Stroboscopic Artefacts Germany At Juno Download

Review: The Monad series has aimed and largely succeeded in getting techno producers to explore their more esoteric side - and VIII is no exception. Indeed, any electronic music release that draws influence from a Nobel Prize-winning scientist - Ilya Prigogine, after whom "Ilya" is named - is unlikely to offer up run of the mill DJ fodder. The aforementioned "Ilya" sees Dadub set a tone that is both menacing and captivating as the solemnly intoned phrase "evolutionary feedback" prefaces a descent into walls of electronic noise and the dead paced thump of a ponderous bass drum. A similar mood prevails on "Hadean"; on this track vast swathes of feedback vie for the listener's attention, as Dadub's robust, dense broken beats sound like footsteps treading on crunchy, autumnal leaves. That doesn't mean that VII is entirely couched in furrowed-brow seriousness or that Dadub has somehow misread the brief. Like the preceding installments, this release works precisely because there is a plurality of approaches. The swirling, hazy ambience of "Biopoiesis" is an entirely different proposition, its creaky, spooky tones conjuring up memories of Tangerine Dream and Eno, while on "Amnion", Dadub finally lurches towards the dance floor. However, true to the series' form, straight techno beats only kick in after the producer has taken his audience through a forest of magical, swirling sound effects.

Review: For an act that had only a few releases to its credit so far, Dadub sound strangely familiar. That's because the Italian duo behind the project, Daniele Antezza and Giovanni Conti, have been responsible for the mastering, production and engineering on the Stroboscopic Artefacts label. So even if their names don't have household status in techno, their work does, and they have played a huge role in contributing to the label's mixture of dub, broken beat and bassy techno. It is also worth noting that they have worked on the Dadub project for four years, and rather than rushing out music so as to gain recognition, they have taken their time to develop the project's output to a fully-formed level. Both of these factors, as well as their love of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, are audible on Moksha. Cavernous textures loom in the foreground on "Perseverance" and "Moksha", but instead of sounding like they are trapped 20,000 fathoms below sea level, the skittish off beats and wiry rhythms lend them some dance floor resonance. Despite this, it would be hard to find a peak-time club that would champion "Beyond the Veil" or "Temptation of Maya". Both evolve gradually and teasingly, with layer upon layer of sounds and textures flowing over twisted, mid-paced rhythms. Like a more reflective version of the Monad series, Way to Moksha is horizontal techno at its finest.

Review: With the exclusion of benchmark labels like Underground Resistance, techno music is largely devoid of concepts, so the latest instalment in the Monad series is always met with excitement at Juno. This time, it's the turn of Japanese producer Go Hiyama, who rigorously follows the series' diverse guidelines. "Wa" keeps its focus on the dancefloor, its jagged percussion underpinning a garbled bassline. "Kakeru" is based on lead weight broken beats, while "Waru" is like a meeting ground between these two points as insidious percussive slivers weave their way in and out of a swinging arrangement. Finally, "Hiku" ends the release in style with waves of abstract, dark ambience.

Review: Lucy's label has become as well known for its Monad digital series as its physical releases. Previous Monad releases have done a lot to further the industrial influence on techno and as he steps up to the plate, it's clear that the Italian producer has his work cut out. However, it also quickly becomes apparent that he is easily up for the task. "Pentad" cuts a menacing shape, its intense, doubled up beats providing the basis for wave upon wave of noisy, swirling textures ring fenced by barbed wire percussion. This veritable assault lasts just over ten minutes and during that time it feels like Lucy has taken an excavator to the listener's cranium. "Tetrad" and "Decad" are less direct and by default sound less intense, but neither could be mistaken for easy listening. The former tumbles along to rattling, broken beats as bursts of noise are unleashed, let off like steam screeching through a loosened pressure valve. The latter is more introspective as Lucy uses droning soundscapes and, nearer the outro, an eerie vocal to give vent to his reflective side. Neither however can prepare the listener for "Triad". Like "Pentad", it is based on stomping off beats, but it goes through a number of sonic transformations, from the menacing sound of an industrial saw edging closer to its target, through a dubby fugue before bringing this instalment in the series to an end with a raucous, blaring foghorn riff. On X, Lucy shows that Monad continues to mark the spot for wired industrial techno.

Review: 2011 is the thirtieth anniversary of electronic music - if we take the 1981 release of Cybotron's "Alleys of Your Mind" as the starting point - so it is apt that this year sees a number of producers releasing benchmark albums. The format has plagued artists in this sphere for a long time, and always poses the same dilemmas - should they focus on song-based styles in a bid to prove themselves as artists, or just deliver dancefloor tracks? Thankfully, Lucy's debut long player circumvents these issues, opting for an experimental approach, albeit one that is not entirely unfamiliar to fans of his Stroboscopic Artefacts label. The recoiling, menacing bassline and ominous feeling on "Thear" and the pounding yet eerie "Bein" sound like they could have formed part of the label's digital-only Monad series, while the dreamy breaks and half-heard vocals of "Eis" would also not have sounded out of place on the label's spin-off. The rest of the album sees more experimental outcomes from the production approach Lucy applied. Armed with a digital recorder, he recorded every noise and sound he encountered in his everyday life. The sound of water dripping is audible on "Mas", while indistinct snippets of a conversation emerge on "Gas". Wordplay For Working Bees is steeped in techno's culture of advancement and proves that after three decades, it is still possible to challenge convention.

Review: Just when you thought that it was settling into a discernible path, Lucy's label surprises again with the launch of the Stellate series. Available in metallic tins as well as in digital formats, it marks another fresh approach from the Berlin-based label. Whereas SA's main modus operandi had focused on dub-influenced electronic music as well as the broken beat / abstract approach on its Monad series and album projects, Stellate heralds a new chapter in the label's evolution. The compilation sees SA go ambient with a small a. If you're looking for whale mating sounds set to sonic bleeps then this collection is likely to disappoint. But if you have a yearning for something more than the pounding austerity of contemporary techno, then Stellate is for you. Newcomer Borful Tang delivers the eerie soundscapes of "The Seduction Ends in Tears", where half-heard vocals unfold over dark textures, while Kevin Gorman's contributions are redolent of Eno and Swans sharing studio space. "Frequency Phase 1 & 2" see the UK producer deliver gamelan-like plinky plonk keys and gradually phase in half-heard vocals. These elements become gradually louder, more repetitive and intense until eventually they break down and the listener is presented with George W Bush talking about "the empire of oppression". By contrast, "Frequency Phase 3" is a beautiful piece of mood music, with sensuous, sorrowful strings and rich but melancholic woodwind cosying up together. Darker moods and tones are audible on Lucy's "Estragon", an austere synth passage with references to Throbbing Gristle and Coil, but the label owner cheers up with "Vladimir", where dreamy, space-age synth sounds prevail. However, the mood darkens again with Perc's tracks. "Paris" is full of tense, terse effects and strange bumps from the night, but "Molineux" is even creepier, its plunging horror-inducing chords coming across like the backing to a long lost instalment from the Hammer House of Horror movie series. It makes for a gruesome end to a stellar collection of sounds.

Review: Off the back of the lauded album for Stroboscopic Artefacts, Xhin enlists four malevolent reworkings from equally uncompromising artists. Surgeon takes the mantle first, with a cacophony of sheet-metal noise scraping over a militant techno pulse. Dadub meanwhile live up to their name with a broken take that maximises on delay and reverb to create its own kind of immersion. Pfirter is no less gentle with his panic-striken thumper, while Perc bats the ball straight out of the park with a slow and spacious freak-out rich in audible morsels for your ears to feast on. Essential.

Review: The work of a Singaporean producer issued on a Berlin label run by an Italian, it's fair to say that Sword is coming from the leftfield and doesn't fit neatly into an ordained techno narrative. What Sword does achieve, however, is to shatter any of the perceptions that listeners may have had about Xhin's work to date. There are only a few instances on the album where the producer and label's trademark sound is audible, and even then, these exceptions do not follow the textbook Stroboscopic approach. Xhin has previously expressed a desire to follow in the footsteps of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Aphex and as Sword progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that this is one of its main goals. "Foreshadowed" is a stepping rhythm weighed down with atmospheric chords and "Wood" is populated by lullaby-like hooks and sees him explore the melodic approach on "Insides" further. Best of all though is "This Is What You Drew While You Were Half Asleep", which finally sees Xhin reach the beautiful dream-like state this unexpected album had hinted at.