Hello,
Shining a light into the dark corners of our souls, underground techno with an edge is the theme of this week's update. Freely quoting dubstep and industrial, electronica and house next to the style's Detroit roots, techno has become more difficult to pinpoint than ever, and artists like Shed, Marcel Dettmann, Ancient Methods, as well as new names such as Rivet and Mondkopf are at the forefront of this movement.
Also don't miss our recommended exclusives this week, two exceptional EPs by Vienna's Evirgen (of recent Cassegrain / Prologue fame) and Scuba-endorsed producer Recondite.
Enjoy! |
TECHNO ESSENTIALS
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Two forces of meanest industrial techno coalesce once more, as Regis and Ancient Methods release the second chapter since 2009's debut collaboration on Downwards. The Birmingham-Berlin connection still burning strong, thick dark percussive magic festers amidst raucous ceremonial noise. Mind-blowing.
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Following up his flawless recent 'Conducted' compilation on Music Man, Berghain ambassador Marcel Dettmann releases this killer eerie gem. 'Landscape' has a distant dusky ambience, laced with a twisted vocal and brash metallic kicks, the Answer Code remix sets it up righteously for the big room. Ace.
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With Shed's next album set to be released on Modeselektor's 50 Weapons, this little two track EP appears, hinting at the directions his indominable producer spirit has been roving. 'The Praetorian' squidges noisy sparks against intergalactical haze, whilst 'RQ-110' winds broodily with uneasy calm. We're gripped.
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Album released 17-02-2012 on Type
Originally released in 1996 on Berlin's seminal Chain Reaction imprint, the duo of Thomas Köner and Andy Mellweg's first album became a bona-fide dub techno classic. Still sounding utterly incredible, Type's timely reissue shows how this kind of quality truly stands the test of time. Absolutely essential.
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Anonymous producer Rivet debuts on Kontra Music with an excellent single: 'Metrist' is raw techno soothed by great off-beat chords and deep strings. Marcel Fengler contributes a fine, jacking remix of this, before 'Sleepwalker' closes the EP with a hint of 1990s Warp techno. Recommended!
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And yet another release by the red-hot Rivet this month, this one on Frozen Border affiliate Naked Index. 'Slant' starts out the EP with a killer metallic dub house cut, before 'Running' and 'Afterbirth' take us into puristic dark techno terrain. Awesome!
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Album released 20-02-2012 on CLR
Frankfurt's young techno talent Monoloc takes us through Chris Liebing's rousing CLR catalogue, achieving an impressive techno flow which remains varied and powerful throughout. Appearances from Lucy, Tommy Four Seven, Perc, Traversable Wormhole and emptyset, as well as Monoloc himself. Pristine.
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French hotshot producer Paul Régimbeau a.k.a. Mondkopf launches his own label with a confident foray into experimental techno. The fiercely distorted 'Ease Your Pain' dishes out real damage, which is soothed by the pulsing drones of 'Fading Rainbow' and a fine Jesse Somfay remix. Ace!
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Album released 20-02-2012 on Remute
Remute continues his quest for that moment of techno perfection, and he's getting increasingly close with 'Atomic Ambitions', employing up-tempo 909 beats and engrossing organ arpeggios to great effect. Fans of Octave One, Rob Hood, Dave Angel or Technasia must check.
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Delsin goes crate digging: MK's 'The MKappella', B-side to 1991's 'Burning' on Area 10, sweet 'n simple deep house with heart-tugging carefree melodies and gently pulsating 'Lost' by The 7th Plain aka Luke Slater from his debut album in 1994. A welcome excursion to revisit quality tracks.
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Not only famous for his mastering skills, but also for his prolific production work, Tim Xavier returns to Rrygular with an EP of four sure-fire techno cuts, combining Minus-style minimalism with floor-rocking grooves and edits. Strong package, impeccably produced.
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Konstantinos Soublis's releases as Fluxion hark back to late 90s Chain Reaction and Basic Channel days, he now releases his second album on Echocord. Beautifully formed, immersive deepest dub techno, and a new vocal mix of "No Man is an Island" from 1970, Fluxion definitely delivers. L.U.S.H.
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Japan's Itokim delivers four strong tracks to TJ Hicks' Minimalsoul label that allude to a diverse set of classic techno styles: Derrick May and B12 with 'Awakening', Santiago Salazar's melodic up-tempo minimalism with the two-part 'Tendo' and quirky Nightmares-On-wax-style house with the original 'Yin-Yang'. Sweet!
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The new three-tracker from Detroit's prolific producer Kris Wadsworth moves from its opener 'Machine Sympathy', a bleepy, hypnotic techno stomper, into organic Motor City house territory with 'One Man Army' and 'Cliche'. A must for fans of Levon Vincent, Rick Wilhite, and the like!
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Scottish techno and freestyle-breaks veteran Neil Landstrumm delivers an excellent EP to fledgling Berlin label Killekill: Compared to his recent Planet Mu albums 'Night Train' takes a turn towards analogue acid jams, from the electroesque opener to the grimy end. Killer.
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Objekt follows up his two outstanding self-released EPs with this prickly debut single for Hessle Audio. 'Cactus' heads off into syncopated broken dubstep territory, while 'Porcupine' dissolves a unique staccato beat into lush dubtech chords. Excellent!
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After years releasing exclusively on Modern Love, Manchester's Mark Stewart aka Claro Intelecto debuts on Delsin. Title track 'Second Blood' is hazily-wired, deep and dubby sub-techno, 'Heart' soars string chords at the heart strings and 'Voyeurism' has subtly energising glacial proportions. Massively lush.
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The recent brilliant Minilogue EP gets a fine array of remixes, first up Dominik Eulberg giving the cloudy 'Drop the mask...' a tense tingling edge, Microtrauma doing a lush dubby melodic version of 'Let the life...' and efforts from Spada, Olaf Strut, Ümit Han and Rodskeez all going in splendid new directions.
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