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Regis
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Played by: Juno Recommends Experimental
Review: At the time of its release in 2020, Hidden... was Regis' first album release in nearly 20 years. That's not to suggest he hadn't been busy. In addition to his own Downwards label and releasing on Blackest Ever Black, he also established and ran the storied Sandwell District collective with Function and Silent Servant. Traces of all those diverse projects are audible on what was effectively his comeback solo album. It means that Hidden... features dense, lithe steppers like "Calling Down A Curse" and "I See Fire" sitting side by side with atmospheric drones like "Eros In Tangiers" and "Alone Of All Her Sex". And while the album is peppered with those distinctive styles, Regis
still leaves room for an element of surprise - most notably on the grayscale ambience of "Eros II" and "Everything is Ahead of Us", which breaks down with moody, neoclassical piano keys.
still leaves room for an element of surprise - most notably on the grayscale ambience of "Eros II" and "Everything is Ahead of Us", which breaks down with moody, neoclassical piano keys.
Played by: Juno Recommends Techno
Review: Marking their one hundredth release, ePM pull out the stops with this unmissable remix package. Shed reworks Regis' "Beyond the Reach of Time", turning the Downwards founder's droning techno into a dreamy affair. CYRK is tasked with remixing Freddie Fresh's "ProMars", with the interpretation centred on warbling acid and crisp 808s, while in contrast, the Inigo Kennedy version of Bryan Chapman's "Io" is a dense affair, powered by heavy kicks and populated with sludge-like textures. It's followed by the Works of Intent take of UK veteran Paul Mac's "Nothing Remains". Led by a grinding bass and warbling melodies, it makes for a hypnotic end to an exemplary release.
Played by: Juno Recommends Techno
Various
Esteban Adame - "Out To Get It" (Anthony Parasole & Phil Moffa Reconstruction remix) - (7:09) 129 BPM
Review: As part of its twenty-year celebrations, ePM really impresses with this release from Regis aka Karl O'Connor. The three tracks on Beyond were produced back in 1999, but O'Connor did not feel at the time that they were ready for release. Despite these misgivings at the time, the passage of over two decades has been kind to the music. "No Love From Above" is a rolling, filtered groove, with O'Connor layering some angelic sound scapes over the arrangement, while "At The Side Of Silence" sees the seminal producer drop the kind of linear, driving track that has become his signature, underpinned by pummelling steely drums and pitch-bent percussion. "Beyond The Reach Of Time Pt 2" follows in a similar vein, and serves as a reminder that when it comes to tough, expertly crafted techno, Regis is peerless.
Review: Hot on the heels of the recent 30-year anniversary compilation, Tresor has another landmark release scheduled - a reissue of the seminal Againstnature album. Originally released back in 2000, this collaboration between Karl O'Connor and Peter Sutton laid the foundations for the distinctive 'Birmingham sound' - and you can hear the evolution of this style on the dense, looped rhythm of "Let Them Bleed", the coruscating, frazzled builds of "Guiltless" and "Hanoi Hanoi", which resounds to steely, chain mail percussion. Apart from these visceral tracks, Againstnature also sees O'Connor and Sutton deliver the neo-classical sound scapes of "Paralyzing" and "Under Skin", tracks that sound as powerful and moving as their unmistakable industrial techno.
Various
Review: With 20 years spent releasing, distributing and representing techno and electro's finest producers, it's fair to say that ePM is a true champion of the underground. That commitment comes into sharp focus on EPM20, which brings together music from all of the Eps that the label released over the past year. The listener is really spoilt for choice: Regis delivers the beautifully ghostly techno of "Beyond The Reach Of Time Pt 1", while Robert Hood keeps the mood mysterious on the aptly named "Shadows". While the compilation spotlights prominent producers, it also showcases artists who sometimes fly under the radar - on this occasion, it's Paul Mac with the drum-heavy "Nothing Remains" and Carl Finlow's nocturnal electro on "Optogenetic". The fact that it's dedicated to the sadly departed Tim Baker is also a lovely touch.
Played by: Juno Recommends Experimental
Review: Let The Night Return is a unique one-off performance by Karl 'Regis' O'Connor which took place at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in Peloponnese, Greece. A remarkable UNESCO world heritage site devoted to Asclepius (Greek god of medicine), Regis took to the stage with pianist Ann Margaret Hogan, the soundscapes of Vasileios Trigkas and Justin K Broadrick on guitar for a special one-off performance, miced up and recorded for future prosperity. With the heavyset and poetical language of Regis' music still firmly intact, beat driven numbers come through "The Blind Departing" and "Calling Down A Curse" - which will appeal to fans of his Kalon project to tracks like "Blood Witness" - with O'Connor's all time post punk sound ringing true in "Clean Air". With shadowy, industrial murk and distorted edginess to be explored in "Epidaurus (live extract 1)" & Epidaurus (live extract 2)" - it's as if Regis went as far to channel Lou Reed in "Temporary Thing". Best thing since BMB Live In Tokyo.
Review: Regis follows his recent Killing European Sons release on Downwards with another master class in cutting edge techno. Representing the seminal UK producer's more club friendly side is the title track: it's a hypnotic affair, with Regis layering hypnotic tones over a throbbing, dense groove. On "The Empty Centre" the Downwards boss opts for a more abstract approach, with waves of industrial noise combined with a stepping rhythm. Remaining true to his tendency to never stay in one place for too long, Regis proceeds to deliver the grainy, murky loops of "A Hollow Moment (dub)" - which will delight fans of his work as Kalon and Reality or Nothing.
Review: Regis aka Karl O'Connor revisits his releases on the now shuttered Blackest Ever Black label for this fine compilation. The rolling, insistent drums on "Blood Witness" from the 2011 In A Syrian Tongue EP still sound fresh, while the droning,'Blinding Horses' from the same release also features. Tongue Box also features a new take on this track, and the frosty sound scapes of the 'Stable Boy Mix' are nothing short of mesmerising. In contrast, O'Connor delivers a tighter, rhythm-heavy version of "Manbait" - the title track of his 2015 compilation on the label - as well as the robust "Masterside" stepper available in two dance floor-primed versions.
Various
Played by: Juno Recommends Techno
Review: Originally released between the tail end of the 90s and the start of the new millennium, the material on Necklace Of Bites shows why Regis is one of the pre-eminent forces in modern techno. Starting with the Jim Jones samples on "Solution (Voice)', with the chilling orchestral "Music" version of the same track, the compilation then veers into the streamlined, pounding "Wound Us" and the dense, tribal kinetics of "Executive Handshake". What's most remarkable about Regis' output from this period is how well it has aged: "Adolescence", with its momentous filters and breeze block kicks, makes the current wave of techno sound staid, while the shrieking samples and razor sharp rhythm of "Execution Ground" is as lethal as the day it was conceived.
Played by: Laylae
Review: The don of Birmingham techno Karl O'Connor serves up some live rarities courtesy of retroverts Cititrax. Features recently uncovered recordings of a Regis performance in NYC on January 4th, 1997 at the famed Film Academy. His unmistakeable sound and influence is integral to the DNA of the techno sound, blatantly copied but never matched. Some classics from the Downwards catalogue are contained on this EP in all their austere fashion. "We Said No" "Translation" and "Careless Pedestrian" from his seminal 1996 LP Gymnastics being highlights. The original tapes were discovered by Evan Kreeger, studio work/transfers by James Ruskin in London and audio mastered by Veronica Vasicka in New York.
Review: Well, we knew that this day had to come some time soon, but we didn't realise it was going to hit us this hard. Regis, real name Karl O'Connor, requires no introductions so we're not going to write one, but what we will say is that plenty of people round the Junodownload HQ have been awaiting for his debut LP from 1996 with a noticeable level of hysteria. Gymnastics, along with a few other key releases, single-handedly launched Regis onto the UK techno scene and helped him to redefine it after the days of hardcore and house. Aside from the fact that this gear sounds as fresh as it did over 20 years ago, every tune on this thing is a keeper; the likes of "Allies", "Translation", "Sand" have been imitated relentlessly by all the techno heads over the years and, if it weren't for this album or this man, the likes of Barghain would not exist in the same way. Nuff said. Essential.
Various
Played by: Juno Recommends Techno, Cristiano Balducci, Resident Advisor, Umek, Complikeyted Disorders, N-TER
Review: To mark the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of his label, James Ruskin has put together this massive compilation. It includes long-term friends and associates of the label - like Oliver Ho, Regis and Luke Slater - as well as newer additions to the roster, including Lakker and Rommek. Apart from uniting artists from different generations, the compilation also showcases the label's various hues; from the broken beats and intricate rhythms of Ruskin and Regis' O/V/R project and the hypnotic soundscapes of Lakker's "Orange" to the trace stabs and 10 tonne kicks of Regis' "Party Spoiler Too" and the chaotic industrial rhythms on Truss' "Wanastow", this compilation offers to newcomers an invaluable introduction to Blueprint, or to long-standing fans an indispensable reminder of why the label is unique.
Danny Tenaglia/Various
Played by: Franz Johann
Review: Danny Tenaglia is a stone cold legend, but his profile has waned significantly over recent years. Given that it's 25 years since the release of his first production, this first contribution to the Balance series - is well timed. Pleasingly, it seems Tengalia still "has it it". Throughout the collection, the veteran NYC DJ maintains a fearsome energy level, mixing things up via a track list that spans chunky tech-house, darkroom tribal, heavily percussive fare (see Michel Cleis' dub of Basement Jaxx's "Mermaid of Salinas") and intelligent techno revivalism (Dax J's brilliant "Dreamscape" and Ho's "Deletion 3"). It is, of course, an impeccable selection, as you'd expect from a man with Tengalia's undoubted pedigree.
Review: More unreleased heat from the Karl O'Connor vaults! DN51 features four tracks plucked from the recording sessions for O'Connor's Penetration album under the Regis moniker, released in 2001. Originally only available as dubplates, the material finally sees a full digital release, with four slabs of loop-driven, brutal machine funk. The granite hard kicks of "Fragment 1" threaten to dislodge the needle from the groove such is the ferocity with which they rattle; be sure to check the penetrating, tunnelling groove of "Fragment 4". A must for Regis completists and another fine release in what is becoming a pretty special year for O'Connor.
Review: The Downwards label precede the intriguing release of a new album from multi disciplinarian Russell Haswell with this remix release brandishing wildly different reinterpretations of the Coventry based musician's work from William Bennett, Kevin Drumm and label boss Regis. Haswell and Downwards seem like a good fit given the former's long career of boundary pushing music across labels as varied as Editions Mego, Warp Records and Carlos Giffoni's No Fun Productions, while the latter have remained uncompromising in the direction of their release schedule. It's a rare occasion when you can identify a Regis remix as the most accessible contribution to a release, but that's certainly the case here, with the Downwards chief delivering a twitching, loopy techno workout of "Chua Rave," while Whitehouse founding member William Bennett - another former collaborator of Haswell's - has remixed "Harshing" which is quite aptly described by Downwards as a "stereo head f*cking, brain floss session". This is surpassed in the "skin crawling brutal sonics" stakes by the minute remix of the same track from the Chicago-based experimental musician Kevin Drumm.
Played by: Mudrost
Played by: Ancient Methods
Various
Review: Giving the vast and slightly daunting discography the Downwards label has built up since its foundation by Karl 'Regis' O'Connor and Peter 'Female' Sutton in 1993, it makes for little surprise that this 20th anniversary compilation does not opt for the traditional 'greatest hits' route. Of course that wouldn't be the Downwards way either, such is their mischievously contrary nature. Instead this nine-track compilation opts to slip in a few rare curios from the label's early years alongside a selection of tracks from its current roster. O'Connor naturally features heavily; there's an unreleased Substance remix of a track from his debut LP, a track recorded along with Sutton under the rarely used Mark Farmer alias and his more recent Concrete Fence project with Russell Haswell features too, getting a typically loopy Sleeparchive remix. For long term Downwards fanatics it will be the inclusion of tracks from Antonym and Fret (aka ex Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris) that will really excite - with the latter's "Untitled" sounding particularly ahead of it's time. Music from OAKE, Kerridge and newcomers Talker hints at Downwards future.
Review: Now regarded as something of a doyen for the UK techno community, Karl O'Connor aka Regis is revered with something approaching religious fervor in some circles. And it's little wonder; his brutal yet inherently funky and artful strand of techno brought together the worlds on industrial and DIY punk with pummeling 4x4 machine music long before any one else. Between 1994 and 2000, he delivered a string of uncompromising techno records comparable to the early output of Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills, and here the Downwards imprint looks back on those halcyon days with the first volume of a Complete Recordings reissue. Certified fans won't bother reading this review - it's buy on sight material - but lovers of contemporary techno looking to trace the genre's diverse origins should look, listen and learn from one of the undisputed greats.
Review: The preceding volumes captured the artist as a young man, and this third instalment documents Karl O'Connor's development from harsh industrial techno into other forms of electronic music-making. That's not to say that 1999-2001 is devoid of O'Connor's punishing approach: "Execution Ground" is a frenetic, thundering groove and "Rites" sees a jack-knifing riff skids its way across a lunging tribal rhythm. The key difference between these tracks and past peak-time tracks is the use of a vocal sample on the former and the icy, atmospheric synths that offset the latter's grainy intensity. O'Connor's desire to bring something new to hard techno is also audible on "Baptism" and "Purification", where lunging, slamming rhythms underscore incessant vocal snippets - like a precursor to Sims-style loops. "Get On Your Knees" is further removed from Regis' original dense sound and has a more electronic groove, but even it cannot prepare for the eerie ambience of both versions of "Solution" - is that Charles Manson on the "Voice" version? - and the doomy, dead-paced beats of "Slave To The Inevitable".
Review: Conceived at a time when the first wave of US minimalism was making waves across Europe, 1997-1998 offers a uniquely British response. At this stage, Karl O'Connor had placed Regis firmly on the techno radar, and tracks like "Disease Through Affection", with its razor-sharp, jarring industrial riffs and the pile-driving kicks and scatter-gun percussion on "Necklace of Bites" offer a dense, maximal counterbalance to Rob Hood's visceral minimalism. But O'Connor was then as he is now a visionary, and the most telling aspect of this compilation is how much of it would set the agenda for techno as it evolved through the late 90s and early 00s. Mills's Purposemaker project gets all the credit for creating loop techno, but one listen to the stomping, grime-caked industrial techno of "Executive Handshake" and the oppressive riffs of "Body Unknown" and it's clear who drew up the blueprint.
Francesco Frumento feat Regis
