Back Catalogue

Review: With an ever-strong commitment to their very unique brand of modern electronic dance music, the Night Slugs posse are rounded up once again for a stocktake on the follow up to the successful Night Slugs Allstars compilation. It's only with a chance to reflect such as this you can appreciate the range that falls neatly into the Night Slugs remit. At one turn you can be doused in the blinding sunshine of Girl Unit's cheery electro as on "Ensemble (Club Mix)", or at the next be confronted with the staggered stab frenzy of Helix's somewhat ironically named "Drum Track". Try reaching them without being thrown by Bok Bok's 31st century grime madness or Lil Silva's hyper-kinetic throwdown of mechanical psychedelia and you might have a chance of getting a handle on the label as a whole.

Review: The adoption of a new name and a new sound by Marcus Intalex has been one of this year's success stories, with his rattling brand of warehouse appropriate techno under the Trevino moniker gracing labels as diverse as [Naked Lunch], Apple Pips and Craig Richards' The Nothing Special. With a forthcoming debut on Klockworks on the way, Trevino returns to Martyn's 3024, the label where this new name was first established. Then appearing on a split release with Instra:mental, Trevino comes through with a full release in Tactical Manoeuvre EP which brandishes three tracks that showcase the different styles and sounds of the producer. The murky warehouse vibes of the title track make it the Juno favourite here but all three productions here are clearly the work of a producer in a rich vein of form.

Review: Po-faced disco and boogie purists should probably steer clear of this five-tracker from the Tru Funk crew. For the rest of us, there's plenty to enjoy. The action is typically floor-friendly, offering party hearty thrills with just enough purist flavour to impress. Agent 86 drops a deliciously synth-heavy stepper in the form of "Sticky Funk", while Jamie Ruz closes his eyes and lets the jazzual guitar solos flow on the soft focus boogie-soul jam "Lovers Delight". Yomakomba's "Hold You" should inspire a few "moments" on the dancefloor with its sinewy combination of '80s soul and Balearic house chug, while Trotter's "40 Degrees" is a slamming chunk of slap bass-heavy disco house.

Review: Following on from their first instalment, the guys at Parisian soul/funk/jazz label Heavenly Sweetness are back with a follow up. Having spent months scouring the net for the best new sounds, they proudly present the cream of their findings - 15 in total. Highlights include the future bass/jazzy trapisms of "Down Brandy" which takes the eponymous RnB singer and warps her into another dimension, the drunk cat on a keyboard-isms of "Muscles", the cool retro hip-hop of "Boomboxin" and the 80s freestyle pop of "The Followers".

Review: This new compilation sees Loose Squares seeking to showcase footwork from around the world.. It's a diverse collection (compiled by Chrissy Murderbot) and features 10 leftfield takes on established sounds. Atki2 kicks things off with the minimal, drum machine-led "When The Fire Starts", 618's "Freak You" marries a resounding bass drum to a Lil' Kim sample, Pixelord plays with a host of exaggerated vocals samples on the deliciously tropical "Footpork". However, following on from the mellow "Lost In The Jungle" by Actraiser (clue's in the title), things get more hypey with DJ Godfather delivering the Bobby O-sampling jump-up banger "Bring It Back" and the intense speed-a-thon that is "Crack" by Nickotine.

Review: Homeboys Grown Folk make their debut appearance on the San Fran party turned label Icee Hot, which comes backed with two painfully tasty remixes by Ghosts On Tape and Dutch house wizard, Gerd! "The Boat", as the title suggests, is one of those deep house cuts that sways back and forth with utter grace, giving us a spectacularly warming bassline to sooth us through the dark ol' winter days. "Keep New Fear" is particularly interesting and its vibrant, disjointed percussive arrangement lends the track an edgy and off-kilter vibe that blends well with the bumping electro growl stirring at its core. As per usual, Juno HQ favourite, Gerd injects his rather gnarly kicks and snares to morph the piece into a certified floor burner, whilst Ghosts On Tape take things just that little bit further, bringing in some monstrous, effect-filtered piano chords and a seriously nasty bit of drum work...ya need!

Review: We can always rely on French funkateers Soulab to keep us supplied with regular selections of vintage sounding modern soul gems. This latest compilation features a host of their regular artists and once again the quality is up there. Highlights include the futuristic electro-funk of LA Mitchell's "The Ease", the hazy g-funk vibes of Uraz Kurt's "Remember The Light", the dark, broken electro-hop of Isaac Aesili's "Freedom Cry" and the crazy garage boogie shuffle of Proser & Azaxx's "Prince Is Not Dead".

Review: With previous releases on the Clone Jack For Daze imprint coming from Dance Mania-inspired Gerd alias Geeeman, Hague-based synth voyager Legowelt and Berlin-based Chi-house acolyte Murphy Jax, Night Slugs co-founder L-Vis 1990 makes for a logical addition. The Circuits EP follows a wave of club focused tracky material from the producer most notably the debut Night Slugs Club Constructions release and bangs hard across four productions. If anything this release demonstrates a more fully developed take on the raw house tracks of Club Constructions, combining the brighter palette of his earlier material with the jacking styles of the new. The title track especially is a raucous combination of bumping 909 rhythms and lysergic strings, while "That Thunder Track" throws a malfunctioning, phased lead with the hollow abrasion of classic grime into the mix.

Review: As the title track on his latest EP attests, Space Dimension Controller is back after a considerable break from the releasing game, with an EP of "deleted scenes" to whet your appetites for his forthcoming debut album. On the strength of the first track, it's already clear that things are different. The tender, melancholic house template has been replaced by a pumped up electro funk workout, rich with 80s boogie synth flourishes, Model 500 drums and an Egyptian-Lover inspired vocal hook about the aforementioned return. It's a drastic switch up, but nailed perfectly. "While I Was Away" cools things off with an aqueous. Italo-dub concoction, and "It's A Cold Planet Without You" heads into a surprisingly breakneck electro rhythm with pneumatic synths of an ambient disposition. Drifting off on the weightless drone of the Eno referencing "Music For Spaceports", SDC has firmly announced his return with a strong update on his previous form.

Review: An ironic title if ever we saw one; man-of-the-moment Avery doesn't need electronics... This cat's wired for sound every which way but loose! And we mean wired; every cut here is created using classic analogue gear and comes with all the warmth and electronic soul you would expect. With a very linear, stripped back approach throughout, each track comes with its own distinctive character. The title track is almost "Erotic Discourse" flavoured in its ever-developing tweaks and phrases. "Taste" comes complete with an edgy vocal refrain that unnerves and pleases at the same time. "One In The Wave" is just one long wondrous drone while "The Eagle" finishes the set with a sexy, low-swung groove that just won't quit.

Review: The ever-interesting Eddie Ruscha returns with a new Secret Circuit full-length, the first on Tim Sweeney's excellent Beats In Space imprint. Given the usually vivid style of his psychedelic electronica, it's no surprise to find that Tactile Galactics is a mesmerizing trip from start to finish. Ruscha darts between kaleidoscopic space disco, wide-eyed shoegaze house, analogue psychedelia, touchy-feely ambience and intense, druggy Italo, somehow shoehorning 25 years of musical misadventure into 70 spellbinding minutes. It's bold, melodic, hypnotic, beautiful, blissful, intense, inspiring and exciting. Put simply, Tactile Galactics is a great album.

Review: In its original form, Killekill was a party that embraced all sorts of electronic music, and the label has opted for the same approach. It doesn't seem to bother Nico who runs Killekill - he previously worked for Shitkatapult - that the imprint's first steps have displayed an almost schizophrenic disregard for the kind of micro-genres that defines electronic music. In fact, like Svreca from Semantica and Micky who runs [Naked Lunch], he seems far more interested in what constitutes a great tune, irrespective if its tempo is 100bpm or 160bpm and regardless of whether it was fashioned in downtown Detroit or a windswept Dublin suburb. Following the wild techno of Alex Cortex's Raw, comes Megahits, a three-installment vinyl release that sums up this approach. It begins almost innocuously, with Bill Youngman's "The 2", a downtempo, jazzy piece that suddenly veers into rude boy half-paced jungle bass. Despite being a Berlin label, UK culture is represented again with the curious blend of ragga vocalsand twitchy acid lines on Affie Yussuf's "Onna Roll", while Radioactive Man serves up his typically party-friendly electro, replete with tonal bass licks on "Addict" and Neil Landstrumm returns to techno territory - albeit a less distorted, noisy one - on the dark, ravey bass of "On The Pussers". There are also nods to contemporary European techno - the most notable being the grainy, dense rhythms and searing acid of Cassegrain and Tin Man'scollaboration - US producers are represented with the murky jack of JTC's "Crush Arbor" and the frightening synths, predatory bass - which has echoes of Suburban Knight - and hyperactive rhythms of DJ Stingray's "Ego Assault". Killekill also proves itself again to be home to the outsider, featuring the punishing beats and menacing synths of Lakker's Autechre-eqsue "Darcdub" and the spectacularly depraved "Furfriend", a stripped back groove powered by a bombastic bassline and featuring a deadpan pervert talking about taking drugs and how he likes to come on people's faces with his "fat cock". Electronic music may have become a smaller place thanks to technology,but as Megahits shows, Killekill's world remains as colourful and occasionally disturbing as an LSD-drenched peek through a kaleidoscope.

Review: Being from Chicago, it's perhaps unsurprising that Dance Mania legend DJ Deeon has been inspired by the sounds of footwork. This EP for the party-hearty chaps at Booty Call doffs a cap to the footwork phenomenon, offering sped-up 808 jams with a variety of cheeky, X-rated hip-hop vocal samples (see "Get Buk", "I Heard" and "Drop Pop Shake It"). There's also a foray into the world of B-more (with, of course, plenty of cheap-sounding juke synth stabs) in the shape of "I Told You So", and a curious 4/4 electro/jackin' house jam, "Lightspeed". Curiously, it's probably the strongest cut on an EP full of tried-and-tested party bangers.

Review: Bonus Round don't do ordinary, and in these days of production line EDM, that's a very good thing indeed. This collaborative EP is literally choc full of off the wall ideas, who cares if they don't always totally work, at least it's not boring. "R2D2CB" is a bleepy acid-electro wig-out, "Benefit" is distorted tech-funk, "For The Love Of Mod" is a lacerating noise fiend with elements of wobble, "Kick Mod Mayhem" is literally that - mayhem! "Holy Mother Of Mod" is skewed electro-funk and Jerome Hill's rework of "Rubber Sophie" is an absolute bonkers fusion of footwork and gabba.

Review: Here we have the self-proclaimed 'new wunderkind of glitchy electrofunk' a rising London producer whose style recalls an even more hyperactive Rustie, and newly signed to Mofo HiFi. Brandishing 6 tracks, this EP demonstrates his aim to 'sound like a mosaic of every great electronic dance style of the past 30 years'. Highlights include the hyperactive "Waterphone Shadows", the shimmering chillwave of "Glass Moon" and the crystalline RnB synth fantasy of "Cybo".

Review: DMX Krew is back with a twisted, body-morphing collection of tunes on his own Breakin' Records, the label which the man has been curating since the mid-90s. Once again we're treated to a beautiful cocktail of electro deluge and machine-drum psychedelia; "Honeydew" is a classic DMX cut with enough funk to leave you roasted on the floor, while "Dramatic Exit" heads even further down the rave era thanks to its slippery beat layout and nostalgic melodies. "Sppoookey" is an AFX-reminiscent hurter, complete with plenty of acid licks and gritty-as-hell drum programming, whilst "Apple Grid" takes a bouncier approach to things and "Superficial Appearance" blends far-out acid trickles, heavy snares, DMX grit and spits it back out into a luscious deep house belter...something only the man is capable of.

Review: Cardiff's Hidden Persuader is a self-confessed electronics junkie who has been known to nab all sorts of old equipment and reconstitute it for his 'circuit bending purposes'. This new EP is his first for Germany's Bass4bot and features six cuts of traditional electro, which luckily boast an extra coat of modern fizz to keep the sound from veering into pure pastiche territory. Big props to the sinister, arpeggiated weirdness of "Bio-Wave", the EP's stand out track.

Review: After breaking through with some powerful EPs on Night Slugs, Girl Unit is back to continue what he started. Interestingly, the grimey element in his earlier output has been replaced by a screamingly loud electro influence, positioned in the kind of snappy funk favoured by EDMX and his Breakin Records posse. From "Ensemble (Club Mix)" to "Plaza", the sharp edges of the synth work chafe against crisp drum machine workouts, leaving six cold crush bangers in their wake. It's something of a departure for Girl Unit, but he's absolutely nailed the target sound with tracks that will absolutely tear up the dance.

Review: QD boss Diogini continues his never-ending groove campaign with this deeply trippy homage to the unknown residents of deep space. Opening with the Kraftwerk electro hymn "The Way For New Dimensions", we're soon sucked into Diogini's audio telescope, watching the funkiest planets the universe can offer. From Planet Nu Disco ("Mental") to the wonky Planet Far Out "This Is Magonia" via the good old Planet Cosmic ("O Zero O") this is a one-way ticket into the deepest of space.

Review: Few electronic acts could easily sustain three expansive 'best of' compilations, but then Detroit techno-electro fusionists Drexciya weren't your average electronic artists. In the space of little more than 12 EPs and a handful of albums, released in a ten-year burst between 1992 and 2002, James Stinson and Gerald Donald did more to push electronic music forwards than many of their Motor City peers. This third retrospective in Clone's excellent Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller series expands on the first two volumes, swimming between atmospheric IDM ("Aqua Worm Hole", "Vampire Island"), balls-deep techno workouts ("Nautilus", "Intensified Magnetron") and shimmering future electro (the futuristic Kraftwerk vibes of "Aquabahn").

Review: As one of the hookiest slices of audio sleaze on his recent Magenta LP, Jimmy Edgar's "Sex Drive" gets the remix treatment from a choice pair of producers, getting the slick electro tones rounded into equally hot-blooded forms. Jon Convex is up first, keeping much of the essence of the original but working it into an electro house template and layering in some choice big room dynamics, while his dub mix simply ditches the vocal turns leaving the track in its raw form. John Talabot takes a thoroughly different tact, issuing forth dramatic piano tones and poised drums that turn Edgar's track into an emotionally wrought nine-minute epic.