Review: After the impressive scope of the first volume of Dysphoria |Euphoria, Ka-One and St-Sene have returned to their Flyance label with a second installment that goes even deeper into adventurous electronic pastures. There's a cinematic quality to the original productions that make up the first disc of Chapter Two, using mournful melodic refrains and a widescreen approach to production that draws the listener in to their emotive electro and techno world. In terms of remixers on the second disc, they haven't held back as AWB, Setaoc Mass, Luke Hess and Anetha all provide a more propulsive, club ready perspective on these thoughtfully crafted electronic gems.
Review: Shalom Aber's Be As One label has done a one job of evolving from its earliest sounds in the tech house realm into a place for more refined and sophisticated techno. Kashpitzky's new offering very much fits in with that MO and opens with 'Elevate' which is a trip minimal cut with rising synths that make it feel as if you are forever speeding up. 'Silver Ball' is like a hall of mirrors with synth reflections everywhere and the Phase remix lays it down with a more rooted low end. 'For The Vision' is an unpredicted but brilliant jungle closer.
Review: Colossal-room techno from Terminal M's Kaspar, the German producer rising to mountainous heights almost as sublime as the music he makes. 'The Awakening' is an impressive exercise in held breaths, seatbelt-fastenings and tense contrasts, with the title track spending ample time on a highpassed kickdrum-to-trance lead buildup before dropping into a vibe-switching, Reese-fronted gulf of awe. 'Drum Control', meanwhile, fits in an unusual set of rhythms and percussive sounds to the otherwise adhered-to 'drum code', testing the listener and/or club-goer with syncopated, long-release snares and knocks.
Review: The more nerdy out there will know that Keepsakes has featured on Perc Trax before having contributed to the Forever 2 various artists' release back in 2020, but now he makes his full debut with this fierce solo EP. 'Scene Analysis' is just that, a heavyweight takedown of dance music bullshit with no-frills drums and rattling percussion all topped off with a dark monologue. Label head Perc remixes and makes things even more caustic and ear-splitting, then 'Industry Anthem' does manic things with the word 'money' over taught, twanging synths and slamming drums. 'Pray For Hype' is the final potent offering, again with brash sounds and rusty textures, hard drums and no-nonsense de-humanised vocals.
Review: Scott Kemix's 303 Alliance delivers a thrilling sonic experience with its four heavy acid trance and techno tracks. 'Dancefloor Killa' kicks off with fast-paced, frenetic techno beats infused with a heavy acid trance sound, creating a sci-fi atmosphere that pulls listeners in. 'Big Fast & Dangerous' follows suit with its big acid trance sound, keeping the energy high and the intensity palpable. On the flip side, 'Fighting For Our Freedom' verges into psy trance territory with its energetic vibe, while 'The Guy In The Sky' adds a techno edge to the epic trance buildup, making it a standout peak track. Overall, 303 Alliance is a relentless ride through the realms of trance and techno, showcasing Scott Kemix's ability to conduct heavy, driving acid techno music for the headstrong.
Review: Jodey Kendrick won't necessarily be familiar to you as he is someone who rather goes under the radar, but now you know. This EP proves his unique type of production genius across a bunch of mind-warping techno cuts that fuse Detroit, 90s UK styles and brain dance into glistening and physical workouts. The future rave kicks off with the high-pressure 'Changes' and then takes in the sludgy stomper 'Malfunction All Levels' and the caustic and high-tempo industrial urgency of 'The Metal Planet'. 'Organic Matter Detected' closes down with a more cerebral and sparse vibe designed to keep you on edge.
Review: Inigo Kennedy returns to Token for its 126th release with The Calling, a three-track EP that exemplifies his unique production style, blending hypnotic and stomping club elements. Inigo has been making techno for a better part of 25 plus years now with over 50 plus releases to his name. Side-1 features 'Magnitude Seven,' a track marked by melodic dissonance and a stripped-down acid line supporting a saturated groove and noisy synths. Waves of unsettling intensity, driven by a powerful double kick sequence, make this an epic opener. The title track, 'The Calling,' on Side-2, elevates the intensity with a frantic four-to-the-floor rhythm and sustained notes that create a sense of pressure. Harmonic sections breathe life into this nail-biting record, showcasing Kennedy's ability to distance himself from the typical loop-based templates prevalent in techno. This track underscores the ongoing relevance of his long-standing career in club music. The EP concludes with 'Out of the Woods,' a fitting electronica closer that shifts focus to introspection. Drifting notes and shuffled percussion lines evoke Kennedy's UK roots, providing an ethereal epilogue to the preceding techno tracks. The Calling is another masterclass from Inigo Kennedy, highlighting his innovative production techniques and soulful approach to electronic music.
Review: UK producer Inigo Kennedy - also known as Seducer, Tomito Satori and Helki Torsnum - comes up with a pair of techno tracks that positively glisten with luxuriant melody and a beautiful musicality that's rare to ape in this - or indeed any - scene. 'RackSpace 2' and 'Dewdrops' both glide with serene ease, the melodies weaving away in the back seat of the track but never threatening to overwhlelm the atmosphere. The latter is definitely operating in a spacier sphere, with the reverbs and delays working overtime, but both are nicely restrained takes on techno that nevertheless paint vivid sonic pictures.
Review: The legendary Lagoa club in Menin is a real techno institution that this year marks its 34th anniversary. It does so in part by dropping LAGOA TRAX Vol. 1, an exclusive vinyl compilation featuring four unreleased tracks by its famous resident DJs Manu Kenton, DJ HS, Jamie Dill and Max Walder. These celebrated artists honour Lagoa's spirit with compositions that echo the club's distinctive style-driving beats and electrifying sounds. Each track embodies the energy and legacy of Lagoa's unforgettable nights and gives fans a chance to reconnect with the intense rhythms that have defined the club's reputation.
Review: Keppel was last on this label with a contribution to a various artist collection but now steps up with a full solo EP of his own. His unique take on techno is exhibited from the off on 'Stanley Knife' with its scurrying synths, drunken synth loops and drums that go nowhere fast but still draw you in. '194' is awash with kinetic synth sequences and distant dub chords that bring colour and 'Life Takes Rise' rides on another inventive and alluring rhythm pattern while the warming synth work gets you lost in thought. Closer 'Diesel', meanwhile, is tough, frosty, and more techno-leaning.
Review: Manchester-based Kerrie is a multi-disciplinary artist, incorporating live sets, DJing and running her label Dark Machine Funk. For this release, she returns to James Ruskin's esteemed Blueprint for another dose of straight-ahead techno cuts on the Transient Belief EP. The A-side kicks off with the visceral broken beat onslaught of the title track followed by the powerful peak time workout 'Night Walker'. Over on the flip, the futurist electro funk of 'Theta State' shows off the Irish producer's wide sonic repertoire, and finally she unleashes the hypnotic heads-down style fury of 'Find Your Tribe'.
Review: Kerrie's latest proprietorship is the Dark Machine Funk label, to which the Irish DJ and producer brings the weirder ends of techno. Proudly presenting the new K-llab series, Kerrie is here heard partnering with some of her favourite ever artists, offering a fresh take on the sounds and creative processes of each collaboration. Here the collab of choice is Italian duo Dynamic Forces, known for their heavy, old-school-leaning, industrial-influenced techno. The latter artist's 'Moralism' leads the charge with an unsettlingly slippery wonky techno tune agog with stinger plucks resembling horror movie pizzicati, while Kerrie's own 'Good Intentions' betrays perhaps less felicitous outcomes, utilising consequent, spirally leads and all-encompassing synth buzzes of the sinister variety.
Review: Kessell (Spain's Valentin Corujo) returns with his new EP 'Savage Garden' on Polegroup. The EP's name is certainly not to be confuddled as a reference to the boyish queer-affirmative trip hop duo of the same name; the emphasis here is rather on a truncated techno paradise, with a five-horned satyr gracing a classically styled front cover. It marks but one of many pummeller techno releases put out by the artist since 2013, though it's only his second after 'Nothing Left To Say' (Pole, 2023) to surrealise academic or Renaissance cover art. 'Hidden Echoes' and 'Seeing Beyond' stand out as the main darkened, textural edenics to saturate this utter floor stressor of a record, as though a giant hydraulic press were menacing the crowd from above.
Review: Luschn and Roman Khropko seamlessly blend their styles on 'Rozchyn', a bouncing, elastic groove that pulsates with energy, its hypnotic rhythms and infectious melodies drawing the listener into a world of sonic intrigue. 'High Hopes' takes a different approach, its smooth, tech-infused textures creating a hypnotic atmosphere, like a journey through a neon-lit cityscape at night. On the flipside, Luschn's 'Never Defeat Me' emerges as an anthem for the resilient, its driving rhythm and soaring melodies inspiring perseverance and determination.
Review: Johnny Kick's Come On EP on Rawax Germany is a vibrant homage to the early 90s rave sound. On Side-1, things kick off with 'Burnin,' a track that blends classic house and techno with strong melodic stabs, reminiscent of MK or Nu Groove. 'Come On' follows with a fun and clever UK breakbeat style that echoes the energy of 808 State. On Side-2, 'Alright,' is a perfect recreation of the early 90s techno rave sound with classic samples. Closing the EP is 'Everybody,' a breakbeat dancefloor destroyer with keys that pay huge respect to Outlander's 'Vamp.' Each track captures the nostalgic essence of the rave era while delivering a modern punch. Massive!
Review: Returning with their second EP on their self-named label, the Kilotoni series is said to be the work of renowned techno artists, plucked from the archives, but whatever, it's a a fierce resurgence of headstrong acid techno that feels both classic and vital. Side-A opens with 'Track , a minimal yet powerful stormer driven by a thick, rolling acid bassline that commands the floor. 'Track 2' follows up with a heavier, more stomping affair i a dangerous, sci-fi-inflected ride where the acid line buzzes with an incessant, hypnotic edge, pushing the energy to the brink. Turn to Side-B and 'Track 3' hits with alien sound design and raw 90s acid techno energy. It's a slice of nostalgia, yet the strong modern production keeps it razor sharp and club-ready. Closing things out, 'Track 4' shifts gears into a groovy, fun techno jam that retains the otherworldly atmosphere but brings a lighter, more playful bounce to the mix. A heavyweight EP that perfectly captures acid techno's gritty essence while pushing it into new, futuristic spaces.
Review: To date, Kim Cosmk has generally done her own thing - self-releasing a string of digital-only singles and albums which variously mix and mangle elements of electro, IDM, techno and dubstep. Here she pops up on an established label - Ralph Lawson's 2020 Vision to be exact - for the very first time. First, she whips up a frenzy courtesy of the fuzzy and aggressive riffs of techno roller 'Night Flight', complete with creepy chords and foreboding motifs. She then delivers raw, heavy, industrial-fired electro on 'Ore', whilst warped dubstep and electro are brilliantly mixed on 'Nocturnal'. To round things up nicely, 'Drifting' is a partial vocal number built around a wobbling dubstep bass with punchy electro drums and twinkling pianos.
Train Music (Andres Aguirre Spicy Paracousia remix) (7:05)
Review: It is over to Sapporo's Jun Kimata aka BirdMan for the Forbidden Colours imprint out of Bilbao (Spain), who've previously delivered great work by the likes of label boss Aitor Etxebarria aka EL_TXEF_A, Eduardo de la Calle and Andres Aguirre. The Shape Of My Voice EP starts off with the driving and tunneling deep electro workout "Two Billion Light-Years Of Silence" that's dripping in futurist aesthetic, while "Track 2" is a more dystopian affair on this dark ambient/drone piece. On the flip, we have got "Train Music" which effectively bridges the gap between hypnotic techno and deep house (the label's preferred aesthetic of late) and rather inventively indeed. The "Spicy Paracousia remix" by the aforementioned Aguirre takes the track on wonderfully spaced out deep house journey over its glorious seven minutes. Nice one!
Review: The No Agenda label takes its bow here with a new EP that features a first appearance from the US's Bridget Barkan. Kimono is behind the beats and they are couched in house. 'Waiting' opens with rattling chords that bring steely determination next to the time-keeping hi-hats and echoing vocal swirls that speak of a patient wait. The Aubrey rework is super fresh with daubs of dancing synth and sci-fi details over a barely-there rhythm. Shuffling deep house sound 'Forgiveness' closes out with more slight sound designs, dusty drums and plenty of suggestion rather than in-your-face maximalism.
Review: Before I Die have been putting out some high-grade leftfield delights from respected operators like Bernardino Femminelli, Tungusku and most recently Sewell & The Gong. Now it's the turn of Klangkollektor, indulging a collection of hazy dub excursions which sit somewhere near Balearic splendour, piano-charged melancholy and isolation tank meditation. In the dub tradition the approach is consistent and evenly paced, but it's certainly not aiming for any kind of typical Jamaican sound. Instead, there's a gentle introspection to the melodic content which gels perfectly with the spacious approach to mixing, unfurling across four sides of wax for an album you can just melt into.
Review: French techno DJ and producer Klint has forged a long, panhandling utility belt of digital and physical for himself - Truncate, Planet Rhythm and Molecular Recordings outputs among them - and now he makes his debut on the milestone Rotterdam label Arts with a definitive attestation to his own creative drive. The Greek "dynamis" simply means "power", and its etymological link to "dynasty" is meaningful, not least since Arts are among the foremost families to do it right now. 'Subculture' and 'Time Flies' stand out on this release as the best gurgling, weirdo sound design cuts to typify both artist and label, mingling undeniable heaviness and impish experimentation.
Don't Scream At Me (Low Entropy Stripped remix) (5:53)
Review: RIOT Radio is a fiercely independent techno label based in Scotland that roll out another in its 'limited as fuck' series of releases. This one is also Matthias Koch's first-ever vinyl release and offers some eye-wateringly jacked-up and frosty beats that are all primed and ready to blow up any dance floor. Take 'Vice' - a heavy, marching cut with wiry electronics and fuzzy sonics. 'An Angel Told Me To Do It' is alive with ghoulish voices and screw synths and 'She Bites' then slams out more swampy techno madness. Low Entropy's 'Stripped' remix closes out in brutal and brilliant fashion.
Review: Koenig Cylinders always kept it hella real with their techno. The pair of John Selway and Oliver Chesler were pioneers of the hard stuff first time around and now that it is back en vogue, why not reissue this classic? 'Untitled' opens with a freaky vocal and eerie synth sound before '99.9' brings a wall of white noise and slamming drum patterns. 'Carousel' is an urgent wall-rattler with cantering drums and rave sires that light up the 'floor and 'Choreomania' shuts down with razor-sharp synths and acid flashes that tickle your brain. Arresting tackle of the highest order.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.