Bleep

Beau Wanzer and Shawn O’Sullivan deliver a full-length debut of hard-hitting techno as Civil Duty. It’s the duo’s second appearance on the New-York-City-based label run by Anthony Parasole after their 2013 Security EP, and both have released solo on L.I.E.S. Mostly recorded live in about three jam sessions, the self-titled album reflects the duo’s love for analogue gear, its rawness tracing New York’s industrial techno heritage. This is displayed in the creaking high frequencies of ‘Fischkopf’, while the pattern of ‘Belial’s Night In’ nods to acid melodies, and 'Spiderbites’ traps its fidgeting hi-hats in a treacherous web of eerie piano silk.

A return to form for Sleeparchive delivering an EP of arctic techno for MORD. Following two 12"s for Tresor that were more inline with the hardened blackest ever black techno of classic Regis and Female, the Senza Titolo EP recalls early Sleeparchive 12"s like Elephant Island, proper gear where the Sahko indebted delicate glass laden chords shuffle over frozen borders of hypnotic rolling metal machine music drums. Basically its four tracks here of proper techno, one for the up all night crew.

Laurent Prot, the veteran producer behind In Aeternum Vale, joins Jealous God, the label formed by Regis, Silent Servant and James Ruskin in 2013. Jealous God 05 is made up of three cavernous tracks of mind-impacting techno, no let up from the word go. 'V8' is a warehouse stomper of a track, unresolved lead notes hovering over a searing bassline and blistering mechanical overtones. '62,54hz' shakes with its juddering swagger, industrial groans and droning migraine made flesh for maximum penetration. '808TS' is a gentler affair, by contrast - a slower tempo not sacrificing the menace and fear of its incisive compatriots.

The Spanish DJ and producer releases on Nonplus – the London-based label run by Alexander Green aka Boddika which is known for releasing some dancefloor gems from the likes of Instra:mental, dbridge and Actress. The man behind labels such as Analog Solutions, Suprawax and Edits, Eduardo De La Calle brings to the label some interesting dub techno tunes with The Sequoia Symposium. The release kicks off with the steady rhythmic drum pattern in ‘The King Pariksit’ and finishes with the deeper, early morning dance track ‘Sri Sri Ragendra DAS’.

As one-third of BM/CC/CW - the collaborative project between Brendon, Clay, and Certain Creatures - Brendon Moeller has gained a reputation for himself as a producer with the adeptness and skill set to perfectly execute the sounds of numerous dance sub genres. On this release as part of Styles Upon Styles’ Bangers & Ash series, Moeller melds ambient simplicity with floor-focused techno for 2 sides of a tracks that swing from eerie openings like that of A Blizzard Of Flurries to the fairly tangible bleep-ridden techno that can be heard on Incoming.

Sigha returns to Avian with a six track affair of tough techno tools. The Berlin-based British producer seems to keep details and intricacies on the sideline for this release with a slew of numerically titled tracks that further pin down the atmospheric brand of techno he works with. 04 is the earliest highlight with a zipping synth line racing against a delicate glassy beat. Another peak comes in the form of 12 where techno’s most essential elements are left for a sparse and minimal exercise. This is techno made by a techno aficionado where the blueprints of the genre are remodelled but kept undeniably intact.

Four brilliantly straightforward techno cuts from a true master of the art. Steve Rachmad readopts his Sterac alias for this effort for Luke Slater’s Mute-Evolver imprint. Four tightly-screwed floor-raiders ranging from the featherweight headiness of Stroke 3 to the rumbling bass-weight of Stroke 1. Like the rest of Rachmad’s output as Sterac, this EP is an exploration into the deeper and more subtle end of his techno sound. Floor-friendly but intricately composed for private listening sessions.

Another solid, genuinely necessary moment in Anthony Childs' back catalogue, Surgeon's Basictonalvocabulary here gets the reissue treatment from Tresor. A double LP techno lesson first released way back when, 1997... Childs' mastery of the darkened modes of minimal 4/4 rhythms is all too evident here, infected by a neat approximation of synth-melody and an all-enveloping, grainy ambience. Tip for AFX, Dettmann, Shackleton, Plastikman devotees.