Warm Up Spain At Juno Download

Review: Japanese artist Go Hiyama was responsible for some of 2012's finest techno through his work for Token - and this new missive for Warm Up maintains his consistent record. "Dull Acuity" contains all the typical Go Hiyama trademarks - complex rhythms, subtle but effective filters and most importantly a slamming, upfront approach. "Common Blank" is even more impressive, with its nagging groove augmented by slivers of metallic percussion. Taking a different approach, Hiyama uses what sounds like an indie guitar riff on a loop for "First Refusal", wrapping it around a more understated electronic groove. Oscar Mulero delivers two takes on "Blank"; the '2nd Edit' is a muscular, robotic affair, but the first version, with its nickel-plated drums and driving bass, impresses the most.

Review: Having been producing and DJing in his native Spain for over 20 years, Oscar Mulero is one of the lynchpins of the country's techno scene. Barely a year from his last long-player, and Mulero arrives with Black Propaganda, his most impressive statement to date. Following the delicate, bit crushed ambience of "The Dirt", the album travels through a number of dark, minimalistic techno structures, from the cavernous echo of "Instant Widespread of the Dirt" (which sounds like what you'd imagine Villalobos and Mills would sound like together), through the hypnotic emissions of "Intentionally False" and the insistent pulse of "False Statement", before winding up with the title track, a crystalline piece of razor sharp sound design. Highly recommended.

Review: Oscar Mulero revisits last year's Black Propaganda with some help from some of contemporary techno's biggest names on this essential remix EP. "To Convince For The Untruth" sees Stroboscopic Artefacts boss Lucy take the original's cavernous surroundings and sharpen them up with bitcrushed hi-hats and subtly a rumbling noise floor, while Developer's take on "Disinformation" straightens out the original's breakbeat acid tendencies by soaking its furious synth lines in reverb and hooking everything together with a rolling 4/4 kick. Finally, Shifted's take on "Intentionally False" keeps the measured pace of the original but transplants its thick, bulging frame for a threadbare structure littered with subtle detail.