Techno (All)

Review: Anurak Boonliang is a young producer from Bangkok. As a child, he was trained as a musician for the traditional Thai shadow theatre. Nang Yai, as it is called in Thai, is an acting genre counted among the shadow plays with large picture panels made of parchment, which is cultivated in the center of Thailand around the capital Bangkok. The immovable figure plates are each carried by one actor and danced to the music of Pi Phat. Boonliang's journey from Pi Phat, the classical music ensemble of Thai music, mainly composed of percussion instruments, to working with drum computers and synthesizers was a short one.

Review: "Brighton-based producer Caldera joins up with Boogie Box Records offering four broken techno cuts titled '13 17'.
Originally from Germany, Caldera has been making steady progress within the off kilter techno scene whether as a resident at Brighton's Patterns, or releases on WNCL Recordings, Noorden and his Riviera Club label. His first production outing of the year so far, Caldera now joins Boogie Box's ever impressive roster of artists, following quality releases from the likes of STL, Cain, Causa and Appleblim, not to mention remixes from Shed, Forest Drive West, Fold, Jonas Friedlich and Juniper.
Kicking things off, 'Akman's Rhythm' deploys organic rolling percussion fused harmoniously over the intricate, outlandish melody and fluid bass line whilst 'Old Hands' delivers spaced-out, leftfield drums balanced with soothing resonance and warm vibrations.
'Anaconda Legs' offers dusty grooves throughout, keeping it deep and fluid through subtle, fluttering synths and hypnotic oscillations. Finally, 'A Moment To Breathe' pitches things down, incorporating a darker atmosphere as unfolding chugged out pulsations join recondite ambience.
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Review: Probably the most requested releases from the back catalogue, meanwhile finally presents 4 more tracks by legendary remote_. The EP gathers together Acid End and Tracing Lines from the limited cdr smallfish label which Mike used to run along with managing the legendary shop of the same name, along with Isolate, from the Home Normal label, and Untitled which is previously unreleased. Its impossible to pick a stand out track given the quality and depth of all 4 tracks, none of which tracks have appeared on vinyl before now, despite many requests over the years for Acid end in particular, a deep diving cut full of of the trademark pads, chords, and intrecate percussion, deep basslines that the artist is known for, and of course some subte 303 to finish the track off. Tracing lines is a more spacious atmospheric number, which morphs from it's initial electrorhythms into a 4/4 adding delicate meoldies and idm motifs. Untitled lures you in with it's swelling icy pads before heading deep into the dancefloor with it's crisp beats and some subtle chords. Finishing the EP in the way it starts is isolate, full of dubby delayed chords, rolling percussion, and bubbling basslines. The icing on the cake is the mastering by Rashad from D&M, the man responsible for mastering most of the early releases on meanwhile, including the now legendary remote_ EP's, so don't leave this one in your cart for long.

Review: Vinyl only!

Review: In the early 2000s Derek Carr's notoriety for producing high fidelity techno was understated and unbefitting to the quality of his musical output. In 2016 For Those That Knoe initiated an acclaimed series of EPs which showcased unheard material alongside some long lost vinyl only classics from Derek's archive. Cut to now and the imprint has put together something truly special: a raid on dusty record shelves have been traded for one into the binary world, For Those That Knoe has selected 17 recordings only previously available on the digital format or previously unreleased, now remastered and pressed onto physical form.

Review: Fans of stripped-back, minimalist techno - particularly the Eastern European variant focused around Romania's thriving scene - will happily tell you that every release from Christi Cons and Vlad Caia's Sideways Invisibility Theory project (AKA SIT) is worth checking. This, a double-pack containing half of the tracks from their new album (a second part is also available) is certainly noteworthy. It features a quintet of trippy, low-slung late night workouts seemingly designed to operate in the cracks between tech-house and minimal techno. There are naturally subtle variations throughout - a nod to dub techno here, a psychedelic acid line or dreamy deep house texture there - but throughout, their focus remains firmly on wonky early morning workouts.

Review: When it comes to crafting melodious, emotion-stirring music, few producers are quite as capable as Samuel van Dijk AKA VC-118A. His latest album, "Inside" - his third in total and first for Delsin - offers further proof of his mastery of the craft. The set's genius lies in van Dijk's ability to flit between dark and light, joy and pain. So while some tracks are warm, fuzzy and far-sighted in the classically futurist vibe of the best Motor City electro, many others feel poignant and melancholic. It's a deep and colourful blend that guarantees an emotive ride from straight to finish. Check, for example, the yearning sadness at the heart of "Time Variant", the atmospheric ambience of "Integrated Circuits", the stripped-back and spaced-out brilliance of "Inside" and the swelling dancefloor hustle of "Dither".