Regis At Juno Download

Review: Conceived at a time when the first wave of US minimalism was making waves across Europe, 1997-1998 offers a uniquely British response. At this stage, Karl O'Connor had placed Regis firmly on the techno radar, and tracks like "Disease Through Affection", with its razor-sharp, jarring industrial riffs and the pile-driving kicks and scatter-gun percussion on "Necklace of Bites" offer a dense, maximal counterbalance to Rob Hood's visceral minimalism. But O'Connor was then as he is now a visionary, and the most telling aspect of this compilation is how much of it would set the agenda for techno as it evolved through the late 90s and early 00s. Mills's Purposemaker project gets all the credit for creating loop techno, but one listen to the stomping, grime-caked industrial techno of "Executive Handshake" and the oppressive riffs of "Body Unknown" and it's clear who drew up the blueprint.

Review: For all the talk of Blackest Ever Black being a neo Gothic construct, there is no doubt that its latest missive is techno in its purest sense. Taking inspiration from Karl O'Connor's own Kalon release on Sandwell District, "Blood Witness" projects a more organic, ethnic take on the dense rhythmic flurry that fuelled "Man Is The Superior Animal". O'Connor's reshape with Mick Harris teases out the eerie desert-parched soundscapes against the backdrop of rawer rhythms, while on "Blinding Horses", the spectre of blood spilled on sand reverberates around the pummelling broken beats. No one does techno darker than Regis.

Review: Now regarded as something of a doyen for the UK techno community, Karl O'Connor aka Regis is revered with something approaching religious fervor in some circles. And it's little wonder; his brutal yet inherently funky and artful strand of techno brought together the worlds on industrial and DIY punk with pummeling 4x4 machine music long before any one else. Between 1994 and 2000, he delivered a string of uncompromising techno records comparable to the early output of Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills, and here the Downwards imprint looks back on those halcyon days with the first volume of a Complete Recordings reissue. Certified fans won't bother reading this review - it's buy on sight material - but lovers of contemporary techno looking to trace the genre's diverse origins should look, listen and learn from one of the undisputed greats.

Review: The preceding volumes captured the artist as a young man, and this third instalment documents Karl O'Connor's development from harsh industrial techno into other forms of electronic music-making. That's not to say that 1999-2001 is devoid of O'Connor's punishing approach: "Execution Ground" is a frenetic, thundering groove and "Rites" sees a jack-knifing riff skids its way across a lunging tribal rhythm. The key difference between these tracks and past peak-time tracks is the use of a vocal sample on the former and the icy, atmospheric synths that offset the latter's grainy intensity. O'Connor's desire to bring something new to hard techno is also audible on "Baptism" and "Purification", where lunging, slamming rhythms underscore incessant vocal snippets - like a precursor to Sims-style loops. "Get On Your Knees" is further removed from Regis' original dense sound and has a more electronic groove, but even it cannot prepare for the eerie ambience of both versions of "Solution" - is that Charles Manson on the "Voice" version? - and the doomy, dead-paced beats of "Slave To The Inevitable".