New releases this week: Techno (All)

Review: Greyscale unveils its latest endeavour, the Spectrum Series, as a way to continue to evolve its offerings and this time it is with something that makes a vibrant departure from its traditional black-and-white aesthetic. The inaugural release features the iconic Lithuanian dub track 'Kasdienybes Sventykla' by grad_u & Eazystyle MC as a way of commemorating its 15th anniversary. It came as a double CD in 2011 but now gets a first vinyl pressing on a nice 10" slab of wax. The track itself taps into the earliest roots of dub in the 70s and traces a line through the 80s with its heavyweight drums and endlessly echoing bass topped by great mic work. A pared-back instrumental features on the flip of this latest crucial drop from the dub dons at Greyscale

Review: Nowhere does techno as proper as Planet Rhythm. This latest 12" is another no-frills banger with rusty synth and menacing drum loops all perfectly intertwined. There is a hurried sense of funk to 'Formation' that really keeps you on edge, while 'Basel' is turbocharged with video-game style synths. 'Romance' gets more edgy and brings some industrial percussion and automation to the beats while 'Here' slips into thumping and loopy house territory of the sort that reminds us of the one and only Floorplan.

Review: West Coast rave scene specialists Michael Kandel and Tom Chasteen are Voodoo Transmission and they have one again plunged deep in their vaults to serve up this reissue EP. One side boasts two dynamic dancefloor renditions that blend rhythmic layers with dubbed-out effects - 'Crazy Jane' channels Debbie Harry's 'Heart of Glass' on LSD. The flip side intensifies with downtempo gabba vibes with raging synths and abundant cymbal action. Three versions incorporate samples from Jimmy Stewart's 1946 monologue in It's A Wonderful Life to add another vibe entirely.

Review: Punx Soundcheck is an iconic Italo disco and electro clash duo hailing from Argentine Patagonia and now they unveil a treasure trove of enigmatic cuts on their second release. Up first is the turbocharged Italo anthem ' Nano,'. It is thumping and sweaty with rugged drums and zippy synth line. Also featured is ' Blow Your Speaker,' which is an aquatic Italo-electro-techno pumper. 'Sonic Playground' ups the ante more with flashy synths whipping about the mix, 'Sonic Playground' is lit up with vocoder vocals and mind melting synth sequences and 'Mutant' is just that.

Review: Digital Imagination first dropped their The Essence of Thought back in the nineties and now the cult favourite gets a nice reissue in time for summer when it will be perfect post-rave comedown tackle. It is a sci-fi inspired mixture of house, transcend trip hop of the era with lots of analogue action and dusty drum breaks, smart little samples that add a cinematic edge and some lovely basslines. It was produced by a young Ted Heinz and originally release by Concept Records. OGs are hard to come by so don't sleep on the one which has been restored from the original DAT tape.

Review: Vital Detroit players Luke Hess and Joshua Harrison are back with a second EP that builds on the brilliance of their first. As always this is super deep and atmospheric dub techno outing on the superb EchoChord and all the cuts on it were produced live, in one take, in New York, at BlackCat Recordings. As such each one feels alive and variant, detailed with imperfections and of course defined by weighty low ends, aqueous synth work and a hypnotic sense of groove. These are stylish inward journeys of the highest order once more from this pair.

Review: This is techno, but not as we know it from the Vigenere. Sparagamos (a fitting name given the word originally means to render, tear apart, or mangle) is behind these freaky beats but we nothing more about the artist. Suffice it to say they sure do have a fine grip of their studio and can manipulate sound in some thrilling ways. The opener is a warp-speed warehouse banger with distorted bass and manic energy, track two explores sludgy acid techno underworlds and track there is a twitchy cosmic workout with serene pads. 'Track 4' is a world of dystopian robotics while the flip side offers tripped-out, double-time dub techno, more acid intensity and experimental mind melters with exceptional sound design.

Review: Adlas has a compelling signature sound - its quick and punchy but also seductive and funk. The opener on this new EP for Answer Code Request certainly fits that bill - Headland' has nice analogue drums and elastic bass down low with rich, smeared synths up top. 'Oscillation' gets deeper and rides on a rolling beat that rocks back and forth with ambient synths up top and a sense of mysticism in the air. 'Bluff' gets back to bumpy beats and dubbed low ends with some static-charged pads and 'Static' is the deepest of the lot - a subaquatic deep techno trip for the heads.

Review: Jinje is a solo project from Lee Malcolm, a founding member of the Leeds-based experimental band Vessels. His music in solo mode is just as singer and hard to categorise as with his band and here on Mesh he veers between electronic, synthetic and organic sound worlds with driving breakbeats topped with gorgeous string sounds, hype-real synths and a shimmering sense of sonic futurism that is awash with melody. These are hugely detailed tracks but the overall picture is never confused as his arrangements ebb and flow with great clarity and make both a physical and emotional impact.

Review: The much loved llian crew reverts to its Skee Series here and serves up more magic from Skee Mask aka Munich mainstay Bryan Muller. He has roasted pretty exclusively here and never fails to innovate with each new drop. This one again hits the mark across seven elastic techno cuts that are underpinned by lovely dub weight and propelled by tight, pinging kicks. 'Dachtekker' is lit up with hi-tek soul synths straight from Detroit, 'Double Standard' is deliciously deep and driving with swirling pads smeared around up top and 'Small Stone S700' manages to pair soul-drenched chords full of subtle joy with kinetic drum programming that makes you want to move. Superb.

Review: "Drone Destructing Body Slams" says Ilian Tape of their next genre-defying offering, this time from the long-time Swiss underground mainstay that is Deetron. More normally known for this smooth and seductive deep house and techno sounds, here he presents Soulmate which is about much more edgy and textural techno stompers. 'Filter' comes as two mixes. The Body Mix is a turbocharged cut with dense layers of grime, synth and percussion and powered by some Shed-style piano stabs. The Broken mix cuts looser and has broken beats down low while 'Drone' gets the head up with its brighter synths swirls up top. The loopy, rusty low end is no less physical however then 'Bourg' brings some celebratory energy with its light chords and rousing sense of joy throughout.

Review: The always-quality Lempuyang is back with a scorching pink vinyl that packs a deliciously deep dub techno punch. It is a collaboration between Hidden Sequence and Milly James that opens with the super smooth and aquatic 'Legends' which rolls along the ocean floor with sparse chords and alluring vocals drifting way up above the surface. The 'dub' strips them away and allows things to move even an even more heady manner while 'All I Need' has a little more drift but no less depth to it and a Paul Simmons Off Curve Re Rub brings upright drum kicks and a little extra skip in the beats to close out a heady EP.