Review: Tronic has decided to celebrate its 400th release by issuing the second edition of its More Than Machine electro series. It gets off to an impressive start with label owner Christian Smith delivering an ominous slice of machine funk on "I Want It", before Carl Finlow drops a lithe rhythm and powerful low end in the shape of "Anomaly 3" and Detroit veteran DJ Godfather up the pace with the twitchy "Invasion of Detroit". But the presence of these veteran electro producers proves to be the exception rather than the rule, and the rest of Machine features techno artists exploring less well-known paths. Samuel Session impresses with the gritty, angular "Engine of War" and Alexander Kowalski deploys his bass-heavy approach to the nocturnal "Flickering Lights".
Review: Alexander Kowalski, a fixture in European techno during the early part of the millennium, continues his comeback with this killer four-track release on Andr? Kronert's Odd Even. The title track is a driving, dubbed out techno track that resounds to rich chords and niggling percussion. On "Perception", the German producer uses a similar approach with dubbed out chords, but on this occasion ups the tempo and makes the percussion sharper. "Current 101" meanwhile is more stripped back, with a warbling acid line unfolding over a stripped back rhythm and dramatic stabs. Demonstrating that he is indeed back with a bang, the release also features a tough, tribal take on the title track by ROD.
Review: German producer Alexander Kowalski released his debut album, Echoes, ten years ago. Unlike most productions from that time, it has aged exceptionally well. The deep, dubby groove of "Oxygen" comes across like a cleaner, polished interpretation of Modern Love releases, while the ghoulish broken beats of "Patterns Of Hope" gives Blackest Ever Black's output a run for its money. Kowalski was always a master of the bass-heavy techno grooves and there is no shortage here, with the surging chords and dramatic strings of "Ratio" and "Hearing Is Believing" impressing. But it's the evergreen nature of these productions that is most remarkable and the driving "Debut" or the tracky "Sequential" are as powerful as any contemporary techno expression.
