Xhin At Juno Download

Review: Strobo stalwart Xhin made an impressive debut on the Token operation last year with the dense, bristling sounds of The Realm so it makes complete sense for the Belgian label to offer the producer a further chance to excel. The Dark Tiled Landscape EP presents a refinement in Xhin's noted savage take on dark techno across four thrilling cuts. Lead track "Projection" sees primordial, gurgling textures gradually fill the channels over a dusted broken techno rhythm graced by faint dubby chords. It's overwhelmed by the sheer expansive sound design of the subsequent title track which feels like it's ready to explode in a manner similar to Kaneda at the end of Akira, yet the tunnelling percussive groove ensures the elements remain reined in. Face down "Hunters" presents Xhin at his earth shaking best whilst "A Different Angle" sees a nightmarish swirling mass of dense atmospherics try and escape the grid set by the thick kicks.

Review: After a barn-storming 2011, the dense, bristling techno of Xhin returns to toy with your senses. This four track EP for Token delivers just what fans of his recent LP will be looking for; dark- primal rhythm tracks with enough vitality to keep from getting dull. The unforgiving broken stomp of "The Realm" is enough on its own, let alone when it has great rips of tone and melody pulsing over the top. There's deeper moments offered too, in the spacious sound bath that is "Elliptic", but really it's the smack down of the other three tracks that will deliver the goods for existing fans.