Juno Recommends Electro April 2021

Review: French electro veteran dynaRec has always sat a little to the side of the masses in the scene, which is precisely what makes his music so damn special. Clearly, Helena Hauff agrees, and so dynaRec makes an appearance on Return To Disorder with this colourful, animated four-tracker. 'Expert Text Reader' is a party monster with broad appeal - it's actually redolent of the electroclash era thanks to its catchy arps and vocoder hooks. 'Ray Mentor' takes things tougher and freakier, while 'Messiah' turns up an unexpected 4/4 jacker with some mean swing and rowdy synth riffs to get people bumping hard. 'Twisted Helix Posture' finishes the EP off on a future-synth-pop tip that will have robot souls short circuiting all over the place.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: This is proving to be a big breakthrough year for Kosh, a producer hailing from Casablanca in Morocco. After making a first appearance last year on Casa Voyager, he's returned to that label a second time before dropping the "Endless Quest" 12" on eudemonia. But now he's made a marked leap forward with this transmission on 20:20 Vision, where his incredibly well-read take on vintage electro sounds right at home. There is quality pouring from every corner of this record, but we recommend you make a beeline for the sumptuous "Vicious Love," an acid-laced burner with soul to match its snarl.

Review: Cignol's debut on Nocta Numerica is a super one that explores plenty of interplanetary electro vibes. 'Overview' launches the trip with tight drum programming and astral pads that immediately make a sci-fi mood. 'Set to Sync' pairs a roaming lead synth with crisp arps that cast your mind free before 'Somewhere In Your Mind' brings shimmering chords and popping kick drums and hits to the fore. This is smooth Drexcyian electro remained in the combos rather than the ocean and closer 'Memory Minor' is the most pensive of the lot, but still has a nimble bassline powering it along.

Review: Resplendent in sleeve boasting a superb - and rather fitting - illustration, Analogue Soul marks long-serving Maltese musician Sound Synthesis's first outing for the on-point Eudemonia imprint. In keeping with the producer's recent release, all three original tracks showcased on the EP are melodious, deep and quietly funk-fuelled, delivering a take on electro that emphasizes the style's star-gazing ethos and Kraftwerkian roots. Our pick of a very strong bunch is the delightful title track, where lilting electronic lead lines, starry chords and blissful counter melodies dance away atop crunchy machine beats and an electrofunk style bassline. We'd also recommend Detroit artist Shawescape Renegade's deep, hypnotic revision of 'ADSR606', which adds new layers of bittersweet melancholia to the already emotive track.

Review: It's straight up no nonsense electro business on this well designed seventh EP from Russia's Electro Music Coaltion. Neonicle is at the buttons with 'Signal' racing straight off through the cosmos on nice tight, taught drums and hits. Julia Marks features on 'Scientist' and deadpans some vocals over scurrying synths and tinny hits. 'Urban Shaman' then gets more dark and dirty, with haunting and eerie pads and racing grooves. The same shadowy nature looms over 'Hypno,' but for the finale, 'Chevy On Mountains' brings rays of hoped light to a final icy electro weapon.

Review: The Dutch label Klakson is a real mark of electro quality. It has been doing its do since before the current hype and will continue long after, no doubt. Sepher takes the reins for this one and fires out of the blocks on serrated synths and chattery 808s. The basslines are so dynamic and restless on 'Artificiality' your mind will get tied in knots trying to keep up, while 'Duplicate' brings clipped Drexcyian funk that doesn't hang around. There is a deeper, more pensive vibe to 'Izadi' that completes a fine EP with a broad array of styles.

Review: There is real adventure on 'Program State' that layers frazzled chords, pounding kicks and slithering electro synths with electro-boogie vocals to make for something brilliantly full on. The Legowelt remix is filled with laser precision, twinkling sci-fi chords and a real sense of menace while 'Initialise' gets more minimal and funky, with whirring riffs and knackered sounding drumlmaking you jerk your body to the rhythm. Things get deeper and more pensive on the deep space exploration that is 'Execute Command' and 'Reboot Complete' closes down with what sound like modulated synths flailing above a glitchy groove.

Review: Lucas J. Hatzisavas is Reptant aka Lou Karsh (LKR Records), a DJ,/producer from Melbourne who has racked up an enviable discography thus far with releases on Salt Mines, Planet Euphorique and Craigie Knowes to name but a few. His latest comes courtesy of Frankfurt's Die Orakel, where he presents four spellbinding electro cuts on The New Adaptive Lacerta. From the Drexciyan electro funk of 'Ultra Violent Light' to the deeply meditative subterranean beats of 'Sticky Feet' which goes down a dustier lo-fi route, there's also the blissed-out ambient passage 'Absorption' then ending with the deeply immersive and lysergic breaks of 'Metachrosis'. It's a solid EP all round by this Aussie producer.

Review: No, this isn't veteran UK soul man Omar charging off on an electro/techno tip, but rather a new EP from experienced Uruguayan producer Omar Chibarro. He's generally known for his minimal techno and tech-house productions, and while there are some nods towards his trademark style across the EP, for the most part it's an electro-focused affair. Our pick of the bunch is 'Nothing Compares', where ragged acid lines, slightly foreboding melodies and fuzzy electronic riffs ride a hybrid electro/tech-house groove, though bleeping electro cut '091116' and aggressive, sub-heavy closer 'CLP', which sounds like an electro take on early Unique 3 or LFO, are also rather good.

Review: 
After serving up his well received Red Pyramid EP, L.F.T. is back with more fearless futurists visions. He calls upon Nils Fock for vocals and Dollkraut for a blistering remix on the flip. 'Keine Angst' is actually quite angsty, with crashing hits and stiff EBM/cold wave designs that are filthy dirty and full of punk revolt. That Dollkraut remix is more slowed down and spacious, creating an eerie, textural atmosphere before 'Strassenmensch' is a hyper speed, ice cold and dystopian electro-techno track with brilliantly stiff synth sequences. 'Herdenimmunitat' rounds out in acid madness. This release is dedicated to Gabi Delgado-Lopez and is a one time only pressing.

Review: There's no stopping Danny Wolfers, who has still managed to release two albums as Legowelt this year despite a raging pandemic and a crippling economic downturn. He's predictably on form again on his first outing for Lapsus offshoot C.E.E, giddily moving between a range of sparkling, synth-heavy outings that encapsulate all that is good about his analogue-rich productions. We're really enjoying opener 'Santiago Chile Arp Track', where sparkling electronic melodies and mind-warping TB-303 lines rise and fall above a jacking techno drum track, while title track 'System Shapeshift' is amongst the most psychedelic, punchy and potent electro tracks he's ever released. Also worth a look is the early Orbital-ish trip that is 'Live in Transnistria', not to mention the stuttering heaviness of strobe-lit acid onslaught 'My Dad Was a Lifeguard'.

Review: The fourth release of Barcelona-based label Kommuna finally lands after being teased late last year. It is a various artists affair that includes the opening gem from breakbeat legends Stopout. They ride rough and ready over a lumpy groove thats full of angst, then Pekkuliar & Driahn step out with a more cosmic bit of chunky funky on 'Dazed Transmission.' CMYK & Driahn servo up a beautifully sappy out mining affair in 'How's The Sauce?' with some great vocal snippets and Driahn's 'Tea Breaks' pairs cinematic ambiance and lush pads with tightly woven electro bass.

Review: Part house, part techno, part electro, this new one from Mister Bellini is all about hard-ass kicks, deep bass and dripping wet claps. 'Cardio' is a real workout as the title suggests, with a sleazy vocal and booty-bass wiggle, then 'Muscle Ups' gets more dark and dirty on grubby bass and more coarse hits. The toughness continues on 'Deadlift' which leave planet earth behind and heads to the stars. 'Squats' is pure ghetto-tech-funk gold and after the high speed convulsions of 'Russian Twist' comes the Motor City bass of 'Progressive Overload.' Sweaty stuff indeed.

Review: Switzerland's Unruh makes a bold and abrasive bow here with blistering electro from four different but equally interesting artists. Panstarrs's 'Pendulum' is all twitching effects and coarse hits that get you on edge and keep you there. Tachyon's 'Night Ride' is a more driven track with a real sense of urgency in the kicks and bass as the acid sounds grow ever louder in the mix but The WWWW takes the gong for the most inventive sound with 'Mammoth Hunt,' which straddles the techno and electro divide with it's mix of rubber and brushed steel textures and glistening chords. Robotron offers a more heady vibe after what is a truly wild ride of an EP.

Review: Although he never confirmed it when he launched the project in 2006, Blackploid is an electro-fired alternative alias of sometime International Deejay Gigolos artist Martin Mastike - and not, as some speculated all those years ago, a Drexciya side project. You can see why some would have though Blackploid to be a Drexciya product though. This surprise EP for Sheffield's CPU Records is full of Drexciyan tropes, with three out of the four tracks delivering the kind of high-grade, sci-fi-fuelled electro brilliance that we've long associated with the legendary Detroit outfit. Highlights include the thrusting, bleep-heavy brilliance of 'Night Drive', the surging, space disco-influenced heaviness of 'Night Drive' and the raw, angular techno stomp of opener 'Electric Engine'.

Review: Further Electronix has decided to launch a new offshoot, Shakespeare, with the imprint's first missive coming from long-serving Swedish producer (and former Skam artist) Ola Bergman under his alternative Obergman alias. As label debuts go, it's a cracker, too, with the experienced producer combining raw, psychedelic TB-303 acid lines with punchy beats, smooth basslines and often creepy, unearthly chords. It's a blueprint that's subtly tweaked across the EP, with acid-electro numbers (see 'Acid Wave' and the harder, more intergalactic-sounding 'Bayronic Matter') being joined by a pair of tweaked, four-to-the-floor jackers ('Spectral Radiosity' and the devilishly intense, energetic and sweaty 'Radiant Intensity').

Review: The profusely productive Lerosa returns to Lunar Disko with another excellent EP, taking us on another jaunt through the interstellar synth world of Leo Rosa. A 5 track EP which also features another distinguished remix from fellow Roman, Marco Passarani.