Pulsating club-ready dub techno from the Detroit producer riding his own wave. Recent years have seen a consistently focused output from 2Lanes. Joey’s enthusiasm for studio recording and openness to share pics of his equipment were what drew me to him in the first place but I quickly understood (by way of listening to hisContinue reading “2Lanes – Bootcut Chords [Cape St. Francis]”
Tag Archives: techno
Dave Angel – Keeping On
Toeing the line perfectly between rhythmic techno sensibilities and trance chord progressions. Liquid techno if you will. All 4 tracks on Dave Angel’s 1994 In Flight Entertainment EP promote a lighter-footed, groovier, even bubblier idea of what techno can sound like, executed none better than in Keeping On. Perfect swing, percussion work is riveting andContinue reading “Dave Angel – Keeping On”
LT – Disc Trail [X-Kalay]
Airy, uplifting spiritual synth builder. Lewis “LT” Taylor follows up his 2019 Staminize EP with a fresh A1 crusher called Disc Trail on London-based X-Kalay, released digitally today. The synths tightly fit into each corner of the rhythm and the tempo matches the exciting energy of the 9-minute build. Peaktime harmonic techno that pushes asContinue reading “LT – Disc Trail [X-Kalay]”
Ghosts On Tape – No Go [ICEE HOT]
Blastoff bass techno bomb from the now defunct San Francisco label. ICEE HOT had a brief but impactful run from 2012-2015 in SF as a record label and occasional party series, co-managed by Shawn Reynaldo, DJ Will, Low Limit and Ghosts On Tape. My introduction to Avalon Emerson came from her 2014 release on ICEEContinue reading “Ghosts On Tape – No Go [ICEE HOT]”
Christian Smith & John Selway – Slow River [SINO]
Slow burn with a constant churn. I’ve been a fan of DC-native John Selway since first hearing his Shimmerdown 12″ on Future Times; his collaborations with Christian Smith through the 90s and 2000s were seminal East Coast US works in the deep & minimal techno world. Much to my delight, I came across this 2007Continue reading “Christian Smith & John Selway – Slow River [SINO]”
Cratan – Secondary [Fixed Rhythm]
Driving, hypnotizing, purist hard techno out of Dallas. Gautham Garg, as his Decoder alias and here under Cratan, holds steady the keys to contemporary Midwestern US techno’s future. The A1 selection, Secondary, of his recent Fixed Rhythms 12″ (entitled Boulder) checks all the boxes for a techno hit – disorienting tom drums, winding and grindingContinue reading “Cratan – Secondary [Fixed Rhythm]”
Entro Senestre – DOHC [W.T. Records]
High-flying NY synth arp majesty from a classic 2015 W.T. Records release by BANK Records founder, Jon Beall, under his Entro Senestre alias. The A1 deep house track, Rosegold, became a widespread hit from the release (as listened to nearly 4million times on youtube), but the 2nd cut, DOHC, has remained an earworm in myContinue reading “Entro Senestre – DOHC [W.T. Records]”
Deniro – Painting 1 [TAPE Records Amsterdam]
In-the-pocket liquid wavy synth techno roller. Originally self-released in 2016 on Deniro‘s own TAPE Records Amsterdam label, Painting 1 kicks straight in without hesitation or anticipation, a looping melodic synth already floating secondary to an energetic drum sequence. The background synth continues slightly diving and building with room for the main aqueous synth filling inContinue reading “Deniro – Painting 1 [TAPE Records Amsterdam]”
Green Velvet – Technology’s Out of Control [Music Man Records]
An end of the world, chaotic techno ripper from Green Velvet’s 1999 album, “Constant Chaos.” Aside from the album and track title fitting into the post-apocalyptic 2021 landscape, Technology’s Out of Control provides a look into how imperfect, unsynced live techno recording – when done appropriately – can result in organized mayhem. The drums confidently continueContinue reading “Green Velvet – Technology’s Out of Control [Music Man Records]”
SCNTST – Hell Of A Group [Image Is Everything Pt. 2]
Self-released today on bandcamp, Skee Mask shared an album of retrospective 2010 demos under his first production alias, SCNTST, as a part 2 to his “Image Is Everything” release from 2015. You can hear the early foundations of slipperiness and ease of cohesiveness in all the recorded parts throughout the album, much of which takesContinue reading “SCNTST – Hell Of A Group [Image Is Everything Pt. 2]”
Bookworms – You Say So [BANK]
Doubling blistered drum patterns underneath a sweet, enchanting melody. Experimentation and outside-the-box ideas are hallmarks for Bookworms (Nik Dawson), especially evident on a fresh listen back to his 2016 “Xenophobe” album on then-new Bank Records NYC. You Say So catches the listener off guard immediately, thrown into a swirling tornado of delay and repeated patterns that soundContinue reading “Bookworms – You Say So [BANK]”
INVT x Nick León – Jumpstart
Full-on, high octane techno-infused footwork. Listening around to INVT‘s self-release bandcamp page, Jumpstart sits in good company of what sounds like a typical session for the Miami producer. The entire SANO release boasts a beautifully mastered soundscape with an impeccably full sound spectrum, a confident understanding of the purpose behind the release and dark, sinisterContinue reading “INVT x Nick León – Jumpstart”
Michael Claus – Ocean Side [100% Silk]
Slick-filtered, slide-y sequential techno from longtime San Francisco producer, Michael Claus, stands out in this 8-track 2017 EP on LA-based label 100% Silk. That melodic arp pulls you in deep from point blank and carries those harmonically overlaid synth chords through a nonstop 7 minutes of chug. It takes years of experience and trial-and-error toContinue reading “Michael Claus – Ocean Side [100% Silk]”
Alex Falk – Know [Allergy Season]
The electrifying Knoxville techno mastermind, Alex Falk, returns for a 2nd EP entitled Movefast on NY’s Allergy Season. Falk understands hypnotizing patterns and the perfect place to lock a loop, which is what makes the 4th track Know such an earworm. The vocal loop soars in from the first beat, circling the atmosphere while a 2-step pattern laysContinue reading “Alex Falk – Know [Allergy Season]”
Steve Rachmad – A Fabla [SINO]
A true original, Steve Rachmad fostered the Detroit techno sound in the Netherlands from 1996 onward. Rachmad’s 2nd full-length album, Neo Classica, landed on Technasia’s Sino label in 2006. Big room techno had been waning in popularity by that era and though experimentation in melding house, techno and elements of trance is evident throughout this album, theContinue reading “Steve Rachmad – A Fabla [SINO]”
DJ Skull – Get Em [DJAX-Up-Beats]
Originally released under the Internet Server 211 EP with legendary Dutch techno / gabber label DJAX-Up-Beats in 1999, Get Em is my ultimate DJ Skull classic Chigaco house jam and a go-to for ending a dj set in euphoric style. Plenty of DJ Skull classics employ this similar big room echoey pad synth design and curt, jaunting, swingingContinue reading “DJ Skull – Get Em [DJAX-Up-Beats]”
Chevel – 2020 [Non Series]
A foreshadowed sinister tone of how 2020 would feel – though I can’t speculate if that’s what Chevel had in mind when constructing this Backwards Loops release for Non Series in 2015, you can feel it in the distorted low end grinding, bleeding together. With many more productions centered around techno minimalism, I’ve admired thisContinue reading “Chevel – 2020 [Non Series]”
Takaaki Itoh – Face Life As It Is (DJ Shufflemaster remix) [WOLS]
No pause nosebleed techno. A handful of all-star Japanese techno producers emerged from the late-90s heyday of techno, none superior to DJ Shufflemaster. That’s my opinion but his musical output spoke for itself and continues sounding fresh decades later. His tight sampling precision and intangible ability to create a building sensation throughout his recordings madeContinue reading “Takaaki Itoh – Face Life As It Is (DJ Shufflemaster remix) [WOLS]”
Ben Ritz – Transition Piece [Sweat Equity]
Full-throttle mental overdrive. Transition Piece nests as the centerpiece of Ben Ritz debut on Sweat Equity last year. A refined balance – equal parts of wonky-timed laser arps, an alleviating chord progression, and bassline bouncing like its got somewhere to be – all blended in a high-octane tempo. The unexpected transition at 3:46 is theContinue reading “Ben Ritz – Transition Piece [Sweat Equity]”
Jackson Ryland 