Back catalogue: Techno

Review: The Spanish Hypnotic Collective label attempts to capture its take on the Detroit Legacy with what looks like a new series of various artists' EP. There is plenty of Motor City soul in the gorgeous synths of Cignol's muted acid and deep house opener 'Distance' which is a soothing and reverential groove, but then its pure party from Barce, Alex Martin offers up 313 style tech and three further tunes on the flip explore blistering electro with high-speed funk and cosmic intent. Mission accomplished and we're already looking forward to the next one.

Review: Last year's superb Pura Lempuyang album has been pulled apart and served up on a couple of separate 12"s and this is the second one. It comes on limited turquoise vinyl and offers four cuts of stylish deep dub and techno. Fletcher's 'It's A Virtue' goes first with taught, twanging bass and grubby basslines then Mike Schommer's 'Kingmaker' offers liquid dub funk with watery pads and hissing static. Nicolas Barnes picks it up a little with a darker but still warm dub techno roller in 'Sonic Dial' and Redrop's 'Genesis' is the more driving of the lot but again exists right on the ocean floor.

Review: A label's first release is always a big one which hints at what to expect in the long term and for that reason Introspective debuts with this new five track compilation. They say that "Instinctive Senses is a compilation focusing on precise and cutting sonorities." We say it is a fresh techno offering with plenty of interesting details. Grafin drops 'Vespers' which is tightly looped and quick as hell then SDB & B2 get more dark, heavy and gritty on the twisted 'Reunite.' The flip side kick off with more rough and ready hard edged techno from Specific Objects, sleek tribal loops from Versus on 'Those Things' and Nano Rinnegato gets paranoid and revs up the sirens on 'Ghetto K.'

Review: "Way back in the 1990s, Mark Hand, Neil Iceton & Jez Nicholl channelled their love of sci-fi-fired Motor City techno into a string of inspired releases under the alias Cubic Space Collective.

After reuniting for a memorable machine jam at Freerotation festival in 2016, Hand & Iceton headed back into the studio for a one-off session and recorded 'Holiday in Beta Centauri', a musical love letter to Mad Mike and the rest of Detroit's most militant futurist techno crew.

Sending us surging skywards via 'Binary System', where lilting lead lines, fizzing electronics and enveloping chords dance atop a snappy, cymbal-heavy drum machine rhythm, before 'Arps in Hyperspace' sees them step things up a notch via layered waves of synths, sparkling melodies and a driving, hyper-speed groove.

The North-East-based twosome then attempt to warm us to the core in the shape of 'Rigil': restless organ stabs, undulating Michigan bass, alien electronics, psychedelic acid lines and Galaxy 2 Galaxy style chords catching the ear. Bringing us gently back down to earth, they complete their deep space mission with 'Beyond The Nebula (Holiday in Beta Centauri)', a bustling electro number full of stabbing analogue bass, star-burst electronics, meditative ambient chords that shimmer full of night-sky melodies.

A fine return to action for this Teesside UR-loving techno twosome... 3,167 miles away in Detroit, their achievement will be noted."

Review: Over the past few years Nick Gynn has been whipping up a storm with his loose and limber strain of trance-inflected club melters. Now he's landing in exactly the right spot to kick off 2022 alongside the good folk at EYA Records. Minting their Lonewolf series specifically, the 2000 & Something EP deals in maximal acid wrigglers with a playful but dark-tinted edge which should go down very well with the buoyant wave of psychedelic party people. Watch out for the electro stylings of 'Ritmos Obscuros', which closes out the 12" in body-popping fashion.

Review: Following up releases by the likes of Mark Seven, Florist and Cygnus, Ari Goldman's Washington D.C-based World Building returns with this awesome varioust artist compilation. Neighborhood Watch Volume One features a wide selection of moods and grooves: NativeSun vs JamesBangura get stuck into some dark dubstep on 'Demon Mode' much like The Khan does later on the deeply meditative 'Part Of Me (Ode To DC), while Sami gets their swing on with the classic house of 'Marty & Jack', Juana's tunneling 'It's Low' gives you a dose of heroin house and over on the flip Max D gets deep down and dirty on 'No Snare'.

Review: Nene H pays her respects to three cities that have shaped and inspired her with three very different tracks. 'Ring the Siran' salutes Istanbul with a salvo of hard-edged minimal firepower and filtered voices opening and closing across it. 'Fukken Lie' features spoken words by Nik Mantilla about the Berlin scene in which she operates, again hard but with a more relaxed, spacious vibe. 'Hold Ud, Skat!' pays homage to the Copenhagen scene - "the city that adopted the lost child in Nene H and inspired her" - with an irresistibly rubbery bassline and static techno stabs. Who says the harder end of techno needs to be grim? This is quite the opposite - tough but lithe and very, very lively.

Review: We seem to be tuning into quality underground sounds from Australia more and more lately. Natural-High is one such label that has caught our attention with its first couple of EPs and this third is another doozy. 'Iridescene' glows with the brightness that a track should with such a name - the psychedelic synths bubbling up and raining down over glistening percussive lines and deep rolling drums. It's a gorgeous cut, while the flip side 'Outpost' is heavier and darker but still warm and dubby. The mood here is more edgy as the thudding drums amp up the darkness and trippy synths keep you locked in a state of paranoia.

Review: We've extensively covered the work of Greek electronic music project Neural Network for a long time now, thanks to their compelling fusion of experimental techno and industrial music with themes of malevolent AI and/or cyborg takeover. Mostly active during the 1990s, the trio were instrumental in bringing robotic ideas to EU techno. This reissue of 'Cybernetics' is a big curio, with four new alternate takes on classic neuromantic cuts including 'Authentic' and 'Mechanic'. For those who like to sprinkle a bit of dystopianism into their DJ sets, this EP littered with sinister vocal samples scraped from future-facing TV documentaries abut cyborgs.

Review: Round Qube Music has tapped up Niki Il B for a new EP that explores a mystic take on cosmic electro. 'Ry01' is all eerie lines and punchy broken beats with supple acid squelch in the middle. 'Waiting' then mixes up more gorging acid with hurried drum loops and slow motion ambient pads that make for a fine vibe before 'Lo Spazio' has a heavier low end. The bass here is spanned and the distant pads unsettling. 'Car Sex' closes things in brilliant fashion with suspensory pads and loopy drums that ride up and down next to meandering pads.

Review: 18437 is only four releases deep but is already a revered outlet renowned for its quality output thanks to, in part, a couple of great EPs by the late great Soulphiction. This time out it is Nico Lahs using his NLXLB moniker who takes control with deep, dubby techno for the backroom or late-night hours. The blissful 'Dazed Dreams' is a pad-laced early evening warm-up. 'Dirty Vision' is a little more textured with background drums trying to hurry as lush freeform chords do a slow dance in the foreground. 'Synthetic Wars' gets all squelchy, with hefty, splintered, and wooden drums and hits tumbling in off-grid patterns.

Review: Heads down, eyes closed and get marching because this is another muscular outing from the Portuguese techno label HAYES. It is a 40th, in fact, so by now the label knows how to unearth the most compelling of sounds and that's just what Norbak serves up here: these are bangers steeped in traditionalism with hulking great drums and layers of percussion and synth texture peeling off as the drums march on. Heavy, hypnotic, and with a dark funk at their core, they're perfect weapons for a wide range of strobe-lit club settings.

Review: The young but auspicious Amplify label is back with a four fearsome techno EP. Normal Stage is at the buttons and heads out on a warm and dreamy dub techno vibe that soon soothes your soul. 'FV2' is another eight-minute plus dub excursion that quickens the pace but is no less smooth and supple, while 'FV3' brings some airy and organic melodies up top that drift about with a curious charm. 'FV4' shuts down with the most masterfully empty dub of the lot - a wide open space in which to lose yourself and all your woes.

Review: Romanian label Lok has described Nu Zau's first appearance on the imprint as a "cutting edge masterpiece". While that may be a touch on the hyperbolic side, it's true that the Bucharest-based producer has delivered a fine three-tracker in his distinctive "Ro-minimal" style. A-side 'Synthetic', a typically off-kilter slab of trippy minimal house marked out by surprisingly funky clavinet sounds, mind-mangling vocal snippets, locked-in drums and impeccable sound design, is our pick of the bunch. Elsewhere, 'Traumatised' sees Nu Zau make great use of mangled, warehouse-ready rave riffs, raw acid lines and crunchy drums, while 'Get Out' is deep and dubby in tone, with bursts of jazz fills, rubbery bass and woozy chords.

Review: Nur Jaber lived in Berlin for eight years and this new P is a tribute to the time spent there. It was a period of chaos and darkness and beauty, often all at once, and that is captured here across four involving cuts. The first 'Energie & Liebe' (feat Repeat) has trance chords of old school and tough techno beats, with layers of dust and dirt. 'In My Memory' is more urgent but has the same mix of trance and techno to take you to a higher plane then the OBI remix gets full-on old-school post-rave techno-rave. It's a joy to behold before 'Dance Dance (With The Morning Light)' revels in darkness and subtle trance chord work.

Review: Italian techno heavyweight Giorgio Gigli has been at the forefront of his country's scene for some time now, working with Dozzy way back in 2004 and releasing an album on Speedy J's Electric Deluxe label in 2015. This release on Planet Rhythm gathers together a series of collaborative EPs Gigli recorded for the label between 2015 and 2018, working with tough techno operators Ness, Paul Ritch and VSK. Gathered together in one handy triple-vinyl package, this is an essential set for anyone who cherishes dark, driving techno loaded with steely atmospheres and next-level production.

Review: Istanbul born, Berlin and Copenhagen based artist Nene H (real name Beste Aydin) had amassed a hardcore following for her slew of early releases. She then finally came good on all her promise with a debut album that blended bass, techno and plenty of her own cultural heritage. Ali arrived in 2021 but only now lands on wax via Incienso. It's an album that processes personal grief and mourning with melancholic melodies, moody grooves and introspective soundscapes that allow for deep thought processing. At times psyched out, at others manic, and always alluring, it's a real triumph.

Review: Iranian DJ/producer Ramtin Niazi (1000PA, Ben & Jerry, KAHKLI Cru) inaugurates new imprint Needlessness with some sleek and ravey tech funk on his new offering titled 'Reaction'. It comes with two remixes: London's Voigtmann (of Toi Toi fame) injects more groove into proceedings with his minimalist take, while Tbilisi-based Giorgi Koberidze aka Cobert (Casa Voyager/Partisan) equally impresses with his swing-fuelled electro beat re-rub, over on the flip.

Review: During the early-to-mid 1990s, Nurmad Jusat released a string of now sought-after singles on Likemind that showcased an emotive, far-sighted take on techno that still sounds timeless all these years on. This fine collection features various recordings he made - but never released - as Nuron and Fuge back in 1993 and '94. As inspired by the techno sounds of his native UK as the far-sighted brilliance of purist Detroit techno and the dreamy soundscapes of Larry Heard, it's a genuinely brilliant collection of long-lost gems. Our picks include the subtly clonk-influenced opener 'The Coded Message', the skewed deep electro shuffle of 'Another Way', the sci-fi techno brilliance of 'Contrapoin (First Version)' and the out-there ambient soundscape that is 'Dialectic Confusion'.

Review: Do we really want to know What You Should Know About Yourself? There's a high chance we find out something we don't want to hear but alas, the NX1 duo poses the question anyway across a broad selection of techno sounds on 11 different tracks. The moods are often introspective and provide an opportunity to get lost in deep thought and challenge yourself. The dramatic ambient start makes way for crunchy drums and fizzing synth disruption on 'Based In Lies', then dark and hard drums define the monstrous menace of Polarized Soul' and industrial clatter brings the heat on the militant and marching grooves of 'Cosmos Inside You.' A fierce album of uncompromising techno.

Review: Darren Nye has been devoted to deep machine-dreaming techno since the 90s, but he's hit a particularly productive run in the last four years. We've been gifted scores of albums on Childhood Intelligence, Exalt Records and now Elusive Intelligence, with Voyage Of Light representing the latest transmission from an artist brimming with inspiration. Nye takes his cues from the likes of B12, Kirk Degiorgio and Stasis, crafting a classically-crafted strain of techno which suits headphones as much as dancefloors. Across nine tracks Nye weaves a spectrum of sci-fi tales with the textbook tools - warm, expressive synth lines and crisp, intricate drum machine patterns. If you dig that sound, you're going to love this album.

Review: The heady techno fans out there will already know that Darren NYE has been serving up deep and dreamy techno and roundabout sounds since the 90s. He is turning out some of his best ever material right now though and does just that again now on Deeptarx. His Thoughts & Emotions is an extended offering across four sides of vinyl that explores the intersection of techno, electro and dub, always with a soft touch, a warmth of sound and a pensive mood. There are deft cosmic jaunts, more heavy and purposeful slow burners and life-affirming nocturnal trips like the gorgeous 'Late Night Thinking.'

Review: Norm Talley returns to his Upstairs Asylum label alongside fellow US house pioneer Delano Smith for Straight Up No Chaser, an eight-track opus featuring four solo cuts each. Talley's gritty, dubbed-out, low-rolling house style is present and correct throughout with the loopy chords of 'Blak Bottom' getting things going, 'The Flip' getting more cavernous and aqueous and 'ISO Vision' leaning into dub techno. 'Believe It' is a soulful deep house looper, while Smith gets bubbly with 'The Bassline', lays down thumping kicks on 'Travels 23' and his trademark synth smears on 'The Drive' while 'Remembrance' is a heady dub house cut that locks you into a state of perfect hypnosis.