M_Rec Ltd At Juno Download

Review: UK producer Ben Gibson impressed with a visceral take on techno for Jeff Mills's 6277 label, but the cold, austere tones on Milk are ultimately more seductive. "Implex" sets the tone with a surging bass, heavy claps and hissing percussion supporting a series of cold, pitch-bent bleeps. Gibson uses the same approach on "Stereoscope", where a plunging bassline and insidious bleeps provide for a cold but thrilling experience. Meanwhile, Gibson reverts to a more visceral approach on "Florentine", which is fuelled by distorted drums - and Samuli Kemppi's version of "Implex" provides a stepping, stripped back alternative to the aura of bleakness that prevails on More Than Milk.

Review: Alex Tsiridis and Huseyin Evirgren are Cassegrain, and the duo's third missive comes through Max_M's M_Rec LTD, with their Painter-Palette EP. "Painter Of Modern Life" promotes a lightly trickled bassline, sparking industrial statics, juggled around Sandwell District styled blips. Ed Davenport steps up for what could be his finest work to date, dubbing down Cassegrain's original to deeper cut of underground techno - Davenport's trademark bottom end ensuring maximum club efficiency. On the (digital) flip Cassegrain present their most peak-time production yet with "Palette" - a devilish track, harbouring the muscle to satisfy DJ sets from Len Faki and Chris Liebing.

Review: One of the main artists on digital label Labrynth, Field Transitions sees Coefficient make the move to Italian techno label M_Rec. The brilliantly named "Scale Invariant Spectrum" is a creepy, coruscating minimal workout, its heavy drums building and building, dropping back down and then repeating this approach. "Vacuum Instability" is more pacey and stark, the cold bleeps that litter the arrangement sounding like classic Sahko or Sleeparchive. Finally, Labrynth colleague Michaelangelo delivers a remix of "Instability". Heavier and more industrial sounding than the original, the pile-driving metallic riffs are fused with Coefficient's cold bleeps to form an insane finale, like a juggernaut racing towards a cliff.

Review: In the world of funky house, the hook is the king. This breezy, would-be radio anthem from Magnifik has hooks in spades. Aside from a catchy vocal, there are also jangly old skool pianos, a squidgy synth bassline and, best of all, a deliciously lazy trumpet solo. There are also some cute remixes, too, which genuinely take the song in different directions. There's a snappy garage rub from Toni Toni Lee, a slammin' electro-house version from Diamond Lights (sadly not Waddle & Hoddle, unfortunately), a darker electro-house rinse-out from Peking DuK and a deeper, trumpet-laden beach house take from Bricksta. Job done.

Review: There must be something in the water up in northern Europe: following in the proud tradition started by seminal 90s minimal label Sahko and the weird soundscapes of Biosphere is Finnish techno producer Samuli Kemppi. With releases in the past few years on Prologue, Komisch, Luke Slater's Mote Evolver and the mighty Ostgut - which commissioned him to appear on Marcel Dettmann's mix CD - Samuli's star is in the ascent thanks to his distinctive brand of spooky, spaced out techno. Certainly, this release on the oddly named M-Rec Ltd Cue label will win him more praise, thanks to his ability to tease new shapes out of previous narratives. Both "Bang" and "Crunch" reverberate to the sound of thundering claps and slamming, stripped back rhythms. Both are testament to Samuli's skills as a techno producer, but neither prepare the listener for the second half of the release. "Bounce" features more musical pads, but the track's most distinguishing feature is its panning, insistent hook that sounds like an update of Dave Angel's 1992 classic, "Bounce Back". Changing tact completely, Kemppi finishes with "Expand", a gloriously evocative synth piece that sounds like he's following the northern lights' path through the cosmos.