Singularity At Juno Download

Review: The list of techno producers making dancefloor shy music may be growing daily, but few have managed to match 'Motion Departure' for rekindling the magic of early 90s ambient. The title track and 'The Seventh Opinion' encapsulate all that was great about that golden period for downtempo music, with ethereal chords and sensuous strings unfolding over crisp breaks, and eerie synths ensuring that there's not a whale sound to be heard anywhere. Voidloss delivers versions of both 'Departure' and 'Opinion' that stay faithful to the original tracks - although the Paradise Beats version of 'Departure' also brings thundering Chicago claps to the equation - while Blind Summit returns to the present day with the droning techno of 'Ciclosporin'.

Review: Digital label Singularity provides the platform for mutual appreciation between South African producer Voidloss and Casual Violence, with each producer reworking two of his peer's tracks. The Casual Violence version of "Realisation Of Mind Fractures" suggests the listener may be in for a softer than expected experience, with rolling breakbeats underpinning a repetitive chant sample. That illusion is quickly shattered by Voidloss' granite beat and firing percussive version of Casual Violence's "Briefly Sexual" and the dense, metallic screeching and industrial eeriness of Casual Violence's version of Voidloss' "Simple Things For Simple Minds". The second Voidloss take on "Briefly Sexual", where shredded metallic drums are merged with Gothic vocals, confirms that intensity is the prevalent mood.

Review: The greatest thing about the new wave of techno producers is that the best ones feel unrestrained by genres, tempos or rhythmic structures. Rory St John is a perfect example: on Epoch, the Dublin producer flirts with the kind of abstract electronic nuances that Autechre are known for. "Mechanical Prayer" is a menacing glitch-hop arrangement pushed to the edge, while "Femme B" sees droning frequencies convulsing over shredded metallic drums. Makaton provides a fittingly skewed and splintered take on "Femme B", but there is another, more direct side to St John's approach: "Time Overdrive", with its breathy sytnhs and loose leaf percussion provides a perfect balance between classic Detroit techno and modern Berlin sounds, while "Noughtsmith" applies the splintered, distorted approach of "Femme B" to a peak time arrangement.

Review: If you were to somehow find yourself being hunted deep within a Congolese jungle, Voidloss' One Breath Dispels The Limits Of Earth EP would soundtrack your escape from the heart of darkness. The footage attached to the "Diaphanous Fever Of Dreams" montage would be the preparation for battle - eyes blackened, red headband and camouflaged upper torso primed for a stealthy face off with an invisible enemy - if it bleeds we can kill it. Armed with only a USMC combat knife and commando senses, "Scar Glamour" plays to the flickering silhouettes that dance above. The Fifth Book" meanwhile soundtracks a ritualistic shadow game as you become one with the jungle and the tortured screams of your former team come in the form of "Rain Down On The Soul" before you extract bloody vengeance in an epic human vs predator showdown!