The High Priestess (Blawan remix) - (7:04) 127 BPM
Review: Lucy kick-started the Zehnin label earlier this year with The Hermit, and now the Berlin-based imprint has commissioned Blawan to rework the original material from that debut. The UK producer's take on "Hermit" is less full on than usual, with eerie voices drifting in and out over loose, metallic rhythms. It's menacing despite Blawan's more left of centre approach. For his take on "The High Priestess", he moves back towards the dance floor - the rhythm rolls to a growling bass and rasping percussion, but in the background, eerie textures play out. It's a far cry from Blawan's usual style, but those who like techno that travels a less predictable path will find much to love here.
Review: Stroboscopic Artefacts head honcho Lucy on Samurai Horo? You better believe it! Recorded live to tape in his Berlin studio, these four experimental soundscapes work together in a perfect continuum. "Eat" helps you surrender to the void, assisted by fascinating modular synth textures and field recordings creating another auditory world. "Drink" shows more restraint with its beatless, reductionist groove covered in the just the right amount of dust and rust, gradually building in tension and resonance over its eight minute duration. But it's the immersive sci-fi aesthetic of closer "Relax" which really nails it; featuring sonar blips, hypnotic/ evolving pads and and some of the most sublime synth textures you'll ever hear.
Review: Woof! If you are looking for a massive slab of techno, you won't find anything as hefty as Aphelion. A package of tracks from Belgian label Token, Aphelion is essentially a primer for the best in contemporary techno, featuring contributions from Surgeon, Rodhad, James Ruskin, Karenn and Planetary Assault System alongside some label regulars. You will have probably already heard "Fixed Action Pattern" from Surgeon - it's possibly one of this year's finest techno tracks - but it's got some stiff competition here with Ruskin in particularly funked up form on "No Trace". Aphelion is a real statement and proof of Token's current rank as a European techno powerhouse alongside the likes of Delsin and Ostgut Ton.
Review: The techno-fuelled offshoot of Bleep continues apace after excellent installments from Redshape, Steffi, Objekt and Cosmin TRG amongst others. This time the techno gets even more serious as Marcel Dettmann takes up one side with the snappy "Ride". It's a playful kind of banger to be fair, injecting a funky little swing into the propulsive beats not least thanks to the prominent clap, while the synth is a catchy motif that brings plenty of light into the surroundings. Lucy's way on "Slave's March" is more obtuse, wantonly plunging into a quagmire of dub techno, gorging your senses on reverb decays and subtle, linear progression as unfurled by a master of sonic poise.
Review: The latest Mote Evolver release sees a collaboration so obviously perfect its amazing its taken this long, as Stroboscopic Artefacts boss Lucy and Sandwell District alumnus Silent Servant team up for two tracks of precision techno which supposedly sees the pair using digital and analogue elements together to combine Lucy's ability to tell a story with Silent Servant's mastery of noise and distortion. "Dormancy Survivors" sees a steadily rolling rhythm slowly layered up with bright dub chords and echoing chimes, while white hot noise swells in the background. "Victors History" takes a much moodier approach from the off, as a dubby bass deflects bouncing stabs while clockwork percussion drifts in and out of range, before progressing into full blown cinematic techno towards the finish.
