Cocoon Germany At Juno Download

Review: Those who may have been surprised at the appearance of Boys Noize on Cocoon last year were probably more surprised by the sound of that single, "Adonis" - swapping his trademark abrasion for a more delicate, hypnotic sound accented by rising synths. This remix EP continues with the surprises, as the master of mid-tempo grooves, Mark E is drafted in for two reworks of the track. His first remix creates a fractured take on the original, as warped synths fight through waves of compressed fuzz, whilst his "Acid Dub" is a darker 303 led take on the track. Djedotronic opts to subtly tweak the original and make a sustained buildup the focal point of the track, while Terence Fixm,er creates a big room monster, isolating the vocal sample and adding seismic bass. Finally Patrick Kunkel turns in a chunky rework built around slamming kicks and razor sharp cymbals.

Review: It's not hard to understand why Sven Vath signed Alexandre Paounov aka Popof to Cocoon. The title track makes a number of references to the golden age of techno, audible in the Dan Bell-style tonal blips and bleeps and the cascading woodblock percussion, which are reminiscent of classic Plastikman. However, it's the way that Popof combines these elements with the sinewy bass at the heart of the track that makes it so alluring. "Hockner" offers more of the same combination of the old and the new, with gurgling 303s breaking over a filtered, toolish track. Maetrik makes no real concessions to past influences, but does reference his own back catalogue, delivering a grimy, grainy rhythmic take on the title track.

Review: Extrawelt rose to prominence during the Kompakt trance boom, but to expect their latest album to merely contain storming, melodic club tunes would do the German duo a disservice. Naturally, there are moments on In Aufruhr where melodic techno reigns, like the epic hooks and fragile rhythms of "Schlusslicht" or the meaner, woozy synths of "Division Dunkel". But of greater interest are the contributions where Extrawelt push the sonic envelope further. "Herz Aus Blech", with its mixture of buzz-saw bass and subtle ivory tinkling, is one such example, while "Die Welt Ist Nicht Genug" and "Dumb Age" see them diversify into stepping, dubby rhythms with resonating sub-bass and shanty effects to the fore.

Review: Hamburg house producer Lawrence has never made a secret of his influences and on this, his first commercially available mix, he manages to seamlessly unite them. Melchior, Baby Ford and Soul Capsule represent quirky, seductive minimal house, while playfulness mixed with experimentation is audible on Isolee and Roman Flugel's contributions. Lawrence lays bare his love of US house too, with Delano Smith's funk-influenced "My Life" featuring, as does the classic "Forever Monna" by Damier, Trent & Pullen, its soft-focus melodies emerging gradually from Melchior's "Zuknft". Deep, Detroit techno is also on offer too courtesy of Robert Hood and Aril Brikha, and Lawrence also pays tribute to the gentle melodies of 90s 'intelligent techno', ending this sublime mix with Plaid's "Ol".

Review: Green is only in his mid-20s, but has already released for respected labels like Trapez, Dirtybird and now Cocoon. Like his previous releases, "Lemon" is based on rolling, tribal grooves, but it's the small details and smart production touches that set it apart. The title track for example is unforgettable thanks to its stuttering vocal sample and insistent piano stabs. "Jimmy Rave Up" meanwhile is darker and more eerie, with rave riffs inhabiting Green's dense rhythms. Finally, "Dodjo" sees him somehow strike a balance between the light and darkness, with seductive, dreamy melodies cosying up to raucous siren stabs.

Review: It's hard to believe that Sven Vath's empire has been in existence for 11 years, but what's easier to comprehend is the label's unerring knack of releasing killer club techno. This compilation gives some of Vath's favourite artists - like Roman Flugel and Steve Rachmad - as well as newbies like Patrick Kunkel, who also provides a DJ mix, a chance to rework the catalogue. From Visionquest's murky but driving take on Dinky's "Acid in My Fridge" through the abrasive, jacking Flugel remix of Martin Buttrich's "Hunter", Carlo Lio's tribal take on Dubfire vs Huntemann's "Diablo" and the fist-pumping, big room techno of Paul Ritch's interpretation of 2000 & One's "Tropical Melons", there can be no doubt about this compilation's dance floor credentials.

Review: On Eric Estornel's latest outing as Maetrik, the US producer sounds like he's edging into a parallel pop universe. Of course, this is a world entirely constructed by the Valencia-based artist, so on both the title track and "Push Me", Maetrik's hallmark nuances are evident: snappy, tight drums fuel droning, almost atonal basslines and abstract found sounds weave their way in and out of the dense arrangements. However, what's fuelling this push towards potentially greater recognition is the vocal line that sits seductively over the title track. Just how long will it be before we hear Maetrik informing a daytime audience that 'you've got a crush on me'?

Review: Polish producer Sienkiewicz has an impressive back catalogue - including this writer's favourite, "Mirrors" - but his latest album is the first time that he's made a concept work. Documenting his time spent touring, the album opens with the gamelan percussion and whooshing groove of "Departure 11", symbolising a plane's take-off. It's a life that Sienkiewicz seems to be attuned to, if the mellow, trancey chords and slightly detuned percussion of the title track and the balmy, undulating groove of "Sing It" are anything to go by. Despite this, there is an underbelly to Sienkiewicz's road adventures and both "Fear" and "Telegram" seethe with dark chords and glitchy percussion, and "Peregrinating" is a grimy rhythm track. However, the overarching mood is positive, as embodied by the blissful ambience of album closer "Arrival 12".

Review: It's encouraging to see a big label like Cocoon supporting newcomers when it would be far easier and possibly more lucrative to stick with the more bankable big names. YouANDme's "Raw" sounds like what would happen if an acid casualty were to attempt to make tool house. The drums are dense and the rhythm shuffling, but the chord breakdown has a freakish undercurrent and the whole arrangement has a woozy, soft-focused feeling. Meanwhile, Alicante mines a similar path to many of his contemporaries, with snappy percussion and a muddy acidic bass reminiscent of Ostgut, but then the track is pushed into a different dimension with a trancey hook inspired by mid-noughties Get Physical releases.

Review: Of all the minimal producers who emerged from Germany during the middle of the last decade, Daniel Stefanik is the one most likely to break through to mainstream dance music. The reason for this lies in Stefanik's ability to translate his experimental touch to conventional structures. On "The Harlequin in Me", this is audible, as a dense percussive arrangement and spacey synths suddenly explode into a big room techno groove. "Silicon Garden" is more understated, its Middle Eastern samples contained by a dubby bass, but he shows his crossover appeal again on "Dirty Rhodes". Tougher and more driving, its combination of grainy bassline with thundering claps and intense Rhodes chords will rock any room it's dropped in.

Review: Ah Johannes Heil - that's a name that just screams DAS TECHNO - he's a veteran of the German scene of some 15 years with some classics on the shelf like "Paranoid Dancer" and "Calling". Ahead of his eleventh studio album, Loving for Sven Vath's Cocoon, which is set for release later this year, the techno chameleon drops an early two track taster in the shape of Freedom of Heart. The title track is a slamming euphoric Motor City groover replete with emotive string hooks and hypnotic piano riffs. This is matched in the anthemic stakes by "Could This Be" where tough hi-hats and acid squiggles sit atop a deep disco bassline backed by a familiar vocal refrain.

Review: In addition to delivering the standout Balance compilation for EQ's long serving series and a host of big remixes for the likes of Slam and Robert Babicz, Dutchman Joris Voorn has also produced for Sino and his own Green imprint. A coming of age, the 33-year-old now makes his Cocoon debut with a single track of enchanting, future disco-tech with a driving bassline. Its building sense of drama makes it perfect for the peak time sets of any of the world's biggest rooms. As the 2010 Ibiza season edges ever nearer, get ready to hear this jam booming out across the White Isle.

Review: SIS, aka Burak Sar slots perfectly into the Cocoon family with this new two tracker of hypnotic techno. The title track is a trip through vesting, echoing chambers that lose themselves within the depths of reverb. Long beatless interludes and ethereal vocals precede drops of clunky, tribal drums. This is follwed by the equally impressive "Break Down", a percussive slice of dub house with incessant and danceable loops.

Review: Phil Kieran returns to Cocoon with an EP of remixes from his Shh album of last year. Featuring reworks from Pan-Pot, Egbert and Patrick Kunkel amongst others, the EP takes on six tracks off the album, delivering new versions for 2010.

Having previously flexed his more minimal tech house muscles on two singles for the Frankfurt based label, Kieran unleashed his first artist album under his own name in September of last year. Shh was a particularly broad minded affair that showcased his diverse set of influences, earning the accomplished Irishman much praise. Now, Cocoon delve back into the album with a clutch of excellent and equally diverse remixes.

Pan-Pot, the Berlin based duo who have also released on Mobilee and SCI + TEC, open the EP with a reductionist rework of "Blood of Barcelona." It has a subsonic feel, with deep synth stabs piercing through a simple yet bouncy bassline. Ingo Boss also take on the same track at the end of the EP, instead turning it into a pumping club track. The strong beat leads the way as glitch tech FX play out the rest of the track. In between, rising Dutch talent Egbert morphs a hypnotic bassline into a beautiful and uplifting dub track on his remix of "Never Ending Mountain" before Patrick Kunkel turns the same track into a pumping hybrid of techno and dub that somehow keeps the harmonic feel of the original. Matador exercises a minimal wig out on "Dirt" and Kevin Gorman gets things dark, pumping and irresistibly groovy on "Playing With Shadows."

Phil Kieran's original album showed just how versatile and diverse techno can be today. Fittingly then, this remix EP goes on to show even more imagination and creativity, throwing off the shackles of functional techno and exploring the genre's musicality to the max.

Review: Frankfurt producer Markus Fix makes his Cocoon debut with "Dark Side of Bo". An unfeasibly fat bassline makes the room pulsate as he embarks on some strutting techno. B-side "Nordsee" comes from Leipzig resident Sven Tasnadi, who unleashes some hypnotic dub techno infused with a strange industrial sound palette.

Review: DJ D'Jedi, AKA Antoine Husson releases his second EP on Cocoon with three tracks of techno madness that bring the energy of early 90s rave to a more modern sound. "My Inner Colours" EP is an assault on the eardrums, designed to turn the clubs into a frenzied battlefields.

Following on from last year's debut for Cocoon, "The Devil's Star" EP, the Parisian producer keeps the tempo up and the beat pounding on his latest techno workout. Opening with "Crazy Purple," Electric Rescue demonstrates how quickly he can create a storm on the sound system. After an unassuming start, some steadily building and unforgettably crazy noise modulation begins to pierce through the beat and send the track into overdrive. Anything but unassuming by half way through, this is an electro tinged, techno monster that has the potential to make any club explode. "Bleu Electrique" is next up, serving as a bridge between Chicago-esque phuture sounds and the acid trance of twenty years ago. Although slightly more reserved than its predecessor, it still flexes the driving techno muscles of the entire EP. The Frenchmen returns to club madness for the finale, "Acid Rosso" Peppered with sounds of the acid era, the track is built on the foundation of a thunderously slo-mo basskick that fuels its mighty power.

Once more, Electric Rescue has been able to get the combination of modern rhythmic textures and noisy rave sirens of the 90s onto record. Whilst drawing on the sounds of modern techno he has also managed to keep a distinct acid flavour, bringing a welcomed slab of rave culture to today's techno scene.

Review: At 35 years old, Frank Lorber carries a wealth of experience within electronic music. Inextricably linked to Sven Vath's Cocoon imprint, he returns to the label alongside Bernd Maus and Erik Besier as Tres to deliver an EP of four tracks of big room, deep tech infused with all the FX and sweeps that we have come to expect from this trio. Cocoon Recordings has been a staple in Lorber's career. In 2002, his second album, Jailhouse Rocker was one of the first artist albums to be released on the then newly formed label. Now truly global and instantly recognisable, Cocoon release the collaborative work of Lorber, 2Dollar Egg member Eric Besier and Bernd Maus who is also co-owner of Freebase, one of Germany's most successful record shops. Opening with "Uno," the EP delves deep into subsonic rhythm. Tribal percussion is layered on top of low end bass and distorted vocals. It is bouncy techno that takes a more stripped down form, announcing the release in slick style. "Dos" is more playful, with more harmonies and lighter percussive patterns. A rolling basslines adds funk as the track chugs along in its own groove. Taking things deeper and darker is "Tercero," which brings a dub influence into the trio's tribal techno. Again using distorted vocals, the futuristic feel of this release remains present without getting lost in FX and glitch. Finishing the EP is the mind bending "Cuarto." Wrapped around morphing synths, the 4/4 beat and deep, menacing bassline creates an uneasy atmosphere. Music that you can really get lost in, both "Cuarto" and the EP as a whole, explore the different atmospheres in which a groove can manifest itself within.

Review: French producer Julian Jeweil makes his debut for German techno trailblazers, Cocoon. Sven Vath's imprint deliver three original Jeweil productions that immediately lent themselves to the sound of the Frankfurt label.

Having been an important player on Marseille's building electronic music scene for over the last six years, Julian Jeweil is beginning to achieve global success. Signing to Cocoon has given him the chance to outstretch his reach even further as he continues to grow his ever expanding fan base. With "Color," he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and delivered three tracks that not only stand up to highly esteemed label, but continues to push it further.

Building on 2006's bona fide hit "Air Conditionné" EP on Skrytom with remixes for and collaborations with people such as Tiesto, Umek, Sébastien Léger and Oxia has put the Frenchman in a promising position. Perfect timing for him then that he gets a Cocoon release just months before the 2010 Ibiza season. Fittingly, all three tracks on this release would suit the huge dancefloors of the White Isle. "Color" sizzles beneath the surface before swirling synths and pulsating basslines collide. You can almost hear the ice cannons firing during these drops and then easing off again as the track strips down to its pure techno bones before building itself up again. "Amore" builds more subtlety at first but some bigger breaks take over the FX and atmospherics in what turns out to be a techno juggernaught. Finishing the release is the bass driven ?Soho.? Hand claps and post acid sounds swash above some deep murmurings of sub bass, building tension until super thrusts of uncompromising techno bass send the track into overdrive.

You just get the sense that these are important times for Julian Jeweil. However, if he continues to work to the standards set in this release then we are likely to be seeing more and more of this techno star in the making.

Review: Working with regular collaborator Lopazz, DJ and label boss Alex Flatner dropped "Make Your Mind Up" last year. Following on from that are four new remixes from some of the biggest names in tech house

Dave Ellesmere for example turns in a beauty, as does Swedish producer Jesper Dahlback, who leans toward more of a straight up Techno slant on this mix. German veteran Sebbo and Dennis Goekdag also have fun with the track, creating a Minimal backing that moves the original on in strides. The legend that is Steve Lawler as expected turns in something pretty dazzling, showing why he's still got one of the strongest reputations in dance music. There's not much to choose from in terms of the quality of these mixes - they're all worth hearing and all worth playing.