Back catalogue: Experimental/Electronic

Review: Jagged textures, ghostly tones and frenetic notes are omnipresent on "Filterealism", a highly experimental 9-track odyssey of warbling, jittering, metallic sounds that's quite possibly going to be like nothing you've heard before. Or at least that's the case on "Aluminium Dub", where tribalism meets futurism, or "Kosmaj", which could be read as an exercise in spatial awareness - a series of echoed synth stabs and whirring sounds where gaps say as much as the keys. Elsewhere things are less mind-bending, although only slightly. "All This Is Not A Dream", for example, might be an experiment designed to see what happens when freeform jazz meets feint touches of jungle percussion. "Continental Outcome" chugs without dropping a real beat, "Photon Garden" treads close to a prototype of electro while remaining staunchly eccentric.

Review: In The Dark is a new EP from The Gaslamp Killer that features a series of remixes of the title track. It appeared on his debut album Breakthrough back in 2012 and was a real standout so to get these alternative perspectives is welcome indeed. These have never been heard on vinyl before and are sure to blow up the dancefloor as well as your brain cells. Mono/Poly, Drumetrics, and The Heliocentrics all step up with tunes that previously were only available on digital formats and get reissued now to mark the 10th anniversary of the aforementioned debut album.

Review: Experiment Defined is a cult classic of electro by Gedankenexperiment, a collaboration between two legends of the genre: Gerald Donald and Beta Evers. Fitting right into the niche of electro that only these artists alone can be said to have properly found, the EP is a sonic exploration scientific concepts and philosophical questions, but delivered with a cold and clinical precision combined with an unmistakable eeriness. Particularly cold and janky comes 'Experiment', while the A-sider 'Conclusion' also features a haunting vocal contribution from Evers - as if to repetitively ponder why someone would arrive at any conclusion in the first place, ever.

Review: Trauma Collective returns to shock your system on their fifth release, which comes courtesy of Spain's Rafael M. Espinosa aka Geistform. The Barcelona-based artist, also known for his exploits under the Univac alias, has crafted a singular style that exists at the interzone of IDM, digital noise and electro and having earned him releases on Pi Electronics, Femur and Hands Productions in recent years.

Espinosa executes four programs in sonic warfare on the Antena EP, all sounding akin to complex bitstream amplification. A multi-level barrage of frequencies play offense on opening cut "Proxima B", which sets the theme for more widescreen pulsations that gash the senses, as heard on the syntax error of "Note Repeat" and building up to a climax on the monochromatic soundstage of "Norc" - a jagged and angular exploration in bass artefacts and static redux.

Since unleashing the austere techno of Birmingham legend Mick Harris (as Monrella) and hometown hero Kwartz on unsuspecting ears, the Madrid-based collective has now ventured into more experimental spheres, as heard on the off-kilter mentalism of ASC's Loop Research and the brooding atmosphere of Makunaimadama's limited cassette release last year. Antena is the logical progression for the label's next chapter, where it continues to push the threshold of electronic music's outer limits.

Review: Geo Rip is the trio of Aaron Leitko, John Calvin Jones and Mike Petillo who made their debut four years ago with a cassette release on U-Udios out of Takoma Park, MD (USA). Their eponymously titled sophomore effort here on The Trilogy Tapes features four experimental cuts, all said to be improvised live-to-tape. From the wonky electronics and splintered beats of opening track "Drop In Center" leading into the off-kilter deepness of "Nah Press Fake Text", their sound then diverts into more electro (-ish) sounding territory on woozy B2 track "Underwater Bodycam".

Review: It sort of feels right now that Daniel Avery can do no wrong. He's the dance music indie kid who brings a different perspective to electronic music and always has. Once mentored by Andrew Weatherall and a long-time fav of Erol Alkan, he steps out here in remix mode and flips Gold Panda's 'I've Felt Better' into one of his typically textured, smoky and experimental pieces. On the flipside is the Illian Tape regular and purveyor of all things dark, breaky and techno, Skee Mask, with a fresh take on 'Plastic Future' that makes this a high class 12".

Review: Stamp glides up to a 15th release with the ever-present Ben Gomori the man responsible. The former writer has done it all in his time from playful edits to big house to here, dazzling disco. 'DM Slide' is a classic-sounding cut with busy basslines and silky arps, nice tinny percussion and a glorious vocal that soars way up top. That takes up the a-side while the flip is a dub version that ups the disco energy and removes the vocals so that the cosmic fx are more front and centre. A useful 12" so far.

Review: "I resynthesized some vocals that almost sounded human, but not quite. That's why I decided to name the track after a monkey." Depeche Mode mainstay, and one of the UK's finest modern musicians and songwriters, on his website Martin Gore cuts to the quick in explaining his latest solo release, which takes its name directly from Jared Diamond's book about the similarities between animal and human behaviour, The Third Chimpanzee.

It's certainly a pretty wild experience. Like the preceding lone wolf album, MG, here MG the guy gives us five tracks of synth goodness made on modular consoles. Visiting post-ambient, IDM and industrial noise, or rather luring those elements out of their natural comfort zones and into an atmosphere that almost feels as though you're lost in nature, it's a real opportunity for escapism at a time when many of us have never needed one more.

Review: Guy J was making prog house way before it came back into fashion and likely will be doing way after it has passed through the hype cycle and out the other side. What that means is you get a certain quality from his work and that's evident again here. '94 Blossom' is his new one-sided 12" and is as broody and grandiose as you can imagine. The drums set the tone, rolling deep over a pulsing bassline with suspensory pads up top. The melodies eventually take over and sweep up to an infinite cosmos, leaving you looking on in awe.

Review: Outlier experimental label Eating Music brings back more for us to chew on here in the form of a varied four tracker from various artists. It is Mindexxx that opens with 'Track 1' which layers up snaking synths and deeply buried dark bass that grows in intensity and washes over you like a Tsunami. Laughing Ears then cuts back to a tender mood with soft piano chords and slowly unfolding rhythms that are warm and lithe. Gooooose's 'The Dusk Of Digital Age' is a churchy affair with textured drones shot through with beams of synth light and Knopha's 'Off-Peak Season Tourists' layers up choral vocals and jumbled drum sounds into something hypnotic and escapist.

Review: Los Angeles-based The Black Lodge began as an intimate gathering place and ritual organised around exploring, sharing and experimenting with diverse forms of electronic music. This is the fourth collection of cuts from various artists of The Black Lodge multiverse. The Poetic Painter M, an alias of Nation chief Traxx, opens up the A-side with the dark late night acid of 'Elusive Clarity Of 1 Mind', followed by Pablo R Ruiz from Detroit providing the spooky lo-fi/sci-fi groove 'El Rey De Amor'. Over on the flip, Michigan's Fashion Flesh serves up a harsh experimental soundscape on 'Kisses' and closes with the tunnelling industrial funk of Fauna53's 'Jam1' (Asymmetrical weirdo orchestra edit).