Back catalogue: Techno

Review: Pomelo is one of the longest serving pillars of the ever inventive Austrian techno/electronica community and the fact It's never had the profile of a Cheap or Mego doesn't mean it's not responsible for some of the country's most exciting and most maverick material. Austria's trademarks are a general and laudable ignorance of current fads, an irresistible groove-ability and an indefinable flair in executing their ideas and the four cuts have all three of those properties in heaps. The newest addition to the Pomelo roster is Spanish talent Vedelius, who delivers the late night burner 'The Crypt' here before turning it over for a rolling breakbeat version by Phosphene, jacking techno by Lodig/Dibek and a dubbed out electro-techno stepper by Lok44.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


If you're a fan of dub techno and densely layered, spaced-out ambient soundscapes, you should already be familiar with Mr Cloudy (real name Sergey Barkalov) and his Space of Variants label. Whether you are or not, we'd recommend checking out this fine label sampler, which was compiled by Barkalov and offers a neat introduction to the imprint's distinctively hazy and hypnotic sound. Highlights include the decidedly intergalactic dub techno shuffle of Flying Cobra's "In Harmony With The Whole", the early morning club hypnotism of "Mira" by Ozim Lee, the fluid ambient dub/dub techno fusion of Heavenchord's "Echo 2", the tough but intoxicating antics of Mr Gradient (the pumping but dubbed-out "Isolated Space") and the bass guitar sporting ambient dub niceness of 'Dub raw Sky" by Tuman Sound.

Review: "It's All For You" is a complement to the Sect vinyl catalogue, and a mark of respect to the CD in techno history. Artists known and new swell the ranks, representing the techno forms in the honorable Sect style. Beyond the usual, exceptionally high standard of quality from the Sect roster of artists so far, new artist productions on the first CD include Ben Gibson's "Clamour", a modern take on a Tokyo-style future cityscape, Jeroen Search's "Section A", a physical, forward thinking deep techno triumph and Voidloss' "In The Void" - techno the way it should be made for the 21st century. On CD 2, AnD's "Granular" offers traditional dub aesthetics and modern techno techniques taken to a wholly satisfying next level, while OCH's "Tears" manifest as a dark techno experience of rhythm-led lines of perfection. CV's "Acceptance Of The Fact At Hand" hones hues of colour in aural form, as a subtle vista is painted with strings of haunted beauty.