Frank Bretschneider – Komet

Label: Shitkatapult
Released: 2011
Style: Techno, Downtempo, Experimental

"His new album for Shitkatapult is completely dedicated to the flow. Seven tracks, which have been recorded and arranged live at the studio. Seven tracks with an enormous depth and passion and love for detail on a straight beat, manifesting their own version of club music. Basically, Komet is a techno record, but it has been transported into Bretschneider’s cosmos. Komet exudes a light and feathery flow, neither pushy nor notchy. It wins you over with its groove, while cheeping, fluttering and whooshing at the same time. An album of action, worlds apart from all the painful worries about referencing and zeitgeist. Free music. Shitkatapult manages to show how passionate a label can treat electronic music. Komet is another one of these albums, fitting into the circle of favourite producers like Soul Center, Fenin, Tom Thiel and into the label’s history of uncompromising records by Sun Electric, Apparat, T.Raumschmiere and many more." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Subharchorded Waves (4:14)
2 Like A Little Lizard In The Sun (5:10)
3 Echotron (5:44)
4 Urania (5:32)
5 Flight 09 (5:46)
6 Flutter Flitter (6:55)
7 Twisted In The Wind (5:34)

Link

Andy Stott - Unknown Exception

Label: Modern Love

Released: 2008

Style: Techno, House, IDM, Tech House, Electro, Dub Techno, Minimal

"Andy Stott has developed a unique sound since his debut for the Modern Love label back in 2005. His first demos were heavily influenced by the square-bassline techno variations of Claro Intelecto, a longtime friend, mentor and eventually labelmate and collaborator. His first release, ‘Replace’ featured a mixture of disciplines that took in elements of Detroit Techno and Chicago House which fast captured peoples imagination with intuitive, warm melodies and fathomless bass weight. From that point on Stott continued to shift and adapt his sound to take in ever disparate influences, from the driving techno of Dave Clarke’s ‘Red’ series through to Basic Channel, Dubstep, Garage and the minimalism of classic Sahko. His restless shift from traditional Techno blueprints through to the bottom-heavy signatures of dubstep and the steppers arrangements of garage have also placed him at the forefront of the dubstepXtechno hybrid sounds that have started to dominate the electronic music scene alongside the likes of Martyn, Peverelist and T++. This compilation brings together selected tracks dating back to Andy Stott’s debut back in 2005 and reaching all the way to his most recent material – with none of them ever available on cd until now. Tracks feature here from the ‘Replace’, ‘Ceramics’, ‘Handle With Care’, ‘Hostile’, "Bad Landing’, "Fear Of Heights’, ‘Massacre’ and ‘Nervous’ EP’s and stream through his fascination with deep, almost uncontainable basslines and ever inventive percussive shifts. The man really is a bit of a hero round these parts, and we consider ‘Unknown Exception’ required listening for any of you interested in the bass progressions and deviations where Techno, House, Dub and Garage collide to shift things to the next level." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Fear Of Heights (6:20)

2 Bad Landing (6:10)

3 Handle With Care (4:50)

4 Long Drive (5:27)

5 Credit (7:07)

6 Massacre (6:57)

7 See In Me (6:07)

8 Made Your Point (6:04)

9 She’s Gone Wrong (5:31)

10 Fine Metallic Dollar (6:53)

11 Hostile (6:39)

12 Replace (4:43)

Link

Tom Opdahl - Black Smoker

Label: Biophon Records

Released: 2001

Style: Techno, Ambient

"Only the second release so far on Biosphere's Biophon label. Tom Opdahl of Bergen - a picturesque town nestled among seven hills on the west coast of Norway, where it always, always rains - is a hitherto unheard name among the plethora of excellent ambient and electronica coming out of that country. But his debut 'Black Smoker' should place him firmly on the map.

To call this music "chilly" would be to fall prey to the cliche about "Arctic ambient". It does however somehow jibe aesthetically with that sound which seems so specific to Norwegian ambient - that low, low pulse that seems almost endemic to the music, the predilection for monochrome tones.

There are unabashedly "Biospherean" moments on 'Black Smoker', but ultimately the work as a whole does not come off as the product of an epigone. Opdahl's compositions are as wonderfully gloomy as the artwork adorning the slipcover, proffering a sense of turning a grand, wild landscape into something claustrophobic, shrouded in mystic mist." - Sonomu.net

Tracklisting:

1 Anthropomorphism (7:04)

2 Epispedural Soup (4:31)

3 Pinepulse (2:55)

4 Hybrid (5:38)

5 Black Smoker (4:04)

6 Mellow Limbo (1:56)

7 Skog (2:18)

8 Naut-O-Pilot (4:50)

9 Lake Vostok (3:15)

10 Pinepulse (Part 2) (1:41)

11 Sundrop (4:48)

12 Mental Xchange (0:57)

13 Dark Little Something (4:28)

14 Pecudesque Locutae (2:44)

Link

Pendle Coven - Self Assessment

Label: Modern Love

Released: 2009

Style: Techno, Dub Techno

"Since their 2003 debut ‘Trouble At Mill’, Pendle Coven have produced seven exceptional, restless twelves for the Modern Love label, not including work undertaken by one half of the recording duo under the MLZ moniker and a handful of projects produced and delivered under the radar. Typified by an inability to rest on their laurels, Pendle have explored areas of Techno and electronic music as diverse as their interests, taking in early-90’s style ‘ardkore, drone, Basic-Channelisms, Drexciyan electro and warehouse minimalism along the way. This debut album features 7 exclusive and previously unreleased tracks as well as 5 killers from the ’£100 a metre’, ‘marriage of convenience’, ‘hex’ and ‘Iamnoman’ EP’s, spanning the last 5 years. The sound of ‘Self Assessment’ opens with the disembodied guitar treatment of ‘Aged Drone’, paving the way for the stripped menace of ‘Iamnoman’ – the title track of their most recent vinyl-only release. From there we drop in on the staggered proto-dubstep of ‘Unit 6’, an alternate string-driven version of the airy stepper ‘Uncivil Engineering’, the immense stripped reverberance of ’Optimal, pure bass pressure of “MVO Chamber” and, finally, the towering chord crescendos of the Berlin-inspired Exigen. All the tracks here have been lovingly honed and mastered at the hands of Dubplates and Mastering in Berlin, for added bass depth and space." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Aged Drone (1:37)

2 IAMNOMAN (7:39)

3 Unit 6 (4:29)

4 Uncivil Engineering (Calm Mix) (6:28)

5 Optimal (7:45)

6 Modern Mode (5:40)

7 Chord Calculus (7:17)

8 Nice Moves (5:17)

9 MVO Chamber (8:11)

10 Golden Hadron (5:04)

11 Exigen (7:19)

Link

Information - Biomekano

Label: Rune Grammofon

Released: 2002

Style: Glitch, Dub Techno, Minimal, Ambient

"Third and easily the best album from these veterans of arctic ambient electronica. A beautiful and razorsharp production with plenty of depth and detail, this is an album that should most definitely appeal to Biosphere fans. Information is Per Henrik Svalastog and Jørgen Knudsen." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Plot Ratio (Replug) (5:04)

2 Tropical Investigation (Leisure Recycled) (5:08)

3 Every Possible Artificial Condition (2:56)

4 Higher Densities / Maximum Choice (7:07)

5 Stacking Of Different Natures (7:20)

6 Sufficient Sunlight (3:45)

7 A Radical Co-ordination (2:45)

8 This Low-rise City (7:11)

9 Center By Celebrating The Loop (6:01)

10 Biomechanics By Accident (3:08)

Link

A Made Up Sound - Sun Touch

Label: A Made Up Sound

Released: 2009

Style: Techno, Dubstep

"Dave Huismans aka 2562 unloads the second release for his A Made Up Sound imprint. Compared to the outright Detroit ebullience of AMS 001, this plate acts as an outlet for his more esoteric leanings, constructing three tracks that don't feel like immediate 'floor hits, but burn with a more cosmic and atmospheric abstraction while still driven by incredibly efficient and well-tuned rhythmic engines. 'Sun Touch' scopes the scene's minimalistic radar bleeps and Radiophonic synth textures carried by an itchy Shake-styled rhythm, while 'Drain' enters a sombre zone of hazy grey drones and spring loaded steppers rhythms for the more adventurous DJs. Finally 'Shortcut' gives time for some ruff drum machine experimentation harking back to his 'Archive' release for Clone's Basement series. He's still way out on his own, which makes each and every one of his records worth checking." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Sun Touch (6:31)

2 Drain (5:13)

3 Untitled (Shortcut) (2:30)

Link

Drexciya - Neptune's Lair

Label: Tresor
Released: 1999
Style: Electro, Techno

"Though a quick glance at the track titles -- "Organic Hydropoly Spores," "Polymono Plexusgel," "Triangular Hydrogen Strain," "Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam" -- lends the impression that this is yet another Drexciyan work wherein the music, though stellar enough, isn't quite as important as the sub-aquatic science-fiction themes, Neptune's Lair proves as solid a piece of musicianship as the act has ever recorded. The album mostly disdains the froglike neo-retro vocal samples that often shifted emphasis away from the music on the Drexciya EPs, and simply pushes through with a set of midtempo, paranoid electro gems. The production is still reminiscent of the classic electro era, but never feels as tied to the vintage synth as before. Admittedly, there's a bit much to digest on the 20 tracks, but Neptune's Lair is yet another bright spot in the Detroit electro-techno revival. " - Allmusic

Tracklisting:

1 Intro: Temple Of Dos De Agua (1:00)
2 Species Of The Pod (3:53)
3 Andreaen Sand Dunes (6:15)
4 Running Out Of Space (1:54)
5 Habitat 'O' Negative (5:16)
6 Universal Element (1:55)
7 Drifting Into A Time Of No Future (3:33)
8 Polymono Plexusgel (3:08)
9 Surface Terrestrial Colonization (6:56)
10 Funk Release Valve (3:06)
11 Organic Hydropoly Spores (2:07)
12 Draining Of The Tanks (2:43)
13 Devil Ray Cove (2:49)
14 Fusion Flats (1:24)
15 Triangular Hydrogen Strain (3:55)
16 Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam (4:17)
17 Quantum Hydrodynamics (1:16)
18 Lost Vessel (5:52)
19 Bottom Feeders (3:25)
20 Jazzy Fluids (3:21)
21 C To The Power Of X + C To The Power Of X = MM = Unknown (2:35)

Link

2562 - Love In Outer Space / Third Wave

Label: Tectonic
Released: 2009
Style: Techno, Dubstep

"Dubstep release of the week comes from 2562 with the shocking 'Love In Outer Space' and 'Third Wave' cuts dropping smart and heavy on Tectonic. It's hard not to fall for 'Love In Outer Space', easily one of the most abstract and stylish cuts we've heard from Dave Huismans casuallystepping forward from the minimalism of previous efforts with large splashes of melodic colour strewn across the tipsy-pitched rhythm. On the flip 'Third Wave' is a slightly more standard 2562 cut, but that's no bad thing as this reminds us of his 'Techno Dread' or 'Hijack' tracks with uptempo 4/4s offset by crafty drums and minimised vibes on the keys. Just try and hold yourself back from this!" - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Love In Outer Space (4:55)
2 Third Wave (6:06)

Link

Gustavo Lamas - Mañana

Label: Kompakt
Released: 2000
Style: Ambient, Techno

"What is beautiful? Flowers, butterflies, diamonds, fluffy clouds, sunset, Kylie Minogue.... and Pop Ambient! Especially if it comes from Buenos Aires' finest: Gustavo Lamas. Already known for his fantastic releases on Traum and Fragil Discos (Argentina) he now presents his guest performance for Kompakt. Amazing dreamy textures layered around a subliminal groove. "Manana' means 'tomorrow'. It seems like there's a vision of a better one on the other side of this planet. Hi-tech-kitsch for all people that are sick of depressive IDM stuff." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Mañana (4:16)
2 Jovenes (10:39)
3 Resbala (11:16)

Link

Markus Guentner - In Moll

Label: Kompakt
Released: 2001
Style: Dub Techno, Minimal, Ambient

"Squelches and whirrs nestle in rolling hills of fuzzy dreamy drones as clicks and pops struggle for air beneath a downy blanket of suffocatingly gorgeous billowy clouds of synth wash. Sound good? It does.

In creating "In Moll," Markus Guentner has done more than his part to fill the void created by Voigt's unusual absence, with a disc that captures much of the feel we liked so much about the Gas records, a sort of dreamy melancholy that manages to be both wistful and hopeful, lonely and warm. Jeff thinks it has a real "change of seasons" vibe, that harkens, again, to Gas. And while the Gas comparison is surely accurate (if you haven't caught our drift already, let's state: fans of Gas should pick this up without a second thought!), Guenter does add his own flair to Voigt's signature sound though, creating a more varied and more dynamic soundscape than Voigt's pastoral hum and thump." - Aquarius Records

Tracklisting:

1 Untitled (8:42)
2 Untitled (6:44)
3 Untitled (10:00)
4 Untitled (6:40)
5 Untitled (6:07)
6 Untitled (6:53)
7 Untitled (16:08)

Link

Evan Marc + Steve Hillage - Dreamtime Submersible

Label: Somnia
Released: 2008
Style: Dub Techno, Ambient

"diving deep with hypnotic rhythms, sub-aquatic bass pulsations and reverberant melodies, evan marc explores varying states of non-waking life on this full-length outing. his sensitive approach to sound design is woven perfectly with atmospheric guitar tones supplied by system7's steve hillage, crafting a unique and cinematic take on the dub techno paradigm." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Intention Craft (10:56)
2 Hypnagogue (8:49)
3 Alpha Phase (9:34)
4 Theta Phase (8:48)
5 Delta Phase (8:04)
6 Hypnopomp (10:04)
7 Resurface (10:43)

Link

Thomas Fehlmann - Honigpumpe

Label: Kompakt
Released: 2007
Style: Dub Techno, Minimal, Tech House

"There's something incredibly distinctive about Fehlmann's production style - from 'Stralensatz's opening, its bottom-heavy warmth sucks you into a real ear massage of an album. There's a clarity and crispness to the production that ushers in a certain sense of comfort, knowing that you're in the hands of a man so thoroughly on top of his game. Fehlman effortlessly brings together a mixture of hazy audio landscapes and a firm 4/4 structure with a level of fluidity that inevitably brings to mind the work of Wolfgang Voigt under his Gas moniker. At least, that's the tone the album begins with. By the time you hit 'Schaum', Fehlmann's in a slightly heavier, deepened dub mindset, albeit while still retaining that initial sense of warmth and lusciousness. 'I.R.N.I.I.Z.' is the big reminder of Kompakt past, featuring a sturdy, midtempo schaffel, but thereafter, it's back to the album's early form, with the cavernous filtered techno of 'Arbeitstitel' and the soft, jazzy minimalism of 'Atlas 2'. Very good indeed." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Strahlensatz (4:00)
2 Soziale Wärme (5:21)
3 Atlas (5:24)
4 Schaum (6:14)
5 Little Big Horn (Liegend) (6:59)
6 Bienenkönigin (6:06)
7 T.R.N.T.T.F. (6:35)
8 100 Bäume (7:29)
9 Arbeitstitel (6:20)
10 Atlas 2 (3:20)
11 Dusted With Powder (5:42)
12 With Oil (6:19)

Link

Loscil - Submers

Label: Kranky
Released: 2002
Style: Techno, Minimal, Ambient

"Submers is the second album from the Vancouver-based Scott Morgan aka Loscil. All of the tracks are named after submarines, the final cut being a requiem for the crew of the ill fated Russian nuclear vessel Kursk. Recorded at home on computer with samples and keyboards used as sound sources, Submers is rife with source less echoes, steely surfaces and ominous melodic and rhythmic undertows. The sifted melodies are layered over muffled, clicking and pulsing rhythm tracks with an appropriately aquatic feel to the entire album. Submers is an album that easily merges ambient , contemporary classical music and minimal techno in defiance of the current mania for micro-genres.

Submers is not an exercise in process for its own sake. Melody, texture and rhythm are all at work to make a truly deep listening album." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Argonaut I (7:12)
2 Gymnote (6:01)
3 Mute (7:32)
4 Nautilus (7:01)
5 Diable Marin (4:15)
6 Resurgam (7:37)
7 Le Plongeur (7:09)
8 Triton (6:45)
9 Kursk (7:10)

Link

2562 - Aerial

Label: Tectonic
Released: 2008
Style: Techno, Dubstep

"Over a succession of rhythm melting vinyl releases for Tectonic, SubSolo and Philpot, Dave Huismans has asserted himself as the leading practitioner of forward thinking dancefloor motions currently in operation. Under the' Dogdaze, A Made Up Sound and his revered 2562 moniker Huismans has shocked the now merged techno and dubstep fraternities with a brilliantly consistent stream of bare bones riddims encompassing brittle 2-step, lurching techno and bass driven dub with a fractured brokenbeat aesthetic that sounds quite unlike anything else being produced today. Aerial is Huismans' massively anticipated debut album and contains some of the most deadly material produced under his 2562 guise, formed into a coherent statement of ten tracks set to detonate headphoness and Soundsystems around the world this summer. This CD edition pulls together four tracks previously dispatched over the course of three individual 12"s released in the last year, plus six sparkling fresh productions primed to dub the world into submission. The set skanks into view with 'Redux' plumbing the depths of a breezing downtempo dub cut in the finest Rhythm & Sound styles, and clearing the airspace for the snaking syncopations of 'Morvern'. From here there's a run of tracks culled from recent releases, ready to educate unblessed ears with some bass stepping sanctification, but the real treats for those who've been paying close attention come in the form of the stunning 'Basin dub' composed from delicate blue chords and a double-timed rhythmic intuition that couldn't have come from anyone else, followed by the equally crushing 'Greyscale', realisng many a technoXdubstep nerd's wet dream with a sacred stylistic blend of Burial, Basic Channel and T++ that leaves us floored. Finally another new effort 'The times' signs off the album with some moody and expansive dub chords whipped into spectral plumes over a coma-slow riddim that brings us full circle and ready for repeat. This album follows in the massively revered tradition of dub experimentation and rhythm science laid down in the lineage stretching from Lee Perry through King Tubby, Scientist, Steve Gurley, Dillinja, Photek, Rhythm & Sound, Kode 9 and Burial, so all we can say is that if any of those names have remotely affected you in any way you really need to check this album out. Without doubt one of the albums of the year - absolutely mighty."

Tracklisting:

1 Redux (4:42)
2 Morvern (4:52)
3 Moog Dub (4:37)
4 Channel Two (5:28)
5 Techno Dread (5:32)
6 Basin Dub (4:53)
7 Greyscale (5:04)
8 Enforcers (5:49)
9 Kameleon (5:35)
10 The Times (4:44)

Link

808 State - Utd. State 90

Label: Tommy Boy Music
Released: 1990
Style: Acid, Techno

"By the time the residual sweet swirl of Disco and the harder edge of Chicago House had dribbled its way into England via New York and Europe's booming rave scene, "Acid House" was born. At a record shop somewhere in Manchester, a group of future Acid House pioneers (Martin Price, Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson) formed 808 State. The group's first domestic release, Utd. State 90, was a drastically-revised version of their 1989 album 90. The hit "Pacific" (here in three incarnations) is the album's standout track, its slinky, synthesized sax and tropical chirps laid on a bed of percussive electronic beats. The album shifts moods quickly yet seamlessly, from the poppy, lyric-driven "Magical Dream" to the industrial edge of "Kinky National" and the epic grind of "Cübik." Utd. State 90 even enters Ambient territory with "Sunrise," a track in which 808's impact on artists like Moby is beyond palpable." - Slant Magazine

Tracklisting:

1 Pacific 202 (5:43)
2 Boneyween (6:09)
3 Ancodia (5:12)
4 Kinky National (3:58)
5 Cobra Bora (5:47)
6 Cübik (3:36
7 Magical Dream (3:52)
8 808080808 (4:20)
9 Revenge Of The Girlie Men (4:16)
10 Donkey Doctor (5:24)
11 Sunrise (6:33)
12 State To State (5:50)
13 Pacific 212 (6:49)
14 Pacific 718 (5:46)

Link

The Future Sound Of London - Accelerator

Label: Hypnotic
Released: 1996
Style: Techno, Ambient

"It's easy to forget just how influential FSOL were way back in the early 90's, and while much of their classic material from the 'Lifeforms' era has aquired a slightly dubious reputation given the plethora of New-Age visuals and sound-textures employed at the time, 1991's unmatched 'Accelerator' still stands as testament to their pioneering participation in the evolution of electronic music. You'll all know the played-to-death Papua New Guinea, but amongst the obscure Prince samples and "ambient" production you'll also find some mind-boggling House/Techno variants - most notably the killer Chicago House anthem "While Others Cry", the proto-bleepage of the excellent "Pulse State" and the quasi-hardcore loveliness of 'Expander'. This new edition also comes with a bonus disc lumped into the package featuring 10 (Count 'em!) remixes of Papua New Guniea - making this a bit of a bargain as well as a classic slice of early British electronic music." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Expander (5:38)
2 Stolen Documents (5:10)
3 While Others Cry (4:14)
4 Calcium (6:47)
5 It's Not My Problem (3:45)
6 Papua New Guinea (6:46)
7 Moscow (3:34)
8 1 In 8 (4:36)
9 Pulse State (7:18)
10 Central Industrial (4:19)
11 Expander (Remix) (4:49)
12 Moscow (Remix) (4:52)
13 Papua New Guinea (Graham Massey Mix)(Bonus Track) (3:45)

Link

Gas - Pop

Label: Mille Plateaux
Released: 2000
Style: Modern Classical, Techno, Ambient

"Köln kingpin Wolfgang Voigt often waxes tyrannical about the sanctity of techno's four-on-the-floor heartbeat. In his Gas guise, though, Voigt is gradually coming to value beatless bliss. His atmospheric Gas-werks are as in thrall to the almighty kick drum as all productions bearing the redoubtable Voigt's nom de jour. But over four albums (and a vinyl-only mini-LP), Voigt has been refining the Gas concept to the point of perfection. Practice indeed has its virtues. Voigt craftily weaves string and woodwind samples that he has skimmed from obscure classical recordings into bolts of melodic mesh. Where these folds once fell freely over beds of uncompromised beats, Pop hangs them as from a lofty bough to billow in the breeze. As this shimmering material twists and tangles, shadows collect among the creases. Voigt introduces the knotlike texture of the familiar 4/4, and the intrusion of rhythm is for once absolutely justified. While uplifting and ravishingly melodic, Pop is certainly not pop. Nor is it ambient music in the strictest, Brian Eno-sired sense of the word--Voigt's still reluctant to give up those ghost drums. For now, Gas is like no other music on Earth or off it." - Amazon

Tracklisting:

1 Untitled (5:13)
2 Untitled (8:38)
3 Untitled (7:27)
4 Untitled (9:31)
5 Untitled (10:52)
6 Untitled (9:24)
7 Untitled (14:37)

Link