Artless Germany At Juno Download

Review: Don Williams' latest edition of his sporadic series dedicated to Detroit through his own a.r.t.less imprint is finally made available digitally. Blue is the colour of this EP and the techno that emanates from within is certainly a blue shade of cool, with the Mojuba boss dropping two cuts of melancholic Motor City deepness. A future funk runs through "Vector Dance" with sinister sci-fi synth washes hiding behind a stuttering groove and off key melodies. "Surreal Dream" provides a shimmering showcase of Williams' talent for melding subtle orchestration and gently oscillating percussion.

Review: Martin Bonds is one of Detroit techno's lesser known but no less influential figures. As Reel By Real he released the 1990 classic Surkit, and now, with Surkit Chamber - The Melding he has released his first new material under the moniker in almost 20 years, a pitch perfect updating of the classic sound of Detroit techno. Abdul Haqq's Neuromancer-esque cover art perfectly encapsulates the meeting between man and machine which seems to permeate the album; tracks like "Glass" and "Switchback" utilise mechanical rhythms and metallic textures to great effect, whilst "Fate" combines the album's retro-futuristic sheen with jazzy keys and Bonds' own vocals, and as an album it strikes the perfect balance between the more avant-garde and dancefloor friendly Detroit production, especially on tracks like "Stow Away" which combines a particularly Drexciyan bassline with a more manageable tempo.