Delsin Holland At Juno Download

Review: An interesting pair of remixes on this release, which sees two big producers reinterpreting seminal material from legendary ambient techno producer John Beltran. Kassem Mosse & Mip Mup collaborate on a rework of "Brilliant Flood", adding deep bass and a bumping drum machine workout over the top whilst maintaining the hazy, hypnotic quality of the original. It adds a rough, lo-fi quality that is sure to appeal to fans of Mosse's other productions. Sven Weisemann's remix is a completely different prospect, turning in a nine-minute reworking of several different Beltran productions, which is pitched somewhere between ambient and techno, and even displays a leaning towards modern classical. Not one for the dancefloor necessarily, but sublime listening nonetheless.

Review: Mike Dehnert and his Fachwerk and MD2 labels have been at the forefront of 90s-inspired techno for the past few years - but will his consistently high strike rate translate to a long player? Thankfully, Dehnert sticks to what he knows best, resisting the ill-advised urge to position himself as a versatile all-rounder. Apart from the brief, abstract "Intro", the dreamy ambience of "Kontextfrei" and the hissing static noise of "Outro", the album centres on the dancefloor, but manages to avoid repetition. And while the dubby bass, scuffled beats and clanging percussion of "Infix" is indicative of the Berlin producer's abeyance to the Basic Channel/Chain Reaction axis, Framework widens his scope; "Beatmatching" is an uplifting vocal-sample heavy groove and this new-found playfulness is also audible on the rave riff sampling "Teilfolge" and the purring bassline and synth melodies of "Quattro". Dehnert may be operating in a new format, but Framework proves that when it comes to techno functionalism, he is peerless.

Review: Delsin has been on top of its game for over a decade now. The Dutch label never puts a foot wrong, something that is due to owner Marsel's unparalleled A&Ring skills. This latest release is a reissue, but it provides an insight into the music that inspires and informs Delsin's selections. On one side there's the timeless deep house of Marc 'MK' Kinchen's "Mkappella". This twenty-year-old track sees Kinchen bring together sensuous flute-playing that's not too dissimilar to Bobby Konders and the kind of wide-eyed piano keys that featured on some of Chez Damier's releases for KMS from this period. Add to this robust dubby beats and the sound of the dawn chorus warbling away in the background and the inspiration for Newworldaquarium's own textured house or his Ross 154 ambient project is audible. Up next, Delsin has licensed a track from Luke Slater. "Lost" originally appeared on the UK producer's seminal album The 4 Cornered Room , which he recorded as 7th Plain. Here too there are bird samples, but they are high-picthed tweets rather than mellow warbles and accompany lithe, fast-paced breakbeats. The real attraction for Delsin fans though are Slater's synths; ghostly and swirling, they have a truly otherworldly feeling and have clearly had an impact on Aroy Dee, Conforce and Dimension 5. It's an invaluable insight into why Delsin hits the target with such frequency.

Review: Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann has a formidable reputation as a remixer, but this writer feared that he had bitten off more than he could chew with his latest project. After all, he was tasked with reworking one of the standout cuts from this year's best techno album, and these doubts only intensified when the original with its menacing bass swagger, layered, reverberating noises and chilling vocal were replayed on this remix package. Thankfully, Dettmann has risen to the occasion; "Definition 1" doesn't stray too far from the original, with a swinging bass and a focus on Middle eastern horn riffs prevailing. It's on "Definition 2" that he really deserves kudos: upping the tempo and combining layered, Basic Channel dub chords with the plaintive vocal, it's a near perfect mix of techno and electronic torch song soul.

Review: On What Have We Learned, Lebanese producer Rabih Beaini is presented with the same dilemma that every other electronic music artist with lofty intentions faces - namely how his music can make the successful transition to a long-player format. Unlike most of his peers however, Beaini manages to imbue What Have We Learned with a common narrative, despite flirting with a range of tempos and arrangements. That unifying bond is a sombre, atmospheric mood. It's tempting to posit that Beaini was influenced by his residency in Venice - but many of his previous releases have also had a similarly somnambulant quality. Irrespective of its origins, this gloominess is audible on the opener, "Silent Screamer", where a resonating bassline underpins an arrangement that skirts loosely around the edges of conventional house music. It also plays a central role on "Too Far". Featuring freaked out Gothic vocals and tumbling keys, its grungy, primal rhythm makes the connection between modern techno grime and industrial gloom. Yet What Have We Learned isn't a depressing or demanding listen and although his music is pitched at the outer limits of dancefloor centric electronic music, its ethereal tendencies will draw listeners in rather than repelling them.

Review: Delsin's masked crusader returns with his fifth EP on the ever reliable Dutch imprint. The three tracks on offer here showcase Redshape's sure hand with vintage production, with "Future Shock" a veritable analogue stew of swirling computer game bleepy synths and shuffling drum programming. "Kung Fu" sees the producer pay homage to the jacking sounds of Chicago, while the crunchy stomp juxtaposed by intergalactic synths of "Manhattan" pleases our ears immensely. Top release.