy Ben Klock rotation.

Review: Prime wielder of the wobbliest, nastiest techno known to mankind Neil Landstrumm is never short of some fresh ideas to freak us out with, but now Don't have seen fit to remind us of some of the most floor rocking of his madcap ideas from the pinnacle of his 4/4 powers in the late 90s. Lifting tracks from Bedrooms & Cities and Scandinavia Sessions, this EP provides a neat snapshot of just why he's such a celebrated producer. There is simply no arguing with the swinging gutter funk of "Tension In New York", which comes boosted with a fraught "Tension Unreleased" version. "Scandinavia Sessions" meanwhile jacks like Chicago's bastard son, and "Minneapolis Bass Treatment" comes on all grinding electro techno, but not in the catchy sense.

Review: Mancunian pair AnD add Delsin sub-label Ann Aimee to their increasingly impressive profile with the suitably named Ard Core Krew 12". If you've been tracing Andrew Bowen and Dimitri Poumplidis' sonic trajectory as AnD for the past 12 months you'll know the pair have come to champion a sense of dynamic tension that's been unmatched by anyone else currently operating in UK techno circles. The Ard Core Krew 12" demonstrates there is plenty of fire left in their cannon yet with all three productions matching the ferocious nature of their recent binary encoded release 002/0202/0222, while purposely refraining from the hardstyle beats heard on their second Black Sun Records 12? ADBF BNGD DST.

Review: Gerd dons his Literon guise for some hard-hitting, no-nonsense techno. As anyone who is familiar with the insane Machines release on Fortek is aware, the Dutch producer is just as adept at creating tough rhythm tracks as he is at making sensuous deep house. On the title track, he delivers a hammering, relentless groove, the dense drums and driving arrangement opening up to reveal an insistent, looped vocal snatch. "Freak Function" is redolent of late '90s techno, its tribal, steely drums riding an incessant filter. But while Exploitation sees Gerd pursue a tougher approach than usual, he can't escape his house background and "Function" also contains a breathy vocal sample.

Review: Despite having a name suspiciously close to the US alt rock band responsible for the theme song for The O.C., Phantom Planet Outlaws are in fact purveyors of particularly fine acid techno, and on this spilt EP for Ireland's Apartment label, they find themselves going up against the equally driving TR One. Phantom Planet Outlaws' "HTG" pairs symphonic Detroit-inspired pads with a turbulent acid bassline reminiscent of the classic '90s acid house heyday, while the prickly textures of "Green Light" sound like a slippery Berghain take on acid techno. TR One give as good as they get with "Viceroy 9c", which channels early Metroplex material with its sci-fi backdrop and stomping bleep arrangement, while "Huguenot Burial Ground 1733" is as foreboding as its name suggests, cloaking its distant percussion and subtle bassline under a cloud of spectral fog.

Review: Leeds burgeoning vinyl only label Albion Records is ready to follow up the success of their debut EP from Fabio Monesi with three new tracks from De Sluwe Vos. The fast rising Dutchman is a staple on his local Amsterdam scene and plays clubs like Studio 80 and many big festivals with his impressive live show. The EP comes with a remix from hotter than hot Chicago talent Amir Alexander. First up, 'OG Anthem' is a muscular house banger with monstrous kick drums, heavily filtered, darkened male vocals and plenty of steely synth work. Its eerie yet ravey, brutal like a Martyn beat but swung to perfection. Amir Alexander's 'Guerrilla Soul Re Werk' is a sympathetic rework of the original that comes imbued with plenty of deep space sci-fi vibes and plenty of the Chicagoan's trademark percussion. On the flip, 'Listen Up' is another forceful jam with driving, rubbery kick drums underpinning plenty of taught synth basslines and icy hi hats. It's raw, fully hardcore deep house as is last cut 'VLCTY', which pings and punches down below as darting vocal cries shoot out of the tough groove to bring a sense of micro-funk. Searching, apocalyptic synths constantly roam down below and once again the track showcases De Sluwe Vos's ability to make beefy bangers with plenty of charm.

Review: It's been a busy year for Belgian imprint Token with killer EPs coming from Rodhad, Xhin, Inigo Kennedy and the impending album from O [Phase]. Ctrls now presents his third EP for the label and matches his Northern Structures studio buddy Lasse Buhl with solo releases this year. As usual Ctrls has his Vermona drum machine cranking full tilt with the two tracks "Modular Framework" and "Displacer", with the latter reworked twice by Sleeparchive who turns it into something a little more stripped back and caustic. The Token techno machine marches on!

Review: Yes! Miami's resident heater Greg Beato returns for Apron duty following excursions on LIES and the somewhat mysterious Russian Torrent Versions. The wonderfully titled Who's The Licho In Charge Ovaa Here 12" is Beato's most comprehensive release to date with five acid fuelled productions crammed in across both sides of the plate. After a wonderfully atmospheric opening "Intermission" that has a touch of a tape saturated Jam City to it, Beato finds a more familiar raw groove on the title track which is exactly the sort of punishing acid throwdown you'd hear in a Funkinevil set. "Dreamin" commences on a decidedly hazy slant but Beato does a great job in subtly implementing a shift in energy as the track progresses with the final passage a crescendo of worming acid lines and punishing rhythms. Possibly named in honour of Boris Becker, "Worship These Balls" is a more skeletal affair which showcases young Greg's talent for messing with delay; in full flight this is a seriously trippy track.

Review: A curious facet of UK producer Mosca's career thus far is his rise to his current position has been achieved by releasing music on labels no more than once. For some such label hopping endeavours would be a hindrance, but that's certainly not the case with Mosca and you can't really have any qualms with Mosca's CV when it includes appearances on Night Slugs, Numbers, Hypercolour and 3024. Late into 2013 and Mosca has resurfaced with his first release of the year and somewhat surprisingly it's on Delsin sub-label Ann Aimee. Given the label, it's unsurprising to hear Mosca is in full on dark room techno mode with The Thousand Year Wait EP with all three tracks poised with the sort of wall rattling intent you'd hear from the Fachwerk crew. "Kneecap" is a real highlight!