And At Juno Download

Review: AnD have been issuing forth an unstoppable amount of techno tackle this year, but as some of their previous output has suggested, the pair have a fondness for broken rhythms. "Algorythmic Love" skips to life on a dry swinging beat, and then half way through some succulent chords chime through. "Brother From Another Mother" lets said chords take the lead, as the percussion darts and parries around them. "Swing Me" however uses all manner of clipped hits to create a hybrid funk blueprint. Tom Diccio's functional reworking returns to the dubby space of the original but anchors it to a house groove. Highly recommended.

Review: It sounds like UK duo AnD are making good on their promise to focus on making progressively heavier and heavier techno. "Making Circles" sets a high watermark, its heavy drums jarring and the abrasive rhythm supporting a churning filter and the kind of rattling, relentless bassline that Luke Slater might contemplate if he was in particularly bad form. Despite its title, "Deep Consciousness" is even more extreme. The drums are pushed far into the red, ending up distorted and gnarly as the rhythm hurtles towards an inevitable, high-paced climax. But there's a flipside to every intense track; Svreca's take on "Circles" is all spiky percussion and subtle off-beats, while "Lost without G" is a sublime, deep electronic offering.

Review: The shady Manchester duo AnD make the jump to Bristol's Idle Hands label for this release, two sides of dark techno at its finest. "Hydrothermal" initially wrong foots you with its syncopated toms but soon eases its way in to four to floor techno. It's a track that concerns itself primarily with atmosphere, as metallic synth tones provide the most sparing of melody. "Lights Down" meanwhile takes their material in a more unexpected direction, jettisoning any regular rhythmic pulse for a more bass inspired drum pattern, which combined with the furiously pulsating bassline which ripples underneath and creates a track that nicely highlights the common DNA between Bristol's fervent bass scene and the sort of tightly woven Berlin inspired techno that AnD excel in.