End of the Tunnel Mix for Technoir, 02.08.24

 

"We are extremely honoured to welcome back Codex Europa as our guest dj for episode 97 of Technoir. Codex Europa was our first ever guest back in 2019 and he's returned with an utterly thrilling 2 hour mix of genre pillaging, doom laden, industrial, double hard techno that's really not to be missed!"

The 41 track End of the Tunnel mix is a voyage through his electronic music collection, blending techno, gabber, schranz, doomcore, Frenchtek, industrial and a range of other extreme sub-genres to create a rough-edged and raw onslaught that breaks every rule in the book. Taking in everything from forgotten cash-in compilations to anonymous white labels, it features many tracks not previously used, plus one or two old favourites and a few "wild cards" to keep things varied. Tracks are pitched down, pitched up, reversed, sliced, distorted and forced into ill-advised combinations well beyond their safe operating limits. You have been warned.

Listen live at https://outerrim.tv/listen on 2nd August 2024 at 19:00 GMT / 20.00 CET.

Codex Europa Soundscape at Pure Industrial 29.06.24

Flyer for Pure Industrial

I've recorded an (im)Pure Industrial one-hour soundscape for this great London event on 29th June. It's a great line-up featuring old London allies I played alongside in the past. 

On Saturday, 29th June 2024, Pure Industrial is back after 24 years in exile.

Here is the full line-up:

The venue is open from 12.30pm and Pure Industrial kicks off at 3pm with exclusive DJ mixes played in the bar area, sent to us by (in alphabetical order):

Anxt! (Am Not) 

Blackdeath 1334 (Slimelight) 

Codex Europa (Klub V.E.B.) 

Edweirdo (Wireless FM) 

X.one3 (Malombra) 

Young, talented DJ Frank Van Cleef  will also be spinning industrial / ebm / electro at the bar.

The bar is well stocked, the kitchen serves great pizzas, including vegan pizzas.

Live room opens at 6pm, the DJ mixes will continue there followed by Jose Macabra live set, after which he will bring in his special guest Joss Carter ‘Your Worst Nightmare’ for an exclusive, first time collaboration “The Body is a Tomb”. 

Riotmiloo's live set will follow 

At 11pm the live room will close and the party will continue in the bar area, with DJ Panic.

Event ends at 1am.

TICKETS (£10 no fee) 

 

At The Edge of The Furnace: Supporting Test Dept. in Maubourguet

 

I had the honour of playing before Test Dept.'s "Furnace" show at The Foundry in Maubourguet, France on September 23rd. Not such an unusual assignment for me, except I was playing outdoors as darkness descended and guests enjoyed a meal around the fire. The description I was given was "dinner industrial". I'm not sure how well this fitted the bill, but I enjoyed playing in this unique setting greatly and it was also interesting to be playing at another venue called The Foundry after many years. It was meant as an atmospheric prelude rather than a full-on assault, even if there were a few sharp and rusty edges. Thanks to a/political and Test Dept. for the invitation.

Test Dept. and Radio Tirana soundtracking a twilight feast

Cabaret Voltaire - The Voice of America (The Grey Area/Mute)

Wendy Carlos - Title Music from A Clockwork Orange (Warner Brothers)

Throbbing Gristle - The World is a War Film (Industrial Records)

Daphne Oram - Light music (Young Americans)

Haus Arana - Feierhalle (Galakthorrö)

She Spread Sorrow - Inside (Cold Spring)

Epoch - March of the revolution (XKeyscore Mix) (Carbon 12 Records)

AM Not - Bioluminescensce (Unrest Productions)

Einstürzende Neubauten - Armenia (Rough Trade)

Laibach - Krst (Sub Rosa / Walter Ulbricht)

Test Dept - Comrade Enver Hoxha (Ministry of Power)

Epoch - False hope, False victory (Carbon 12 Records)

Maria Zerfall - Wer schlägt mich Tot? (Vinyl on Demand)

Die Form - Long Term Survivor (Bain Total)

D.A.F. - Alles ist gut (Mute)

Gerechtigkeits Liga - End of time (Zyklus Records)

Skinny Puppy - Fritter (Stella’s Home) (Nettwerk)

Hermann Nitsch Das Orgien Mysterien Theater 122. Aktion, 19. November 2005, Burgtheater Wien (Part 2) (Edition Kröthenhayn)

Pessimist - Progression (UVB-76)

Vanishing -  01 - 55° North, 5° East (Outer Reaches Records)

Dopplereffekt - Biometric ID (Clone) 

Umwelt - Gate of Nothingness (Midnight Shift)

CLOCKDVA - Dark attractor (Contempo Records)

John Barry - Space Lazer Battle (United Artists)

Philip Glass - Heroes (Point Music)

Krzysztof Penderecki - Sicut Locutus Est (EMI Classics)

A new mix produced in the dying days of full lockdown and the first days of post-lockdown.

Codex Europa · Codex Europa - Plaguemix 1

An atmospheric, exorcistic mix featuring music released under, acquired under or thematically relevant to the shadow of the pandemic. From industrial to Italian library music, from sound art to electronica, from techno to Gaelic psalm singing. From here to eternity. In the hope of better times.

Ethical Governor: An (un)timely payload

There’s always a lag between the completion of an album and its release. Sometimes this can lead to uncanny resonances with events. Ethical Governor’s “payload” dropped just as the Coronavirus crisis escalated and the resultant shockwave began to hit the “global economy”. Even if the release itself weren’t knowingly dystopian, the context in which it is appeared certainly was. Listeners to darker strands of techno and other genres with a bleak worldview will know that sonic dystopias can sometimes be oddly uplifting. Whether this effect holds true throughout 2020 is an open question and how much appetite there’ll be for darkness in the aftermath of what’s to come is an open question.

Meanwhile, Ethical Governor (Tony McMurray) has aimed to to transmit “a story of dystopian mayhem” that’s already becoming overshadowed by real stories of dystopian mayhem. I’d assumed the name was sarcastic but it had a precedent several years ago in this video which ironically argued for government by drone:

Interestingly, this album doesn’t feel like a cartoonish doom fest or an unreflective wallowing in others’ misery (bearing in mind of course the difference between being able to make or dance to techno about such grim scenarios and being at their mercy). The artwork features a military drone of the type constantly in the air over conflict zones. Of course, drone warfare is hardly “news” now, it’s a banal, routine part of 21st century life. Work like this can no longer function as a warning. It might function as an awareness raiser, but only as a brief explosion on the grainy screen of our infosphere.  Sound artists have already documented the sounds of military drones and made compositions from them so incorporating such dystopian military-political reality into techno is not so provocative. It’s a path Vatican Shadow and others been following for some time and which Black Lung has followed faithfully for more than a quarter of a century. 

This is a moment when the virus is presented as a side-effect of a proxy war between America and China and governments openly debate what proportions of their populations “should” be allowed to become infected or to die. Catastrophe is (literally) in the air now in a way that makes the supposedly clinical techniques of drone warfare seem quaint. All of which means that right now, a dystopian-themed release is unlikely to be able to match reality as we gaze into the abyss on our phones. 

Having said that, Unmanned Autonomous Force is - to coin a phrase - well-targeted and slightly clinical, rather than gratuitously spectacular. “Ethical Governor” sets the scene with an edgy, nervous soundscape that feels both like a nagging reminder and an ominous promise. “Active Shooter” next escalates into a dance floor track with a strong trace of Belgian hardcore techno. The overall effect is to suggest dancing on the edge of an abyss, which is precisely what thousands did week in, week out (until the clubs began to close due to the coronavirus).

Slower tracks such as “Decomp Floater” are the most menacing and memorable here. It takes its time in building an atmosphere of mechanical menace, haunted by strange cries. From here there’s an abrupt acceleration to “Invasive Species” - a lean, mean dance floor track populated with machinic/alien chatter. 

Sometimes the scenarios the tracks may be depicting are hinted at obliquely but in other cases the intention is clearer. Either way, the tracks are effective springboards for the dystopian imagination (for those who still wish to indulge this tendency even now). The sinisterly looping “Do You See” is evocative and menacing, yet oddly pensive, almost an invitation to reflect.

While this might have seemed like a natural ominous closer, the album actually concludes jarringly with “Final Age”. This is a much tenser and faster dance floor payload delivered on target. The message (if there is one) could almost be taken as keep on partying while the world burns (if you can find a club that’s open). There are worse ways to go.

Playing a Laibach set at Iklectik, London, 3. Oktober 2018.

I'll be playing a selection of rare, live and obscure Laibach plus a few classics at this special book launch event at Iklectik. 

Last stand on the Stubnitz

I had the honour of closing the first night of Primal Uproar III on the MS Stubnitz. Playing to the last band of survivors of a long, hot night, following a storming Skat Injector set, I began with acidic and hard techno before veering into old favourites.



Setlist

The Party Machine Trawled (Unreleased)

J-T Kyrke Caustic (Applied Rhythmic Technology)

New Frames We Go Public by Way of the Net (Hands)

AnD Transit (AnD)

Myztical Shifted Realities (Downfall Theory)

Another Alias Heave (White of My Eyes)

Tommy Holohan Burnin Bins (Civil Disobedience)

Hans Bouffmyhre Being Harassed (EDGE OF MOTION REMIX) (Sleaze Records)

Ayarcana Conflict

Anthony Rother ‎– Biomechanik (Chris Zander Mix) (Psi49net)

Laibach Bruderschaft (Mute)

LFO LFO (Warp)

Cabaret Voltaire Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself) (Mute/The Grey Area)

I-f ‎– Portrait Of A Dead Girl 1: The Cause(Disko B)

Milch Europa (Scheinselbständig)

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft ‎– Als Wär's Das Letzte Mal

The Party Machine A-SED HAUS (VEB89)

Kraftwerk - Franz Schubert/Europa Endlos (EMI/Mute)

30drop. Unusual Extremes EP

This is a special limited edition red vinyl release from the Barcelona artist 30drop, to mark its second anniversary. There aren’t many techno artists who explicitly discuss the social and cultural context of their work, or who so clearly emphasise the conceptual aspects of their work,  but this is intrinsic to the way 30drop operates as an artist and as a label. Although the title doesn’t illustrate it, this unreleased track and remix still bear traces of the cosmic techno tropes in its previous work.



’Unusual Extremes’ opens with a brief percussive impact, then runs straight into a quite sinister and subtly icy sequence that comes to haunt the track. If this does represent some sort of cosmic journey, it’s a colder one than many Detroit artists would offer. Detroit may be an influeunce, but there are only frozen, intensely filtered traces of Detroitian harmonic warmth and optimism and the track works all the better as a result.




The Black Dog Remix has a tougher start, rapidly creating a very serious and intense atmosphere. The main innovations the Sheffield duo bring to bear are an uncanny, morphing drone, minimalistic acid sweeps and some subtly sharpened percussion. The result is a forceful and compelling remix that takes the original further into the uncharted territory it was assigned to explore.

30drop. Unusual Extremes EP

12″ Vinyl // Digital – December 16th 2016

30D-005

Review: Buck "Subterranean Explorations" (Substrato sub002)

This is the second vinyl release on the new Italian label Substrato and a sign of the health and innovation of the Italian scene generally. The mountain-themed artwork and geological aspect of the label concept continue a vein of spatial, conceptual, Italian techno already apparent in the work of Giorgio Gigli and others. Buck is the alias of Substrato owner Alessandro Stefanio, who also records as OL-047 and Slick Station.

The title of the opening 'Ambient Progression' isn't an accurate indicator of what's to come. It's cavernous and relentless from the start, techno on a grand, panoramic scale. It's less than seven minutes, but due to its use of deceleration and acceleration and textural variation, it feels lengthier, in the best sense. At one point an industrialised Moroderesque sequence comes to the fore and in the final section a stricter and more minimalistic mood asserts itself. Its only fault is that it casts a long shadow that the following tracks can't quite escape from.

'Atmo 003' is slower and more introspective. Its coldly futuristic atmosphere brings to mind the work of the legendary Vapourspace project from two decades previously.

The beats drop away for 'On Board', which is a more beatific ambient piece. Symphonic chords and layered, processed voices are used to create an atmospheric soundscape.

Dutch duo Artefakt shift the mood again with an optimistic, uptempo remix of 'On Board', which initially discards the ambient wash of the original in favour of a bassline-driven linear agenda. As it proceeds the ambience of the original is gradually brought back in and finally re-asserts itself.

Review: PSYK, Maan ORIGIN (Non series NON022)

NON022

PSYK, Maan

‘ORIGIN’

Non Series Vinyl 12” / Digital download NON022

April 15 2016

This short, powerful and minimal release is a split between the two aliases of Madrid's Manuel Anós; Psyk and Maan. It's released on his own Non Series label, which has also recently released Tadeo's impressive Chronicles of the Future album.

Psyk opens the EP with 'Origin', which features sustained, rising synth chords and a bleepy pattern that slowly modulates. It's a minimal framework marked out by sparse but rich elements that glides frictionlessly to a sudden dead stop.

Maan's track 'Loops' reveals the subtle differences between the producer's two aliases. It slides straight in and operates at full effect from the start. It's a model of total efficiency, gradually augmented by effective Phuture-style handclaps. Compared to the two Psyk tracks it has a deeper, more minimal, bass pulse and sits between them well.

Finally, Psyk's 'Wire', a tightly-coiled track on which everything comes together from the start. It's a clean, intense, elegantly filtered track. Based around a cycling,  modulating main sequence, it gradually evolves and decays to impresssive effect, bringing to mind Robert Hood's Minimal Nation era work and closing this all-too-brief release in fine style.

Review: AX&P (Adam X & Perc) Mutiny & Disorder

AX&P (Adam X & Perc)

Mutiny & Disorder

Format. Vinyl & digital

Cat.Number. Ampere&Ohm AX&P002

This is the second release from the trans-Atlantic techno duo following their 2013 debut on their Ampere & Ohm label. It's an all too brief and functional statement of intent and a reminder of their potential (recently demonstrated at gigs in London, Paris and The Netherlands). These two tracks build on the previous release but are less minimal and more dramatic. 

'Mutiny' features Adam X's tense, whispered vocals, urging us “into the battle”. The initially rigid structure is marked out by Traversable Wormhole-style space bleeps later augmented by a strange ravey sequence that seems to reveal Perc's lurking presence.

This is followed by the deeper 'Disorder', which is less obviously dramatic but richer sonically. It has a widescreen sound akin to Senking's recent cinematic soundscapes but still delivers on the dancefloor. It becomes ever more intense as it unfolds, with the icy drones and sharp, electroid zaps almost being overwhelmed by a kick that could have come from a 1990s Dutch hardcore track.

Mutiny & Disorder works as a tantalising calling card for a future album, delivering more or less what would be expected of a collaboration between these two artists but in the process adding a fresh twist to the current industrial techno sound that only these two can deliver.

Review: Inigo Kennedy Requiem Remixed (TOKEN54)

Taken from last year's powerful album Vaudeville, this new set of remixes of 'Requiem', radically transforms and updates the already haunting original.

Efdemin's 'Journey To The Stars' mix is perhaps closest to the original, but is fleshed out with extra tonal work and deep echoes. Tone by tone it gradually drifts from the original in an intriguing way. The handclaps give it a more clubby feel, but it enhances rather than sacrifices 'Requiem's' intricate textures.

The 'Dies Irae' version by Kangding Ray is a slower, darker and heavier interpretation. Subdued or potential chord structures buried in the original are brought to the surface,  creating a tough but still shimmering, hallucinatory atmosphere through subtle modulation and transformation.  

Regis' sinisterly-titled 'Human Host' has a grinding bass and strict beats, yet is more subtle and expansive than some of his mixes. 'Requiem's' familiar eerie chords are narrowed into 

swirling, malevolent drones that radiate tension. Heading towards the halfway mark there's a long beat-less interlude of dark drones. Mutated fragments of the original clamber out of this black hole accompanied by reinforced beats. From here on the track turns more darker and more severe before fading out uneasily. 

Last in line and instantly furthest from the original is Dasha Rush's outstanding 'Requiem For Humanity' version. It's a radical and haunted piano re-arrangement that slowly turns back towards a more electronic sound. It seems obvious in retrospect, but probably not even Kennedy could have imagined such a radical re-working. It's all the more radical with the added despairing vocal sample listing the woes of the world:  "we have lost the way … we have barricaded the world into hate". It's an absolutely unique and remarkable hybrid - the closest description might be a kind of  apocalyptic techno jazz noir with a martial beat but it's so other-worldly that standard descriptors scarcely fit it. 

July 6th, 2015 

12” // Digital Download 

Review: Lucy and Klock – War Lullaby Stroboscopic Artefacts SA024 – May 11th, 2015

Having previously released label mainstay Lucy’s collaboration with Speedy J (Zeitgeber), Stroboscopic Artefacts now present the results of his work with Ostgut Ton producer Ben Klock. War Lullaby is a curious title for a curious release presenting a variety of styles, none of which turn out quite as might be imagined.

The initial mood set by 'Bliss' is graceful and fluent. Rippling, gamelan-like tones and subtle bass pressure engineer a feeling that's simultaneously subtle, tense and optimistic.

The title track is instantly memorable, introduced by an eerily smooth bassline hovering in a void. Once the beat kicks in a futuristic minimal disco feel develops which is then made strange by the final element - a heavily-filtered and indecipherable speech sample. This is a very distinctive and original track and the highlight here.



With its muffled kick ‘Santeria’ initially seems dubbier/housier but a de-tuned bleepy sequence and a spiralling minmal acid line soon take it in another direction before it gradually shifts again into an uneasy form of ambient dub.

The closing ‘A Ghost Lovestory’ is essentially a long ambient outro with a hazy atmosphere made more interesting by an underlay of static hiss. The press release slightly tempts fate by stating that “ things can get very interesting when the two working methods superimpose perfectly, but can be just as interesting when the two fall slightly out of phase with one another.” The duo seem to have deliberately left gaps unclosed and allowed their techniques to drift out of synch, allowing a certain oddness to creep in to these hybrid tracks. Rather than offering a grand statement,the duo leave it to the listener to decipher and assess the tracks.

RBF + VIVID PROJECTS PRESENT: AN EVENING WITH TEST DEPT, BIRMINGHAM, MAY 28TH.

OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE PC PRESS BOOK 'TOTAL STATE MACHINE'

DJ SETS, TEST DEPT. INSTALLATIONS AND LIVE FOOTAGE OF TD ACTIONS AND CONCERTS
 
DJ SETS FROM:

TEST DEPT.
STEPHEN MALLINDER (WRANGLER/CABARET VOLTAIRE)
CODEX EUROPA
ANDY BLACK FOREST

Test Dept; the authentic industrialists, sonic material handlers, utilisers and recyclers of society’s debris have re-emerged to engage with the current cultural and political climate, exploring new ways of expression in a strategic programme of actions and releases.

The symposium at Aston University where academics, contributors to the book and other interested parties discuss the influence and impact of the group will be followed by an after party at Vivid to celebrate Test Dept’s return to the public sphere.

The return is realised in the form of the book – Total State Machine – published in April 2013 by PC-Press ; an extensive documentation of the history, work and actions of the group up until their 2014 DS30 installation at Dunstan Staiths, commissioned by AV Festival to commemorate the anniversary of The Miners’ Strike of 1984/85. The book is launched in London on April 23rd and will feature a screening of the DS30 documentary. The Birmingham event will also celebrate the release of the 12” vinyl single; Tested Product for Record Store Day and the re-release of Shoulder To Shoulder; their album with the striking South Wales Striking Miners Choir from 1984 which will be re-released on 1st May on red vinyl.

 The evening will feature DJ sets from Test Dept themselves, PC Press editor Alexei Monroe in his Codex Europa guise and the legendary Stephen Mallinder. Test Dept will line the walls with art manifestos and statements from their historical archives and show footage of live performances and actions from some of their historic performances. There will be a stall selling the book, CDs, vinyl and official Test Dept merchandise.

 

7:00PM - 11:00PM £5 ENTRY

Vivid Projects

16 Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, B5 5RS Birmingham, United Kingdom

Review: Mike Gervais Assailant EP

Mike Gervais

Assailant EP

Label. SYSTEM

Format. Vinyl & Digital

Cat.Number. SYSTEM002

Release Date. March 9th, 2015 (Vinyl),

March 23rd, 2015 (Digital)

This memorable new release from veteran Minneapolis techno producer and promoter Mike Gervais represents the cutting-edge of American techno. It's the second release on his System label and features two original tracks with 2 remixes. 

Assailant itself has an instant kick and an intense propulsive energy, yet is no mindless banger. The sounds are sharp and clean with morphing sounds coiling and cutting through the mix. As it progresses, drones come to the fore, creating an atmosphere that's both cold and positive.

Luis Flores' remix retains only twisted traces of the original with added Latinate percussion producing a version that's simultaneously more danceable and colder, filled with spiky detail. The Doubt remix starts with stretched, morphing tones before introducing a subtly clubby bass. The overall feeling is more abstract and minimal, with texture and atmosphere prevailing over impact.

Some producers might be overshadowed when having to follow up serious remixes of their work but in this case Gervais' own 'Stumble' outclasses even these. It's a fluent blend of elegantly arranged dark layers and acidic fragments that constantly mutate and modulate, demanding active listening rather than unthinking submission to the beat.

Review: Paula Temple - Deathvox

Format: Vinyl & Digital

Cat.No: R&S  RS1412

This is Paula Temple's second release on R&S, a sequel to her Colonized EP. Now based in Berlin and also running her own label, Noise Manifesto, Temple offers a distinctive blend of contemporary techno with acknowledged industrial influences (a brave step as there's a clumsy but vocal backlash against such influences in techno at present).

'Deathvox' fades up elegantly into distortion and a relentless, galloping beat, soon strafed by harsh, machinic screams. Underlying this are (slightly) more musical elements that provide contrast with the main sequence. After a more ambient interlude it seems to accelerate again, with crisper drums and blasts of what sounds improbably like a Tibetan horn (perhaps her own voice transformed, as the press release suggests). Given her statement that “I wanted to create a sonic movement completely transhuman, captivating, and capable of tingling every chakra in the body” this makes perfect sense, even when the beats drop away and the sound comes to the fore before the chase (which is what the faster sequences feel like) resumes, although it's still interrupted again before the end.

'Monstro' is initially marked by idealistic synth chords that are soon pulverised by massive industrial percussion in the vein of Ancient Methods. It's a slow, pounding track that takes its time and also cedes space to the spacey synths again before its end.

Shifting gear again, 'Ful' opens with very sparse, tribal percussion, plaintive chords and a more muffled beat than the other tracks. Its half-yearning, half-confrontational atmosphere is very 90s, but in the best sense, and when a massive bassline drops later in the track it establishes a direct and inspiring connection to the insurgent energy of classic R & S releases.

Out now: DDR60 on VEB89

This video trailer for the DDR60 compilation features The Party Machine's 'A-SED Haus', a counter-factual hardcore post-new beat remix of East German reality.

For full details of the compilation, limited to 100 copies only, see the label website.

Review: MARCELUS Shine EP TRESOR269

This is the third EP by Marcelus (French producer Cédric Bros) Marcelus returns with the ‘Shine EP’, third 12" to be released on Tresor, which is increasingly coming to seem like a natural home for him.

Opener 'Red Dance' innovatively re-works the classic techno-minimalist sounds of Pacou's late 1990s Tresor releases. It's centred on brittle sounds with a metallic edge that produce a strong impact without sacrificing complexity.



'Worship The Bass' gradually intensifies and accumulates power and packs a strong punch, but is misleadingly-titled as it's not actually a massively bassy track. Instead Marcelus'  cold, filtered sounds compete thoughtfully with a muffled kick.



The B-side tracks (for vinyl listeners) are much more atmospheric and abstract, reminding us of the ambient side of Tresor's vast back catalogue. A filtered, metallic sound circles through 'Shine', accompanied by gauzy sounds and a disembodied female voice in a digital fog. It's certainly not a typical track and all the better for it.



'Astral' is suitably ethereal and makes for a graceful end to the EP. It's a deep and beat-less outro with a trace of the ambient textures of Harold Budd.

Review: Isolated Lines - Stride

Isolated Lines - Stride

Creaked Recordings CRDS44

12”/Digital

One of the more distinctive releases of recent months has been this set by the Swiss producer Isolated Lines, who is described as being influenced by “by old industrial and purely analog synth music.” Yet these are absolutely not backward-looking tracks. The temptation to wallow in fake, neo-80s nostalgia is completely avoided and has a very fresh feeling.

I played Stride at my recent Fluid set and it's both a very strong set builder and a great listen. It kicks in hard from the start, but when the militant hardcore bass sneaks in it becomes massive. Still, there's plenty of subtle detail and finesse in the mix and this is much more than a dancefloor tool. Definitely one of the more memorable tracks of the year to date.

In contrast, 'Raze' is more introspective and minimal, yet still focussed and dynamic. Around the halfway mark, the coldly bleepy sounds and drones are temporarily pushed back by brighter tones before the track returns to its original path.

'Uphold' is an unusual blend of darker bass and components that might have been assembled into a funky party track by other producers. It's full of minimalistic tension and marked by a very forward-thinking use of hovering bass stabs and eventually by darker bass elements that recall the more dance-oriented work of his Swiss predecessors Yello.

I was also strongly reminded of Yello on 'Induce'. The effect here is similar to Yello's more panoramic, wide-screen ambient tracks. The slowly pounding beats only intensify a surprisingly emotional conclusion to the release.

While I have to strongly challenge the press release's fanciful claim that this is "techno at its very darkest", these remain distinctive hardcore/minimal tracks that get under the skin and bear repeated listens (itself a victory in a time of endemic over-production).

Live at Fluid, Friday 15th August

I'll be playing a more techno-focussed set than usual, but naturally with a few wild cards thrown in.

Hysteria, Basement, 578 Kingsland Road, Dalston. Free from 21.00 to 22.00, £5 after. Running until 03.00. Set time: 00.00 - 01.30