Clone Basement Series Holland At Juno Download

Review: Dave Huismans swiftly follows on from that incendiary 50 Weapons 12" with an equally explosive return to the Clone Basement Series. One of the first names to contribute to the series back in 2009, both "Hang Up" and "Sweetback" find Huismans eschewing the jagged, garage flecked drill techno dynamism of last year's "Take The Plunge" for some of his "most banging, straight-forward club material to date". The lead track is bristling with uneasy liquid funk, heavily diced Hancock vibes cascading around the buccaneering drum patterns with glee. "Sweetback," meanwhile, creeps out from the murky depths, driven by dust battered kicks and gnarly, sinewy analogue twists - there's no greater philosophy at work here, it's simply dark techno for dark rooms.

Review: The name Alden Tyrell will be more familiar to long term advocates of the Clone Empire rather than those who might have been introduced to the myriad of Dutch labels in recent times by EPs from Untold and Blawan. That's mostly because the Dutch legend hasn't exactly been active of late in the old releasing records game, preferring to slip out the odd remix or concentrate on mammoth tasks like remastering the back catalogue of Drexciya for Clone. Those not so familiar with Tyrell could do worse than change that by starting with the two heaving slabs of monolithic techno that make up this mammoth contribution to the Clone Basement Series! There's a touch of Fachwerk to the growling tunnel-like groove of "Rush" which is offset by the rising key stabs which no doubt helped influence the title, while the excellently named "Tntus" sounds like it would consume your every last sense in the perfect environment - a dark, cramped basement with little light and plenty of speaker racks.

Review: For those with no concept of the studio intricacies that go into producing music, there are certain artists whose traits ensure their productions constantly fascinate. Mr kick drum Blawan certainly falls into that category. The London based Barnsley lad has enjoyed what some people might call a rip roaring 2011, scoring success after success on whatever label is lucky enough to house his music as well as starting his own label initiative with Pariah in the shape of Works The Long Nights. Given the increasingly bezerk techno nature of Blawan's material, it seems natural that one of this year's most consistent imprints in Clone would seek him out for some magic. And Peaches is up there with Blawan's finest work, smartly following Untold's debut on the Basement Series with four track based variations on the fruit every bit as devastating as the Hemlock boss's 12". Those trademark burrowing rhythms and indescribable drums sounds are present throughout each track and you get the feeling Blawan has as much fun making this sort of music as we do listening to it.

Review: After the conceptual nature of Escapism, the recent Delsin album from the perma-brilliant Conforce, Mr Bunnik returns to the Clone Basement Series with the totally essential 24 EP. Recently the focus of a must read feature on the new breed of Dutch techno via our sister site Juno Plus, this release finds Conforce in deadly form approaching the art of the genre from different, equally sharp angles with precision results. Opening with "Grain" Bunnik pounds spectrally charged vocal groans with unrelenting layers of percussive intent and the increasing gurgle of analogue malfunction, whilst "Be There At Night" is looser in feeling, as jacking rhythms threaten to slip out of time amidst the intermittent granite thick rave stabs. On the flip recent Moustache Techno signee Gesloten Cirkel remixes the title track "24" shifting the dubby wormhole shuffle down a gear or two and introducing some delightful string plucked sensuousness.

Review: Clone and Conforce seem like such a perfect fit and the latter's debut on the former's Basement Series does not disappoint, delivering some of his darkest sweatbox rattlers to date! "Spoiled" drips with jerky acid menace, with heavy strains of synthesized horror filling the spaces between dizzying bouts of percussive rain. It's this staccato approach to rhythmic execution that proves utterly thrilling. "Vulcan" twists itself inside out, beginning in stripped down fashion with rasping hi-hats providing the rhythmic thrust which is gradually strangled by the death grip of the raw emotive machine funk narcosis that steadily rises to the fore. Finally XDB comes through with two variants on "Spoiled" with the relentless percussive shower of the first remix a nice contrast with the more guttural acid poise of the second.

Review: Clone stalwart Dexter maintains his sumptuous run of form this year with the Great Northern Driver EP. The title track's booming bass drum and chirruping sonic elements draw a line between vintage electro and modern UK bass ala Julio Bashmore. Those of you with inferior soundsystems can indulge in the less throbbing delights of the 'no bass' version. Although the world probably doesn't need another Amerie sampling track, Dexter's deep, dusty revision is probably the best we've heard - indeed we'd go as far as to say it's downright excellent. Finally, the droning low frequencies of "Bo-Dyned" round off an essential release.

Review: Dutch producer Gert-Jan Bijl aka Gerd's Time & Space is one of those 90s techno tracks that manages to evoke feelings of euphoria and foreboding. Unearthed by Gerd on a DAT tape during a spring clean, its mixture of turbo-powered hoover bass and the lost innocence of the vocal samples casts it in the same mould as Suburban Knight's classic "The Art Of Stalking". The 2011 remix is more jacking and makes a play of eerie, nightmarish chords instead of the purring bass, while Dutch colleague Duplex opts for a different approach. Remaining true to the original version, both his Southside and Northside remixes are powered by the kind of pre-hardcore nocturnal bass that will give you nightmares. The latter just about shades it in the spooky stakes with Duplex messing with the original vocal sample.

Review: Hemlock boss Untold surfaces on the evergreen Clone imprint with this absolutely blinding EP for their Basement Series. Much like Trago and Bok Bok collaborating, the sight of one of the UK's premier producers on one of our favourite Dutch label makes for exciting times. "Little Things Like That" is resolutely booming techno music, effortlessly stepping up the gears of dancefloor menace towards a subway sized juggernaut of rasping, finely sculpted pressure. Up next, "Bachelors Delight" merges the bassier excesses of Untold's background with a 4/4 flex, dipping the expertly syncopated drums in a sub bass swamp lifted from the harsher end of 2step. This is music that was made for the Basement Series and naturally gets a BIG TIP from us!