Review: Acid For The Grandma's fourth release is another boundless trip into warped rhythms and surreal soundscapes with acid liquid textures that make for a psychedelic experience that sparks the imagination while pulling you into otherworldly dimensions. 'Login Beat' casts you adrift amongst circling snares over jacking beats and 'Biancone Interno' then cuts loose with freewheeling arms and sci-fi motifs that leave long neon trails. 'Strobe Transforms Thinking' taps into more taught dub tech with sinewy leads and last of all, 'Light And Illusion' places you in a colourful world of refracted rhythm and slivery tech house drums sent back from a distant planet.
Review: The 5th release from this Barcelona-based electronic label delivers a compelling mix of minimal and tech house with futuristic flair. 'Loving Matter' on Side-A starts things off with an electro groove, layered with techno elements and a touch of EBM. Its cool, dark vocal adds a layer of intensity, perfectly capturing the track's atmospheric edge. On Side-B, 'Whisper' has a trance-infused techno vibe, flowing smoothly with its subtle, hypnotic energy. The final track, 'Slowtrance', boasts a deep bassline and a fusion of retro trance and progressive sounds. The bouncy rhythm still carries an ominous tone, keeping the energy dynamic while leaning into darker, more introspective territory. This release is a masterful combination of old-school and modern electronic elements, with enough depth to impress fans of both techno and trance.
Review: Smiling Phases returns with its second outing and hands it over to Parisian producer Arve, who clearly has a deep understanding of many different genres as the two tunes he serves up go way beyond the predictable. Opener 'Pyroclast' is a fast and physical one that blends radiant house grooves with deep, disruptive rhythms and myriad cosmic synth lines that swirl around the mix. 'Tephra' is another busy workout with pumping drums and an array of different synth textures spraying around the groove. On the B-side, 'Pyroclast' gets a remix by Belgian producer DC Salas, who takes it into retro-future 90s trance-techno territory and Italy's Paolo Mosca, who injects warmth and depth as well as a little cosmic mystery.
Review: Polish label FOMO_ debuts with the first in its news Spectral series, and who better to kick off with than the ever innovative ASC. He is a master of musical tension and abstraction and shows that with four tracks that build up the pressure and never let it go. 'Calm Under Pressure' is soothing up top with its smeared, spectral pads, but there's pent-up tension in the low end that keeps you on edge. 'Dark Arches' soundtracks an underground cavern with haunting pads and icy, watery droplets and 'Maelstrom' gets more direct with jostling broken beats, hissing trails and unsettling deep space mystery. 'Torsion' is the most maximal of the lot - an in-your-face collage of loopy, snappy drums and sordid synth sludge.
Review: Club Vision's tenth release celebrates a deep creative bond with Atimpuri who presents his standout new EP, Epic Wave. The A-side opens with 'Critical Moments,' a euphoric house cut radiating warmth and positivity that you cannot escape. The title track follows and delivers a hypnotic trance journey driven by energetic drums and an unforgettable lead riff. On the B-side, 'Morning Crying' channels classic 90s house with lush pads and a bold bassline, while 'Smw' offers a dreamy breakbeat closer rich with strings and immersive effects. Blending past and present, Atimpuri crafts a sound that's both nostalgic and forward-thinking here.
Review: Turkish producer Alec Attari harbours a passion for minimal wave, EBM, and underground Italo disco, condensing each into a striking end result with 1982. The record is said to have kept in mind the early foments of electronic music, where vanguard technologies helped heroes such as Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles bear the best in earliest house and techno. The standout track is an exceptional remix by Italian legend Alexander Robotnick, whose version channels the spirit of his classic 'Problemes d'Amour' with a mysterious, hypnotic reversal. His remix of 'Visage' on Side A comes followed by 'Time Machine', a powerful nod to EBM and techno reminiscent of The Hacker, not long before the original 'Visage' follows, oozing a serpentine elegance. '1982' ends things on a buccal-licking, mucous acid finale.
Review: This is a fine first outing from Chez De Milo's Club Blanco label, an imprint named after the DJ/producer's now long-running party in his hometown of Bristol. He's scored something of a coup, too, by persuading Paranoid London man Quinn Whalley to re-activate his occasional Johnny Aux alias after 12 years. Whalley delivers two original cuts: 'Supersonic', a kind of techno-tempo 4/4 electro number with pulsating bass, elongated chords and restless electronic riffs, and 'On The Train', a breathless breakbeat number peppered with fizzing electronics and his trademark TB-303 acid sounds. Jamie Paton remixes that track, giving it a smoother, more spaced-out feel - it's a superb revision all told - while Chez De Milo turns 'Supersonic' into a dark acid roller.
Review: Emergent talent B Ai, hailing from China, contributes to Paris-based label and Chat Noir family member Cosa Vostra, following storm surging releases on Motivation, Altered Circuits and Picnic Records. Spanning post-EBM lasershot fires and SFX-ed spanners-in-works, 'Act5' kicks off 'Blue Or Red' with a tense introductory interstate hyperride, while 'Glance Back' offers us a contrasting chance to look back down the road on whose mac we've just blazed a thick, blackened tire tread trail. Diego Santana crops up on the B1 titler, guiding through a tight Italodance au-diorama, while another fellow producer, David Agrella, lets us down further on the synth tubular breather 'Danse'.
Review: Formed in 1992 in Cheltenham by vocalist Mark Diston and DJ Curtis Lewis, Bass Cadets were always ahead of their time. Their sound was a collage of electronic, breakbeat and experimental sounds with a fierce DIY attitude, and this long-lost 4-track EP captures that raw, genre-defying spirit in full force. Now, finally pressed to vinyl for the first time via Relic, it takes in the sleek urgency of 'Feeline', ambient pads of 'Dealay' and kinetic trance techno tribalism of 'Nuclear Starfish'. With tracks that still sound fresh nearly three decades later, this is a perfect time capsule of early 90s innovation
Review: British electro pioneer Bass Junkie reactivates his Cybernet Systems alias with a fearsome four-track return that celebrates and retools a thirty-year legacy. Originally dropped in 1995 via Panic Trax, 'We Are Borg' gets rebuilt from the raw data of the original SP1200 session, still driven by that signature low-end pressure and now even more punishing for modern systems. 'Bass Force' ups the intensity with widescreen synths and body-slamming subs, pushing electro bass into cinematic territory. On the flip, 'Electron Spin Resonance' delivers a DMX-fuelled onslaught of chopped edits, dense percussion and martial drive, while 'Proceed' nods back to the 80s machine funk of Pretty Tony and Egyptian Loverigleaming with nostalgia but never stuck in the past. It's a fierce reminder of Bass Junkie's place in the electro continuum, bridging Florida, Detroit and the UK with hardware grit and future shock precision.
Review: Back by popular demand, this reissue from one of techno's true originators reminds us just how vital these tracks still sound. First released in 1992 and briefly reissued in 2000, these four cuts showcase a unique hybrid of Detroit precision and early European rave energy that continues to inspire. 'The Warning' leads the charge with classic machine-driven Detroit funk. Its rhythm is relentless yet controlled, mechanical yet human. The track feels like a transmission from a future imagined decades ago. 'Ghost' follows with a harder edge. It channels the energy of early Belgium rave with sharp chord stabs and that unmistakable Hoover-style synth. It hits fast and leaves a heavy impression. On Side-B, 'Ex-' is the most cinematic cut. Sci-fi textures, punchy drums and an off-world sense of atmosphere blend the sharpness of UK rave with Detroit's emotional weight. 'Dark Basse' is the banger of the EP with a stripped-back approach. Its minimal but moody framework makes it an instant attention grabber, offering something both haunting and dancefloor effective. These tracks remain timeless and prove once again that true underground techno never goes out of style.
Review: Birmingham's Jossy Mitsu and Bluetoof join headsy forces on their new collaboration for Tempa, colliding the former artist's rinsed, globetrotting UK-troit DJ sets the world over and the latter's "drum specialisms" formerly lent to labels the likes of Shall Not Fade. Transcending the one-forties for a deeper-shades descension, 'Metamorphic' and 'Acid' establish a mood of nightclub meets human biostasis facility, as sci-fi zaps meet brooding, high-sustain bass cues. 'H20' is the sole tune to heighten the mood, its stop-start rollerblade bass and necksnap 808s proffering a jammier digestif.
Review: British producer BufoBufo makes profound electro tunes that are as much defined by their storytelling synths and their fresh rhythms. He draws on acid, breakbeat and classic house on this new EP, which though cosmic and journeying also retains a real human soul. 'Celandine' glistens with rueful pads and taught basslines that rise and fall next to lush synth outbreaks. 'Bittern' is more dark and prickly with a menacing undercurrent and 'Quantum Tunnel' shuts down with a slower, more reflective sound, beautiful arps and languid drums. Our favourite is the open though, 'Petroglyph', with its nimble basslines and widescreen psychedelic synth explosions.
Review: In a future where memory can be imprinted onto energy to control behaviour, a resistance discovers Vibracid, a technique that erases manipulated memories, restoring self-determination. That is the conceptual backstory to this new EP from CALAGAD 13, an enigmatic producer who has been making music for more than 20 years. Here, he blends hard techno and electro into fiery dance floor explosions like 'Triumphator' with its unrelenting drum breaks and machine-gun style synths. The EC13 X-Ta-6 mix bumps even harder, then 'Alto Voltaje' brings distorted texture and low-end darkness. Elsewhere, 'Colosal' is a fast-paced electro workout and 'Aire Fresco' (Vbrcd remix) brings bright flashes of visceral acid.
Spectrums Data Forces - "Darkness In My Head" (6:04)
EC13 - "Profundo" (Interludio) (0:49)
Wicked Wes - "X1000" (feat Space Frogs From Saturn) (5:48)
Review: Granada's Cosmic Tribe know the definition of "electro" in its broadest sense; their new Xtrictly Electro comp keeps the dystopian sound endemic to the genre's most present incarnation, but refuses to restrict itself to one tempo: the standard 130-ish that has sadly infected the otherwise genius genre as a necessity. An international splinter cell of spec-ops and mercenaries are recalled from retirement here, as we hear Calagad 13, Nachtwald, EC13 and many more mechanoid ilk lay down all manner of slick utilities, making up a morbid multi-tool. 5zyl brings further lasery Lithuanian steeze on 'Vilnius Bass', whilst Spectrums Data Forces betrays the existence of a sinister corporate entity, whose business model works towards the object of instilling 'Darkness In My Head' through giant, killer mozzy basses.
Review: French label Cairo Xpress debuts with a first-ever vinyl outing and a fine one it is too, with six stylish house outings from an array of fresh talents. Wilt's 'Beoyon' has lovely gloppy drums and bass looping under harmonic chords - it's simple but effective. Hermit gets more full-bodied with his textured 'Who Dunnit' and DOTT strips it back to bumping drum track workouts on 'Twitching Softly.' There is more irresistible bounce to Lucho's 'Mesh', Artphorm layers in some old school pianos to 'Daown' and HATT D shuts down with maybe the best of the lot, 'Contrasts In Life,' which is a broken beat, analogue sound with celestial energy.
Review: Carriego reemploys early Detroit techno and 00s minimalism, crafting a piezo powered four-track journey consisting in deeper, supersawed atmosses, and spanning electro to new wave. 'Hazard' sets a tense mood, while 'The Bridge' swells and quells pads and hip breaks voxes. 'Curtain Call' weirdens things, with popcorn string plucks piling on pylons of tension, while 'Seems Like' concludes on a snappier, momentous hush-hush. It's the fourth EP so far from the Frenchman, and an impressive one at that.
Review: One of the most talented electro artists is back with his latest release. With over 30+ releases to his name, the quality matches the quantity as this new and unique 12"+7" package shows. The Dublin producer's beats hit strong right away with 'Touch', with a cinematic melody reminding us why this artist always sounds so futuristic. 'Drift' is a sci-fi masterpiece that shows how good he is at adding acid into his electro and the title track hints at the roots of the style with the vocoder addiction. The little 7" packs big sounds with 'Sunny Rain Acid' which is sure to remind fans of AFX's Analord series. 'Thursday' is more on the laid back approach as it closes out with one of our favorite electro tracks in recent memory. Cignol is a next level electro producer. Right up there with E.R.P., Morphology, Gerald Donald and the best doing it today.
Review: An unapologetically eclectic body of work from Cimm right here as he spreads his 'Circuit Jam' wide and thick. 'Squeeze' sets the wheels in motion with a switchy, jumpy slab of 140 rollage. It's backed up by a stately stretch of vibes - b-boy electro attitude on the sticky sweet title track, unhurried tension and sparse beatwork on the tech-laced dark garage bumps and slaps of 'Biting Back' and the bouncy electro biz of 'Crush'. Naughty.
Review: Back in business and enlisting the help of two heavyweight Spanish electro artists, Aspecto Humano preserve the human essence of their music despite leaning heavily into mechanoid motifs. The logo always stays the same, though each release's colour and mood is variable. Robert Cosmic and Dark Vektor lay down a duo release, complementing the label's various solo and V/A outer-missions released in 2024 so far: 'No Estamos Solos' and 'Luces de Neon' saddle the mix with languid vox overdubs and flashy murmurs in the bass nether regions. 'No te Enteras de Nada' and 'Simulacion' rend the mix to a comparative dryness, stripping the electro bark back to expose the bare cambium.
Review: Dan Curtin has been serving up genuinely far-sighted techno productions since 1992. While he's nowhere near as high-profile as he once was, Curtin is still capable of delivering dancefloor magic - as The 4 Lights, his first album in 15 years, emphatically proves. Those familiar with Curtin's spacey, futuristic and frequently funky take on techno and electro will know what to expect: think infectious, classic-sounding Motor City rhythms overlaid with funky basslines, warming chords, intergalactic-sounding lead lines and a healthy dose of electronic futurism. Curtin predictably hits the spot throughout, with highlights including future techno anthem 'What of Lazarus', the melodic and jazzy headiness of 'Trust Blind' and the sub-heavy downtempo shuffle of 'Transformations'. If that's not enough to seal the deal, this limited-edition version comes pressed to striking clear and black marbled vinyl.
Review: Astonishingly, 33 years has now passed since Cleveland native Dan Curtin made his bow via Detroit imprint 33rpm Records. More significantly, it's been 15 years since the storied techno and house scene stalwart last released an album - making this surprise excursion for Belgian imprint De:tuned a genuinely big deal. Those familiar with Curtin's spacey, far-sighted and frequently funky take on techno will know what to expect: think infectious, classic-sounding Motor City techno rhythms overlaid with funky basslines, warming chords, intergalactic-sounding lead lines and a healthy dose of electronic futurism. The myriad of highlights on show includes the densely layered tech-funk of 'Moral Imagination', the future purist techno anthem 'What of Lazarus', the melodic and jazzy headiness of 'Trust Blind' and the sub-heavy downtempo shuffle of 'Transformations'.
Review: Dashiell has been road testing these two tunes in his sets for a while, and they have always done a job. They finally arrive on wax courtesy of Foul Play and are sure to get dropped all over the place this summer. 'dfuse all the tension' is the right mix of driving tech but wonky minimal. The bassline is drunk and all over the place while the lead synth has a retro video game feel, and some crisp melodies and refracted vocals finish it well. On the flip, 'da nastiest' is faster and more direct with some turbocharged and bass-driven tech house characterised by another sleazy vocal and phased synth lines that bring a playful twist.
Review: New heat from Datawave is always going to be worth tuning into, and so it proves with this new one on Wave Function. His signature fusion of dreamy synthscapes and kinetic rhythms shines bright from the off with 'Hyperborea' soothing mind and soul while the body shifts its behind. 'Dawnlights' has lazy acid modulations drifting between the slower beats, then 'Drifting' is as hopeful as the dawn of a new day with it arching chords and celestial synth twinkles. 'Aquila' has a more pronounced broken beat pattern and prying bass, but still plenty of deft melodies, and 'Landscapes' is a dubbed-out thinker.
Waiting In The Dark (DJ Stingray 313 remix) (4:51)
Waiting In The Dark (Midnight mix) (5:33)
Voyager (The Journey mix) (6:20)
Review: Detroit's DJ 3000 has always operated at the futuristic crossroads between techno and electro, and his latest Ep does that again but also comes with heavyweight remixes by pioneers Aux 88 and DJ Stingray 313. The Motor City's rich musical heritage shines through here right from the off: 'Waiting In The Dark (Midnight mix)' is a grinding and mechanical electro-techno jam, then Aux 88 delivers a bass-heavy, machine-driven remix while DJ Stingray 313 brings high-velocity precision. DJ 3000's own 'Voyager (The Journey Mix)' is then a dusty deep house groove layered up with star gazing chords that slowly unfold with a sense of beauty.
Review: First released in the golden year of 1996 under Joe Manumaleuna's longstanding formative alias DJ Hyperactive, this founding Chi-bleep bluff-caller on 12" took the world by paretic storm just as easily back then as it surely will do now. Communique Records, executive vicars of the Sounds sublabel, now do a stellar job of reissuing this crazy-making clobberer, having first remastered it from the original DATs. 'Muzik Make You Lose Control' and 'Drummer Boy' riff off Chicago's rich percussive history, while 'Circle Of Life' and 'Alteno' go wilder on the monophonic synthwork, to eerily maddening effect.
Review: Keith Tucker aka DJ K-1 is back with more of his stripped-back electro magic, complete with trademark vocoder flair. His 'My Name Is DJ K-1' is a six-tracker EP that is reminiscent of his classic K-1 Agenda era on Direct Beat. The original mix here leans into Kraftwerk-style futurism while DMX Krew's remix adds a darker, sample-heavy twist full of Motor City-style techno and bass brilliance. The 'Beat Mix' is pure looped funk so is perfect for seamless blends while the 'Detroit Jit Mi' offers a full vocal rap with local flavor. The goodness keeps on coming with the 'SPOCK Mix' and its eerie, spacey strings, and the 'NAVI Mix' is a hypnotic bonus beat version soaked in synth puddles and absorbing rhythmic tension. Irresistible stuff.
Review: Oraculo Records, M.U.S.A Records and Ombra Festival have all come together to unveil Dr. Oso, the latest talent to emerge from the Megabreakz collective. This Argentinian producer follows in the footsteps of Candido (who was behind Megabreakz 7) to deliver his own raw and unapologetic take on the hard new beat style. His release is pure fire, with 'Hooligan Beat Edit' swinging sonic punches in every direction at once. 'Trench Flight' is jacked up and ken with a rugged low end, gun shots and fragment synths all making for a visceral groove. It is much the same on the rest of the EP with 'Lager Dance' really popping thanks to its chopped up sirens and caustic textures.
Review: Formerly known as AI Robot, Calin Dumitrescu refound his human side under his own surname as alias, having found residence in local labels Atipic, Particular and Unutrei since 2020. His debut for Myriad Records finds the third EP in the UK label's catalogue, with the headshaking chords and feverish acids of 'Acid E' helping synthesise a pharmaceutical drug we didn't know could or should exist, while 'Lucid Dream Gone Fucked Up' implies the necessary disturbance of a dream we'd never want to wake up from, by the intrusion of mechanic breaks, spy-vs-spy basses and creepazoid pads. The final two, ending on the perc-heavy 'Play Pause', contrast the A with a celebratory mood.
Spectrums Data Forces - "Can't Scape Reality" (5:55)
Atix - "King Of Fighter" (4:39)
Calagad 13 - "Area Desconocida" (4:49)
Final Dream - "Echo Chamber" (5:51)
Elektrotechnik - "Hard Symphony" (5:20)
Review: Cosmic Tribe is back with six more cutting-edge tracks that push the boundaries of electro while honouring its core principles on the superb XTRICTLY ELEKTRO Vol. 2. In showcasing forward-thinking sound design and global talents, this compilation affirms Cosmic Tribe's dedication to rhythmic experimentation and genre-defining precision. EC13 opens with his retro-futurist, cinematic style, while Spectrums Data Forces injects technical flair from southern Spain. Lyon's Atix delivers decades of club-driven expertise, and on the flip, Calagad 13 dives deep with a bass-heavy introspection, Final Dream (aka Phil Klein) brings epic UK grit, and Elektrotechnik closes with an industrial punch. A great window into electro's ever-evolving power.
Review: A masterclass in stark 'Kontrast' comes by way of producer Elektrotechnik, whose latest 12" here for Gladio Operations does unsurprisingly well to contrast his prior digital-only issue for A-Traction Records. Through glommy, paralytic, salivary sound design, 'Sigma' and its corresponding remix by Larionov mission-state the EP: one pronouncedly unafraid of weight or womp, and yet which still scoops out a mercurial feel akin to a volatile solder metal prior, pre and post-solidification. 'Kontrast' and 'Die Bestie' on the B-side sound like said reflowed solder chucked through a giant techno kaleidoscope, as both tracks move increasingly hypnotic and heavy.
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