Review: Working together as RVSHES, Dylan Brownsword and James Parker land on Delsin to deliver the twelfth instalment in the Mantis series. On the first "Mts Rhs", the duo conjures up a dreamy, abstract arrangement, while a darker exploration of this approach is audible on number three. A similar sensibility prevails on the second instalment, but this time the focus is on the dance floor thanks to a lithe groove and slinky drums. The fourth "Mts Rhs" manages to strike a seamless balance between club use and more abstract tendencies. At its heart are grinding, rolling drum patterns. After that intense sound, the fifth and sixth volumes provide some relief courtesy of tweaked acid and shuffling beats.
Review: Alongside his own Transcendent imprint, Delsin is the other label that Boris Bunnik releases most of his Conforce material on. However, while he returns to the Dutch imprint once again, the approach he deploys on Sins Of Synthesis is different. The esoteric ambient textures that typify Conforce releases are still there but they are articulated within a darker framework. That sound finds its form on the angular, steely rhythms of "Paralaxx". He goes down a darker route for "Sector", where waves of growling bass are fused with rolling drums. "Fragile" is also more stripped back and menacing than typical Conforce material, as melancholic synth stabs are fused with a splurging low end.
Review: It's remarkable that Stefan Robbers aka Terrace has been making electronic music for over 30 years and still manages to find new, fresh sounds. This is certainly the case on Perks, his fifth and latest release for Delsin. Echoes of the early 90s Terrace sound are audible on "Floating Perks": warbling acid bleeps bubble to the surface over a wiry rhythm, making for a wonderfully evocative piece of Detroit-inspired techno. "Flick One" resounds to similarly melodic sounds, as atmospheric pads swirl up over slowed, more dubbed out beats. Meanwhile, "Model A" is a stellar affair, with evocative synths unravelling over downtempo, introspective drums - it's another snapshot of a true master at work.
Review: Liverpool-based Reedale Rise has launched a four-track EP, presenting an innovative and emotionally rich approach to electro music. Following previous releases on respected labels such as Frustrated Funk and 20:20 Vision, the EP solidifies Simon Keat's position as a leader in the contemporary electro scene. The tracks range from the ethereal melodies of "Littoral Zone" to the introspective atmospheres of "Artemia", with intricate layers and skillful production evident throughout. Keat's ability to evoke powerful emotions in listeners sets him apart, creating tracks that resonate deeply.
Review: Following on from last year's collaborative long player with R?dh?d, Vril flies solo on this return visit to Delsin. United by deep sound design throughout, the long player shifts effortlessly between styles. From the cavernous dub techno of "Love Rollout" and the shimmering chords of "Boom To The Moon", to the gritty electro swagger of "Terraformink" and "Zukunftsstrasse", Animist is a flawlessly executed work. That's not to suggest that Vril has produced a work that is too glossy or stylised; "Unwelt" resounds to gritty percussion and drums, while the sub-bass tones of "Anomal Beta" bristles with a sense of menace that would be hard to find in a dub techno record.
Review: More than a quarter century after it was first released, Steve Rachmad's Q under his Parallel 9 alias get reissued. Back in the mid-90s, dub techno sound was still an emerging form, with only the Basic Channel-Chain Reaction axis and a few other outliers like Iceland's Thule focused on this style. Across three tracks, Rachmad demonstrates how, during this early period, he weas able to translate this sound to the dance floor. The extended "Quanah" resounds to dubbed out chords and an insistent organ, while on "Quantico", the Dutch producer fuses enveloping dub textures with a rolling, looped groove. "Quadrus" is the most understated track, with Rachmad fusing ghostly chords with an insistent electronic bass and nagging hi hats.
Review: Over the past few years, Stefan Robbers has enjoyed a productive partnership with Delsin, with the Dutch label releasing a retrospective of his work as Florence as well as a series of Eps under his Terrace name. As is always the case with Robbers's work, there is a strong focus on the future, and Cocoonings is no different. "Janeiro Joy" is a sparse, robotic workout, powered by stop-start rhythms and warbling bass, while on "Bass Star", the seminal Dutch producer takes a trip to a similar star system as Lost Trax to deliver an acid-soaked electro roller. Best of all though is "Cocoons", where he drops the kind of breathy but forceful techno funk that the Terrace project has always been synonymous with.
Review: Those with a preference for the deeper end of techno and ambient will find much to love on Sub-Sonar. From the beautiful beatless opening track, "Looking Outside" to the evocative, dubbed out groove of "Liberate Truth", nthng's return to Delsin after a long hiatus is characterised by a tendency towards spaced out melodies and slow-paced tempos. On occasion, that approach changes - as is the case on the crisp break beats of "1, 2 Butterfly", but even this exception is punctuated by shimmering melodic hooks. Otherwise, as the dreamy, textured title track demonstrates, this is tailor made for fans of slow-burning atmospheric electronic music.
Review: Brendon Moeller has released before on the Ann Aimee offshoot, but this time he lands on the Delsin mothership with an EP that spans a range of styles. "Poly Mod" is a lively, abstract affair, with Moeller layering dubby chords over a tingling rhythm and a cavernous bass, while on "Route", he teases out a more understated version of this sound. The title track sees Moeller pivot towards the dance floor, with a groove that's powered by steely drums and swirling filters, while on "Refrigeration", he goes deeper, deploying a muddy bass to guide the listener through a nocturnal soundscape. The ticking percussion and repetitive tones of "Motor" and "Invocation For Station Q" round off this fine release.
Review: Delsin sublabel Mantis explores the deeper and more hypnotic fringes of techno. On their seventh missive, Tammo Hesselink (Melatonin Man/The Invariants) takes a 'granular approach to techno, using space as a vital ingredient to expose the fine detail in each rhythmic impression and passing texture'. Whether it's the atmospheric polyrhythms of "Danaba", the cerebral minimalism of "Fixed Distance" or the foggy and sinister slo-mo tribal of "Lifted" - this is experimental techno at its most downbeat.
Review: Following 2020's collaborative 9719 release with Wata Igarashi, Voiski aka Luc Kheradmand returns to Delsin with this solo effort. "Blazing Star" sees him wrap soaring synths and insistent bleeps around a pulsating rhythm, while on "Unreality", he uses a similar approach - this time he combines gurgling acid lines with a throbbing electronic groove and shuffling drums. "Ideodelika" favours a more heads-down approach, with the arrangement moving into peak time mode thanks to its insistent, doubled up claps and buzzing 303s. "Hazy Suns" marks a return to the kind of tranced out territory that "Blazing Star" occupies, with Voiski dropping a trippy acid groove, coupled with lush strings.
Review: When Sterac's Secret Life of Machines was reissued in 2012, it did not contain some of the key tracks from the pioneering 90s long player. Now Delsin has stepped into the breach to put out what are arguably the album highlights on one EP. In contrast to much of Secrets, "Hydroxy" is an understated electro workout - but its common bond with the rest of the album is its sense of melancholia. This sensibility also shines through on the reflective, string-soaked "Draghixia", while Sterac takes melody and depth to spellbinding new heights on the soaring electronic soul of "Satyricon" - one of the greatest tracks of its generation.
Review: Delsin re-ignites its Inertia club series with a fine EP from Lennart Wiehe. Unlike many dance floor techno releases, Amb-Kombat is a sophisticated affair that covers a range of styles. It moves from the breathy, sound scapes and understated back beats of "30C Weisse Waesche" to "Golf", where Wiehe drops a dense tribal workout powered by dense kicks and loose percussive patterns. "N-Kombat" sees him go deeper again, but this time in a more dance floor direction, as chiming chords are combined with powerful, steely drums. Rounding off the release, the German producer heads back towards a percussive techno approach on "Rauchen", where he combines layered drum patterns with repetitive bass tones to create a killer club track.
Review: What a year it's been for Delsin. Apart from reissuing classics like the peerless techno of Sterac's "X-Tracks", the label has also cast its gaze far and wide when it comes to releasing new music. This approach has yielded the icy ambience of Vril's "Alte Seele", Artefakt's bubbling, downtempo techno groove "Iridescence" and the hypnotic, mid-tempo drums of Dino Sabatini's "Lewa". On a different tip is Jason Wynters' frenetic electro workout, "The Hunted", while Claudio PRC's "Orakle" pushes Delsin into a somewhat darker direction than usual, courtesy of its murky rhythms. Of course, it wouldn't be a Delsin compilation without some deeper sounds, which are in abundance here courtesy of two other fine reissues - the chiming chords of Parallel 9's "Helix" and Connective Zone's dreamy "Seed".
Review: The mysterious Lost Trax collective follow up 2019's Surface Treated on Delsin with this dance floor-focused release. "Bring You Back" is a full-on acid track, led by bleeding 303 lines and crashing snares. Meanwhile, on "In Pursuit", they explore a similar approach, this time with 303s accompanied by mysterious synths and cavernous effects. "Under A Spell" represents the other side of Lost Trax and sees them focus on a pared back rhythm, with steely hi hats underpinning bleary synths, and "Mind Over Matter" is similarly esoteric, with frequency shifting tones unravelling over a wiry Detroit groove. It's another exemplary release from one of techno's most inspired acts
Review: Few acts make electro as evocative as Boris Bunnik's Versalife project, and Shape Shifter 2 is no exception. The release moves from the metallic, outer space rhythm and ghostly textures of "Phosphorescence" into a more dance floor-friendly style on "Hybrid Form", where Bunnik uses a throbbing bass and robust drums as the backdrop for subtle melodic flourishes and acid-laced samples. The release takes a turn in a menacing direction with "Instinct", where an ominous sub-bass is combined with rickety drums to conjure up a nocturnal mood. In stark contrast, there's
"Cone of Silence", with Bunnik setting evocative pads to a bubbling groove that oozes machine-designed soul.
Review: Originally issued on revered UK label Emoticon back in 2002, Qwerty finally gets a much-needed reissue on Delsin. Straddling deep techno, electro and abstract influences, it's not hard to understand why this four-tracker has remained a deep electronic classic for the past two decades. "Dude" is based on a gentle back beat and warm bass tones, providing the basis for floating synths, while "Seed" sees Connective Zone combine warbling acid lines with ghostly pads and skipping drums. The title track leans more towards electro thanks to its broken beats, while "Sea Breeza" rounds off the release with a pulsating bass and steely kicks, delivering a masterclass in deep techno.
Review: Delsin welcomes Claudio PRC to the fold. Known for his work on Prologue, Semantica and his own TGP label, he delivers a mesmerising techno release for the Dutch imprint. "Mana" bubbles and trickles along slowly, with Claudio using acid gurgles and shuffling percussion to create a tripped out slow burner. On "Tonal", he edges slightly towards the dance floor; powered by hissing hats and tweaked tones; the combination makes for an understated but effective techno track. The Italian producer remains in club mode for "Orakle", but once again, doesn't follow a typical path, with a shuffling groove resounding to a series of tonal builds and drops.
Review: Originally released back in 1995, Parallel 9 is a side project from techno innovator Steve Rachmad, and this two-tracker is the first material that he released under this pseudonym. Re-issued on Delsin, both tracks have really stood the test of time: "Helix" is a rolling track with a hypnotic, dubby rhythm at its heart and swathed in swirling synths. Meanwhile on "Gnosis", Rachmad opts for a tougher approach: led by barrelling beats and doubled up claps, it makes for a more clubby version of the dub techno that Basic Channel were pioneering around the same time. Hopefully this re-release will ensure that Rachmad enjoys the same type of adulation that the output on Moritz Van Oswald's label commands.
Review: With releases on Ornate and Don't Be Afraid already in his catalogue, Jayson Wynters opens his account for Delsin. At times favouring a darker approach on the release than the label's deep style, this is nonetheless an expertly crafted EP. Wynters drops the high-paced, steely rhythm of "The Hunted" and opts for a more linear sound on the moody, tribal "Crypto". Peppered with moody blips and tones, it's a real heads-down, peak-time affair. On "Trace Minerals", the UK producer invokes the spirit of Delsin's in-house style, with a pulsating bass underpinning atmospheric strings and eerie synths, while "Tehutis Law" charts a similar trajectory, powered by a wiry, Motor City bass.
Review: Simon Walley aka CiM was instrumental in introducing a new, left field slant to techno during the 90s. This compilation, which is culled from his archives, shows why he continues to be an influential force in electronic music. Unselected oscillates between home-listening tracks like "Metric" and "Throughput" into more dance-floor focused compositions like the Detroit nuances of "Accent One" and the early Black Dog hues of "Example". Even when Walley operates in more abstract spaces, as he does on the dissected drums and tonal blips of "Jex Fill" and the frenetic "Crash", his work maintains a soulful, machine-led undercurrent, marking him out as a truly pioneering producer.
Review: Through aliases like Mohalo and Multicast Dynamics circulating the realms of dub techno and ambient, Samuel van Dijk's VC-118a alias has always been the producer's safe harbour for electro. Keeping his beats dubby and atmospheres deep in Spiritual Machines, VC-118a's fourth album for Delsin (and first following Inside from 2019), presents a distinct connection with glitch, crackle and pop, with transmogrified vocals peppered throughout the LP. By creating his own complement of sample banks, software racks and devices in making the LP, van Dijk was able to work with a hybridised analogue-digital system purely of his own making and the results are abstract, downtempo and hugely atmospheric. Dubbed-out ambient electro with a newfound glitch. Quality.
Review: Mantis 06 is an inspired meeting of minds, as Dino Sabatini teams up with Delsin. Sabatini was one of the architects of hypnotic Italian techno during the early 00s, and this release shows that he has lost none of the flair that characterised his earlier work for Prologue. "Dakarai" revolves around a gentle, organic groove, while on "Afra", he embarks on a darker approach: tribal drums guide the arrangement, which is punctuated by dark textures. "Lewa" follows in a similar vein, as eerie hooks are realised over a hypnotic drum patterns. Meanwhile, "Akanke" is on a totally different tip, with Sabatini dropping hyper active break beats.
Review: Despite being released a quarter of a century ago, Steve Rachmad's Asphyx release has not grown old. Rachmad was one of the first European producers to make the Detroit template of soulful melodies and dynamic rhythms his own. "Pacifica" and the title track see Rachmad tweak that blueprint to add bubbling, tranced out textures, while on "Darkness In My Life", he articulates a near-perfect fusion of dreamy introspection and rolling drums. But Rachmad reaches nirvana on "X-Tracks" (which for years was mis-titled "Asphyx"), where those unmistakable, swirling melodies will melt even the coldest heart. If you don't already own Asphyx, now is the time to make that change that.
Review: Nick Lapien & Robin Koek's Artefakt project returns to Delsin with a largely ambient LP spearheaded by two experimentally driven beat numbers in "Iridescence" and the skizzy, dubbed-out sounds of "Terraforming". A continual force in exploring various strains of techno and electronica, Days Bygone presents Artefakt with a third studio album cushioned with drone, textural ambience and classical refrains of pianos and ethereal strings. There's percussive and synthwise elements to explore in "Cambium" and "Orinoco Basin" too with tracks like "Half Speed Tape" and "Wolf Number" venturing deep into the watercolours of landscape music.
Review: Hot on the heels of the magnificent 2020 Florence retrospective on Delsin, Stefan Robbers drops some brand new material for the label. Drawing on the deep Detroit techno sound that inspired him throughout his storied career, the veteran producer stamps his own signature style on these tracks. There's the spiky rhythm and offbeat drums of "Sonomatic"; while on "Sunset Route", the breezy synth melodies that have become Robbers' stock in trade are abundant. "Magic Potion" represents the clubbier side to Robbers' work, with a pulsating groove and clicking percussion underpinning niggling acid lines, but it's only a temporary divergence and "Voices From The Moon" is another atmospheric, off-centre affair.
Review: After a prolific 2020 with releases on Bad Manners and a collaboration with Rodhad on his WSNWG label, Vril returns to Delsin. The Dutch imprint was one of the first outlets to release his material, so his return is timely. The title track is a brooding, atmospheric piece with celestial synths and low-tempo bass pulses at its heart. Delsin has tapped some respected names to remix the track; Voiski sticks to the original track's tempo, with a mid-tempo rhythm underpinning the emotive, textured sounds. Meanwhile, Vril teams up with Bad Manners boss Marcel Dettmann to drop slinky break beats and euphoric synths on their version of "Seele", while the His Master's Voice remix is the most intense version, led by a booming bass and pounding broken beats.