Lena Willikens is not only the first female DJ to curate a compilation for Dekmantel's Selectors series, but also the first to put the emphasis on previously unreleased music rather than dusty-fingered crate-digging gems. That's not to say there aren't excellent older cuts present - see the decidedly psychedelic brilliance of Sandoz's ambient dub earworm "Morning Star (Dubmix)" and the trippy 2001 industrial dub techno of Vromb's "Amalgame" - just that there are a few more previously unheard killers. These include, but aren't limited too, the drowsy broken techno of Jasss's "Little Lines", Parrish Smith's jacking industrial house shuffler "Minima" and the druggy, mind-altering synthesizer soundtrack throb of Borusiade's intoxicating "Night Drive (An Exercise in Indulgence)".

We are always excited to explore the deeper side of tech-inspired dance music, and with this EP, J Albert has done just that. Straight from the off on 'Designer Life' we are treated to delicious soundscaping, amidst subtle percussive inputs and sweeping atmospherics. The same can be said for 'Desperate Riddim' which takes similar ideals down a more breakbeat route. The title track 'Envy Turned Curiosity' arrives next which embraces a more syncopated drum flavour, whilst the 808 rolls of 'Money Between Friends' provides the perfect plateau to round the project off in style.

Well, this is set to be a rather special affair. For starters, we're big fans of Italy's Stroboscopic Artefacts label; the sound and vision has been both consistent and refreshing since their early records were dropping about three years back. On top of that, they have always associated himself with the absolute maestros of modern electronic music, whether danceable or not danceable. As such, the imprint has grouped the very best Italian producers on the market right now, with Andrea Belfi, Marco Shuttle, Alessandro Adriani, Chevel Lucy, and Neel all making an appearance, as well as Rome's legendary techno master Lory D. However, none of them are in a particularly feisty mood. Instead, this is a wonderful compilation made up of one consistent vibe...a deep and wondrous wave of sonics that never truly evolves into techno, but that at the same time never fully dissolves into total abstraction. Recommended.

You can always trust Downwards to release unconventional music, and Image Certifies is no exception. Ora Iso is a collaboration between Kathleen Malay and Jason Kudo, and this album reflects on the time that they both spent living in New York. Tellingly, it is also a "love letter to a society dying of its own self-induced cancers". On tracks like "Deep Fix" and "Dead Riot", with their strangled guitars and Malay's troubled tones, it's not hard to hear why they dedicated it to the collapse of every day life. On other occasions, like "No Fish" or "Digital Crutch", the pair veer into the type of abstractions that Sandra Electronics specialise in, but this is still a work suited for troubled times, as the mutant noise and shrieks of "Have I Gone to Far" so ably demonstrate.

La Mecanica Popular is the sound that is coming out of the more traditional house and techno equation, filtering through on our charts with a tropical edge that merges just about all the facets of world-dance music possible! Peruvian, Colombian, Cuban, and North American influences are blended up and served to you on a platter, via the currently unstoppable Names You Can Trust label. There are six parts here, all of them showcasing something to do with the carnival atmosphere, at times speeding up into high-tech percussion or otherwise offering moody, seductive waves of pseudo-balearica. In a nutshell, this is the very best of what contemporary world-dance has to offer. 10/10.

After making his name on the mythical Dial imprint, probably the most reliable source of organic micro-house on the market, producer John Roberts has instilled his sound further thanks to his own Brunette Editions, and this new EP takes him one step closer to total abstraction. Compared to his earlier deep house work, that is. From the start of the title track "Spill" through to "Wrecked" and "Fluid", we have a incredibly rich picture of what this artist can do in terms of sound sculpting, and the movement he creates with such hollow elements is eye-opening. For peeps who like their electronica to come from a more dance-centric medium, this is the best thing to have landed this month. Roberts on form.