Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: After five successful releases which have generated support by Martin Landsky, Dominik Eulberg, Plastikman, Michael Mayer, Frank Lorber, Mandy etc. These 10" coloured vinyls have reached number 6 (out of 10) in the series. once again labelowner Agaric has made the A-side track, for this one a delightfully melancholic peace of music yet with a pounding bottom groove to go with it. Guesting the B-side is the brilliant young star from Jena: Mathias Kaden, known for recent outstanding work on labels like Vakant and Freude Am Tanzen.

Review: After several releases for Djax-Up, Pristine and Feinwerk, Mark Hawkins delivers a few tracks for this great double 10" package from Berlin.

Review: It's now been two decades since Gallic producer Joan-Mael Peneau first donned the Maelstrom alias for the very first time. He's been in particularly fine form of late, offering up essential EPs on Cultivated Electronics, Central Processing Unit and Private Persons. Here he makes his debut on Craigie Knowes' hard-wired techno and electro offshoot C-Know-Evil with a formidably tough two-track offering. A-side "Spasm" is a riotous fusion of metallic percussion hits, high-octane electro drums, doom-laden acid lines and bass so raw and intense it was probably made in Scotland from girders. He opts for an even more doom-laden techno sound on fizzing flipside "Turbulence", wrapping increasingly intense electronic motifs around a surging rhythm track.

Review: Gary Martin is well known for his unique productions and his label Teknotika is surely a classic coming out of the famous motor city. This special 10" holds two sought after tracks that were found on a lost DAT tape by Yossi Amoyal and Gary Martin himself. On the A side we have a long time secret weapon, it's a hypnotic groove that was heard on many classic sets, Zip and Ben Klock to name a few. An extremely insane, hard to find Gigi Galaxy track that was changing hands for silly prices is on the B side, for those who know... massive release!

Review: For the latest missive on their fast-rising DET313 label, Gary Martin and Yossi Amoyal have dug deep into the archives of Martin's long-running Teknotika Records imprint. First up on the A-side is a re-mastered version of "A City At Night", a Martin cut from 1990 that mixes the futurist intent of Motor City techno with chunkier, UK style techno grooves and the kind of stabs and musical flourishes more associated with Robert Hood or Terrence Parker records. Side B boasts a freshly extended edit of another Martin gem - this time under the Gigi Galaxy alias - from 1994. "The Dream" more than lives up to its title, with Martin wrapping restless bass, starry lead lines, alien electronics and sumptuous chords around a hypnotic deep techno groove.

Review: WHITE VINYL REPRESS: Gary Martin is well known for his unique productions and his label Teknotika is surely a classic coming out of the famous motor city. This special 10" holds two sought after tracks that were found on a lost DAT tape by Yossi Amoyal and Gary Martin himself. On the A side we have a long time secret weapon, it's a hypnotic groove that was heard on many classic sets, Zip and Ben Klock to name a few. An extremely insane, hard to find Gigi Galaxy track that was changing hands for silly prices is on the B side, for those who know... massive release!

Review: The Det 313 label is kicking off the new year with a bang and dropping a pair of brilliant new EPs on the same day in late January. This one is a reissue of the esteemed Gary Martin's 'Pimping People In High Places' on 10". It's the Woodword Ave alternative mix that kicks off and is a rough and ready percussive techno looper with hefty basslines underlapping and propping up the floor. 'The Medusa Touch' is a more wily and synth laced-late night jaunt with mystic energy and acid details that make it a deep and dramatic cut with real dynamism.

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


The Det 313 label is kicking off the new year with a bang and dropping a pair of brilliant new EPs on the same day in late January. This one is a reissue of the esteemed Gary Martin's 'Pimping People In High Places' on 10". It's the Woodword Ave alternative mix that kicks off and is a rough and ready percussive techno looper with hefty basslines underlapping and propping up the floor. 'The Medusa Touch' is a more wily and synth laced-late night jaunt with mystic energy and acid details that make it a deep and dramatic cut with real dynamism.

Review: "8 Gramm", from Mascon, is progressive techno from Berlin, with a nihilistic attitude.

Review: Two decades deep into his career and still pushing forward, this seasoned German DJ delivers something that feels both timeless and fresh. The original version of 'Kingston Riddim' is a smooth, sun-soaked affair. Drawing from island dub but built with a crisp, modern hand, the track is full of warm organic textures and laid-back swing. The chords are clean and expressive without feeling too polished. There's a breezy confidence to the groove that makes it feel effortless. It's the kind of track that could slip into any set and feel right at home. Sato's interpretation dives into deeper territory. The bass rolls in thick and heavy while the chords get more tangled and echo-laced. There's a submerged quality here, like the track has been dragged through deeper waters. It's moodier than the original but still carries that same rooted sense of rhythm. This is one of those rare records where both sides hit in different but equally effective ways.

Review: The latest offering on the sleek techno platform M Rec finds label boss Max M sharing vinyl-filling duties with Attic Music boss Fabrizio Lapiana, between them serving up focused slices of modernist techno with a side-serving of mechanised soul. Max M's "1002A" is a finely honed roller that works delicate chimes and gossamer beats into a honeycomb pattern that will appeal to all lovers of deep and hypnotic techno. Fabrizio Lapiana takes a more overtly romantic approach on "1002B", letting mournful synth notes call out an autumnal soliloquy over gently pattering rhythms to great effect. This is highly developed techno for those who want some colour rubbed into their functional club wares.

Review: Karachi-born, Toronto-based Measure Divide steps up for a first full EP on Mutual Rytm X here after having become known for reviving Toronto's techno scene through his FORMAT parties. Measure Divide has crafted a distinctive sound in that time which collides techno with innovative breaks and modular experimentation. Drawing from his experience in sound design and film scoring, this playful release departs from his usual serious tones by offering adventurous DJs and listeners a vibrant, chaotic journey through tracks like 'Wormy Wonderland' and 'Eeeeeermmmm' which mix unconventional percussive sounds, twisted synths, and caustic rhythms into real bangers.

Review: Orange Sun is Philip McGarva's first release in six years, but it shows that he hasn't lost his ability at crafting the kind of individualistic deep techno that he made his name with on Transmat and Styrax Leaves. On "Step Sequence", the Australian artist weaves together a lithe but complex rhythm, the percussion chattering like grasshoppers on a baking hot day. The title track puts a focus on melodies, with warm, gentle chords unfolding over broken beats. "Grey Melody" revolves around a similar premise; the groove is more dance floor friendly, but the melodies, based on warm synths, conjure up feelings of detachment and melancholy. Deep techno's most singular artist has returned in style.

Review: From his appearances on Aesthetic Audio and Ornate through to his own Atmospheric Existence label, Miles Sagnia continues to be one of the best kept secrets of British deep techno, and that's no more apparent than on this stunning release for Common Dreams. There's a looped up insistence to "Heal", but it's offset by emotive movement in the synth lines and an overall spiritual quality that escapes much cyclical techno. "Plight" takes a slightly slower path, amping up the early UK electronica tones for an immersive experience shaped out by interlocking rhythms and snaking melodies. It's a truly classy statement that stays true to techno while saying something original.

Review: Mysterious newcomer Eric Miller is back again on Sushitech, following up this year's brilliant Flora LP: and what an explosive introduction that was! Starting out with the deep, dark and driving tech house of "Silhouette 1"; this is the kind of late groove that you could imagine Delano Smith or Jerome Sydenham pumping out to set the cruise control. On the flip we've got "Silhouettes 2" which really shows us how you do do proper dub techno in the tradition of greats like label mate Steve O'Sullivan or Detroit's Luke Hess: this one rolls at you deeply with a restrained ferocity that's perfect arsenal for any serious DJ's record bag.

Review: Jeff Mills is on a serious roll with his Millsart releases, indulging the mystical, jazz-tinted sound of his Every Dog Has Its Day series across a run of 12"s which have included the outstanding Inner Eye, Don't Ask Me Why and Morning Glory in the past year alone. The original version of 'Vernacular Objects' appeared on a 2020 digital release, and now Mills has re-versioned it alongside three new tracks which continue the heady brew of simmering percussive meditation and elevated keys hitting subtle discord and curious harmony interplay for that extra-terrestrial Millsian touch.

Review: Miltiadis Merentitis is one of the greatest exponents of the underground Greek scene. After several releases on Nous, Echovolt and Synapsis he joins Jose Rico's Spanish imprint Freebeat with the Epitome Of Things EP. Miltiades explores the driest of territories through his characteristic chords, kicks and percussion which will transport you to another world. Take the first cut on the A side for instance: a deep hypnotic techno cut that creates perfect trance induction by relying on the most basic of analogue elements. On the flip, the second track is a gothic lo-fi house jam reminiscent of New York City's Patricia while the final offering channels the spirit of early '90's Detroit on this fine serving of hi-tech soul.

Review: Self-styled mayor of Breadminster County Council, Elijah Minnelli, has thus far impressed with a series of self-released 7" singles that mix cumbia and calypso influences with the hazy, sub-heavy weight of dub. It's a unique sonic style all told, and one that's hard to easily pigeonhole. On his first Accidental Meetings outing, the Soho Radio resident evolves his sound further, offering up tropical tinged, experimental dub-scapes that tend towards the hazy and out-there. For proof, check opener 'They of Many Stomachs', an ultra-deep, effects-laden affair that sits somewhere between Bokeh Versions and blissed-out ambient dub. 'Cud' brilliantly blurs the boundaries between cumbia and dub, while 'Blue Top' is a weighty chunk of intergalactic steppers.

Review: "The two opposing ends of R&S's historical spectrum collide on this ten inch as the track that marked Model 500's return to the imprint after a fourteen year absence gets taken apart and put back together in gloriously diverse fashion by two rising talents. It's a near exercise in futility to try and separate these two remixes of Model 500's "OFI" and proclaim one the winner, as both the submissions from Bullion and Space Dimension Controller are teeming at the brink with ideas that radicalise the template of the original. Anyone who indulged in the recent non album from Bullion will be fully aware of this producer's capacity to twist through tempos and rhythms at will and make it all work. That approach is more than replicated on his "Rivertrance Remix" which on first inspection sounds like three tracks in one. Galloping along via a bottomed out kraut groove, Bullion swerves through a collage of dizzying psychedelic sounds and effects in the space of four and a bit minutes which laugh generously in the face of categorisation. The flipside "Evasive Funk" remix from Celtic astronaut Space Dimension Controller retains the austere electro funk pulse of the original from Atkins, Banks and Taylor but sharpens the pace markedly, embellishing the bass with a schizophrenic menace that is matched by the sheer depth of percussive layers and synthesized touches.

Review: Moderat's newest album III is out and the second single to be released by the amazing trio of Gernot Bronsert, Sascha Ring and Sebastian Szary is "Running", an emotive pop inflected electronica number showing off (mainly) the fine vocal talents of Ring whose emotional performance is electrifying! On the flip is "90% Wasser" a sombre broken beat number with cinematic qualities; just as emotive with its soaring strings later that build up to an amazing crescendo.

Review: The second of three highly collectible 10" samplers from Mokira's upcoming album for Kontra Music arrives replete with a remix from Echospace, the deep and dubby collab between Rod Modell and Steven Hitchell. The original version of "Axis Audio" is a dark, dubby, clunking slice of ambient techno. The beatless track lurches forward through a darkened forest of mechanical creaks and eerie, bubbling atmospherics. Ehcospace endow the track with a rhythmic pulse as a 4/4 drum pattern enters the soundscape, yet manage to retain the original's underlying sense of menace.

Review: This Dalek Invasion 10" marks a superlative return to the Semantica label for Morphology, a Finnish duo who've making all the right noises with some select releases on Abstract Forms and Zyntax Motorcity. No clues as to who their favourite Doctor is, but the title track is filled with the sort of rippling electro funk they've carved a niche for on the aforementioned labels, rising from the mechanical mire into a crisp bout of 808s and midnight funk. Complementing this is the aptly titled "Journey's End" which is dominated by the infinitely spiralling circles of analogue colours which are squeezed out greedily over a rasping drum pattern like an overzealous cake decorator. Highly recommended!

Review: According to Rave or Die's press team, this compilation style ten-inch double-pack contains only "bangers and DJ tools for connoisseurs". That's actually a rather apt description of the '90s rave influenced fare on offer. The Mover kicks things off with a 2017 re-master of nails 2009 production "Invisible Space" - think aggressive Belgian techno noises, bombastic beats and spacey bleeps - before Minimum Syndicat blurs the boundaries between electro, techno and industrial on the foreboding "Battle Dress". Over on ten-inch number two, you'll find The Hacker's similarly minded (and similarly fuzzy) "Wave of Darknes", as well as label boss Umwelt's TB-303 heavy tribute to R&S Records' back catalogue, the saucer-eyed, tops-off stomp of "Hooverrun".

Review: Franklin Da Costa's Mudkid project has remained a predominantly Greta Cottage Workshop affiliated concern, with a promising rise in activity in the past year or so leading up to this latest 10". As ever the mood is a gently unhinged one, working in psychedelic and aqueous textures within a deep house framework to yield intriguing results. "Burning Bridges" comes on murky in its demeanor, but it's by no means cold, thanks to a deliriously delayed lead synth that chimes out into the quagmire. "Turn Out" is a more open-topped affair, with a pleasant amount of room for the dubby elements to echo out in a wonderfully original fashion.

Review: Mudkid is a pseudonym for German producer Franklin de Costa and this is his third 10-inch release under this name for house label Greta Cottage Workshop. While he initially gained recognition during the minimal boom of the mid-00s, this release resounds to a different sound. Both tracks are robust and rolling, underpinned by tough tribal drums and system-levelling basslines. However, it's what De Costa adds to these basic arrangements that really make this release stand out. Swirling textures, outer-space bleeps and sonic whooshes that glide in like airplane on their final descent over a housing estate towards the flight path, all make this a most unusual house record.

Review: Rave of Die offers up sounds as confrontational as its name. This time they look to the legendary Spanish techno titan Oscar Mulero and fellow mainstay Umwelt for a pair of true blistering cuts. 'Taste The Rope' has brutal, blistering and distorted drums pummelling away while mysterious pads up top speak of an astral voyage. On the reverse, 'Creature Obscure' cuts loose on a flaming electro breakbeat, with rave synths full of terror buzzing and ripping about to blow your mind and tire your body. There is no messing with these two.