Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: The twisted and trance-infused progressive techno sound of Les Disques De La Jungle is one we have been keen to hear more from, and here we have it: a new EP featuring some of the artists who have already dropped heat here. AV1 goes first with the crispy metal drums and warped synths of 'Meta2' then Fsk24 & Felix Dulac combine for the hammering tech-funk of 'Un Eclair Dans La Nuit' which would have been a Tyrant classic back in the day. Fsk24 then hooks up with Nils for the stomping and noen-lit jungle-tech of 'Toomai Des Elephants' before partnering with Solal Reyes for the tripped out but driving closer 'Tongue Twister'.

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: To mark a mighty impressive 20 years of PuZZling records in 2023, the label has put together this heavyweight mix of names for an EP that sounds as good as it looks on marbled vinyl. It's a truly global affair with artists from all over the world and The Exaltics kick off with 'All Of This', a typically rugged slide of electro. From there the quality never dips with Freddie Fresh jacking your body, the legendary Neil Landstrumm bringing his textbook machine madness and Umwelt closing down with 'Celestial Mechanics'. Old school electro, acid and techno heads take note, this is a must-buy.

Review: Budapest's Dalmata Daniel rewire the electro efforts of Timothy K. Fairplay for their ninth 12", which also includes a B-side icing by none other than fellow producer Norwell. These four retrofuturist cosmopolitan jams are heard divided between the two artists, and do well to flaunt the specific valences of their production styles, which, while doing well to stick to the cosmic aesthetic, cannot help but betray unconscious stylistic hallmarks. Fairplay's is as tweezy and kick-phat as ever, with 'Caliber 9' being the obvious choice as the sonic equivalent of a 70s infographic on telecoms gone haywire. Norwell's take on the vibe is breaksier and more muted, with closing number 'Natives' being the cut of choice, burbling in a vat of liquid acid and emotive smoke.

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: Cimedirapax opts to welcome no fewer than four artists to its fourth EP, and they all take one track each. There is plenty going on with MoYA81's 'The Way We Like' from electro crash drums to wonky Italo melodies to withering sci-fi disco effects. Yu's 'Another Call Me Bad' rides on cascading synth arps that never let you settle for a moment and Gianluca Pellerano's 'Alienated Theater' then explores slamming tech house with electro style melodies bringing a cinematic vibe. NND cuts the most loose of the lot with sheet metal snares and wispy synths, prying bass and crisp tech funk drums on 'Incomingtransmission.' Innovative stuff all round.

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: Munir Nadir has been breaking through in the past few years with essential releases on 4Plae, Nuts On Board and Outcast Planet. Now he's minting a new label called Odd One Tape out of Italy, and bringing his playful, synth-rich sound with him. There's a nod to Italo and 80s electro in the sampling and throbbing, analogue groove of 'Rhythmistic', while 'Bass Jam' tips more towards the early 00s electro house boom a la Tiefschwarz and Tomas Andersson. 'Urban Whispers' has a more jackin' flavour with some low down sub freakiness thrown in for good measure, and 'Binary Technologies' brings the heat on the B2 with a powerful arpeggio and hard-slapping drums.

Review: Parallel Universe is a label into its second release here, following up a terrific debut with contributions from some of the scene's most ascendant names. On its second missive, they've tapped Antwerp's Nathan Boost who contributes the trippy, boompty, minimal house groove of 'Cloning Sequence', while Irishman Dylan Forbes serves up a throwback to early '90s rave on the breakbeat-infused euphoria of 'Ephemeral Ecstasy'. Elsewhere, Luke Mazzeri aka ModEx takes you to a higher state of consciousness on the early techno sound of 'Standardised Retro Augmentation' and finally E00's 'Birdwatching' is a mish-mash of tropes from classic house, IDM and trance.

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: 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: 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.'