K7 At Juno Download

Review: Nothing really beats the first few seconds of this startlingly original debut from Germany's BBF. The rest of it is great too of course, but it's during those very first 30 seconds that you immediately get where this album is coming from. As opener "Corky Prelude" is slowly faded up, the rumbling percussion part and distant bass sounds (which could easily be just another ordinary techno tune) reveal themselves to be a piano and blocks being hit, both clearly being played live. BBF clearly approach techno (or indeed all dance music) with more than an awareness of jazz and classical modes. And so, over You Make Me Real, they set about making techno but with live drums, treated pianos, trombones, harp, marimba and a host of other treated live sounds. The results go beyond the obvious Steve Reich/'70s minimalist precedents and genuinely create a deeper, more nuanced and, ultimately, more fun sound. "Mi Corazon" for example is as playful as it is intense, while the slight Latin lilt to "Bop" makes sure this isn't just a po-faced, overly-earnest project - the songs here live and breathe. After the dominance of the drum machine and the 303, perhaps this kind of project will start making fellow producers explore live techno like never before.

Review: Taken from recent album Back To Life, this hook up with electro crooner and Environ mainstay Kelley Polar absolutely leaps out and takes control of your ears from the start. Perfectly balanced between bubbling acid-styled synths and Polar's laidback and strung out vocals, the original's epic enough but the Let's Do Science mix adds sweeping strings that fit the vocals like a glove. Pernau's mix gives it a deep house polish while the Jimi Python mix uses slowly-enveloping bass to give it some club-friendly dynamics while still keeping the melancholy tone of the original.

Review: Back after a lengthy absence, Belgian crew Goose return with the stellar "Words" as well as an excellent remix set. While the original has an eerie '80s sci-fi vibe to it, the always on point Boris Dlugosch hypes it up massively on his mix - replaying some of the creepy arpeggios while also adding icy snares and hard kicks for maximum bubbling dancefloor energy. The excellent Joe & Will Ask? smooth it out a little, turning in one of their trademark funky-tech mixes, while The Living Islands take things down even more with an epic cosmic mix that's a must-hear for modern disco fans.

Review: Border Community head honcho, James Holden has always maintained a kind of DJ free spirit which has enabled him to work outside the usual constraints of techno as we know it. This, alongside his dedication to new production talent has made him the perfect choice to compile the next instalment of !K7's long serving DJ Kicks series. Out later this month, the compilation is, as usual, accompanied by a single from the UK producer. "Triangle Folds" is Holden's first release in four years yet still feels like a logical progression from his last effort, 2006's debut The Idiots Are Winning.

Using his extensive modular synth collection to mould tripping mid-tempo sequences which sway, bobble and bounce with Holden's typical lushness and acute sense of melody, "Triangle Folds" has a delicate but unmistakably danceable feel to it. The track is a glittering combination of analogue synths arpeggios and buzzing drum pads that tick away in their own inimitable and curious rhythm patterns. These rhythms are loose and have a live feel, typical of Holden?s trademark sound, as are the quirky time signatures. His ultra detailed approach to techno once again manifests itself here, so much so that it?s 115 bpm pace would even refrain many from even calling it techno. B-side, the "Inside Out" version is even more unconventional, slowing things down yet more and turning proceedings into a folk tinged, psychedelic tambourine Schaffel rework. Focusing on the sounds and atmospheres that surround the slowly pulsating beats, we are left with an intoxicating mix of arpeggiated bass and trickling synth lines. Both tracks show James Holden at his individual, unconventional and wonderful best. It is his ability to avoid dance music?s most tired cliches, as once again proved here, that makes James Holden the singular producer that he is.

Review: Taken from their recent album of the same name, Goose's "Synrise" gets a single release on K7, backed with a new mix by Paul Chambers. The Belgian indie-electro quartet take in Soulwax's floor-stomping drums, as well as a touch of Vangelis/Moroder's spacey feel on this edit, with a cooing vocal loop that'll suck you in instantly. Chambers, who dropped the enormous "Yeah Techno" jam last summer, strips things down a touch to create a driving tech masterpiece, replete with heavy pitch-bending on the vocals and a build that'll fell an elephant.

Review: Following their lazer-guided recent album of the same name, Goose get exposed to four fantastic cutting-edge electro wizards on this huge remix collection. Boys Noize associate Housemeister smashes "Synrise" into fragments before reassembling them into a delirious new sequence, adding menacing flange noises as well as timpani drums, whilst also keeping the original's distinctive vocal refrain. Paul "Yeah Techno!" Chambers creates a driving tech-masterpiece that raises the pitch subtly but explosively, while Ed Banger's Feadz drops a mighty mix of album track "In Cars" that's a masterpiece of icy drum sequencing.

Review: Belgian indie-electro rockers Goose are back with this excellent second album on K7 which sees the band taking influences from the first generation of electro pioneers - Moroder, Vagelis and Tangerine Dream - and re-rubbing them for 2011 dancefloors. With artwork by the same designer used on Dark Side Of The Moon, Synrise kicks off with the storming title tune which features Peaches adding some beautiful, cooing melodies over an urgent Goblin-meets-Vangelis beat, while the snarly "Can't Stop Me Now" draws echoes with Soulwax. With a pleasing range of tempos and grooves scattered over the album, Goose avoid the trap of repeating themselves too much - even going for a beatless freak-out on the excellent "Hunt".

Review: Hairy indie-rocker Dave ID pops up on the always eclectic K7 imprint. "Sumr" is, we can only assume, indicative of his future direction, and pits his angry vocals against a backdrop of fuzzy electro beats, fizzing electronic melodies and angst-ridden atmospherics. It's hardly easy listening, but there's something weirdly beautiful about the intense backdrop, stuttering jazz drums and fragile harpsichord melodies. Exactly where it fits in with contemporary music is anyone's guess - surely that's a good thing.